WO2007142430A1

WO2007142430A1 - Keyword related advertisement system and method

Info

Publication number: WO2007142430A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/002662
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jung-Han Chae
Original assignee: Parang Fish Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-06-02
Filing date: 2007-06-01
Publication date: 2007-12-13

Abstract

A keyword advertisement system and method for previewing and comparing search results of search sites, and previewing contents of titles by performing an event for the linked titles of the search sites. When finding a word or sentence in the web page, a user checks and compares search results of the search sites through the search preview menu of a mouse right click, and checks the contents from the link title during the connection selection state without moving to other pages by clicking the link title in the web page, so the inconvenience of repeatedly visiting search sites, inputting a search word or sentence, and checking the search result can be avoided. Mouse movement is minimized to easily check contents of link pages and reduce the time for returning to previous web pages, and the service provider's benefits are increased by providing the search word or the link title related keyword advertisement through the preview browser.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION KEYWORD RELATED ADVERTISEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a keyword-based advertisement system and a method thereof, and in particular, it relates to a keyword-based advertisement system and a method thereof for sequentially and conveniently previewing and comparing entire search results of a plurality of search sites, or previewing entire contents of respective titles by performing events on the linked titles of the search sites. (b) Description of the Related Art

In general, in the case of searching for desired information by using an Internet browser, when a user has found a word or a sentence that the user desires to search from among web page information, he accesses a predetermined search site and inputs a corresponding word or sentence into a search window to check the search result. When he determines that he is not satisfied with the search result, he repeatedly accesses another search site and inputs a word or a sentence into the search window to check the search result.

Accordingly, it is impossible in the prior art for the user to preview and compare the search results of a plurality of search sites when he does not access the search sites and input a search word into the search window.

For example, the search results acquired from the search categories such as the web page of Naver, the site of Daum, and the web document of Yahoo provide a preview function, but the preview function is provided in a very restricted manner. Particularly, the user can only check the search result of a predetermined search site by using the preview function, and no function for previewing and comparing the search results of a plurality of search sites is provided. As shown in FIG. 1 , Naver only provides the preview 101 for the search result within Naver, and the user cannot preview and compare the search results of other search sites. Here, FIG. 1 shows a preview function screen on the search result of the web page from among the search categories in the existing Naver search result pages.

Empas provides a service so that the user can view the search results of a plurality of search sites on one page, and it has a restriction of randomly extracting part of the search results of a plurality of search sites and providing the extracted contents, and it cannot provide the service when other search sites blocks search result extraction.

As described above, the existing user search activity has no method for sequentially and conveniently previewing and comparing the entire search results of the search sites.

When the user searching for information by using an Internet browser attempts to move between web pages, he can move to the desired link page by clicking the linked title.

For example, when the search word of Snuppy is input to Naver, the page moves to the Snuppy search result page, and the corresponding search result page displays titles that are linked to a plurality of web pages having information on the search word of Snuppy. Hence, the user can check the information on the search word of Snuppy by clicking the predetermined link title. In this instance, the user must click the back button on the web browser so as to move to the previous page, that is, the Snuppy search result page.

For another example, linked titles are provided on the web page having a large amount of information in a like manner of the main page of news providing sites. In this instance, the user can check the corresponding contents when he moves to the web page corresponding to each title by clicking the title.

Some search sites provide a function for checking part of the contents on a predetermined search result during the connection selection state, but the contents that can be checked are limited, and hence, the user must move to the corresponding page by clicking the link so as to check the entire contents.

As shown in FIG. 2, since the preview 201 for partial contents is provided in the linked title connection selection state of Naver, the user cannot view the entire contents. FIG. 2 shows a contents partial preview function in the linked title connection selection state of Naver that is an existing search site.

As described above, the user can check the contents by moving to the corresponding page by clicking the linked title, but must return to the previous page so as to check another title on the previous page, and must click the back button of the web browser so as to return to the previous page, during which the user must use the mouse many times and simultaneously wait for the time required for returning to the previous page. The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a keyword advertisement system and a method thereof for sequentially and conveniently previewing and comparing the entire search results of a plurality of search sites.

The present invention has been made in another effort to provide a keyword advertisement system and a method thereof for previewing the entire contents of respective titles by performing an event of a linked title of a search site. To solve the problem, a keyword related advertisement system and method including a search preview function using a menu of a mouse right button is realized. In this instance, when the user having received and installed a client module finds a word or a sentence to be searched on the web browser such as Internet Explorer, the user can check, compare, and use the entire search results of a plurality of search sites through an additional preview browser by using an entire search result preview function for the word or sentence of the corresponding web page provided by a mouse right click menu so that the user can more easily search the Internet. Also, the invention displays a keyword advertisement related to the search word or sentence (i.e., a search-word-based keyword advertisement) to the preview browser so that a keyword advertisement targeting the user can be displayed in addition to the search sites. A keyword related advertisement system and method including a link page preview function using a preview browser (or a menu of the mouse right button) is realized. In this instance, when the user having received and installed a client module performs a specific event (e.g., putting the cursor on the linked title, dragging the link title while clicking the same, or maintaining a time while clicking the link title) by using a cursor without moving pages by clicking the linked title on the web browser such as Internet Explorer, the user can check the contents of the linked web page without respectively clicking the linked titles since he can check the entire contents of the linked pages through the preview browser installed in the client module, and he does not need to move to the previous web page by clicking the back button of the web browser since the preview browser is controlled to disappear when the user clicks an empty space of the web browser, and hence, the user can more easily surf the web. Further, since the keyword advertisement (i.e., link-title-based keyword advertisement) related to the linked title on the web browser is displayed on the preview browser, the keyword advertisement targeting the user can be displayed.

