KR101007434B1 - Method for generating a search result list on a web search engine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of selling a search term to a network information provider in an Internet search engine, and providing a search result list to the searcher according to the sale information when the searcher inputs the search term and requests a search.

The invention maintains a database comprising a plurality of search listings, each of the plurality of search listings comprising a network location and a search term associated with a network information provider, receiving a search request from the searcher, Identifying the search listing with a search term that matches the search request, providing the identified search listing as a search result list to the searcher, wherein the searcher clicks the search listing in the search result list to click on the search listing. When the searcher is connected to a web page of a network information provider associated with a search listing, receiving predetermined information regarding the use of the web page of the searcher, and the use of the web page of the received searcher. The network information based on the predetermined information about It provides a search result list generated characters comprising the step of charging for.

According to the present invention, there is provided an Internet search service method and apparatus for providing various charging means to a network information provider by appropriately reflecting the benefits of the network information provider.

Internet search engines, query sales

Description

How to generate a list of search results in a search engine {METHOD FOR GENERATING A SEARCH RESULT LIST ON A WEB SEARCH ENGINE}

1 is a diagram illustrating a network for providing a service for generating a search result list according to a bid value of a search word according to the related art.

2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a search database according to the prior art.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating and charging a search result list according to a bid value of a search word according to the related art.

4 is a network diagram for providing a service for billing a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flow chart illustrating a sequence of methods for charging a network information provider in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a block diagram of a search engine server, a search database, and a charging server for charging network information providers in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

7A and 7B are flowcharts illustrating a method of generating and charging a search result list according to a bid value of a search word according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration for providing a service for selling a search word to a network information provider according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

9A and 9B illustrate a configuration of a similar search word database for selling a search word to a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of a method of selling a search word to a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a search word selling server and a similar search word database for selling a search word to a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of notifying a network information provider when a ranking of a search listing displayed in a search result list is changed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of a method of generating a search result list according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

14 illustrates a search result list generated according to an embodiment of the present invention.

15A, 15B, and 15C illustrate receiving a search listing including an image file and a bid value from a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention, and displaying a search listing associated with successful network information providers. Flow chart showing the order of display in a certain area.

FIG. 16 illustrates a search result screen displayed by the embodiment of FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C.

17 illustrates a screen for receiving information on a search listing from a network information provider.

FIG. 18 illustrates a screen for displaying to a network information provider a search listing to be provided to the searcher in real time based on the search listing information input from the network information provider.

19 is a diagram illustrating a search result list generation system for generating and storing a search listing substantially in real time according to information provided by a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

20 is an internal block diagram of a general purpose computer system that may be employed to configure a search engine server, a billing server, a network information provider web server, and a search term sales server in accordance with the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

403, 608, 807: billing server

404, 600, 804: search engine server

405, 607, 808: search database

406, 803: Network Information Provider Web Server

407: Agent Server 408: Member Information Database

602: Web page access provider 603: Search result provider

605: search processing unit 606: charging processing unit

609: billing flag 805, 1100: query sales server

806, 900, 1105: Similarity Query Database

1101: keyword search unit 1102: keyword search unit

1103: keyword matching unit

The present invention relates to a method of selling a search term to a network information provider in an Internet search engine, and providing a search result list to the searcher according to the sale information when a searcher inputs the search term and requests a search. The present invention relates to a method of generating a search result list in a search engine capable of billing in a form and suggesting a more suitable search word to the network information provider.

U.S. Patent No. 6,269,361 to Goto.com (now renamed "Overture Service") discloses a method of displaying a search result in an Internet search engine in accordance with a bid amount presented by a network information provider. Hereinafter, the prior art will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

1 is a diagram illustrating a network for providing a service for generating a search result list according to a bid value of a search word according to the related art.

The clients 101 and 102 are terminals, such as a PC used by a general searcher, and the network information provider web servers 106 and 107 provide information or provide certain services through a web server. Information provider's web server. The network information provider web server may be operated by an enterprise or an individual. Search engine server 104 provides web search results in response to a search request of the searcher. However, the position of the search listing in the generated web search result list is determined according to the bid amount associated with the search listing. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3. The search database 105 is a database that stores information of the search listing, which will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

A conventional Internet search engine server according to the related art outputs a list of web pages corresponding to the search word when a searcher inputs a predetermined search word. These search engine servers include Naver (http://www.naver.com), Google (http://www.google.com), Excite (http://www.excite.com), and Lycos (http: / /www.lycos.com) and Weissnut (http://www.wisenut.com).

When a searcher connects to a search engine server as described above, and requests a search by inputting, for example, "digital camera" as a search term, the search engine server displays a list of web sites related to the "digital camera" in title and short description. Including and displaying. The searcher then navigates to the web site by clicking on a search listing of the web site of his interest among the web sites displayed in the list.

According to Overture's prior art, a search engine service provider sells a search term to a network information provider. For example, a digital camera seller or a digital camera manufacturer purchases the search term "digital camera" so that the searcher enters the term "digital camera" in the search engine server 104. Search listings for can be placed at the top.

