KR20060006446A - Method and system for adjusting the balance of account of the advertiser in a keyword advertisement - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to advertisers in keyword advertising that allow periodic payment processing for advertising costs generated in connection with the keyword advertising service, provided that the account balance associated with the search results is held above a predetermined account maintenance threshold. A method of adjusting account balances and an account balance adjustment system.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for adjusting an advertiser's account balance in a keyword ad includes maintaining an advertiser information database for storing bid price information, account maintenance margin cost, and information on account balance for each search result. Generating a search result list including one or more search results associated with a predetermined keyword based on the bid price information, and maintaining the search result list in a search result database; and providing in response to a predetermined search request including the keyword. Receiving a selection of a search result from a user with respect to the search result list, searching for information on an account maintenance limit cost and an account balance associated with the selected search result by referring to the advertiser information database; Account balance retrieved exceeds In the case of, and increasing the number of clicks on the search result, and after the selected first period elapses, using the accumulated number of clicks and bid price information associated with the search result for the first period. Calculating an advertising fee, subtracting the calculated advertising cost from an account balance associated with the search result, and updating the advertiser information database using information about the deducted account balance. do.

According to the present invention, it is possible to ensure stable payment of advertising costs by determining the account maintenance threshold cost with each of the search results, and maintaining the provision of the keyword advertising service only when the current account balance is held above the account maintenance threshold cost. There is an advantage to provide a method for adjusting the account balance, and account balance adjustment system.

Keyword Ads, Account, Account Balance, Validation, Ad Cost

Description

How to adjust your account balance for keyword ads and your account balance adjustment system {METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ADJUSTING THE BALANCE OF ACCOUNT OF THE ADVERTISER IN A KEYWORD ADVERTISEMENT}

1 is a view for explaining a schematic operation of the account balance adjustment system according to the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing an account balance adjustment system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an example of an advertiser information database according to the present invention, and is a view for explaining an update process on an advertisement cost and an account balance calculated in association with each search result.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an account balance adjustment method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail.

5A is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of determining an account maintenance threshold cost according to the present invention, and FIG. 5B is an example of a method of deducting a predetermined advertising cost in real time when the account balance is less than the account maintenance threshold cost. It is a working flow chart.

6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of performing click validation according to the present invention.

7 is an internal block diagram of a general purpose computer device that may be employed to perform the method of adjusting the account balance according to the present invention.

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

200: account balance adjustment system 210: advertiser information database

220: search results database 230: interface means

240: account search means 250: click count accumulation means

260 advertising means calculation means 270 account renewal means

280: validity judgment means

The present invention relates to a method for adjusting an account balance and an account balance adjustment system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a keyword advertising service provided that an account balance associated with a search result is held above a predetermined account maintenance threshold cost. To adjust the account balance of the advertiser in the keyword ad, and to adjust the account balance adjustment system so that periodic payment processing is performed for the advertising costs incurred and real-time payment processing is performed for the search results below the account maintenance limit cost. .

A typical keyword advertising service may refer to a service for providing brief information of an advertiser corresponding to a keyword to a user who inputs a predetermined keyword on a search engine. Such keyword advertising service can expose brief information of advertiser to user by search request, and actively serve as efficient advertising promotion means by inducing connection setting between user and advertiser only by user's click on simple information. It is operating.

In general, in order to receive a keyword advertising service, an advertiser maintains a certain amount of an account balance in a predetermined account, and prepares for an advertising cost incurred according to the exposure of brief information or a user's click on the exposed brief information. That is, when a predetermined advertisement effect associated with the advertiser is caused to the user by the brief information of the advertiser, the predetermined advertising cost is added to the advertiser, and the account balance is used as a payment processing purpose for the added advertising cost.

