KR20040052210A - System and method for generating a search result list - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A system and a method for generating a search result list are provided to sell a keyword through a bidding method, form the search result list depending on a sales result, and promote the keyword AD(ADvertisement) marketing by offering an information provider with various search list display methods related to the keyword. CONSTITUTION: A bidding condition receiver(810) receives a bidding condition/price including the keyword and the search list display method from the information provider. A bidding performing part(820) performs the keyword bidding based on the received bidding condition/price. A storage(840) stores a plurality of search list orders. A searcher performing part(840) relates the search list order stored in the storage to the keyword and the search list display method of a successful bidder. A searcher request receiver(850) receives a search request from a searcher through the communication network.

Description

System and method of generating search results list {SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING A SEARCH RESULT LIST}

The present invention relates to a system and a method for generating a list of search results in response to a search request through a communication network. More particularly, a search word associated with a predetermined search list display method is sold to a network information provider through a bidding method. A system and method for generating a list of search results associated with a search term based on sales results.

Today, with the rapid development of communication networks such as the Internet, information retrieval through communication networks is becoming very common. The user accesses the desired search engine using the internet access browser installed on his PC, inputs the desired search word in the search box, and enters the search word into the search server of the search site (or portal site) through the communication network. Delivered. The search server includes a search DB having a plurality of search list orders corresponding to a search word, and transmits a search result list in search list order to a user's PC as a result of a search request from a user. The user can easily access the website by clicking the search list order of the website desired by the user from the list of search results displayed on his screen.

As a result of the frequent search of information through search sites, a new search method is a method of displaying a search list order by inserting an advertisement related to a search term (for example, a banner ad) into a search result list screen or providing the search list order. Day by day came into the limelight. For search site companies, these new advertising methods have become a big source of revenue beyond monetization of content.

In addition, the frequency of exposure and the number of views for network users vary greatly depending on how far ahead of the list of search results is associated with a web site provided by the Network Information Provider. The order of the search listings in the website has had a significant effect on the advertising effectiveness of the website. Accordingly, "search for words" is commonly used in the search site industry to link search listings arranged at positions having a high frequency of exposure and search times to users within a list of search results.

However, the keyword search method implemented in the conventional search site adopts a first-come-first-served method. This is a method of determining a final buyer on a first-come-first-served basis among a plurality of purchase requests received after the sale starts by setting a sale start time for a specific search word in advance. However, under this approach, there have been many problems due to excessive purchase competition among network information providers in selling a network of keywords that many network information providers particularly prefer, which is commonly referred to as a premium keyword in the industry. In other words, a large number of purchase requests flooded the telecommunication network in time for the sale start time, which caused an overload of the telecommunication network and the sales system did not operate normally. Suspicions about fairness have been raised. In addition, the network information provider has been inconvenient to do a lot of unnecessary work for the first-come-first-served purchase request for the desired search word.

In terms of search sites, there was a difficulty in determining the price of a search term in a highly competitive field.

Accordingly, there has been an effort to sell a search word product to a network information provider fairly and to provide a list of search results rationally by reflecting the selling price. Korean Patent Application No. 10-2001-7015234 discloses a method of selling a search word by an auction method and sorting the search list order in the search result list according to the auction successful bid value. According to the method disclosed in the above application, the network information provider pays in advance an amount corresponding to the estimated number of clicks to be selected in the search list order for a period of time and subtracts the auction winning bid value with each click. have. However, according to the sales method and the formation of the search result list, the location of the search list is uniformly determined by one criterion of the auction winning bid, so that the network information provider selects the location of the search list or various search lists. There is still a problem that cannot provide a net display method. In addition, in the above application, the position of the search list order may continuously change by reflecting the auction result in real time, so that a situation in which the advertisement effect originally intended by the network information provider is halved over time occurs. In addition, due to the limitations of the auction method, it was inevitable that the problem of unreasonable pricing due to fructose competition was determined in determining the price of the search word.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for selling a search word through a bid method and forming a search result list according to the sale result.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a network information provider with various search list display methods related to a search word to further activate search word advertisement marketing.

Another object of the present invention is to alleviate a competition for purchase of search terms among network information providers, and to provide convenience in purchasing information by network information providers.

Another object of the present invention is to enable a user to effectively select a sales method according to a preference of a network information provider.