2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a search database according to the prior art.

The search database 201 stores a plurality of search listings, each of which includes a title 202, a URL 203, a description of the web page 204, a search term 205 and a bid value 206. It includes. The title 202 is the name given for that web page and the URL 203 is the network address of that web page. The description 204 of the web page stores a brief description of the web page. The search term 205 is information about which search term to display when the searcher enters this search listing. If the search term requested by the user matches the search term included in the search listing, the search engine server displays the corresponding search listing as a search result. At least one search term is included in the search listing.

The bid amount 206 is the amount that the network information provider pays to the search service provider per click when the searcher clicks on the corresponding search listing. The network information provider connects to the search engine server 104 and enters a bid value 206 for its search listing. Then, when there are a plurality of search listings corresponding to the same search word, the search engine server 104 arranges the search listings according to the bid value when the search word is input. In other words, the higher the bidding value, the higher the bid value is. In addition, when the searcher clicks on the search listing, the bid is charged by the bid value from the corresponding account of the network information provider.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating and charging a search result list according to a bid value of a search word according to the related art.

The Internet search service provider maintains a search database 105, 201 including a title 202, a URL 203, a description of the web page 204, a search term 205, and a bid value 206 in step 301. . In step 302 the search engine server 104 receives a search request from the searcher. In general, receiving a search request from a searcher is performed through a search term input field in a web page of the search engine server 104. When a searcher enters a search term in the search term input field and transmits it to the search engine server 104, the search engine server 104 receives the search term. In step 303 the search engine server 104 searches the search database 105 to identify a search listing that includes the same search terms as the entered search terms. In step 304, the identified search listings are arranged in order of bid values and displayed as a search result list. In step 305 the searcher clicks one of the search listings in the search result list. The search engine server 104 then provides the searcher with access to the web server of the network information provider corresponding to the URL included in the search listing. In step 306, the network information provider is charged as much as the bid value.

However, in the case of billing per click according to the prior art, there is a problem in that it does not adequately reflect the benefits obtained by the network information provider by the click. Network information providers are willing to pay for generating a search result list by a search engine if they receive assistance that actually helps their business rather than being charged per click. Accordingly, there is a need for an Internet search service that accommodates the needs of such network information providers and provides various charging means.

In addition, according to the related art, even if a search listing of a network information provider is displayed after 2 pages in response to a search request of a searcher, only a click is charged. However, because the list of search results displayed after 2 pages is very ineffective for the searchers, charging the search listings displayed after 2 pages is a complaint of the network information provider. Therefore, there is a demand for an Internet search service that does not charge a search listing displayed after 2 pages.

According to the prior art, the selection of a search word to advertise is entirely up to the network information provider, and no information is provided to the network information provider to select an appropriate search word. Therefore, a searcher who wants to place his or her search listing above by using the Internet search service according to the prior art may waste unnecessary costs by selecting an inappropriate search term. Accordingly, there is a demand for an Internet search service that provides network information providers with additional information for selecting a search word. In addition, the network information provider is very useful to provide the network information provider with the relevant search term when it is desired to enhance the advertisement effect by purchasing all related search terms (filling in the bid amount). However, these functions are not provided in the prior art.

Also, in the related art, a search listing associated with a registered network information provider is first displayed on a plurality of network information providers who have presented the same bid amount, and a search listing associated with a registered network information provider is displayed below. In this case, however, there was a problem in terms of equity because the network information provider registered afterwards was always displayed even though the same bid amount was presented.

The present invention has been made to improve the above-described prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an Internet search service method and apparatus for providing various charging means to a network information provider by appropriately reflecting the benefits obtained by the network information provider.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an Internet search service method and apparatus that does not charge for a search listing displayed after two pages.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a network information provider similar to the search word to a network information provider who wants to purchase a search word, so that the network information provider can select a more appropriate search word or select a plurality of search words to increase the advertising effect. It is to provide an Internet search service method and apparatus.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus that can be displayed in a search result list fairly for a plurality of network information providers who have provided the same bid amount for the same search word.

Another object of the present invention is to include an image in the search listing to easily attract the searcher's interest, and to allow the network information provider to easily enter and modify the information of the search listing.