However, by operating an advertiser operating a keyword advertising service according to the existing method in which an advertiser prepaid and holds a predetermined account balance in an account and deducts the advertising cost incurred by the provision of the keyword advertising service from the account balance. It is true that there is a problem in that all advertisers do not know accurate information about when the account balance is depleted or when to continue the keyword advertisement service for the brief information. That is, in the conventional method, payment processing of advertising costs is generally performed by collectively paying the advertising costs incurred in a certain period at the end of a predetermined cycle, and in some cases, the amount to be added as advertising costs is the account balance of the account. There is also a greater concern. In this case, some companies are exempt from excessive advertising costs, but this is not a desirable business model because it leads to a decrease in the advertising revenue of the operator. Accordingly, if the forecast of the balance of the account is predicted in advance, and the account balance is lowered below the predetermined amount, the keyword advertising service of the search result is stopped or the advertiser is notified of the depletion of the account balance. It will enable operators to ensure higher advertising profitability without exemption from advertising costs.

Therefore, by setting a number of advertising costs that are expected to occur during the next cycle, and saving the system resources for payment processing by performing periodic payment processing for advertising costs only when the account balance is held above the set value. There is an urgent need for an account balance adjustment model.

In addition, if the account balance falls below the set value, the payment is made in real time by allowing the administrator to maximize the advertising profitability by allowing the payment processing of the advertising cost to be carried out in real time in conjunction with the generation of the advertising cost until the account balance is depleted. A processing model is required.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, the account maintenance marginal cost is determined by each of the search results, and the advertising costs according to the keyword advertising service only when the current account balance is maintained above the account maintenance marginal cost It is an object to provide a method for adjusting the account balance and the account balance adjustment system to ensure a stable payment of advertising costs by periodically paying.                         

In addition, it is an object of the present invention, if the account balance falls below the account maintenance threshold cost, so that the payment process for the account balance is carried out in real time in conjunction with the generation of advertising costs to extend the period of the keyword advertising service is provided to the maximum. By maximizing the profitability of the advertisement, and providing the advertiser with a method for adjusting the account balance and the account balance adjustment system so that the maximum amount of keyword advertising is performed according to the account balance.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to additionally determine the validity of the click more accurately by repeatedly performing the validity determination for a given click a plurality of times, and to make a correction process for the account balance flexibly according to the determination result It is to provide an account balance adjustment system and a method for adjusting the account balance that improves the reliability of the advertising costs.

According to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object, a method for adjusting the account balance of an advertiser in a keyword ad, for storing the bid price information, account maintenance margin cost and information about the account balance for each search result Maintaining an advertiser information database, generating a search result list including one or more search results associated with a predetermined keyword based on the bid price information, and maintaining the search result list in a search result database; Receiving a selection of a search result from a user with respect to the search result list provided in response to a search request; and referring to the advertiser information database, information about an account maintenance limit cost and an account balance associated with the selected search result is provided. Retrieving, and the retrieved account balance Increasing the number of clicks on the search result only when the account maintenance threshold cost is equal to or greater than the previous account maintenance limit cost, and using the accumulated click number and the bid price information associated with the search result after the selected first period of time. Calculating the advertising costs for the first period, subtracting the calculated advertising costs from the account balance associated with the search result, and updating the advertiser information database using information about the deducted account balance. It is characterized by including.

In addition, as a technical configuration for achieving the above object, the system for adjusting the account balance of the advertiser in the keyword ad, advertiser information database for storing information about the bid price information, account maintenance margin cost and account balance for each search result And a search result database for generating and storing a search result list including one or more search results associated with a predetermined keyword based on the bid price information, and receiving a selection of search results from a user provided with the search result list. Interface means for performing the search, account searching means for searching the account information regarding the account maintenance limit cost and the account balance associated with the selected search result by referring to the advertiser information database, and only when the searched account balance is greater than the account maintenance limit cost. Search above A click count accumulation means for increasing the number of clicks on a result, and after the selected first period has elapsed, an advertisement cost for the first period is calculated using the accumulated click count and bid price information associated with the search result. Advertising cost calculating means, and account updating means for subtracting the calculated advertising cost from the account balance associated with the search result and updating the advertiser information database using the information on the deducted account balance.