Another object of the present invention is to set the selling price for a search word at an appropriate level.

It is yet another object of the present invention to be able to reasonably determine a successful bidder for a number of identical bid prices.

It is another object of the present invention to select an effective sales method for selling a search word in consideration of the temporal characteristics of the search request of the search word.

It is yet another object of the present invention to enable a network information provider to predict in advance the position of the search listings associated with his website in the search results list, and to continuously maintain a certain expected advertising effect.

Another object of the present invention is to be able to maintain a constant ranking of search listings associated with network information providers.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a network information provider with a search term similar to a search term to be bidding, thereby effectively providing advertisement marketing for a series of similar search terms.

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

1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a search result screen according to a method for generating a search result list according to the present invention;

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of selling a search word product according to a bidding method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a view showing a bid details screen for receiving bid conditions.

4 illustrates an example of a screen for receiving a bid price from a network information provider.

5 is a diagram showing an example of a successful bid price bulletin board.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating a search result list according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a diagram showing an example of a structure of a search list order.

8 is a diagram showing the overall structure of a search result list generation system according to the present invention;

9 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of a search result list generation system according to the present invention;

10A, 10B, and 10C illustrate receiving a search listing order including an image file and a bid value from a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention, and searching the search listing order associated with successful network information providers. Flow chart showing the order of display in a certain area during display.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a search result screen displayed by the embodiment of FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C.

FIG. 12 illustrates a screen for receiving information on a search listing order from a network information provider. FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen for displaying to a network information provider a search listing order to be provided to a searcher in real time based on the search listing order information input from the network information provider. FIG.

FIG. 14 illustrates a search result list generation system for generating and storing a search list order substantially in real time according to information provided by a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 illustrates an internal block diagram of a general purpose computer device that may be employed to perform a search list generation method in accordance with the present invention. FIG.

Fig. 16 shows an example of a search request result according to the present invention.

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

800: search result list generation system

810: bidding condition receiving unit

820: Successful bidding unit

830: storage unit

840: search performer

850: Search request receiver

In order to achieve the above object and to solve the problems of the prior art, the present invention provides a method and system for generating a list of search results in response to a search request through a communication network.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a step of selling a search word associated with a predetermined search list display method through bidding, receives a bid condition and a bid price including a search word and a predetermined search list display method from a network information provider, Performing a search term bid based on the bidding condition and the bid price, and maintaining a database including a plurality of search list orders, wherein at least a part of the search list order is included in the searched search term and the predetermined list. Associating with a search list order display method, receiving a search request from a searcher, identifying a search list order associated with a search word corresponding to the search request, and arranging the identified search list order. And arranging the at least one search list order according to the predetermined search list order display method. The search result list generating method is provided, comprising a step of including.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of maintaining a plurality of search listings including URLs associated with a network information provider, and receiving, from the network information provider, a search term associated with the search listing order and a bid price associated with the search term. Selecting a successful bidder from among a plurality of network information providers associated with the search word according to a predetermined criterion associated with the bid price after the bidding period expires, notifying the successful bidder of the result of the successful bidder selection; Generating a search result list including at least a portion of the plurality of search listings in response to a search request, wherein at least a portion of the search listings is arranged at a predetermined search listing order placement position; A method of generating a search result list is provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, receiving a web page title, a web page description, an image file, a search word and a bid value associated with a web page of the network information provider from a network information provider, and the web page title and the web. Combining a page description and the image file to generate a search listing order substantially in real time and providing the search listing order to the network information provider, receiving a confirmation input of the network information provider regarding the created search listing order; Selecting a successful bidder from among a plurality of network information providers associated with the search word according to a predetermined criterion associated with the bid value, associating the search word with the search list order, and receiving a search request from the searcher. And associated with a search term that matches the search request. And identifying a list of colors in order, wherein the placing the identified search listing in a predetermined position of the search result web page, comprising the step of providing to the searchers search results list generating method is provided.