In order to achieve the above object and to solve the problems of the prior art, the present invention maintains a database comprising a plurality of search listings, each of the plurality of search listings comprising a network location and a search term associated with a network information provider. Receiving a search request from the searcher, identifying the search listing having a search term that matches the search request, providing the identified search listing to the searcher as a list of search results, When the searcher accesses a web page of a network information provider associated with the clicked search listing by the searcher clicking on a search listing in a search result list, receiving the predetermined information regarding the use of the web page of the searcher; And the use of the received web page of the searcher And a step of charging the network information provider based on the predetermined information relating to the present invention.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of generating a search result list, the method comprising: maintaining a database including a plurality of search listings, each of the plurality of search listings including a network location and a search term associated with a network information provider; Receiving a search request from a searcher, identifying the search listing having a search term that matches the search request, arranging the identified search listing into a search result list, and a search arranged into the search result list When the searcher clicks the search listing in the search result list displayed on the first page of the result list, the network information provider is charged a certain amount, and the search listing in the search result list displayed on the page other than the first page is recalled. If the searcher clicked on the network To the information provider and a step does not perform the charging.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for generating a search result list includes maintaining a database including a plurality of search listings, each of the plurality of search listings including a network location and a search term associated with a network information provider; Maintaining a number of outputs of the search listing provided on the first page as a search result list in response to a search request of the user, receiving a search request from the searcher, and identifying the search listing having a search term that matches the search request. Determining the number of billing search listings charged to a network information provider associated with the identified search listing among the identified search listings, and the billing search if the number of billing search listings is greater than the output number. First page of show listings page And arranging the same.

According to another aspect of the invention, maintaining a database including one or more similar search terms associated with a search term, receiving input from a network information provider a search term associated with a method for displaying a predetermined search result listing in an Internet search engine. Identifying a similar search term associated with the search term from the database, providing the identified similar search term to the network information provider, receiving input regarding the search term or purchase of the similar search term from the network information provider; Receiving a search request from a searcher, identifying the search listing with a search term that matches the search request, and providing the identified search listing to the searcher in accordance with the predetermined search result listing display method. Includes steps to A search result list generation method is provided.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for maintaining a database including a plurality of search listings, each of the plurality of search listings including a network location and a search term associated with a network information provider. Inputting a bid value for a search listing associated with a first network information provider from a network, receiving a search request from a searcher, identifying the search listing with a search term that matches the search request, the identified search Arranging the identified search listings into a search list according to each bid value associated with a listing, receiving a bid value for a search listing associated with a second network information provider from a second network information provider, and the second The first net according to a bid value input by a network information provider; If greater information provider to search the search list in order of listing associated with the change, whereby the first network search result list generation method comprising the step of providing to the provider information is provided for.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for maintaining a database including a plurality of search listings, each of the plurality of search listings including a network location and a search term associated with a network information provider. Receiving a first bid value for a search listing associated with the first network information provider from the second network; receiving a second bid value for a search listing associated with the second network information provider from the second network information provider; Receiving a search request, identifying the search listing having a search term that matches the search request, and arranging the identified search listing into a search list according to respective bid values associated with the identified search listing. If the first bidding value and the second bidding value match, the first bidding value. And a search listing associated with the network information provider and a search listing associated with the second network information provider.

According to another aspect of the invention, the step of receiving a web page title, web page description, image file, search word and bid value associated with the web page of the network information provider from the network information provider, the web page title, the web page Combining a description and the image file to generate a search listing in substantially real time and providing the search listing to the network information provider; receiving a confirmation input of the network information provider for the generated search listing; and searching the search term. Associating a listing with a listing, receiving a search request from the searcher, identifying a search listing associated with a search term that matches the search request, and associating the identified search listing with a bid value associated with the identified search listing. Array of search results A step that generates, and the search result list generated characterized in that it comprises the step of providing to said searcher the generated search result list method is provided.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration for providing a service for charging a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The client 401 connects to the search engine server 404 via the Internet 402 and requests the search engine server 404 to search by inputting a certain search word, as in the prior art. When the searcher clicks on a search listing corresponding to the network information provider web server 406 in the search result list provided by the search engine server 404, the client 401 connects to the network information provider web server 406. do.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the search listing is clicked in the search result list, the agent server is connected to the agent server 407 instead of directly accessing the network information provider web server 406. Confirm that it is delivered from the search engine server 404. According to another embodiment of the present invention, when the search engine server 404 requests a connection to the network information provider web server 406, the network information provider web server 406 includes a field for identifying the search engine server in the URL. Network information provider web server 406 ascertains that the current connection request is from search engine server 404.

