Business-oriented search

• US 8,849,707 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2007
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Richard A. Heggem
• Original Assignee: Richard A. Heggem
• Inventors: Heggem, Richard A.
• Primary Examiner(s): KINSAUL, DANIEL W
• Application Number:
  US11/705,971
• Publication Number:
  US 20070192314A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,787 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/26.35
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A system and architecture for enhancing search results generated by an Internet search engine, so that those search results include enhanced buyer-oriented information, is disclosed. According to one aspect, a list of search results generated by an Internet search engine comprises one or more search results that are associated with one or more URLs in a set of URLs. For each such URL, seller-specific information, which may be based on and/or comprise ratings that are associated with registered selling entities that are associated with that URL, is presented in association with that URL'"'"'s corresponding search result in the list of search results. A user who submitted query terms, based upon which the list of search results was generated, can use the presented rating information to determine which of the search results to investigate further.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating business-to-business personal connections by enhancing Internet search results, the method comprising the machine-implemented steps of:

registering one or more selling entities by establishing a selling entity account for each of the one or more selling entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more selling entities corresponds to a single individual associated with one or more companies and wherein each individual is associated with only one selling entity;

registering one or more buying entities by establishing a buying entity account for each of the one or more buying entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more buying entities corresponds to a single individual;

receiving one or more search query terms from a searching user;

determining, based on the one or more search query terms, a first set of search results generated by an Internet search engine that queries the World Wide Web, that are relevant relative to the search query terms;

selecting, from the first set, a second set of one or more search results, wherein each search result in the second set is selected in response to a determination that it comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that has been previously registered in association with at least one selling entity account in the business-to-business connectivity service;

ranking the one or more search results in the second set based on at least one of;

one or more ratings that are based on input from one or more buying entities or, a filter score that is based on filter criteria specified by a submitter of the search query terms when the submitter of the search query terms is a buying entity;

generating, for presentation, seller-specific information for each of the search results that are in the second set of search results, wherein seller-specific information comprises the name of a selling entity, the company associated with each selling entity, and one or both of a product or service that each selling entity is associated with; and

presenting seller-specific information in connection with only those search results for which seller-specific information was generated.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each result in the second set has been ranked, based at least in part on relevance relative to the search query terms, among a specified top percentage of search results that are in the first set.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each result in the second set has been ranked, based at least in part on relevance relative to the search query terms, among a specified top number of search results that are in the first set.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting the second set further comprises:

selecting, from the first set, a particular search result that contains a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), at least a portion of which is associated with at least one particular registered selling entity that possesses a particular rating that is no less than a specified threshold;

wherein the particular rating is based on input from one or more buying entities that have interacted with the particular registered selling entity.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting the second set further comprises:

selecting, from the first set, a particular search result that contains a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), at least a portion of which is associated with at least one particular registered selling entity that possesses a particular filter score that is no less than a specified threshold;

wherein the particular filter score is based on an extent to which attributes of the particular registered selling entity satisfy the filter criteria.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting the second set further comprises:

determining a maximum quantity of search results for which seller-specific information can be generated within a specified period of time;

selecting, from the first set, no more than the maximum quantity of search results for inclusion in the second set.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the searching user is a buying entity and determining the first set of search results is further determined based one at least one of or a combination of the following:

a set of attributes submitted by the searching user, which describe the searching user'"'"'s capacity as a buyer;

a set of filter criteria submitted by the searching user which indicate characteristics of selling entities that describe a selling entity'"'"'s capacity as a seller;

or

at least one previous experience of the searching user with one or more selling entities and at least one previous experience of one or more other buying entities in a trusted buyer network associated with the searching user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the first set of search results further comprises:

for each search result, determining a relevance ranking based on relevance of the result to the one or more search query terms;

determining a presentation order for each search result that is based at least in part on a metric that is associated with one or more selling entities and wherein the metric is weighted based on the relevance ranking;

wherein the metric comprises at least one of;

a filter score based on filter criteria specified by the searching user when the searching user is a buying entity;

a rating based on input from one or more buying entities that have interacted with the one or more selling entities;

or

a trusted buyer network score based on input from one or more buying entities who are trusted by the searching user.