According to another aspect of the invention, the step of receiving a search word and a bid value from a network information provider, selecting a successful bidder from a plurality of network information providers associated with the search word according to a predetermined criterion associated with the bid value, the successful bidder Receiving a web page title, a web page description, and an image file associated with the successful bidder's web page, and combining the web page title, the web page description, and the image file to generate a search list order in real time in real time; Providing a successful bidder, receiving a confirmation input of the successful bidder for the generated search list order, associating the search word with the search list order, receiving a search request from the searcher, the search request Identifies the search list order associated with the search term that matches And providing the searcher with the identified search list in a predetermined position in a search result web page.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a system for generating a list of search results includes a computer device and a database, the database includes a plurality of search list order, and the computer device includes a method of displaying a predetermined search list order. Receiving a bid price for the associated search word, performing a search term bid based on the bid price, and displaying at least a portion of the search list order stored in the database in the searched search word order and the predetermined search list order; Relate to, receive a search request from a searcher, identify a search listing order having a search term corresponding to the search request, and arrange the identified search listing order in response to the search request, The list order is arranged according to the predetermined search list display method.

Hereinafter, a method and a system for generating a search result list according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1A and 1B illustrate a search result screen according to a method for generating a search result list according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, as a result of searching using the search word "flower delivery", a search result list in which a plurality of search list orders are arranged according to various search list display methods is displayed. The search list order display method is to determine the display form and the order of the search list order, in the present invention, the search terms, display form, the order of the search list order is treated as one search term product and each of these products is bidding method network information Sold separately to the provider.

As an example of the display form, there is a search word banner 210, a knowledge search result 220, a sponsored link 230, and a plus registration 240.

As shown in the right area of FIGS. 1A and 1B, the display form of the "search banner 210" is produced by flash or image on the first page where a list of search results of a specific search word is displayed and displayed in a banner form having a predetermined size. As a result, the advertisement effect can be enhanced by displaying the banner of only one or a few companies exclusively.

The " Knowledge Search Results " 220 display form can express the features of the site and network information provider companies in the form of questions, and can link to the site of the provider and the questions themselves. It is located at the top of the integrated search result, and provides an advertisement area up to a predetermined rank (max. 5 in the case of FIG. 1A) for each search word. As an example of a question type, a single question has a shortcut form to one site in one question, and multiple questions can be moved to several subpages in the homepage by using a combo box in one question.

The "sponsored link 230" display form displays the site title and site description on the first page of a specific search term search result. It is located at the top of the integrated search and directory search results, and provides an advertisement area up to a predetermined rank (max.

The "plus registration 240" display form shows the additional information of the site and the image together in the search results, and provides an easy and quick registration service by introducing the promotional contents directly described by the registrant and processing the registration process quickly.

As described above, there are various display forms that advertise the web site of the network information provider in different ways, and in which position the search list order related to the network information provider's site is ranked in the display area of each display form. You can decide. For the network information provider, a method of maximizing the effect of advertisement marketing is provided by allowing the user to variously select the display form of the search list order and the ranking of the search list order.

Since a search word product is determined according to a combination of a search word, a display form, and a search list order, in the present invention, for example, the second place of a flower delivery knowledge search result and the third place of a flower delivery sponsor link are recognized as individual items, and the network information. It is possible to sell these individual products to providers. As another example, when the search term product is determined only by the search word and the display form, for example, a search term product for “flower delivery knowledge search result” may be sold to a plurality of network information providers.

In the present invention, a search word product is sold to a network information provider through a bidding method. In the conventional bidding method, when a plurality of applicants submit a written bid (bid list) including bid prices, the bidders are opened after the bid period expires, and the bidder is selected as the bidder. It is an institution. In the present invention, a network information provider who wants to purchase a search word product is privately received a desired purchase price through a communication network, and one network information provider or a plurality of network information providers who apply for the highest price among the received purchase prices are selected as successful bidders. It is similar in that. In the present invention, by selecting a bidding system, instead of the auction system, the desired price of purchase is disclosed under the auction system, the purchase price is excessively increased, and the highest price immediately before the auction type to prevent the problem of improperly purchasing a search word.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of selling a search word product according to a bidding method according to the present invention. Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 2, processes performed in each step will be described in detail.