Hereinafter, a method for adjusting an account balance of an advertiser in a keyword advertisement and an account balance adjustment system will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As used herein, “account hold marginal cost” refers to the minimum account balance that allows a keyword advertising service associated with an advertiser to continue, as a margin of advertising costs over a period of time to be charged to advertisers receiving keyword advertising services. can do. That is, the account maintenance marginal cost is determined by the advertising cost that is expected to be spent for a certain period of time, for example, the average cost charged to the advertiser during the previous predetermined period can be determined as the account maintenance marginal cost.

1 is a view for explaining a schematic operation of the account balance adjustment system according to the present invention.

The account balance adjustment system 100 refers to a device for deducting the account balance of the advertiser 130 by processing the advertisement cost added to the advertiser 130 provided with the keyword advertisement service at regular intervals. The period during which the payment processing is performed can be flexibly set according to the environment of the system for calculating and subtracting the advertiser's advertising costs for keyword ads, and for example, the advertising costs are provided for every standard time unit such as minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, Payment processing can be made.

First, the search engine 110 is a search program or a search web server that supports a search operation so that the user 120 easily accesses a website that holds a content material to be searched. The account balance adjustment system 100 according to the present invention. ) Will be implemented in the keyword advertising service. That is, the search engine 110 may provide brief information (preferably, the search result of the present invention) of the advertiser 130 that may provide the information requested by the user 120 in response to the search request of the user 120. To be provided. In particular, the extracted short information (search result) includes predetermined link information, and the command input tool click selection of the user 120 for selecting the short information (search result) displayed on the terminal means 125 (eg, a mouse click). Input), the search engine 110 is able to connect the advertiser 130 and the user 120 that generated the click selection. The search engine 110 may be classified into a word-oriented searching method and a subject-oriented searching method according to a search method approach. In this specification, a search method of the search engine 110 is limited to a word-by-word search method for performing the purpose of the present invention to control the search result extracted corresponding to the input keyword to be displayed on a specific exposure position on the screen. do. However, in the present specification, limiting the search of the search engine 110 to a word-by-word search method is merely an example for convenience of description and is not a limitation of the technical idea according to the present invention. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

The user 120 has a terminal means 125 for accessing the account balance adjustment system 100 of the present invention, and requests a search for the website of the advertiser 130 that holds the content material to be searched. It may mean an internet user who generates a predetermined keyword by inputting the search engine 110.

Advertiser 130 refers to, for example, a content provider (CP) that operates a web site whose location is specified by a network address (eg, IP address, URL, domain, etc.), and information related to advertiser 130. Depending on the user's 120 clicks on the site's search results, a predetermined advertising fee is paid to the system operator in accordance with the present invention.

The terminal means 125 maintains a connection state with the account balance adjustment system 100 through a communication network 140 such as the Internet, and displays one or more search results extracted by a search operation of the search engine 110 on a predetermined screen. Will be displayed. The terminal means 125 is provided with predetermined memory means such as, for example, a personal computer, a handheld computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an MP3 player, an electronic dictionary, a mobile phone, a smartphone, and the like. It may be a concept of collectively referred to as a terminal having a predetermined computing power by mounting.

The account balance adjustment system 200 processes payment of advertising expenses incurred for a period of time from a predetermined account associated with the advertiser 130, but only when the account balance held in the account is higher than the predetermined account maintenance threshold cost. It can play a role to make the advertising cost deduction periodically. In this way, during the set advertising period, it is possible to suppress the loss of account balance due to the depletion of the account, or the loss of revenue to the operator of the system due to this. Hereinafter, a detailed configuration of the account balance adjustment system 200 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

2 is a block diagram showing an account balance adjustment system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The account balance adjustment system 200 according to the present invention includes an advertiser information database 210, a search result database 220, an interface means 230, an account search means 240, a click count accumulation means 250, an advertisement cost calculation means ( 260, account update means 270, and validity determination means 280.