9. A system for facilitating business-to-business personal connections by enhancing Internet search results, the system comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having stored thereon computer executable instructions executable by the system to perform operations, comprising;

registering one or more selling entities by establishing a selling entity account for each of the one or more selling entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more selling entities corresponds to a single individual associated with one or more companies and wherein each individual is associated with only one selling entity;

registering one or more buying entities by establishing a buying entity account for each of the one or more buying entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more buying entities corresponds to a single individual;

receiving one or more search query terms from a searching user;

determining, based on the one or more search query terms, a first set of one or more search results generated by an Internet search engine that queries the World Wide Web, that are relevant relative to the search query terms;

selecting, from the first set, a second set of one or more search results, wherein each search result in the second set is selected in response to a determination that it comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that has been previously registered in association with at least one selling entity account in the business-to-business connectivity service;

ranking the one or more search results in the second set based on at least one of;

one or more ratings that are based on input from one or more buying entities or, a filter score that is based on filter criteria specified by a submitter of the search query terms when the submitter of the search query terms is a buying entity;

generating, for presentation, seller-specific information for each of the search results that are in the second set of search results, wherein seller-specific information comprises the name of a selling entity, the company associated with each selling entity, and one or both of a product or service that each selling entity is associated with;

presenting seller-specific information in connection with only those search results for which seller-specific information was generated.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the searching user is a buying entity and determining the first set of search results is further determined based one at least one of or a combination of the following:

a set of attributes submitted by the searching user, which describe the searching user'"'"'s capacity as a buyer;

a set of filter criteria submitted by the searching user which indicate characteristics of selling entities that describe a selling entity'"'"'s capacity as a seller;

or

at least one previous experience of the searching user with one or more selling entities and at least one previous experience of one or more other buying entities in a trusted buyer network associated with the searching user.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the step of presenting seller-specific information further comprises:

presenting seller-specific information for selling entities that have a filter score that is at least as great as a specified threshold without presenting any seller-specific information selling entities that have a filter score that is less than the specified threshold.

12. A method for facilitating business-to-business personal connections by enhancing Internet search results, a method comprising the machine-implemented steps of:

registering one or more selling entities by establishing a selling entity account for each of the one or more selling entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more selling entities corresponds to a single individual associated with one or more companies and wherein each individual is associated with only one selling entity;

registering one or more buying entities by establishing a buying entity account for each of the one or more buying entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more buying entities corresponds to a single individual;

receiving one or more search query terms from a buying entity;

determining, based on the one the one or more search query terms, a first set of search results generated by an Internet search engine that queries the World Wide Web;

selecting, from the first set, a second set of one or more search results, wherein each search result in the second set is selected in response to a determination that it comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that has been previously registered in association with at least one selling entity account in the business-to-business connectivity service;

for each selling entity of the one or more selling entities associated with the one or more search results in the second set, determining, for each selling entity, a trusted buyer network indicator that is based at least in part on one or more ratings that were assigned to the selling entity by one or more additional buying entities that were selected for inclusion within a trusted buyer network by the buying entity that provided the search query terms; and

in a search results page, in connection with each search result of the second set, for each selling entity of the one or more selling entities, presenting seller-specific information about that selling entity only if the trusted buyer network indicator for that selling entity meets a specified threshold, wherein the seller-specific information comprises the name of the selling entity, the company associated with the selling entity, and one or both of a product or service that the selling entity is associated with.