First, in step S210, after the start of the bidding period, the bidding condition for the search word product is received from the network information provider through the communication network. In the present invention, since the search term products determined by the search terms and the search list order display method are treated as one search term product, and bidding is performed on each of them, the bid condition received from the network information provider is determined by the search terms and the search list order method. It will contain information about

The search terms targeted for bidding may be for all search terms, or the bid sale method may be adopted only for premium search terms that are popular among network information providers. The premium search word may be determined according to a predetermined criterion. As an example of the predetermined criterion, when the frequency of receiving a search request from the user is more than a predetermined number within a predetermined period, the search word may be determined as the premium keyword. As another example, the purchasing power of the search word may be considered. For general search terms other than the premium search word, a predetermined method other than a bidding method, for example, a first-come-first-served sale method may be applied.

In another embodiment, a predetermined search word may be sold through a bid only for a predetermined period of time. For example, since the search term "ski" will be frequent during winter, a search request may be frequently performed. Therefore, the term "ski" may be sold only in winter, and may be sold using a predetermined method at other times. In this way, it is possible to sell a search word more effectively by determining whether to select a bidding method in consideration of the temporal characteristics of the search request of the search word.

The search list order display method included in the bidding condition may be specified by the display form and the search list order, or may be specified only by the display form. Alternatively, the search list order display method may be specified only by the search list order placement position.

As a preferable example for receiving the bidding conditions, a bidding details screen as shown in FIG. 3 is provided to the network information provider, and the network information provider clicks the bid button for the search terms to be purchased and the search list order method, The above information may be automatically received.

As another embodiment, the bidding condition may additionally include bidding network information provider information. Instead of separately inputting network information provider information, each network information provider receives a predetermined ID and password from the network information provider and participates in the bidding process after completing the login process, thereby checking the authenticity of the network information provider information. You can easily check through the login process.

Alternatively, the bidding condition may further include a predetermined display period for displaying the search list order by the predetermined search list order display method, which may be one of criteria for determining the successful bidder in the successful bidding step. have.

Next, in step S220, the bid price is received from the network information provider. In a preferred embodiment, in order to prevent multiple bid prices from being received at the same price, the bid price is received in units of one won so that the last three digits of the bid price cannot be "000". As another embodiment, the bid price may be received multiple times from the same network information provider, and in this case, the most recently bid price may be reflected as a valid bid price. Alternatively, the number of times that the bid price can be received from the same network information provider is limited to a predetermined number (for example, about 2 to 3 times) or when the bid price is received more than the predetermined number of times, Additional fees may be charged.

Even after the bid price is received and before the bid period has elapsed, it is recognized that the bid condition and the bid price of the network information provider were not received when the bid cancellation is received from the bidding network information provider.

4 illustrates an example of a screen for receiving a bid price from a network information provider.

In step S230, after the predetermined bid period expires, the successful bidder is determined. Among the at least one bid price received from the at least one network information provider, the highest bid price may be a successful bid price, and the network information provider who has provided the bid price may be determined as a successful bidder. If there are multiple identical bid prices, there may be various embodiments to determine the successful bidder. As an example, the network information provider who first bids on a first-come-first-served basis is determined as a successful bidder, or the network information provider who has presented the longest display period is selected as a successful bidder when the bidding condition includes a predetermined display period. May be As another embodiment, a network information provider having a high usage history may be selected or a credit rating of the network information provider may be considered with reference to the conventional advertisement usage history of the network information provider. As another example, a successful bidder may be selected through a lottery or through re-bidding.

As another embodiment, when the search list order display method included in the bidding condition is specified in the display form only in step S210, the arrangement position of the search list order is not fixed to a specific position, but is arbitrarily arranged within a specific location region. can do. That is, when a search term bid is performed on a display form of "knowledge search result" for a keyword for "flower delivery", the search list order associated with the successful bidder is placed irrespective of the ranking in the arrangement area of the "knowledge search result". can do. Alternatively, a plurality of network information providers may be selected as successful bidders, and the position of the search list associated with the successful bidder may be determined in consideration of the position (rank) in the "knowledge search result" placement area according to the bid price of the successful bidders. have.

In step S240, the determined successful bid result is notified to the successful bid network information provider (successful bidder). The result of the successful bid is notified not only to the successful bidder, but to all network information providers participating in the successful bid. Alternatively, anyone can view the result of the successful bid through the successful bid price bulletin board as shown in FIG. 5. As an example of a method for notifying a successful bid result, a short message service (SMS), which is used in a mobile telephone service or via a landline or an email, may be used. The successful bidding result may optionally include a successful bidder, successful bidder information, successful bid price, total bidder number, successful bidder's email address, and a successful bid price notice board's site address (URL).