The network information provider web server 406 delivers predetermined information about how the user used his web page to the search engine server 404 after the connection request, and the search engine server 404 accordingly Charge the provider The information about how the user used his web page may be information about whether the searcher subscribed as a member to the service provided by the network information provider. When a searcher registers as a member in the web server 406, the searcher's information is stored in the member information database 408. When a searcher who accesses the network information provider web server 406 through the search engine server 404 registers as a member in the web server 406, the network information provider is considered to have gained the desired benefit from the Internet search service provider. The network information provider pays the bid price to the Internet search service provider. The payment may be performed substantially in real time with the subscription of the member, or may be charged on a regular basis.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the predetermined information is information about whether the searcher has used a paid service provided by the network information provider web server 406. The web server 406 stores information on whether a searcher who accesses the network information provider web server 406 through the search engine server 404 has used the paid service provided by the web server 406, and the search engine Deliver to server 404. The search engine server 404 then charges the network information provider accordingly.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the predetermined information is service usage amount information on how much the searcher used the paid service provided by the network information provider web server 406. The web server 406 stores service usage amount information regarding how much a searcher who accesses the network information provider web server 406 through the search engine server 404 used the paid service provided by the web server 406. This is passed to the search engine server 404. The search engine server 404 then charges the network information provider accordingly.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the web server 406 is a web server for providing e-commerce, and the predetermined information is used by the searcher to provide some goods by using the e-commerce provided by the web server 406. Information on the amount of purchase of goods. The web server 406 purchases an item regarding how much the purchaser has purchased using the e-commerce provided by the web server 406 by a searcher who accesses the network information provider web server 406 through the search engine server 404. The amount information is stored and forwarded to the search engine server 404. The search engine server 404 then charges the network information provider accordingly. In this case, the search service provider may charge the network information provider as much as the bid amount, or may be charged in proportion to the sales of the goods. In the case of billing in proportion to the sales of goods, the search database 405 maintains a certain ratio information in the search listing instead of storing fixed amount information such as a bid amount.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a method for charging a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention. Steps 501 to 504 of FIG. 5 are the same as those of steps 301 to 304 of FIG. 3, which will be described below from step 505.

In step 505 the searcher clicks on one of the search listings of the search result list displayed as the search result and the search engine server 404 receives the click. In step 506 the search engine server 404 provides the client 401 with a connection to the web server 406. The information used by the searcher to access the web server 406 in step 507 is provided by the web server 406 to the search engine server 404. The searcher's usage information is information related to whether or not the searcher has registered as a member of the web server 406 or used a paid service of the web server. In step 508, the search engine server 404 charges the network information provider based on the searcher's web server usage information. According to one embodiment of the present invention, each time a searcher registers as a member of the web server 406, the network information provider is charged as much as the bid value of the search listing.

6 is a block diagram of a search engine server, a search database and a charging server for charging network information providers according to one embodiment of the invention.

The search engine server 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a client communication unit 601, a web page connection providing unit 602, a search result providing unit 603, a network information provider communication unit 604, and a search processing unit 605. ) And a charging processing unit 606.

The client communication unit 601 performs a function necessary for the search engine server 404 to communicate with the client 401. The client communication unit 601 receives a search request from the client 401, receives a search result from the search result providing unit 603, and provides the search result to the client 401. The client communication unit 601 also receives the click input from the client 401 and provides the click input to the web page connection providing unit 602 so that the client 601 can access the web server 406.

The web page connection providing unit 402 allows the client 401 to connect to the web server 406 corresponding to the search listing when the searcher clicks on the search listing in the search result list. The search result providing unit 603 delivers the search word input by the searcher to the search processing unit 605 to receive a search result list, and provides the search result list to the client communication unit 601 to deliver it to the client 601. The search database 607 stores search listings including search terms and URL information, and the search processing unit 605 searches the search listings including the same search terms as search terms entered by the searcher by referring to the search database. Create

The network information provider communication unit 604 receives information about the searcher's use of the web server 406 from the web server 406. The network information provider communication unit 604 transmits the received information to the charging processing unit 606 so that charging based on the usage information is performed. According to an embodiment of the present invention, when a searcher is registered as a member in the web server 406, the web server 406 may provide information about the searcher as a member to the network information provider communication unit of the search engine server 600. Forward to 604. The network information provider communication unit 604 forwards this information to the charging processing unit 606. The charging processor 606 communicates with the charging server 608 to charge the network information provider as much as the bid amount.

7A is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating and charging a search result list according to a bid value of a search word according to an embodiment of the present invention. Steps 701 to 705 of FIG. 7 are the same as those of steps 301 to 305 of FIG. 3, which will be described below from step 706.

In step 706, the search engine server 404 determines whether the search result list arranged for the searcher's search request is displayed on the first page. If it is not displayed on the first page, the advertisement is not effective, so the billing is not performed. In this case, therefore, a web page access is provided directly at step 708. In addition, by setting the charging flag 609 of FIG. 6 to "0", the charging is not performed. If the displayed search result list is displayed on the first page, the charging flag 609 is set to " 1 &quot; because charging must be performed. In this case, in step 707, the network information provider corresponding to the search listing is charged as much as the bid amount.

FIG. 7B is a flow chart illustrating a sequence of methods for ensuring that a search listing associated with a search term sold to a network information provider is always displayed on the first page of search results pages for that search term in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

In step 711 a search database is maintained, the search database including a URL associated with a network information provider, a search term, and a purchase field regarding whether the network information provider has purchased this search term. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the purchase field is a bid amount that the network information provider pays per click when his or her search listing is clicked in the search result list.

In step 712, in response to the search request of the searcher stores the output number of the search listing provided on the page 1 as a search result list. The number of search listings displayed per page as a search result is usually limited to a certain unit. Therefore, the output number of the search listing displayed on the first page of the search result is stored. In operation 713, a search term is input from a searcher, and in operation 714, a search listing having a search term that matches the input term is identified.