13. A system for facilitating business-to-business personal connections by enhancing Internet search results, the system comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having stored thereon computer executable instructions executable by the system to perform operations, comprising;

registering one or more selling entities by establishing a selling entity account for each of the one or more selling entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more selling entities corresponds to a single individual associated with one or more companies and wherein each individual is associated with only one selling entity;

registering one or more buying entities by establishing a buying entity account for each of the one or more buying entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more buying entities corresponds to a single individual;

receiving one or more search query terms from a buying entity;

determining, based on the one the one or more search query terms, a first set of search results generated by an Internet search engine that queries the World Wide Web;

selecting, from the first set, a second set of one or more search results, wherein each search result in the second set is selected in response to a determination that it comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that has been previously registered in association with at least one selling entity account in the business-to-business connectivity service;

for each selling entity of the one or more selling entities associated with the one or more search results in the second set, determining, for each selling entity, a trusted buyer network indicator that is based at least in part on one or more ratings that were assigned to the selling entity by one or more additional buying entities that were selected for inclusion within a trusted buyer network by the buying entity that provided the search query terms; and

in a search results page, in connection with each search result of the second set, for each selling entity of the one or more selling entities, presenting seller-specific information about that selling entity only if the trusted buyer network indicator for that selling entity meets a specified threshold, wherein the seller-specific information comprises the name of the selling entity, the company associated with the selling entity, and one or both of a product or service that the selling entity is associated with.

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium for facilitating business-to-business personal connections by enhancing Internet search results, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor cause a computing device to perform acts comprising:

registering one or more selling entities by establishing a selling entity account for each of the one or more selling entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more selling entities corresponds to a single individual associated with one or more companies and wherein each individual is associated with only one selling entity;

registering one or more buying entities by establishing a buying entity account for each of the one or more buying entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more buying entities corresponds to a single individual;

receiving one or more search query terms from a searching user;

determining, based on the one or more search query terms, a first set of search results generated by an Internet search engine that queries the World Wide Web, that are relevant relative to the search query terms;

selecting, from the first set, a second set of one or more search results, wherein each search result in the second set is selected in response to a determination that it comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that has been previously registered in association with at least one selling entity account in the business-to-business connectivity service;

ranking the one or more search results in the second set based on at least one of;

one or more ratings that are based on input from one or more buying entities or, a filter score that is based on filter criteria specified by a submitter of the search query terms when the submitter of the search query terms is a buying entity;

generating, for presentation, seller-specific information for each of the search results that are in the second set of search results, wherein seller specific information comprises the name of a selling entity, the company associated with each selling entity, and one or both of a product or service that each selling entity is associated with; and

presenting seller-specific information in connection with only those search results for which seller-specific information was generated.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the searching user is a buying entity and determining the first set of search results is further determined based one at least one of or a combination of the following:

a set of attributes submitted by the searching user, which describe the searching user'"'"'s capacity as a buyer;

a set of filter criteria submitted by the searching user which indicate characteristics of selling entities that describe a selling entity'"'"'s capacity as a seller;

or

at least one previous experience of the searching user with one or more selling entities and at least one previous experience of one or more other buying entities in a trusted buyer network associated with the searching user.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium for facilitating business-to-business personal connections by enhancing Internet search results, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a processor cause a computing device to perform acts comprising:

registering one or more selling entities by establishing a selling entity account for each of the one or more selling entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more selling entities corresponds to a single individual associated with one or more companies and wherein each individual is associated with only one selling entity;

registering one or more buying entities by establishing a buying entity account for each of the one or more buying entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more buying entities corresponds to a single individual;

receiving one or more search query terms from a buying entity;

determining, based on the one the one or more search query terms, a first set of search results generated by an Internet search engine that queries the World Wide Web, based at least in part on the one or more search query terms;

selecting, from the first set, a second set of one or more search results, wherein each search result in the second set is selected in response to a determination that it comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that has been previously registered in association with at least one selling entity account in the business-to-business connectivity service;

for each selling entity of the one or more selling entities associated with the one or more search results in the second set, determining, for each selling entity, a trusted buyer network indicator that is based at least in part on one or more ratings that were assigned to the selling entity by one or more additional buying entities that were selected for inclusion within a trusted buyer network by the buying entity that provided the search query terms; and

in a search results page, in connection with each search result of the second set, for each selling entity of the one or more selling entities, presenting seller-specific information about that selling entity only if the trusted buyer network indicator for that selling entity meets a specified threshold, wherein the seller-specific information comprises the name of the selling entity, the company associated with the selling entity, and one or both of a product or service that the selling entity is associated with.