In step S250, a successful bidder is provided to the successful bidder. As a preferred embodiment for providing a purchase opportunity, in order to authorize only the successful bidder to purchase, the purchase key is provided only to the successful bidder, and the successful bidder who receives the purchase key deposits a successful bid amount or receives a credit card. Payment is completed through the search word is completed.

After the auction process, if the intention of rejecting the purchase is received from the successful bidder, the bid is considered to be successful. As another embodiment, a successful bidder may purchase a limited time period for a successful bid search term product, and if the purchase cannot be made within the above period, the bidder considers it as a bid or confirms the intention to reject the purchase after the period has passed. Can be regarded as

The searched search word product may be sold again in a predetermined sales method, for example, a first-come-first-served sales method or a re-bidding method (step S260). In another embodiment, the network information provider who has provided the second-order bid price at the time of bidding is determined as a successful bidder, or the network information provider who has offered the third- or next-order bid price at the time of bidding again. You can decide to win.

As another embodiment of the bidding method illustrated in FIG. 2, when the bidder is determined to refuse the purchaser, the bidder may further include determining whether the purchase rejection intention is valid and reflecting the successful bidder's credit rating.

As another embodiment of the bidding method shown in FIG. 2, the method may further include determining a lower bid limit before starting bidding. When the lower bid limit is determined, bidding is possible only for the bid price above the lower limit. As an example for determining the lower bid limit, the previous successful bid price or a portion of the previous successful bid price (eg, -25% of the previous successful bid price) may be set as the lower bid limit.

As another example, the reference unit price per page view may be determined by adding or considering the number of page views (PVs) for a search term, and the lower bid limit may be determined by multiplying the page view (PV) by the reference unit price. have. The standard unit price may vary according to the display form or the order of the search list (for example, 100 won / PV for knowledge search results and 70 won / PV for sponsored links). In addition, in addition to the page view and the reference unit price, a weight reflecting the preference for the search word may be further considered in determining the bid lower limit. Therefore, the lower bidding price can be reasonably determined for each search word by relatively high weighting on the popular search word due to the high advertising effect.

As another embodiment of the bidding method shown in FIG. 2, the step of publishing the highest bid price or bid price list during the bidding period may be added. In addition, in order to prevent the bidding considering the highest bidding price immediately before the end of the bidding period, the highest bidding price or the bidding price list may not be disclosed for a predetermined time before the end of the bidding period.

As another embodiment of the bidding method illustrated in FIG. 2, the method may further include performing a bid on the similar search word by providing a search word similar to the search word received from the network provider participating in the bidding process to the network information provider. can do.

As another embodiment of the bidding method shown in FIG. 2, the method may further include receiving a bidding margin from a network information provider, and if the bidder is selected as a successful bidder and rejects a search term, If the deduction or the network information provider is selected as a successful bidder, when the successful bid amount is deposited, the balance difference except for the bidding margin may be received.

As another embodiment of the bidding method shown in FIG. 2, the method may further include calculating and providing an immediate purchase price and immediately selecting the network information provider as a successful bidder when the immediate purchase price is received from the network information provider. can do. As an example of calculating the immediate purchase price, it may be determined by considering the successful bid price for the search word product. For example, if the successful bid price of the corresponding product is 2 million won in January, 3.5 million won in February, and 4 million won in March, the weighted price is 1: 2: 3 in April and the average amount is After that, 300% of the average amount can be immediately calculated as the purchase price.

As another embodiment of the bidding method illustrated in FIG. 2, the method may further include providing a successful bidder with a search request result associated with the successful bid search term. That is, it is possible to provide a successful bidder with a search request result for the successful search term received from the searchers for a predetermined period of time. The search request result may optionally include the number of exposures, the number of clicks, and the click rate of the search word for a predetermined period. FIG. 16 shows an example of a search request result including an impression, a click, and a clickthrough rate (CTR).

FIG. 6 is a method of displaying a search list order associated with a winning search term and displaying the search list order in a predetermined search list order in addition to the bidding method of FIG. 2 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A flow chart showing how to generate a search result list by arranging accordingly. Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 6, processes performed in each step will be described in detail.