First, the advertiser information database 210 is a device for storing bid price information, account maintenance margin cost, and account balance information for each search result, and registers and stores related information corresponding to the search result to provide a keyword advertising service. Done. That is, the advertiser information database 210 may be used as a criterion for determining bid price information associated with an advertising cost incurred by an impression or a click of a search result, an account balance from which the advertising cost is deducted, and whether the search result is a keyword advertisement. Maintain marginal accounting costs, based on search results. The bid price information may be input at a predetermined time at the time of initial registration of the keyword advertisement of the search result or by the discretion of the advertiser 130, and in order to generate an advertisement cost linked to the user's 120 click on the search result. Will be used. The advertising cost can be determined in various ways by the operator of the present system in consideration of the bid price information. In the present embodiment, for example, the total number of clicks measured for a specific search result over a predetermined period of time is multiplied by the bid price information of the search result. An example of the advertising cost determined by application will be described. The account balance is a numerical value held in the advertiser 130's account, and is periodically deducted by the advertising costs incurred for a predetermined period and updated in the advertiser information database 210. In addition, the account balance may be updated in real time by account deposit of the advertiser 130 and the like. Accordingly, the advertiser information database 210 may provide information on advertising costs incurred for a particular search result and whether the account balance currently held exceeds the account maintenance threshold cost.

The search result database 220 is an apparatus for generating and storing a search result list including one or more search results associated with a predetermined keyword based on bid price information. Here, the keyword may be, for example, a semantic identifiable statement that causes a specific search result to be extracted in response to a search request, and the predetermined search engine 110 may be a user 120 on the search engine 110. The search result including the keyword input by the user as part of the information is extracted. In particular, the search engine 110 may determine an exposure position exposed to the user 120 with each of the extracted one or more search results, and generate a search result list by arranging the search results according to the determined exposure position. The search result list is a result list provided to the user 120 in response to a user inputting a specific keyword for the search request, and serves to expose the extracted search result to the user 120. . The position of the exposure of the search result on the search result list may be based on the size of the bid price. For example, the position of the exposure may be determined by arranging the extracted search results sequentially from the top of the search result list according to the size of the bid price. have.                     

The interface means 230 is an apparatus for receiving a selection of search results from the user 120 who is provided with a list of search results. That is, the interface means 230 is responsible for receiving a signal related to a click on a specific search result from the terminal means 125 of the user 120. In particular, the interface means 230 may control the predetermined validity determining means 280 to determine a click generated as valid, invalid or suspected invalid in real time. Description of the validity determination of the click will be described later.

The account retrieval means 240 is a device for referring to the advertiser information database 210 and retrieving information on the account maintenance limit cost and the account balance associated with the selected search result. That is, the account search means 240 identifies the account corresponding to the search result in which the user 120 has clicked, and checks whether the account balance held in the account is below the set account maintenance limit cost.

The click count accumulation means 250 is a device that increases the number of clicks on the search result only when the searched account balance is equal to or greater than the account maintenance limit cost. That is, the click count accumulating means 250 accumulates the number of clicks for each search result when it is determined that there is an allowable amount that can be deducted from the advertiser's account for the predetermined period. The accumulation of the number of clicks lasts for the first period set by the operator of the system, thereby enabling periodic payment processing of the advertising costs. On the other hand, at the time of generating the search result list as described above, if the account balance associated with the search result is less than the account maintenance limit cost, the cumulative number of clicks 250 for the corresponding search result is not possible to process periodic advertising payments. In this case, the subtraction of the advertisement cost (click advertisement cost) is performed in real time without accumulating the number of clicks on the search result, or the search result is not included when generating the search result list.

The advertisement cost calculating means 260 is an apparatus for calculating the advertisement cost for the first period by using the accumulated number of clicks and bid price information associated with the search result after the selected first period. Here, the first period is a period determined by the operator of the present system. For example, the advertisement cost of the search result may be calculated by multiplying the cumulative number of clicks and the bid price generated during the first period. That is, the advertising cost calculating means 260 calculates the advertising cost for the number of times that the user 120 leads the user 120 to the website of the advertiser 130 by the keyword advertising service. Although the advertisement cost calculating means 260 in the present embodiment has been described by way of example to calculate the advertisement cost by multiplying the accumulated number of clicks on the bid price, this is an example of the present invention. Of course, it is possible to calculate the advertising cost by giving. The calculation method of the weight and the advertising cost given in this other embodiment can be flexibly adjusted and changed by the operator of the present system.

