System and method for influencing a position on a search result list generated by a computer network search engine

• US 6,983,272 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2001
• Issued: 01/03/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Overture Services Incorporated (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Jonathan C., Lee, Ka Luk, Greco, Larry, Derer, Matthew, Kwong, Thomas, Davis, Darren J., Kurt, Tod E., Skovran, Steve, Garcia, Johann, Pfarner, Preston
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CUONG H
• Application Number:
  US09/918,241
• Publication Number:
  US 20010047354A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,618 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 707 2- 5, 707/10, 707/501, 709/219, 709/202
• US Class Current: 707/748
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A system and method for enabling information providers using a computer network such as the Internet to influence a position for a search listing within a search result list generated by an Internet search engine. The system and method of the present invention provides a database having accounts for the network information providers. Each account contains contact and billing information for a network information provider. In addition, each account contains at least one search listing having at least three components: a description, a search term comprising one or more keywords, and a bid amount. The network information provider may add, delete, or modify a search listing after logging into his or her account via an authentication process. The network information provider influences a position for a search listing in the provider'"'"'s account by first selecting a search term relevant to the content of the web site or other information source to be listed. The network information provider enters the search term and the description into a search listing. The network information provider influences the position for a search listing through a continuous online competitive bidding process. The bidding process occurs when the network information provider enters a new bid amount, which is preferably a money amount, for a search listing. The system and method of the present invention then compares this bid amount with all other bid amounts for the same search term, and generates a rank value for all search listings having that search term. The rank value generated by the bidding process determines where the network information providers listing will appear on the search results list page that is generated in response to a query of the search term by a searcher located at a client computer on the computer network. A higher bid by a network information provider will result in a higher rank value and a more advantageous placement.

Claims

1. A method of generating a result list in response to a computer user entering a keyword, comprising:

storing a plurality of listings, where each listing is associated with an information provider, at least one keyword, a money amount, and a computer network location;

receiving a keyword entered by a user;

identifying at least some listings having a keyword generating a match with the keyword entered by the user;

ordering the identified listings based at least in part on the money amounts for the respective identified listings;

generating a result list including at least some of the ordered listings;

displaying the result list to the user;

receiving a retrieval request from the user to retrieve information associated with a listing selected from the result list and charging to an account of the information provider associated with the selected listing an amount related to the money amount associated with the selected listing for each retrieval request;

providing an information provider with online authenticated login access permitting the information provider to modify the money amount associated with the listing of the information provider; and

at the request of an information provider provided with login access, automatically estimating the cost of including an information provider listing in the database for a specified time period;

wherein the displayed listings which generate a charge to the information provider are identified in the display as paid listings.

2. A method of generating a search result list in response to a user submitting a search request to a search engine operating over a computer network, comprising:

maintaining a database including a plurality of network information provider listings, wherein each listing is associated with at least one search term, a money amount and a network information provider;

receiving a search request entered by a user;

identifying at least some network information provider listings having a search term generating a match with the search request received from the user;

displaying to the user a search result list including at least some of the identified network information provider listings; and

upon receiving a retrieval request from the user to retrieve information associated with a network information provider listing selected from the result list, charging to an account of a network information provider associated with the selected listing the money amount associated with the listing;

wherein a network information provider is provided with online authenticated login access permitting the network information provider to modify the money amount associated with a listing of the network information; and

at the request of a network information provider provided with login access, automatically estimating the cost of including a network information provider listing in the database for a specified time period.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

providing a network information provider with suggested alternative search terms for a listing.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the suggested alternative search terms comprise search terms associated with other listings from the database.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the suggested alternative search terms comprise terms from a thesaurus database.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the listings in the search result list are ordered taking into account the money amounts for the respective listings.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the listings in the search result list are ordered by decreasing money amount.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein listings in the search result list that have the same money amount are ordered from earliest to most recent time of creation.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the displayed listings which generate a charge to the network information provider are identified in the display as paid listings.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the displayed listings which generate a charge to the network information provider include in the display an identification of their respective money amounts.

11. The method of claim 2, wherein the modification of a listing by a network information provider is performed substantially in real time.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein a network information provider provided with login access is permitted to change the manner by which a search term associated with the network information providers listing is matched with a search request received from a user.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein a match is based at least in part on a search term of a listing being a synonym of a search request received from a user.

14. The method of claim 2, wherein a match is based at least in part on a location associated with a network information provider.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the location is one of a country, a city, a zip code, and a telephone area code.

16. The method of claim 2, wherein a match is based at least in part on the language of the text associated with a listing.

17. The method of claim 2, wherein, at the request of a network information provider provided with login access, an activity report is generated automatically for at least one listing for a specified time period, including information on at least one of the number of retrieval requests received from users, the number of occurrences of a user entering a matching search request, the number of impressions, and the click through rate.

18. An online method for an information provider to automatically update information relating to a listing includable in a result list generated by a computer network server, wherein the listing is stored and is associated with at least one keyword, a money amount, and the information provider;

the result list is generated by the server in response to a user entering a keyword;

keywords associated with the listings in the result list match the user keyword;

the listings in the result list are ordered at least in part on the basis of the money amounts of the respective listings; and

a request from the user to retrieve information associated with a selected listing from the result list causes a charge to an account of the information provider associated with the selected listing in the money amount associated with the selected listing, the method comprising;

navigating the computer network to a network location of the server;

accessing at least one listing associated with the information provider through an authenticated login procedure;

requesting the server to modify the money amount with the access listing; and

requesting and receiving from the server a cost estimate for including a listing among the stored listings for a specified time period.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving from the server suggested alternative keywords; and

selecting a suggested alternative keyword for the accessed listing.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

changing the manner by which a keyword associated with the accessed listing is matched with a keyword entered by a user.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein one match option is based at least in part on a location associated with the information provider.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the location is one of a country, a city, a zip code, and a telephone area code.

23. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

requesting and receiving from the server an activity report for a specified time period for at least one listing associated with the information provider, including information on at least one of the number of retrieval requests received from users, the number of occurrences of a user entering a matching keyword, the number of impression, and the click through rate.

24. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

requesting from the server a calculation of a money amount for a listing that would place the listing in a desired rank among the ordered listings in the result list.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the requested calculated money amount is a predetermined amount greater than the money amount associated with the next ranked listing in the ordered listings.

26. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving an online notification from the server that a predetermined event has occurred with respect to an account of the information provider.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the notification is that an account balance has fallen below a specified level.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the notification is that a listing associated with the information provider has changed rank in the result list.