First, in operation S610, a database including a search list order may be maintained, and the search list order may be associated with a winning search word, a predetermined search list order display method, and the like. FIG. 7 illustrates an example of search list order. Each search list order 700 includes a search word area 710, a location area 720 on a network, an advertisement description area 730, and a search list order display area. 740). The search term region 710 includes a search term as an identifier for identifying a specific search list order from a plurality of search list orders, and includes one or more search terms. The location area 720 on the network includes a URL address associated with a network information provider, and the URL is provided to the user's browser program when the user clicks on a hyperlink provided in a search listing order. The advertisement description area 730 is a brief description of the contents of the network information provider's website and may be displayed on the screen as part of the advertisement in the search list order. The search list order displaying method 740 may be specified by the display form described above or the ranking of the search list order.

Next, in step S620, a search request is received from a searcher (or a network user). Receive a search term or information associated with the search term from the searcher upon a search request.

In operation S630, a search list order associated with a search word corresponding to the search request is searched and identified from a database. The process of searching the database and identifying the search listing order can be easily implemented by processing between a general computer device and a database.

In operation S640, the search list order is identified and arranged according to a predetermined search list display method. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least a portion of a plurality of search listings identified in association with a search word is arranged according to the search list display method according to the present invention, and the remaining search listings are arranged according to the search. Arranged independently of list order display method. As an example of an independent arrangement method, the number of times a network information provider views a website associated with a search listing order, the usefulness of information posted on the site, and the completeness of the site may be considered.

8 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a search result list generation system 800 according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, the search result list generation system 800 may include a bid condition receiver 810, a successful bidder 820, a storage 830, a search performer 840, and a search request receiver 850. Include.

The bid condition receiving unit 810 receives a bid condition and a bid price including a search method and a search list order displaying method from a network information provider. The search list order display method may include a display form and a ranking of the search list order or may include only the display form. As yet another embodiment, the bidding condition further includes bidding network information provider information. Another embodiment may further include the display period in the bidding condition.

The successful bid performing unit 820 performs a successful bid based on the bid condition and the bid price received through the bid condition receiver 810. In carrying out a successful bid, many embodiments described above with respect to the bidding method illustrated in FIG. 2 may be applied as it is.

The storage unit 830 includes a plurality of search listings. As shown in FIG. 7, the search list order includes a search word area, a network location area, an advertisement description area, and a search list order display area.

The search performing unit 840 associates the search list order stored in the storage unit 830 with the winning search word and the search list order display method. In addition, in response to a search request received from the searcher, a search list order having a search word corresponding to the search request is identified, and at least a part of the search list order is arranged according to the search list order display method.

The search request receiving unit 850 receives a search request from a searcher through a communication network. When a search request is received, a search word or related information is received from the searcher, and the received information is transmitted to the search execution unit 840.

9 shows the overall structure of a search result list generation system according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the search result list generation system 900 includes a computer device 910 and a database 920.

As a preferred example according to the present invention, the computer device 910 includes a bidding condition receiving unit 810, a successful bid performing unit 820, a search performing unit 840, a search request receiving unit 850 shown in FIG. The database 920 includes a storage unit 830.

As another example, database 920 may be included within computer device 910.

The computer device 910 and the database 920 may be sufficiently implemented by conventional devices for general use.

The search result list generation system 900 is connected to the searcher's PC through a communication network, and generates a search result list in response to a search request input from the searcher.

10A, 10B, and 10C illustrate receiving a search listing order including an image file and a bid value from a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention, and searching the search listing order associated with successful network information providers. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure to display on a predetermined area at the time of display.

In step 1001, the network information provider accesses an Internet search engine server of an Internet search service provider and inputs a search word to be bid and information necessary for generating a search list order. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the search list order is displayed to searchers including image files. According to the present embodiment, the search list order may be collected in the search list order. 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 1002, the Internet search engine receives the search list order related information input by the network information provider in step 1001. In step 1003, the Internet search engine generates the search list order in real time based on the title of the homepage, description of the homepage, image file, URL, additional description, contact information, etc. received from the network information provider. The generated search list order is stored in real time in the temporary search list order storage. The search listing order generated in step 1003 is provided in step 1004 to the network information provider substantially in real time. An example of a search listing order provided to a network information provider is shown in FIG. 13, which will be described later.