In addition, when generating the search result list, the advertising cost calculating means 260 calculates an advertising cost for the selection when the account balance for the search result included in the search result list is less than the account maintenance limit cost for the search result. It is possible to calculate a click advertisement cost that can be subtracted in real time. That is, when it is predicted that the advertising cost calculated after the first period is greater than the account balance of the account, the advertisement cost calculating means 260 may deduct the account balance in association with the user's click on the search result. Will be determined. Click advertising costs are advertising costs that reduce your account balance on a single click basis, which can be flexibly determined by the operator of the system, such as the bid price for that search result, or a bid weighted price. have. In particular, the payment of the advertising costs by the click advertising costs lasts until the account balance becomes at least the click advertising costs, and if it is impossible to further deduct the advertising costs (depletion of the account balance, etc.), the advertising cost calculating means 260 searches for the corresponding search. The keyword advertising service for the result can be controlled to be blocked.

The account updating means 270 is a device for subtracting the calculated advertising cost from the account balance associated with the search result and updating the advertiser information database 210 by using the information on the deducted account balance. That is, the account renewal means 270 is a device that performs a payment process for the advertising cost every period of the first period for the search results associated with the account balance above the account maintenance threshold cost, and the account balance changed by the payment process. Allow changes to be made. In addition, the account renewal means 270 subtracts the click advertisement cost from the account balance under the condition that the account balance becomes less than the set account maintenance limit cost, and newly stores the changed account balance.

Accordingly, according to the present invention, it is possible to stabilize the account balance by periodically adjusting the advertising costs related to the keyword advertising service generated during a predetermined unit period while the account balance is held above the predetermined threshold account maintenance cost of the predetermined size. Guaranteed payment processing of advertising costs, and when the event such as the selection of a search result (for example, a mouse click) occurs as described below, the determination period of determining whether the click is valid and the adjustment period of the account balance coincide. By doing so, it is possible to guarantee the effective payment processing of advertising costs. In addition, even if the account balance is less than the predetermined limit of the account maintenance limit of the size, by providing the maximum number of keyword advertising services provided by the present invention to induce an increase in advertising revenue on the operator side, and to perform more ads on the advertiser side You can get this.

As another embodiment of the present invention, it will be described to determine the validity of the user 120 click.

As described above, the account balance adjustment system 200 of the present invention may induce the user 120 to be connected to the website associated with the advertiser 130 according to the selection of the search result. However, a malicious user, for example, a competitor of an advertiser using the keyword advertising service provided by the present invention may repeatedly select a search result to generate a plurality of clicks to increase the advertiser's orphanage cost. There is a case. In addition, such repetitive selection may be automatically performed by using a predetermined command generating program. In this specification, such abnormal intentions or clicks generated by the process are referred to as "illegal clicks". The account balance adjustment system 200 needs to identify such illegal clicks and ensure that the advertising costs are not deducted from the account balance of the advertiser for illegal clicks, thereby protecting the advertisers and increasing the reliability of the keyword advertisement service. That is, the account balance adjustment system 200 allows the advertiser 130 to pay the advertisement cost only for the click on which the actual advertisement effect has occurred, thereby making it possible to more efficiently calculate and settle the advertisement cost. Therefore, there is a need for a process for selecting a search result, that is, determining whether the click is an illegal click or not.

To this end, the account balance adjustment system 200 will include a validity determination means 280 for determining the validity of the selection (click) of the received search results. That is, the validity determination means 280 determines that the user 120's click on the search result is invalid when it is not an illegal click, invalid when it is illegal, or invalid when it is not clear whether it is illegal. Only the click determined to be valid is to calculate the advertising cost. The time at which the validity judgment of the click validity determination means 280 is performed may be flexibly determined according to the system environment. In this embodiment, for a more accurate determination process, the time point at which the click selection occurs (first validity determination) , When the first period ends (second validity judgment), and the predetermined second period (first period <second period) ends (third validity judgment). The validity and invalidity judgment of more accurate clicks can be determined by the three validity judgments for one click, and thus, the calculation and payment of reasonable advertising costs and the correction of previously paid advertising costs can be determined. You can do that. However, three validity determinations for one click are exemplary, and two or three or more determinations may be made according to embodiments.