Step 715 determines the number of billed search listings billed to the network information provider associated with the identified search listing among the identified search listings. This can be seen by referring to the purchase field in the identified search listing. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the purchase field is a bid amount that the network information provider pays per click when his or her search listing is clicked in the search result list. In this case, when the bid amount is "0", the network information provider does not purchase. If the bid amount is greater than zero, it is purchased by the network information provider. Therefore, in this embodiment, the number of search listings whose bid amount is greater than zero in the identified search list is the number of billing search listings.

In step 716 it is determined whether the number of billing search listings obtained in step 715 is greater than the number of outputs stored in step 712. As a result of the determination, if the number of billing search listings is greater than the number of one page outputs, in the prior art, billing search listings exceeding the number of one page outputs are output after two pages. However, if the output after the second page there is a significant difference in terms of the advertising effect and the search listing output at the end of the first page. Because if a searcher gets some satisfactory results on one page, the searcher doesn't go to page two. Therefore, in the present invention, if the number of billing search listings is larger than the output number, in step 717, all billing search listings are output on one page of the search result output screen. According to the present invention, it is guaranteed that the search listing of the network information provider who purchased the search word is always displayed on page 1 of the search result screen for the search word.

As a result of the determination in step 716, if the number of billing search listings is less than the output number, the billing search listing is displayed first and the non-billing search listings at the bottom (in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the bid value is "0"). Search listings).

8 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration for providing a service for selling a search word to a network information provider according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The search word selling server 805 sells search terms of the search engine server to network information providers. That is, when a searcher makes a search request by accessing the search engine server 804 and inputting a search term, the search engine provides the search result for the search term to the searcher, which is displayed above the search result. Network information providers buy search terms so that information about their websites can go up. Such a search for a query is performed in the search query server 805. The similar search term database 806 is a database that stores similar search terms for each of the search terms. The search engine server 804, the charging server 807, and the search database 808 are the same as the components of FIG. 4, and thus, the description related to FIG. 4 may be referred to.

9A is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a similar search word database for selling a search word to a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention. Similar keyword databases 806 and 900 store similar keyword for each keyword. Although FIG. 9A illustrates a similar search word database formed in a table form, it may be configured in various forms such as a linked list.

9B is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a similar search word database according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the similar search term database is composed of an identifier database 901 and a similar word database 902. The synonym database 902 stores synonyms for one identifier. The identifier may be a category identifier indicating a search category or a site identifier indicating a search term. In the present embodiment, an identifier of 9902 is assigned to a search word or category of "mega pass", and an identifier of 9902 and 15680 is assigned to a search word or category of "Korea communication". According to another embodiment of the present invention, one identifier may be allocated to each search word or category. In the case of assigning a plurality of identifiers to one search word, a plurality of similar word groups for a single search word are formed, thereby preventing the word belonging to one similar word group from increasing too much. The synonym database 902 stores "mega pass", "mega pass", "megapass", and "Korean communication" as synonyms corresponding to the identifier 9902.

The analogous word may be extracted by a search service provider using search statistics of users. For example, users often mistype “megapass” for a search term “megapass”, which can be extracted through the frequency of search terms input by searchers. In addition, it extracts similar words by extracting only a specific part of the URL. For example, if the URL for the Megapass service is provided at "http://www.megapass.co.kr", remove the "http: // www" and "com." , and extracts only "megapass" and includes the synonym for "megapass". In addition, a synonym for a specific keyword may be extracted using a synonym dictionary that is electronicized. According to another embodiment of the present invention, a similar word for a specific keyword may be added by a search service provider. The search service provider enters "KT" as a synonym for "MegaPass" based on the fact that users who want to join "KT Megapass" also enter "KT" as a search word. Ultimately, the synonym database provides advertisers with information that the user's intended search terms differ from the search terms actually entered by the Internet search service, thereby making the advertisers even more suitable for advertising their web pages. To select. Therefore, an advertiser who wants to purchase only the search term "megapass" may purchase additional search terms "megapass" and "megapass", and the Internet search service provider may increase profits, and the advertiser may advertise more efficiently.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of selling a search word to a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Steps 1001 to 1005 are operations performed by the search word selling server 805, and steps 1006 to 1008 are operations performed by the search engine server 804.

In step 1001 the search word sales server 805 maintains a similar search word database 806. The similar search term database 806 stores similar search terms for the search terms. In step 1002, the search word selling server 805 receives a search word to be purchased by the network information provider. For example, a network information provider who wants to place his web page above the search results for the term "digital camera" enters the term "digital camera" into the search word sales server 805 to search for the term of the search term. Try to buy.

In operation 1003, the search word selling server 805 may search for a similar search word corresponding to the received search word by referring to the similar search word database 806. In step 1004, the search word selling server 805 provides the searched similar search word to the network information provider. For example, a network information provider who wants to purchase a search term "digital camera" may also be interested in search terms such as "digital camcorder" and "camera," thus providing such a similar search term to the network information provider. In step 1005, the network information provider purchases a search word that he / she needs most, considering all similar search terms and the like presented by the search word sale server 804.