In one aspect of the present invention, a keyword advertisement system connected to a user terminal through a network includes: a database server for storing a plurality of pieces of information including advertisement contents and additional search information searched by the user; and a processing server for selecting an important keyword based on search information provided by the user terminal, extracting advertisement contents corresponding to the selected keyword, and providing the advertisement contents to the user terminal. The user terminal includes a preview module for adding a search preview function providing menu to a function menu displayed by a mouse right click menu, providing the user selected search word to the processing server, and displaying the keyword advertisement provided by the processing server. The preview module includes an additional preview browser. In another aspect of the present invention, a keyword advertisement method for a user terminal connected to a keyword advertisement system through a network to provide advertisement contents includes: receiving a preview module from the keyword advertisement system or a server of another site that cooperates with the keyword advertisement system, and installing the preview module; adding a search preview function displaying menu to the right click menu in the preview module; selecting a search preview menu from the right click menu according to the user's request; opening a preview browser when the user's cursor is put on the search site in the search preview menu; connecting to the search result page of the search site and transmitting the user's search information to the keyword advertisement system; and displaying the advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system to the preview browser. The keyword advertisement method further includes: extracting an important keyword from the search information provided by the preview module in the keyword advertisement system; extracting advertisement data based on the extracted important keyword in the keyword advertisement system; and transmitting the extracted advertisement data to the preview module in the keyword advertisement system. In another aspect of the present invention, a keyword advertisement system connected to a user terminal through a network includes: a database server for storing a plurality of pieces of information including advertisement contents and link information on a link title; and a processing server for extracting a keyword advertisement based on the link information provided by the user terminal and providing the keyword advertisement to the user terminal. The user terminal includes a preview module for sensing an event activity for the link title by the cursor, extracting a linked URL address together with the link title, opening the installed preview browser to display the linked page, transmitting link title information to the processing server, and displaying the advertisement data provided by the processing server to the preview browser. In another aspect of the present invention, a keyword advertisement method for a keyword advertisement system connected to a user terminal through a network to provide advertisement contents includes: extracting an important keyword from link information provided by the user terminal by the keyword advertisement system; extracting advertisement data based on the extracted important keyword by the keyword advertisement system; and transmitting the extracted advertisement data to the user terminal by the keyword advertisement system. The keyword advertisement method further includes: receiving a preview module from the keyword advertisement system or a server of another site that cooperates with the keyword advertisement system, and installing the preview module by the user terminal; sensing an event activity by the preview module when the user generates a specific event at the linked title on the web page in the default web browser by using a cursor; extracting a linked URL address together with the link title by the preview module and opening the installed preview browser; displaying the linked page connected to the preview browser to the extracted URL address by the preview module; transmitting link title information to the keyword advertisement system by the preview module; and displaying the advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system in the preview browser by the preview module.

When finding a word or sentence in the web page, the user checks and compares search results of the search sites through the search preview menu of the mouse right click, and checks the contents from the link title during the connection selection state without moving to other pages by clicking the link title in the web page, so the inconvenience of repeatedly visiting search sites, inputting a search word or sentence, and checking the search results can be avoided, and the mouse movement is minimized to easily check contents of link pages and reduce the time for returning to previous web pages. The benefits of the service provider who provides the preview module are increased by providing a keyword advertisement related to the search word searched by the user through the preview browser.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a preview function screen of an existing search site.

FIG. 2 shows a contents partial preview function screen in the linked title connection selection state of an existing search site.

FIG. 3 shows a network connection diagram of a keyword advertisement system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows a detailed schematic diagram of a preview module for performing a search preview function by using a right button click of a mouse

(referred to as a right click hereinafter) according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a detailed configuration diagram of a keyword-based advertisement system having a search preview function using a right click according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart for performing a search preview function by using a mouse right click according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 shows a flowchart for a keyword advertisement method including a search preview function using a mouse right click according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 to FIG. 10 show screens for displaying a keyword advertisement method including a search preview function using a mouse right click according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 shows a detailed configuration diagram of a preview module for performing a link page preview function by using a preview browser according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 shows a detailed configuration diagram of a keyword-based advertisement system including a link page preview function by using a preview browser according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of a keyword advertisement method including a link page preview function using a preview browser according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows a link address screen displayed by registration information of a linked title in Internet Explorer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 shows a keyword advertisement method screen including a link page preview function using a preview browser according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.

Also, throughout this specification and the claims that follow, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word "comprising" and variations such as "comprises" will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. Also, the terms of a unit, a device, and a module in the present specification represent a unit for processing a predetermined function or operation, which can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

A keyword advertisement system and a method thereof according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to drawings.

FIG. 3 shows a network connection diagram of a keyword advertisement system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the keyword advertisement system 310 is connected to a plurality of terminals 330 through a network (wired/wireless networks including the Internet, wireless communication network, and future network) 320. In addition, the keyword advertisement system 310 is connected to a plurality of servers 340-1 to 340-p of cooperating sites for providing search results or search related advertisements to a preview browser through the network 320.