Click validity determination by the validity determination means 280 may be performed using log information. For example, the log information includes information about the network location of the terminal means 125 where the selection is received, the time at which the selection occurs, and the like.

For example, the validity determining means 280 records the network address of the terminal means 125 that previously inputs a number of invalid choices or habitually, and all the selections from the terminal means 125 having the corresponding network location. It will be judged as invalid or invalid. In addition, the validity determining unit 280 determines that the click is invalid when a click for selecting a predetermined search result is continuously input at a predetermined time interval, or from a terminal having the same network address (for example, an IP address). When a click for selecting a search result is continuously generated, a reasonable and objective illegal click determination criterion may be used, such as judging the click as invalid.

In addition, the validity determination means 280 may determine the selection as suspected invalid if the validity determination result for the specific selection is within the selected error range and it is difficult to determine it as invalid or valid. The subject and range in which the validity determination by the validity determination means 280 is made may be various applications depending on the system environment. For example, in the present embodiment, the first validity judgment determines one of invalid, valid and invalid doubts for the individual selection, and in the second validity judgment, only invalidity is determined for the invalidity suspect among the selections made during the first period. When the validity is determined, the validity determination may be performed again on all of the selections generated during the set second period.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to more accurately determine the validity of the selection by repeatedly performing the determination of the validity of the predetermined selection a plurality of times. In addition, the present invention is to maximize the reliability of the judgment by setting a pending hold of the suspected invalidity in addition to the validity and invalidity of the instruction, and to be judged as invalid doubt about the selection of the case that it is difficult to clearly determine whether validity or invalidity It becomes possible. For the selection judged to be invalid, the collected information is subsequently used to re-evaluate the validity, and more accurate validity determination can be made for the selection.

Hereinafter, the adjustment of the account balance and the calculation of the advertisement cost using the account balance adjustment system 200 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

3 is an example of an advertiser information database according to the present invention, and is a view for explaining an update process on an advertisement cost and an account balance calculated in association with each search result.

First, the advertiser information database 210 stores the bid price information and the account balance information for each of the search results in correspondence, and records the information on the account maintenance marginal cost set by a predetermined operation. The account balance is increased according to a predetermined account balance charging signal from the advertiser 130 or decreased by the subtraction of the advertising cost, so that the account balance is updated in real time. The account maintenance threshold cost is calculated using the average number of clicks generated for the corresponding search result for each first period, and can be calculated for each search result using the average number of clicks and the bid price information of the search result. That is, the account maintenance marginal cost may be determined differently for each search result. The advertiser information database 210 of FIG. 3 illustrates search results arranged on a search result list corresponding to the keyword 'traffic card'.

For example, it is assumed below that the first period is set to 10 minutes, and the average number of clicks per 10 minutes calculated by counting the number of clicks every 10 minutes for a predetermined period of the search result 'T-money' is 15 times. In this case, the account balance adjustment system 200 may multiply the advertising cost of the search result 'T-money', which is expected to occur in 10 minutes, by multiplying the average click count by 15 times and the bid price '250 won'. 3,750 won 'can be calculated. The account maintenance marginal cost '3,750 won' may determine an advertising cost that is expected to occur for 10 minutes in association with the search result 'T-money'. In this case, the click advertisement cost is selected as the bid price. A click advertising fee is an advertising fee charged to an advertiser based on one click. In addition, in order to charge the advertising cost stably, it may be calculated by [account holding limit cost = average number of clicks x effective click advertising cost x safety index]. The safety index may be set to 2, for example, and the effective click advertisement cost is an advertisement cost for a click determined to be valid among the clicks for 10 minutes.