In step 1005 the network information provider examines whether the search listing order provided in step 1004 requires modification. If no correction is required after the review, select "OK". If correction is required, select "Modify". If " modify " is selected in step 1005, then in step 1006 a request for modifying the search list order of the network information provider is input to the Internet search engine via the communication network. In step 1007, the Internet search engine modifies the search list order substantially in real time to reflect the modification request of the network information provider. The search listing order modified in step 1008 is provided to the network information provider substantially in real time, and the network information provider again selects "OK" or "Modify" (step 1005).

If the network information provider selects " OK " in step 1005, the " OK " selection is forwarded to an internet search engine (step 1009). Now that the network information provider has received confirmation regarding the search listing order, in step 1010, the Internet search engine is based on the bid value entered among the one or more network information providers who entered the search listing order for one search term. Select one or more successful bidders. For example, if the number of search listings that can be displayed in a specific area of the search result web page for the search word "flower delivery" is two, the two search listings are selected in the order of the highest bid.

In step 1011, a search list is associated with a search word. The association between the search list order and the search word is for identifying the search list order when the searcher searches using the search word. This step is not only immediately after step 1010, but also a problem for performing the step 1011. May be performed after or before other steps without

In step 1012, the searcher connects to an Internet search engine and enters a search term in the search box, thereby requesting a search from the Internet search engine. The Internet search engine receives the search request in step 1013 and identifies a search listing order associated with the search term that matches the search request in step 1014. In step 1015, the identified search list order is provided to the searcher by placing the identified search list in a predetermined position in a search result web page.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a search word and a bid value are first inputted from a network information provider, a successful bidder is selected according to the bid value, and the title of the successful bidder's homepage and the homepage are targeted to the successful bidder. Receives a description of, the image file associated with the home page and the search list order information such as the URL of the home page. The method of modifying the search list order and others is the same as the embodiment described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a search result screen displayed by the embodiment of FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C.

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of a search results web page provided to a searcher at step 1015. The searcher inputs the search word "flower delivery" and displays the search list order that matches the search word in reference numeral 1101. The search listing order 1101 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 order 1101.

12 is a diagram illustrating a screen for receiving information on a search listing order from a network information provider.

The search listing order 1201 provides an example of how the search listing order will be displayed when the search results are displayed, thereby allowing the network information provider to have knowledge of how the search listing order for which they bid is displayed. .

The selected keyword field 1202 indicates a search term 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 list order information, thereby eliminating unnecessary search list order information input.

The home page title field 1203 is a field for inputting a title of a web page provided by a network information provider. The home page description field 1204 is a field for inputting a description of a web page provided by a network information provider. The link URL field 1205 is a field for inputting a URL for a destination home page to be moved to when a searcher clicks the search list order. The additional information field 1206 is a field for inputting additional information about the network information provider. The image field 1207 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 1208 is used to receive contact information such as telephone number, address, etc. associated with the network information provider. In addition, the search list order input screen includes a bid value input field for receiving bid values related to the search list order viewed from the network information provider (a bid value input field is not shown).

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a screen for displaying to a network information provider a search listing order to be provided to a searcher in real time based on the search listing order information input from the network information provider. The internet search engine generates a search list order 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 information to the network information provider as shown in FIG. 13.

The network information provider examines the generated search list order 1301 and sends a modification request to the network search engine by clicking the modify button 1303 if further modification is needed. The network search engine receiving the modification request provides the network information provider with a search list order modification screen web page to modify the contents of the search list order.

If the network information provider examines the generated search list order 1301 and determines that it no longer needs to be modified, the network information provider sends information to the network search engine that the network information provider has "confirmed" by clicking the register button 1302. . When the network search engine receives the "confirmation" information, the network search engine stores the search listing order information in a search listing order database.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a search result list generation system for generating and storing a search list order in real time according to information provided by a network information provider according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The Internet search engine 1400 may include a network communication unit 1401, a search list ordering unit 1402, a temporary search list order storage unit 1403, a search list order generation unit 1404, a search list order storage unit 1405, and a search. A unit 1406 and a search result providing unit 1407 are included.

The network communication unit 1401 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 1401 receives information (including image files) related to the search listing order from the network information provider through the communication network, and transmits the generated search listing order to the terminal of the network information provider through the communication network.