In this instance, the terminals 330 are communication apparatuses for accessing the keyword advertisement system 310 through the network 320 and transmitting/receiving data, and in detail, they include a wired terminal including a computer that is accessible to a network 320 through a cable, and an Internet TV; and a wireless terminal including a mobile phone that is wirelessly accessible to the network 320, and a personal digital assistant (PDA). For ease of description, the terminals 330 will be classified as user terminals 331-1 to 331-n and wireless terminals 332-1 to 332-m. The user terminals to be described below will be denoted by the reference numeral 330, and the wireless terminals to which advertisement contents will be denoted by the reference numeral 332. However, the present invention is not restricted to this description.

The cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p cooperate with the keyword advertisement system 310 and display their search services through a preview browser. For example, a cooperated site can be a site (e.g., Naver) for providing a search service, a shopping site (e.g., Interpark) having its own search function, a site managed by an advertisement agency for displaying a keyword advertisement, or a site that cooperates with the advertisement agency. In this instance, the site for providing a cooperating line service can display a keyword advertisement according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention on a preview browser, and the advertisement is applicable to a popup advertisement, a popunder advertisement, or a push advertisement such as a mobile advertisement.

The keyword advertisement system 310 can be a keyword-based advertisement system including a search preview function using a mouse right click, a keyword-based advertisement system including a link page preview function using a preview browser, or a keyword-based advertisement system including a search preview function and a link page preview function.

First, regarding the keyword-based advertisement system 310 including a search preview function using a mouse right click according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the user terminal 330 includes a preview module 400 (refer to FIG. 4) for adding a search preview function providing menu to the menu provided by the mouse right click, providing a search result of a plurality of search sites through an installed preview browser, transmitting search information including a search word or a sentence to the keyword advertisement system 310, and displaying the advertisement provided by the keyword advertisement system 310 to the preview browser.

In this instance, the preview module 400 can be downloaded to the user terminal 330 from the keyword advertisement system 310 through various paths and can be installed, and the same can be provided to the user terminal 330 from a server of another site that cooperates with the keyword advertisement system 310, that is, the cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p, in addition to the keyword advertisement system 310 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The preview module 400 can be called a client program, it adds a search preview function providing menu to the function menu displayed by the mouse right click menu, it performs a function for modifying the corresponding menu, and it performs a function for directly accessing a search result page of the search site for a word or sentence that is selected by the user by dragging or double-clicking the word or sentence by using a cursor through an installed preview-only browser. Also, the preview module 400 transmits search information including a search word or a sentence to the keyword advertisement system 310, and displays advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system 310 to the preview browser.

The preview module 400 can display the search result by using the installed preview browser, and it can be configured to use the web browser installed in the user terminal 330. In this instance, the advertisement displayed to the preview browser can be displayed by allocating part of the browser as an advertisement space, and it can be configured to be displayed in the push advertisement format such as a popup advertisement, a popunder advertisement, or a mobile advertisement.

The configuration of the preview module 400 realizing the above-noted functions is shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 shows a detailed schematic diagram of a preview module which is a client program in a keyword-based advertisement system 310 including a search preview function using a right click of a mouse according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the preview module 400 includes a menu controller 410, an information processor 420, a preview browser 430, a storage unit 440, and a server interface 450.

The menu controller 410 adds a search preview function providing menu to the function menu displayed on the screen by the mouse right click, and in this instance, it is desirable to perform the function for modifying or deleting the added menu. Here, the operation of adding another menu to the mouse right click menu is well known to a person skilled in the art and hence will not be described.

When the user puts the cursor on the search site in the preview menu, the information processor 420 senses the corresponding signal to open the installed preview browser 430 and automatically inputs the word or sentence selected by the user to the selected search site so that the user may be directly connected to the search results page of the search site. Also, the information processor 420 transmits the word or sentence selected by the user to the keyword advertisement system 310, and displays the advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system 310 to the advertisement space of the preview browser 430.

In addition, the information processor 420 can display the advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system 310 by using a popup window or a popunder window. Also, the information processor 420 provides a mouse right click menu modifying instruction to the menu controller 410 according to a user request or a request of the keyword advertisement system 310. In this instance, it is desirable for the information processor 420 to optimize the location and the size of the preview browser 430 according to the location of the cursor. The preview browser 430 is optimized and dedicated so as to perform the preview function, which is automatically performed when the user puts the cursor on the search site in the search preview menu, and is connected to the search result page of the search site. Also, the preview browser 430 can be configured to automatically disappear when the user clicks the search site in the preview menu.

Further, it is desirable for the preview browser 430 to display a browser screen near the cursor within a range not covering the preview menu for the user's convenience. Also, the preview browser 430 can include an advertisement space for advertisements, and for this purpose it can be configured to have the screen divided, and the status bar located at the bottom edge of the browser can be used as an advertisement space.

The storage unit 440 stores predetermined information assigned to the preview module 400 or user terminal information. For example, when receiving the preview module 400 from predetermined cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p or the keyword advertisement system 310, a predetermined identification code is provided to the preview module 400, and the identification code is stored in and managed by the storage unit 440. In this instance, the identification code can be called a module identification code, and can be used as an identification code for the user who performs a predetermined search operation. Therefore, the user is identified based on the module identification code when the user undergoes an authentication process such as logging in to the predetermined cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p or the keyword advertisement system 310.