When the account balance adjustment system 200 generates the search result list, the account balance adjustment system 200 may be applied to the search result after the next 10 minutes have elapsed, provided that the account balance associated with the search result included in the search result list is greater than the account maintenance limit cost. Can be deducted for the above 10 minutes. That is, the account balance adjustment system 200 allows payment processing of periodical advertising costs only for search results having more account balances than the predicted advertising costs, and accumulates the number of clicks generated in the next 10 minutes. Accordingly, the search result 'T-money' is exposed to the user 120 in response to the search request for the next 10 minutes, and the account balance adjustment system 200 is displayed on the exposed search result 'T-money' which actually occurred for the next 10 minutes. The advertising cost (250 won × 21 = 5,250 won) calculated based on the number of clicks (21 times) of the user 120 is deducted from the account balance.

On the other hand, in the case of the search result 'Everland' whose account balance is smaller than the account maintenance limit cost, the account balance adjustment system 200 determines that the current account balance cannot pay the advertising costs that are expected to occur for the next 10 minutes. In addition, instead of the periodical deduction of advertising costs, it is possible to make a deduction (payment processing) of advertising costs in real time. That is, in connection with the selection of the click on 'Everland', the predetermined click advertising fee is deducted from the account balance, and the keyword advertising service for the 'Everland' search result is provided when the account balance becomes smaller than the click advertising cost. Will stop. Here, the click advertisement cost is an advertisement cost added according to one click of the user 120 for the search result, and may be determined by referring to a bid price stored in correspondence with the search result. For example, the click advertising cost determined in FIG. 3 is a value obtained by applying '+5 won' to the bid price of the search result displayed at the next lower impression position, and the click advertising cost of the search result 'Everland' is the search result 'Monetta'. It can be determined as '155 won' with '+5 won' added to the bid price of 'card'. As a result, Everland can maintain keyword advertising services (search results impressions) until "6 times" of clicks result in account balances lower than the cost of clicks. You can exclude the array of search results Everland from the list of search results (the final account balance of Everland is $ 70). In the present embodiment, the calculation of the advertising cost and the click advertising cost is described as a limited example, but there may be a calculation method for a plurality of advertising costs depending on the system environment.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to flexibly adjust the payment method of the advertising cost according to the holding size of the account balance associated with the search result. In addition, by dynamically determining the account maintenance margin cost by search result, it is possible to accurately measure the advertising costs that are expected to occur during the next cycle, so that even if there is sufficient account balance left or deducted in real time, We can prevent deduction periodically. In addition, the advertiser's point of view, even if less than the account maintenance threshold cost, without removing the corresponding search results from the list of search results in the bulk, if the advertising cost is more than the click can be continued, the administrator of the account balance adjustment system 200 The advantage is that the ads will continue to earn maximum profits until they are below the click advertising cost.

The workflow of the account balance adjustment system 200 according to the present invention having such a configuration will be described in detail.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an account balance adjustment method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in detail.

The account balance adjustment method of the present invention is performed by the account balance adjustment system 200 described above.                     

First, the account balance adjustment system 200 maintains an advertiser information database 210 for storing bid price information, account maintenance marginal cost, and account balance information for each search result (S410). This step (S410) is a process of receiving and recording information about the bid price related to the determination of the exposure position and the account balance related to the subtraction of the advertising cost generated from the keyword advertising service for each search result. In addition, the account balance adjustment system 200 in this step (S410) determines the account maintenance limit cost for each of the search results, and stores it in the advertiser information database 210. Hereinafter, the account maintenance limit cost determined for the search result will be described with reference to FIG. 5A.

5A is a workflow diagram illustrating an example of a method of determining account hold marginal costs in accordance with the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the account balance adjustment system 200 generates log information associated with the user 120's selection of a search result to determine an account maintenance threshold cost (S511). This step S511 is a process of recording log information including various information related to a user's click on a specific search result in a predetermined log database (not shown). May include selection time point information on the selected time point, network information about the terminal means 125 of the user 120 who selected the search result, information for identifying the selected search result, and the like. Through such log information, the account balance adjustment system 200 may obtain time history data in which a click occurs with respect to a specific search result, and recognize the number of clicks that occur during a predetermined period.