In step 1006 the search engine server 804 receives a search request from the client 801. In step 1007, the search engine server 804 searches the search database 808 based on the received search terms, and provides the search results to the client in step 1008 as a list of search results. The search results are provided in the order of the search listing of the network information provider with the highest bid for the search term. When the searcher clicks on the search listing included in the provided search result list, the billing server 807 charges the corresponding network information provider.

11 is a block diagram of a search word selling server and a similar search word database for selling a search word to a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The search word selling server 1100 includes a similar search word searching unit 1101, a search word selling unit 1102, a similar search word providing unit 1103, and a network information provider communication unit 1104. The network information provider communication unit 1104 receives a search word purchase request from the network information provider and transmits the received search word to the similar search word search unit 1101. The similar keyword search unit 1101 searches for similar keyword similar to the received keyword by referring to the similar keyword database 1105. The searched similar search term is provided to the network information provider through the similar search term provider 1103. The network information provider purchases a search term by determining a search term suitable for the user through the similar search term information provided. The search word sales unit 1102 performs such search word sales. The search for words is performed by recording the title, URL, description, search word, and bid value of the web page of the network information provider in the search database 808 and recording the account information of the network information provider for billing.

12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of notifying a network information provider when a ranking of a search listing displayed in a search result list is changed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

This embodiment is intended to satisfy the needs of network information providers who want their search listings to appear in a constant ranking within a search result list. According to the prior art, after a network information provider purchases a search term, if the second network information provider suggests a higher bid value, the search listing of the network information provider is pushed down than the search listing of the second network information provider. It will be displayed.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, after selling the search word in step 1202, in step 1203, the network information provider of the search listing in which the ranking change has occurred in the search list is identified, and in step 1204, the network information provider is provided to the network information provider. Notify the facts. According to another embodiment of the present invention, when a network information provider purchases a search word, the network information provider sets a ranking in a desired search result list and sets the search word sales server to notify the user when his or her search listing rank changes. You can put it.

13 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a method for generating a search result list according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When a plurality of network information providers make a purchase with the same bid value for one search word, display of a search listing corresponding to the plurality of network information providers becomes a problem. This embodiment is an embodiment for solving this problem.

Steps 1301 to 1303 of FIG. 13 are the same as steps 301 to 303 of FIG. 3, and thus, descriptions related to FIG. 3 will be referred to. In step 1303, the search database is searched to identify a search listing for the search term received from the searcher. Step 1304 arranges the identified search listings into a search list according to respective bid values associated with the identified search listings. In this case, when a plurality of search listings identified for the search word and a bid value included in the search listing match, the plurality of search listings are rolled and arranged.

14 is a diagram illustrating a search result list generated according to the embodiment of FIG. 13.

If the search listing 1402 and search listing 1403 have the same bid value, the search listing (1402) and the search listing (1403) are rolled and displayed when displaying the search result listing for the search term "Digital Camera". do. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the search listing is rolled and displayed by alternately displaying positions each time a search word is input.

15A, 15B, and 15C illustrate receiving a search listing including an image file and a bid value from a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention, and displaying a search listing associated with successful network information providers. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure to display on a fixed area.

In step 1501, the network information provider accesses an Internet search engine server of an Internet search service provider and inputs a search term to be bid and information necessary for generating a search listing. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the search listing is displayed to a searcher including an image file. According to the present embodiment, there is an advantage in that a searcher's interest can be collected in the search listing. The information input by the network information provider includes a search word to be bid, a title of its homepage, a description of the homepage, an image file associated with the homepage, a URL of the homepage, and a bid value. Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the information input by the network information provider includes additional description of the home page, contact information such as telephone number and address of the network information provider.

In step 1502, the Internet search engine receives search listing related information input by the network information provider in step 1501. In step 1503, the Internet search engine generates a search listing substantially in real time based on the title of the home page, description of the home page, image file, URL, additional description, contact information, etc. received from the network information provider. The generated search listings are stored in real time in a temporary search listing storage. The search listing created in step 1503 is provided to the network information provider in step 1504 substantially in real time. An example of a search listing provided to a network information provider is shown in FIG. 13, which will be described later.

In step 1505 the network information provider reviews whether the search listing provided in step 1504 requires modification. If no correction is required after the review, select "OK". If correction is required, select "Modify". If " modify " In step 1507, the Internet search engine modifies the search listing substantially in real time to reflect the modification request of the network information provider. The search listing modified in step 1508 is provided to the network information provider substantially in real time, and the network information provider again selects "OK" or "Modify" (step 1505).

If the network information provider selects " OK " at step 1505, the " OK " selection is forwarded to an internet search engine (step 1509). In step 1510, a search listing is associated with a search term. The association of a search listing with a search term is used to identify the search listing when the searcher searches using the search term. This step is not only immediately after step 1509, but there is no problem in performing step 1510. May be performed after or before other steps.