In addition to the module identification code, an IP address that is assigned when the terminal 330 accesses the predetermined cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p or the keyword advertisement system 310, and a media access control (MAC) address properly provided to the terminal 330 can be stored.

The server interface 450 transmits search information including a word or sentence to be searched, and additional information including a module identification code and a user identification code to the keyword advertisement system 310 from the information processor 420. Also, the server interface 450 receives advertisement data from the keyword advertisement system 310. It is desirable for the preview module 400 to include the storage unit

440, however, to which the embodiment is not restricted. The preview module 400 can be automatically opened when the operating system (OS) of the terminal 330 is driven, and the same can be installed in a messenger, a music player, a multimedia player, a P2P program, a mini homepage, a web browser, and a tool bar, and can be automatically performed when the user opens one of the programs.

When the preview module 400 is realized to be automatically opened when the OS of the terminal 330 or the web browser is driven, search information caused by the user's search activity is provided in real-time to the keyword advertisement system 310 without directly driving the preview module 400.

The configuration of the keyword advertisement system 310 for providing a keyword advertisement based on the search information that is transmitted according to the user's search preview activity in connection with the preview module 400 will now be described referring to FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 shows a detailed configuration diagram of a keyword-based advertisement system 310 having a search preview function using a right click according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the keyword advertisement system 310 includes a processing server 10 for analyzing the search information provided by the terminal 330, indexing a keyword, extracting an advertisement corresponding to the keyword (i.e., keyword advertisement), and providing the keyword advertisement to the terminal 330 (i.e., the preview module 400); and a database server 20 for storing advertisement contents and a plurality of information including search addition information (including preview module information, search information, and keyword advertisement list information) searched by the user.

The processing server 10 includes a module interface 11 for transmitting/receiving information to/from the preview module 400, and information processors 12 and 13 for storing and analyzing the search information transmitted by the preview module 400, extracting an important keyword, finding advertisement contents based on a contents keyword, and transmitting the advertisement contents to the preview module 400.

The search information processor 12 stores search information including search word or sentence data provided by the preview module 400 to the search information database 21 of the database server 20 in correspondence to the module identification code, and selects a keyword by comparing the corresponding search word or sentence with the data of the keyword list database 22 of the database server 20. The advertisement information processor 13 searches the advertisement list database 23 of the database server 20 based on the selected keyword to find an identification code of the corresponding advertisement contents, reads corresponding advertisement contents from the advertisement contents database 24 of the database server 20 based on the found advertisement identification code, and provides the contents to the preview module 400.

The database server 20 stores various categories of information, and includes a search information database (DB) 21 , a keyword list database 22 for storing a valid keyword list, an advertisement list database 23 for storing an advertisement list corresponding to the keyword, and an advertisement contents database 24 for storing advertisements.

The search information database 21 stores search word information corresponding to the module identification code.

The keyword list database 22 stores keyword list information having a valid word for the search word, sentence, or combination of words.

The advertisement list database 23 stores an advertisement contents list corresponding to each keyword, and the list includes an advertisement identification code assigned to the advertisement contents.

The advertisement contents database 24 stores advertisements corresponding to each advertisement identification code, that is, advertisement contents.

The above-noted keyword advertisement system 310 is classified according to processing functions, and is not restricted to the above description. For example, the advertisement information processor 13 extracts corresponding advertisement contents based on the extracted keyword, and advertises the advertisement contents in the push advertisement format such as a popup window, an email advertisement, and a mobile advertisement through a separate advertisement transmission server (not shown). In addition, when the cooperated sites such as a search site (e.g.,

Naver) or a shopping site (e.g., Interpark) attempt to release a keyword advertisement, the advertisement information processor 13 can be realized into the servers 340-1 to 340-p managed by the cooperated sites.

A keyword advertisement method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described based on the above-described configuration.

A user receives a preview module 400 from the keyword advertisement system 310 or one of the cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p, and installs the preview module 400 in the terminal 330. As shown in FIG. 6, the search preview function according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is performed. FIG. 6 shows a flowchart for performing a search preview function by using a mouse right click according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 to FIG. 10 show screens for displaying a keyword advertisement method including a search preview function using a mouse right click according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

When the preview module 400 is installed from the keyword advertisement system 310 or the predetermined cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p according to the user request through the terminal 330 (S100), the preview module 400 adds a search preview function displaying menu to the mouse right click menu (S 110), and the user selects a word or sentence to be searched from among the web page contents on the Internet browser by using a cursor as shown in FIG. 8 (S120).

As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the preview module 400 controls to select a search preview menu from the mouse right click menu (S130) so that the user may put the cursor on the desired search site name in the search preview menu (S140) as shown in FIG. 8.

The preview module 400 senses the signal to open the preview browser (S150) as shown in FIG. 8, and connects to the search result page of the search site selected by the user corresponding to the search word or sentence selected by the user (S160) as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9.

When the user desires to preview a search result at another search site (S170), the preview module 400 puts the cursor on another search site in the search preview menu according to a user request (S180), and the opened preview browser displays a search result page of the newly selected search site after returning to the step of S160.

However, when the user desires to view the search result of the selected search site through the web browser installed in the user terminal 300, the preview module 400 controls the user to click the corresponding search site in the search preview menu according to the user request as shown in FIG. 10 (S190), and the registered web browser installed in the user terminal is opened as shown in FIG. 10 (S200), and is connected to the search result page of the corresponding search site.