17. A method for facilitating business-to-business personal connections by enhancing Internet search results, a method comprising the machine-implemented steps of:

registering one or more selling entities by establishing a selling entity account for each of the one or more selling entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more selling entities corresponds to a single individual associated with one or more companies and wherein each individual is associated with only one selling entity;

registering one or more buying entities by establishing a buying entity account for each of the one or more buying entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more buying entities corresponds to a single individual;

receiving one or more search query terms from a buying entity;

determining, based on the one or more search query terms, a first set of search results generated by an Internet search engine that queries the World Wide Web, that are relevant relative to the search query terms;

selecting, from the first set, a second set of one or more search results, wherein each search result in the second set is selected in response to a determination that it comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that has been previously registered in association with at least one selling entity account in the business-to-business connectivity service;

applying a filtering mechanism to the second set of one or more search results, wherein applying the filtering mechanism comprises;

receiving filtering criteria from the buying entity that initiated the search, wherein the filtering criteria comprises rating information provided by one or more buying entities registered in the business-to business connectivity service, and a number of ongoing relationships between buying entities and the selling entities associated with the second set of one or more search results; and

generating a filter score for each of the one or more search results in the second set based on the received filtering criteria;

presenting seller-specific information for each search result in the second set of search results that has a filter score exceeding a threshold, wherein the seller specific information comprises the name of a selling entity, the company associated with each selling entity, and one or both of a product or service that each selling entity is associated with.

18. A method for facilitating business-to-business personal connections by enhancing Internet search results, a method comprising the machine-implemented steps of:

registering one or more selling entities by establishing a selling entity account for each of the one or more selling entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more selling entities corresponds to a single individual associated with one or more companies and wherein each individual is associated with only one selling entity;

registering one or more buying entities by establishing a buying entity account for each of the one or more buying entities in a business-to-business connectivity service, wherein each of the one or more buying entities corresponds to a single individual;

receiving one or more search query terms from a searching user;

determining, based at least in part on the one or more search query terms, a first set of search results generated by an Internet search engine that queries the World Wide Web wherein the first set of search results are ranked based on relevance;

selecting, from the first set, a second set of one or more search results, wherein each search result in the second set is selected in response to a determination that it comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that has been previously registered in association with at least one selling entity account in the business-to-business connectivity service;

ranking the one or more search results in the second set based on at least one of;

one or more ratings that are based on input from one or more buying entities or, a filter score that is based on filter criteria specified by a submitter of the search query terms when the submitter of the search query terms is a buying entity;

generating a split search results page, wherein on one side of the split, the search results page contains ranked search results from the first set, and wherein on another side of the split, the search results page contains ranked search results from the second set;

presenting seller-specific information for each of the search results that are in the second set of search results, wherein seller specific information comprises the name of a selling entity, the company associated with each selling entity, and one or both of a product or service that each selling entity is associated with.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein generating the split search result page comprises listing, for each of one or more search results in the second set, an indicator that indicates a relevance ranking for that search result.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the searching user is a buying entity and determining the first set of search results is further determined based one at least one of or a combination of the following:

a set of attributes submitted by the searching user, which describe the searching user'"'"'s capacity as a buyer;

a set of filter criteria submitted by the searching user which indicate characteristics of selling entities that describe a selling entity'"'"'s capacity as a seller;

or

at least one previous experience of the searching user with one or more selling entities and at least one previous experience of one or more other buying entities in a trusted buyer network associated with the searching user.