In step 1511, the searcher connects to an Internet search engine and enters a search word in the search box, thereby requesting a search from the Internet search engine. The Internet search engine receives the search request in step 1512 and identifies a search listing associated with a search term that matches the search request in step 1513. In step 1514, the identified search listing is placed in a predetermined position in a search result web page and provided to the searcher.

If the searcher clicks on the search listing in step 1515, the Internet search service provider charges the network information provider via the billing server in step 1516.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a search result screen displayed by the embodiment of FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 15C.

FIG. 16 illustrates one embodiment of a search results web page provided to a searcher at step 1514. The searcher entered the search term "flower delivery" and displayed a search listing 1601 that matches the search term. The search listing 1601 includes an image file, which includes the image file to attract the searcher's attention, thus increasing the likelihood that the searcher clicks on the search listing 1601.

17 is a diagram illustrating a screen for receiving information about a search listing from a network information provider.

The search listing example 1701 provides an example of what the search listing will look like when it is displayed, thereby allowing the network information provider to have knowledge of how the search listing that they bid is displayed.

The selected keyword field 1702 indicates a search word that the network information provider wants to bid. In the present embodiment, the network information provider displays the web page of FIG. According to this embodiment, the network information provider first determines the adequacy of the search word and then inputs other additional search listing information, thereby eliminating unnecessary search listing information input.

The home page title field 1703 is a field for inputting a title of a web page provided by a network information provider. The home page description field 1704 is a field for inputting a description of a web page provided by a network information provider. The link URL field 1705 is a field for inputting a URL to a destination home page to which the search listing will go when the searcher clicks on it. The additional information field 1706 is a field for inputting additional information about the network information provider. The image field 1707 is a field for inputting a location of an image file to be uploaded to an internet search engine. The image file is transmitted from the terminal of the network information provider to the Internet search engine server with the "confirmation" input of the network information provider. The contact information field 1708 is used to receive contact information such as a telephone number, address, etc. associated with the network information provider. In addition, the search listing input screen includes a bid value input field for receiving a bid value for the search listing viewed from the network information provider (a bid value input field is not shown).

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a screen for displaying a search listing to a network information provider to be provided to the searcher in real time based on the search listing information input from the network information provider. The internet search engine generates a search listing to be provided as a search result by using the web page title, description, and image file input by the network information provider, and provides the search listing to the network information provider as shown in FIG.

The network information provider reviews the generated search listing 1801 and sends a modification request to the network search engine by clicking the modify button 1803 if further modification is needed. The network search engine receiving the modification request provides the network information provider with a search listing modification screen web page to modify the contents of the search listing.

If the network information provider examines the generated search listing 1801 and determines that it no longer needs to be modified, by clicking the register button 1802, it sends information to the network search engine that the network information provider has " verified ". When the network search engine receives the "verification" information, the network search engine stores the search listing information in a search listing database.

19 is a diagram illustrating a search result list generation system for generating and storing a search listing substantially in real time according to information provided by a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The Internet search engine 1900 may include a network communication unit 1901, a search listing revising unit 1902, a temporary search listing storage unit 1901, a search listing generation unit 1904, a search listing storage unit 1905, and a search unit 1906. ) And a search result providing unit 1907.

The network communication unit 1901 receives a search request from the searcher through a communication network and transmits a search result to the searcher's terminal through the communication network. In addition, the network communication unit 1901 receives information (including an image file) about the search listing from the network information provider through the communication network, and transmits the generated search listing to the terminal of the network information provider through the communication network.

Based on the search listing information received from the network information provider through the network communication unit 1901, the search listing generator 1904 generates a search listing and stores the generated search listing in the temporary search listing storage 1903. . The search listing stored in the temporary search listing storage 1903 is provided to the terminal of the network information provider through the search listing provider (not shown) and the network communication unit 1901. The search listing provider performs a function of delivering the search listings generated or modified through the search listing generating unit 1904 and the search listing revising unit 1902 and stored in the temporary search listing storage unit 1901 to the network communication unit 1901. .

Network Information Provider When making a modification request for the search listing, the modification request is received by the network communication unit 1901, and the modification request is forwarded to the search listing revising 1902. The search listing refiner 1902 modifies the search listing stored in the temporary search listing storage 1901 and provides it back to the network information provider.

Upon receiving a "confirmation" input from the network information provider, the search listing storage 1905 stores the search listing stored in the temporary search listing storage 1901 in the search listing database 1908. A successful bid decision unit (not shown) selects a successful bidder based on a bid value among search listings stored in the search listing database 1908 in association with the same search word.

The search request input from the searcher via the network communication unit 1901 is passed to the search unit 1906, which searches the search listing database 1908 to identify a search listing associated with the matching search term. The identified search listings are arranged by the search result provider 1907 in the search result web page in the order of the bid values associated with the search listings and provided to the searcher.