A keyword-based advertisement method for providing a keyword advertisement to a preview browser through a search preview function according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart for a keyword advertisement method including a search preview function using a mouse right click according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, the user terminal 330 installs a preview module 400 from the keyword advertisement system 310 or the predetermined cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p according to the user request (S100).

The preview module 400 adds a search preview function displaying menu to the mouse right click menu (S110), and selects a word or sentence desired by the user from among the web page contents on the Internet browser by using the cursor as shown in FIG. 8 (S120).

Accordingly, the preview module 400 controls the user to select the search preview menu by using the mouse right click (S130) as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, puts the cursor on the search site in the search preview menu (S140) as shown in FIG. 8, and when/before/after the preview browser is opened as shown in FIG. 8 (S150), the preview module 400 controls the user to be connected to the search result page of the search site selected by the user corresponding to the search word or sentence selected by the user as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 (S160).

The preview module 400 transmits the search word or the sentence selected by the user to the keyword advertisement system 310 (S300), and the keyword advertisement system 310 selects a keyword from the search word or the sentence received from the preview module 400 (S310). The keyword advertisement system 310 finds an advertisement identification code corresponding to the keyword from the advertisement list database 23 (S320) so as to select a keyword advertisement from the advertisement list, extracts advertisement contents corresponding to the advertisement identification code from the advertisement contents database 24 (S330), and transmits the extracted advertisement contents to the preview module 400 (S340).

The preview module 400 receives the advertisement contents from the keyword advertisement system 310 (S350) and displays the same to the preview advertisement window (S360) as shown in FIG. 8. The above-noted method or the preview module 400 can be realized by program that can be stored on a computer readable recording medium. The recording medium includes any types of recording device for storing computer readable data, such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, and a carrier wave format (e.g., Internet transmission). Further, regarding the keyword-based advertisement system 310 including a link page preview function using a preview browser according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the user terminal 330 includes a preview module 500 (refer to FIG. 11 ) for sensing a predetermined event activity (e.g.,, putting the cursor on the linked title, dragging the link title while clicking the same, or maintaining a time while clicking the link title) of the cursor for the link title, extracting a URL address linked to the link title, displaying the linked page by using the installed preview browser, transmitting link title information to the processing server (i.e., keyword advertisement system 310), and displaying the advertisement data provided by the processing server to the preview browser.

In this instance, the preview module 500 can be downloaded and installed into the user terminal 330 from the keyword advertisement system 310 through various paths, and the same can be provided to the user terminal 330 from the server of another site that cooperates with the keyword advertisement system 310, that is, the cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p in addition to the keyword advertisement system 310 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The preview module 500 can be called a client program, and it detects the case in which the user performs a specific event for the link title by using the cursor, extracts a linked URL address together with the link title, and connects the URL address to the linked page through the installed preview browser. Also, the preview module 500 transmits link title information to the keyword advertisement system 310, and displays the advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system 310 to the preview browser. In this instance, the advertisement displayed to the preview browser can be displayed by allocating a predetermined space of the preview browser as an advertisement space, and the same can be configured to be displayed in the format of a flash advertisement, a popup advertisement, or a banner advertisement near the preview browser. The preview module 500 senses the case in which the user clicks the empty space of the opened web browser, and then closes the preview browser.

In detail, the preview module 500 overcomes the inconvenience of the prior art in which the user repeatedly clicks the linked title to move to the linked web page and check the contents and then clicks the back button of the existing browser by greatly moving the mouse to go to the previous web page, in that the preview module 500 checks the contents of the linked web page through the preview browser by performing a specific event while the web page is opened, and the user clicks a predetermined space of the opened web page to close the preview browser and checks the contents of the web page again, thereby minimizing the movement of the mouse and reducing the time for returning to the previous web page.

A configuration of the preview module 500 for realizing the above-noted function is shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 11 shows a detailed configuration diagram of a preview module which is a client program in the keyword-based advertisement system 310 including a link page preview function using a preview browser according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 11 , the preview module 500 includes an event information extractor 510, an information processor 520, a preview browser 530, a storage unit 540, and a server interface 550.

The event information extractor 510 senses event information on the link title that is generated by the user using a mouse, and extracts URL address information of the linked page together with the link title. In this instance, in the case of Internet Explorer, the user can select the link title to check the URL address from the registration information from among attribute information in the mouse right click menu. Also, when the user clicks the existing web browser space while the preview browser 530 is opened, the event information extractor 510 senses the clicking to control the preview browser 530 to disappear. When the event information extractor 510 senses the cursor's event activity, the information processor 520 receives the corresponding event information, opens the installed preview browser 530, and connects to the link address extracted by the event information extractor 510. Also, the information processor 520 transmits the link title information selected by the user to the keyword advertisement system 310, and displays the advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system 310 to the advertisement space of the preview browser 530. In this instance, it is desirable for the information processor 520 to optimize the location and the size of the preview browser 530 according to the location of the cursor.

Differing from this, the information processor 520 can display the advertisement provided by the keyword advertisement system 310 by using a method based on a popup window or popunder window.