Based on the search list order information received from the network information provider through the network communication unit 1401, the search list order generation unit 1404 generates a search list order and stores the generated search list order as a temporary search list order storage unit ( 1403). The search list order stored in the temporary search list order storage unit 1403 is provided to the terminal of the network information provider through the search list order providing unit (not shown) and the network communication unit 1401. The search list order providing unit is generated or modified through the search list order generation unit 1404 and the search list order correction unit 1402, and transfers the search list order stored in the temporary search list order storage unit 1403 to the network communication unit 1401. It performs the function.

When the network information provider makes a modification request for the search listing order, the modification request is received by the network communication unit 1401, and the modification request is forwarded to the search listing order corrector 1402. The search list order correction unit 1402 modifies the search list order stored in the temporary search list order storage unit 1403 and provides it to the network information provider again.

Upon receiving a "confirmation" input from the network information provider, the search list order storage unit 1405 stores the search list order stored in the temporary search list order storage 1403 in the search list order database 1408. A successful bidder determining unit (not shown) selects successful bidders based on a bid value among search list orders stored in the search list order database 1408 in association with the same search word.

The search request input from the searcher through the network communication unit 1401 is transmitted to the search unit 1406, and the search unit 1406 refers to the search list order database 1408 to identify the search list order associated with the matching search word. . The identified search list order is provided by the search result providing unit 1407 at a predetermined position in the search result web page 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.

Embodiments of the invention include a computer readable medium 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 medium or program instructions may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. 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 wire, a waveguide, or the like including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal specifying 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.

15 is an internal block diagram of a general purpose computer device that may be employed to perform the search list generation method in accordance with the present invention.

Computer device 1500 includes one or more processors 1501 coupled with a main memory device including random access memory (RAM) 1502 and read only memory (ROM) 1503. The processor 1501 is also called a central processing unit (CPU). As is well known in the art, the ROM 1503 serves to transfer data and instructions to the CPU unidirectionally, and the RAM 1502 typically transfers data and instructions bidirectionally. Used to. RAM 1502 and ROM 1503 may include any suitable form of computer readable media. Mass storage 1504 is bidirectionally coupled to processor 1501 to provide additional data storage capabilities and may be any of the computer readable recording media described above. The mass storage device 1504 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 ROM 1506 may be used. The processor 1501 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. 1505. Finally, the processor 1501 may be connected to a wired or wireless communication network through the network interface 1507. 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.

Steps described as the embodiments in the present invention may be configured to be performed in a different order than in the above embodiment within the scope of the technical idea to which the present invention belongs.

While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined not only by the claims below, but also by the equivalents of the claims.

As described above, according to the present invention, in generating a search result list in response to a search request through a communication network, various search terms display methods may be provided. Accordingly, the present invention provides an effective advertising marketing technique through search term search for network information providers.

According to the present invention, it is possible to alleviate a search term purchase competition among network information providers, and to allow a network information provider to easily purchase a search term product. In addition, it is possible to reasonably determine the selling price of the search word product.

According to the present invention, the network information provider can display the search result designated by the bidding method in at least a predetermined search list order from the search result list.

According to the present invention, the position of the search listing order associated with the network information provider is fixed or kept constant from the beginning, thereby enabling the network user to predict the predetermined advertising effect.

According to the present invention, since the bidding is performed separately for each of the search terms and the search list order display method, an inversion phenomenon of the winning price may also occur in which the winning price for the descending order of search terms is higher than the winning price for the order of search terms in the order of priority Could be.

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.

Claims (1)

A recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing a method of generating a search result list in response to a search request input from a searcher through a communication network, Selling a search term associated with a predetermined search list display method through bidding, receiving a bid condition and a bid price including a search word and a predetermined search list display method from a network information provider, and receiving the bid condition and the bid Performing a search term bid based on a price; Maintaining a database comprising a plurality of search listings, the method comprising: associating at least a portion of the search listings with the search word and the predetermined search listings display method; Receiving a search request from the searcher; Identifying a search listing order associated with a search term corresponding to the search request; In arranging the identified search listing order, arranging the at least some search listing order according to the predetermined search listing order display method; And Specifying the predetermined search list order display method by the display form and the order of the search list order. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for implementing a method of generating a search result list in a computer.