In the present invention, communication between each terminal, the Internet search engine, and the server is performed using the HTTP protocol and other Internet protocols.

In the present invention, other components such as a search engine server, a billing server, a search database, a similar search term database, etc. are illustrated and described as separate components, but the components may be physically configured as a system.

In addition, although various embodiments have been described in the present invention, a combination or exclusion of some of the technical ideas described in the plurality of embodiments within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is also common in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. It is apparent to those skilled in the art that they are within the technical scope of the present invention.

Embodiments of the invention also include computer-readable media containing program instructions for performing various computer-implemented operations. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The media may be program instructions that are specially designed and constructed for the present invention or may be available to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks, such as floppy disks. Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. The medium may be a transmission medium such as an optical or metal line, a wave guide, or the like, including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal designating a program command, a data structure, or the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

20 is an internal block diagram of a general purpose computer system that may be employed to configure a search engine server, a billing server, a network information provider web server, and a search term sales server in accordance with the present invention.

Computer system 2000 includes one or more processors 2001 coupled with a main memory device including random access memory (RAM) 2002 and read only memory (ROM) 2003. The processor 2001 is also called a central processing unit (CPU). As is well known in the art, ROM 2003 serves to transfer data and instructions to the CPU unidirectionally, and RAM 2002 typically transfers data and instructions bidirectionally. Used to. RAM 2002 and ROM 2003 may include any suitable form of computer readable media. Mass storage 2004 is bidirectionally coupled to processor 2001 to provide additional data storage capability and may be any of the computer readable recording media described above. The mass storage device 2004 is used to store programs, data, and the like, and is a secondary memory device such as a hard disk which is generally slower than the main memory device. Certain mass storage devices such as CD ROMs (2006) may be used. The processor 2001 may include one or more input / output interfaces, such as video monitors, trackballs, mice, keyboards, microphones, touchscreen displays, card readers, magnetic or paper tape readers, voice or handwriting readers, joysticks, or other known computer input / output devices. (2005). Finally, the processor 2001 may be connected to a wired or wireless communication network through the network interface 2007. Through this network connection, the procedure of the method described above can be performed. The apparatus and tools described above are well known to those skilled in the computer hardware and software arts.

The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention.

According to the present invention, there is provided an Internet search service method and apparatus for providing various charging means to a network information provider by appropriately reflecting the benefits of the network information provider. In addition, according to the present invention, there is provided an Internet search service method and apparatus that does not charge for a search listing displayed after two pages.

According to the present invention, an Internet search service method for providing a network information provider similar to a search word to a network information provider who wants to purchase a search word, thereby enabling the network information provider to select a more suitable search word or to select a plurality of search terms to increase an advertisement effect. And an apparatus. In addition, according to the present invention, a method and apparatus are provided that can be displayed in a search result list evenly for a plurality of network information providers who presented the same bid amount for the same search word.

According to the present invention, the image may be included in the search list order to attract the searcher, and the network information provider may easily input and modify the information in the search list order.                     

As described above, the present invention has been described by way of limited embodiments and drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which can be variously modified and modified by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Modifications are possible. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should be understood only by the claims set forth below, and all equivalent or equivalent modifications thereof will belong to the scope of the present invention.

Claims (6)

A method of generating a list of search results in response to a search request from a searcher using a computer network, the method comprising: Identifying at least one search listing having a search term that matches a search request received from the searcher, wherein the search listing is purchased by a network information provider by inputting a bid amount, the network location and the search term associated with the network information provider; Comprising; Arranging the identified at least one search listing according to a bid value and providing the searcher as a search result list; When the searcher accesses a web page of a network information provider associated with the clicked search listing by clicking on a search listing in the search result list, receiving the predetermined information regarding the use of the web page by the searcher. step; And Charging the network information provider based on the predetermined information regarding the use of the web page of the received searcher Including, Arranging the identified at least one search listing according to a bid value and providing the search results as a list of search results to the searcher, Each time a search term is input, the search result list generating method of claim 1, wherein the search listing having the same bid value among the at least one search listing is rolled and provided to the searcher. The method of claim 1, Charging to the network information provider, When the searcher clicks on the search listing displayed on the first page of the search result list, the network information provider is charged based on the predetermined information, And when the searcher clicks on a search listing displayed on a page other than the first page of the search result list, the network information provider is not charged. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Identifying at least one search listing having a search term that matches a search request received from the searcher, And identifying at least one search listing having the search term or similar search term associated with the search term. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The predetermined information is Information about whether the searcher has registered as a member of a service provided by the network information provider, information on whether the searcher uses a paid service provided by the network information provider, Method for generating a search result list comprising at least one of information on the amount of use of the paid service provided or information on the amount of goods purchased using the e-commerce provided by the network information provider that provides the e-commerce . The method according to claim 1 or 2, The network information provider, When the ranking of the search listing is changed by the bid value entered by another network information provider, the search result list generation method characterized in that the notification of the ranking change for the search listing. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for implementing the method of claim 1 in a computer.

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