The preview browser 530 is a dedicated browser that is optimized for performing a preview function, it is automatically opened when the user performs a specific event for the link title, and it connects the user to the linked web page. Also, the preview browser 530 can be configured to automatically disappear when the user clicks an empty space of the opened web browser. Differing from this, for convenience of the user, it is desirable to configure the preview browser 530 to not cover the entire opened web browser, and it is possible to realize the size of the preview browser to be automatically determined according to the location of the cursor or to be determined with a specific ratio over the entire screen size. Also, the preview browser 530 can include an advertisement space for an advertisement, and for this purpose, the screen thereof can be divided.

The storage unit 540 stores predetermined information provided to the preview module 500 or user terminal information. For example, when receiving the preview module 500 from predetermined cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p or the keyword advertisement system 310, a predetermined identification code is provided to the preview module 500, and the identification code is stored in and managed by the storage unit 540. In this instance, the identification code can be called a module identification code, and can be used as an identification code for the user who performs a predetermined search operation. Therefore, the user is identified based on the module identification code when the user undergoes an authentication process such as logging in to the predetermined cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p or the keyword advertisement system 310.

In addition to the module identification code, an IP address that is assigned when the user terminal 330 accesses the predetermined cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p or the keyword advertisement system 310, and a MAC address that is properly provided to the user terminal 330, can be stored.

The server interface 550 transmits link information including a link title and a link URL address, and additional information including a module identification code and a user identification code, to the keyword advertisement system 310 from the information processor 520. Also, the server interface 550 receives advertisement data from the keyword advertisement system 310. It is desirable for the preview module 500 to include the storage unit

540, however the embodiment is not restricted thereto. The preview module 500 can be automatically opened when the OS of the user terminal 330 is driven, and the same can be installed in a messenger, a music player, a multimedia player, a P2P program, a mini homepage, a web browser, and a tool bar, and can be automatically opened when the user opens one of the programs.

When the preview module 500 is realized to be automatically opened when the OS of the terminal 330 or the web browser is driven, search information caused by the user's search activity is provided in real-time to the keyword advertisement system 310 without directly driving the preview module 500.

Differing from this, in the above-noted second case, that is, in the case of the keyword-based advertisement system 310 including a link page preview function using a preview browser according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the configuration with the preview module 400 of FIG. 4 is possible rather than the preview module 500 of the user terminal 330.

That is, the link page preview function using the mouse right click can be performed. In this instance, it is possible that a link page preview function providing menu is added to a menu provided by the mouse right click, a linked URL address is extracted from the link title, the linked page is displayed through the installed preview browser, link title information is transmitted to the keyword advertisement system 310, and the advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system 310 are displayed to the preview browser.

A configuration of the keyword advertisement system 310 for providing a keyword advertisement based on link information according to the user's event activity on the link title (e.g.,, putting the cursor on the linked title, dragging the link title while clicking the same, or maintaining a time while clicking the link title) in cooperation with the above-configured preview module 500 will be described with reference to FIG. 12.

FIG. 12 shows a detailed configuration diagram of a keyword-based advertisement system 310 including a link page preview function by using a preview browser according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 12, the keyword advertisement system 310 includes a processing server 30 for analyzing link information, indexing an important keyword, extracting an advertisement corresponding to the keyword (i.e., keyword advertisement), and transmitting the keyword advertisement to the user terminal 330 (i.e., preview module 500); and a database server 40 for storing preview module information, link information, advertisement list information, and advertisement contents.

The processing server 30 includes a module interface 31 for transmitting/receiving information to/from the preview module 500, a link information processor 32 for storing and analyzing link information provided by the preview module 500, and selecting an important keyword, and an advertisement information processor 33 for finding corresponding advertisement contents based on the selected keyword and transmitting the advertisement contents to the preview module 500. The link information processor 32 stores a link title provided by the preview module 500 or link information including link URL address data in the link information database (DB) 41 of the database server 40 in correspondence to the module identification code, and selects a keyword by comparing the corresponding link title with the data of a keyword list database 42 of the database server 40.

The advertisement information processor 33 searches an advertisement list database 43 of the database server 40 based on the selected keyword to find an identification code of the corresponding advertisement contents, reads corresponding advertisement contents from an advertisement contents database 44 of the database server 40 based on the found advertisement identification code, and provides the contents to the preview module 500.

The database server 40 stores various categories of information, and includes the link information database (DB) 41 , the keyword list database 42 for storing valid keyword list information, the advertisement list database 43 for storing an advertisement list corresponding to the keyword, and the advertisement contents database 44 for storing advertisements.

The link information database 41 stores link information including event generation time information for the link together with a link title corresponding to the module identification code and a link URL address. The keyword list database 42 stores keyword list information on the valid word or combination of words for the link title.

The advertisement list database 43 stores an advertisement contents list corresponding to each keyword, and the list includes an advertisement identification code assigned to the advertisement contents.

The advertisement contents database 44 stores advertisements corresponding to each advertisement identification code, that is, advertisement contents.

The above-noted keyword advertisement system 310 is classified according to processing functions, and is not restricted to the above description. For example, the advertisement information processor 33 extracts corresponding advertisement contents based on the extracted keyword, and advertises the advertisement contents in the push advertisement format such as a popup window, an email advertisement, and a mobile advertisement through a separate advertisement transmission server (not shown).

In addition, when the cooperated sites such as a search site (e.g., Naver) or a shopping site (e.g., Interpark) attempt to release a keyword advertisement, the advertisement information processor 33 can be realized into the servers 340-1 to 340-p managed by the cooperated sites.

A user receives a preview module 500 from the keyword advertisement system 310 or one of the cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p and installs the preview module 400 in the user terminal 330.

As shown in FIG. 13, the search preview function according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is performed. FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of a keyword advertisement method including a link page preview function using a preview browser according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Also, FIG. 14 shows a link address screen displayed by registration information of a linked title in Internet Explorer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 15 shows a keyword advertisement method screen including a link page preview function using a preview browser according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The preview module 400 is installed from the keyword advertisement system 310 or the predetermined cooperated site servers 340-1 to 340-p according to the user request through the terminal 330 (S400), and as shown in FIG. 15, a specific event activity (e.g., putting the cursor on the linked title, dragging the link title while clicking the same, or maintaining a time while clicking the link title) for the link title is performed by the user (S410).

The preview module 500 opens the installed preview browser 530 as shown in FIG. 15 (S420), and extracts a link title and a linked URL address from the default web browser as shown in FIG. 14 (S430). In this instance, the process for extracting the linked URL address from the link title is well known to a skilled person, and hence no detailed process thereof will be described.

The preview module 500 connects to the preview browser 530 based on the URL address extracted from the step of S430 as shown in FIG. 15 (S440).

After the step of S430, the keyword advertisement system 310 receives link information including a link title and a link URL address from the preview module 500 (S500), and selects a keyword from the received link title (S510).

The keyword advertisement system 310 finds an advertisement identification code corresponding to the keyword from the advertisement list database 43 (S520), extracts advertisement contents corresponding to the advertisement identification code from the advertisement contents database 44 (S530), and transmits the advertisement contents to the preview module 500 (S540).

Accordingly, the preview module 500 receives the advertisement contents from the keyword advertisement system 310 and displays the same to the preview advertisement window as shown in FIG. 15 (S450). In this instance, when the user clicks the empty space of the opened web browser, the preview module 500 can detect the clicking and configure the displayed preview browser 530 to disappear as shown in FIG. 15 (S460).

Third, regarding the keyword-based advertisement system 310 including a search preview function using a mouse right click and a link page preview function using a preview browser according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the user terminal 330 can have a preview module (not shown) including the constituent elements shown in FIG. 4 and the constituent elements shown in FIG. 11. In this instance, the constituent elements in FIG. 4 and FIG. 11 can be used as constituent elements.

The exemplary embodiment of the present invention has described the keyword advertisement system and method for performing a search preview function using a menu of the mouse right button. In this instance, a preview module that is a client module for controlling the right click menu is installed in the user terminal, and the preview module adds a search preview function to the right click menu so that the user may select a corresponding word by using the cursor and use the search preview function of the right click to check the search results of a plurality of search sites for the selected word through the preview browser installed in the preview module when desiring to search a word in the web page and instantly check the search results of other search sites, and the keyword advertisement system may display a keyword advertisement related to search information to the preview browser when receiving search information from the user terminal in cooperation with the preview module. The inconvenience that is generated when the user directly visits a plurality of search sites, inputs search words, and searches desired contents so as to search for a specific word of a web page through the right click's search preview function is ameliorated, and a service provider performs search-information-based keyword advertising by displaying the keyword advertisement related to the search word searched by the user to the preview browser.

The exemplary embodiment of the present invention has described the keyword advertisement system and method for performing a link page preview function using a preview browser (or a menu of the mouse right button). In this instance, the user terminal is linked to a predetermined web page, it extracts a URL address connected to the title for indicating the contents of the linked web page from the default web browser, and it includes a preview module having a preview browser for providing the linked web page, so that a preview browser having a preview module is opened when the user performs a specific event for the link title on the web page and finds and connects the URL address of the selected link title. Accordingly, the user can check the linked titles of the web page through the preview browser without clicking them and moving to other web pages, and the service provider can perform the search-information-based keyword advertising by extracting a keyword from the selected title and displaying a keyword advertisement on the preview browser. Also, the preview browser is realized to disappear when the user clicks the space of the existing web browser, and hence the user does not need to click the back button so as to go to the previous web page and the loading time for moving to the previous page is reduced. However, the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is realized not only by the above-noted device and/or method, but also as a program for realizing the function corresponding to the configuration of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and a recording medium having the program recorded therein, which is easily realized by a skilled person. While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A keyword advertisement system connected to a user terminal through a network, comprising: a database server for storing a plurality of pieces of information including advertisement contents and additional search information searched by the user; and a processing server for selecting an important keyword based on search information provided by the user terminal, extracting advertisement contents corresponding to the selected keyword, and providing the advertisement contents to the user terminal.

2. The keyword advertisement system of claim 1 , wherein the database server further includes: a search information database for storing search information searched by the user; and an advertisement contents database for storing advertisement contents.

3. The keyword advertisement system of claim 2, wherein the database server further includes: a keyword list database for storing a valid keyword list for a search word or a sentence; and an advertisement list database for storing a corresponding advertisement contents list for each keyword.

4. The keyword advertisement system of claim 3, wherein the advertisement contents list includes an advertisement identification code provided to the advertisement contents.

5. The keyword advertisement system of claim 1 , wherein the processing server includes: a module interface for transmitting/receiving information to/from the user terminal; a search information processor for storing search information provided by the user terminal and extracting an important keyword from the search information; and an advertisement information processor for finding corresponding advertisement contents based on the keyword provided by the search information processor, and providing the advertisement contents to the user terminal.

6. The keyword advertisement system of claim 1 , wherein the user terminal includes a preview module for adding a search preview function providing menu to a function menu displayed by a mouse right click menu, providing the user selected search word to the processing server, and displaying the keyword advertisement provided by the processing server.

7. The keyword advertisement system of claim 6, wherein the user terminal receives the preview module from the keyword advertisement system or a server of another site that cooperates with the keyword advertisement system.

8. The keyword advertisement system of claim 6, wherein the preview module includes: a menu controller for adding a search preview function displaying menu to the function menu displayed by the mouse right button click, modifying the search preview function displaying menu, or deleting the search preview function displaying menu; a preview browser being automatically opened when the user cursor is put on the search site in the search preview menu, and being connected to a search result page of the search site; an information processor for sensing the case in which the user cursor is put on the search site in the search preview menu, opening the preview browser, connecting to the search result page of the search site, and displaying advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system to the preview browser; and a server interface for receiving search information from the information processor, transmitting the search information to the keyword advertisement system, and receiving advertisement data from the keyword advertisement system.

9. The keyword advertisement system of claim 8, wherein the preview module further includes a storage unit for storing additional information including a preview identification code, a MAC address, and a user identification code.

10. A keyword advertisement method for a user terminal connected to a keyword advertisement system through a network to provide advertisement contents, the keyword advertisement method comprising: receiving a preview module from the keyword advertisement system or a server of another site that cooperates with the keyword advertisement system, and installing the preview module; adding a search preview function displaying menu to the right click menu in the preview module; selecting a search preview menu from the right click menu according to the user's request; opening a preview browser when the user's cursor is put on the search site in the search preview menu; connecting to the search result page of the search site, and transmitting the user's search information to the keyword advertisement system; and displaying the advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system to the preview browser.

11. The keyword advertisement method of claim 10, wherein displaying of the advertisement data to the preview browser includes displaying the advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system in the format of a popup advertisement, a popunder advertisement, and a push advertisement.

12. The keyword advertisement method of claim 10, further comprising: extracting an important keyword from the search information provided by the preview module in the keyword advertisement system; extracting advertisement data based on the extracted important keyword in the keyword advertisement system; and transmitting the extracted advertisement data to the preview module in the keyword advertisement system.

13. A keyword advertisement system connected to a user terminal through a network, comprising: a database server for storing a plurality of pieces of information including advertisement contents and link information on a link title; and a processing server for extracting a keyword advertisement based on the link information provided by the user terminal, and providing the keyword advertisement to the user terminal.

14. The keyword advertisement system of claim 13, wherein the database server includes: a link information database for storing a link title selected by the user and link information on the linked URL address; an advertisement contents database for storing advertisement contents; a keyword list database for storing a valid keyword list for the link title; and an advertisement list database for storing a corresponding advertisement contents list for each keyword.

15. The keyword advertisement system of claim 13, wherein the processing server includes: a module interface for transmitting/receiving information to/from the user terminal; a link information processor for storing link information provided by the user terminal and extracting an important keyword from the link title; and an advertisement information processor for finding corresponding advertisement contents based on the keyword provided by the link information processor and providing the advertisement contents to the user terminal.

16. The keyword advertisement system of claim 13, wherein the user terminal includes a preview module for sensing an event activity for the link title by the cursor, extracting a linked URL address together with the link title, opening the installed preview browser to display the linked page, transmitting link title information to the processing server, and displaying the advertisement data provided by the processing server to the preview browser.

17. The keyword advertisement system of claim 16, wherein when the user clicks the existing web browser space while the preview module is opened, the preview browser senses the clicking and closes the preview browser.

18. The keyword advertisement system of claim 16, wherein the preview module includes: an event information extractor for sensing a specific event for the link title of the cursor, and extracting a link title and a URL address of the linked page; a preview browser that is automatically opened when sensing the cursor's predetermined event activity, and that is connected to the linked URL address; an information processor for transmitting the extracted link information to the keyword advertisement system, and displaying the advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system to the preview browser; and a server interface for transmitting the link information to the keyword advertisement system, and receiving advertisement data from the keyword advertisement system.

19. A keyword advertisement method for a keyword advertisement system connected to a user terminal through a network to provide advertisement contents, the keyword advertisement method comprising: extracting an important keyword from link information provided by the user terminal by the keyword advertisement system; extracting advertisement data based on the extracted important keyword by the keyword advertisement system; and transmitting the extracted advertisement data to the user terminal by the keyword advertisement system.

20. The keyword advertisement method of claim 19, further comprising: receiving a preview module from the keyword advertisement system or a server of another site that cooperates with the keyword advertisement system, and installing the preview module by the user terminal; sensing an event activity by the preview module when the user generates a specific event at the linked title on the web page in the default web browser by using a cursor; extracting a linked URL address together with the link title by the preview module and opening the installed preview browser; displaying the linked page connected to the preview browser to the extracted URL address by the preview module; transmitting link title information to the keyword advertisement system by the preview module; and displaying the advertisement data provided by the keyword advertisement system to the preview browser by the preview module.

21. The keyword advertisement method of claim 19, wherein when the user clicks a space in the opened web browser, the preview module senses the clicking and closes the preview browser.