In addition, the account balance adjustment system 200 calculates an average number of clicks which is an average of the number of clicks for which a search result is selected during the first period with reference to the log information (S512). This step S512 is a process of calculating an average of the number of clicks that can be generated during the first period based on previously generated information data. For example, if the first period is assumed to be 10 minutes, the average number of clicks per 10 minutes may be calculated by calculating the number of selections made per 10 minutes within the last week based on the current time point.

Next, the account balance adjustment system 200 calculates an account maintenance limit cost associated with the search result by using the bid price information and the average number of clicks (S513). This step (S513) is a process of calculating the advertising cost is expected to occur during the first period, for example, by calculating the average number of clicks multiplied to the click advertising costs corresponding to the search results to calculate the account maintenance marginal cost (See FIG. 3). In this embodiment, the bid price is multiplied by the average number of clicks to calculate the account maintenance marginal cost. However, the influence of various information data is calculated by assigning a predetermined weight to the click advertisement cost or the average click count. Can be reflected in the For example, if seasonality is expected to increase clicks above the average click count, then the search results will have an additional weight of at least 1 (e.g. × 1.2) for the average click count. Cost correction can be made.

Therefore, according to the present invention, by determining the minimum account balance value that must be maintained for each of the keyword advertising services with the search results, it ensures stable payment of the advertising cost and thereby secures profitability to the operator of the system. Can be obtained.

In addition, the account balance adjustment system 200 may perform the step of calculating the average number of clicks (S512) and calculating the account maintenance threshold cost (S513) when the bid price information associated with the search result is changed, Alternatively, the control may be performed periodically at a predetermined time period. That is, the account balance adjustment system 200 generates a recalculation request for the account maintenance marginal cost according to the passage of time or input of new data, and accordingly, the account balance limiting cost is flexibly reflected in recent click propensity. Induce output.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the account balance adjustment system 200 generates a search result list including one or more search results associated with a predetermined keyword based on the bid price information and maintains the search result database in the search result database 220 (S420). ). The step S420 is a process of arranging one or more search results extracted in response to a search request on a search result list based on a predetermined exposure position, for example, comparing bid prices of the extracted search results, and comparing a bid price. This relatively large search result can be arranged in sequence at an impression position that is superior to the click-to-impression ratio. The number of exposure positions on the search result list is set differently according to the environment of each system. For example, the search engine 110 displays one or more search results including a keyword inputted for a search request, according to the order of the bid prices. The number of exposure positions set is extracted.                     

In addition, the account balance adjustment system 200 receives a selection of a search result from the user 120 with respect to a search result list provided in response to a predetermined search request including a keyword (S230). This step S230 is a process of providing a search result list to the user 120 as search result information for the search request, and identifying a click of the user 120 with respect to a specific search result included in the search result list. At this time, the search engine 110 allows the user 120 to access the website of the advertiser 130 by using predetermined link information of the search result that is selected, so that the information of the advertiser 130 is retained to the user 120. It may be provided, thereby causing a predetermined advertising effect to the user 120.

In addition, when the account balance adjustment system 200 generates the search result list by referring to the advertiser information database 210, the account balance adjustment system 200 searches for information about the account maintenance limit cost and the account balance associated with the search result included in the search result list. (S440). This step (S440) is a process of identifying information about the account of the advertiser 130 corresponding to the search result in which the user 120 has clicked, information about the account balance currently held in the account of the advertiser 130 You will be confirmed.

The account balance adjustment system 200 increases the number of clicks on the search result only when the searched account balance is equal to or greater than the account maintenance limit cost (S450). This step (S450) is a process of comparing the account balance held in the account of the advertiser 130 and the account maintenance marginal cost (S445), and determines the payment method of the advertising costs differently according to the comparison result. That is, when the account balance adjustment system 200 of the step S450 recognizes that the account balance is held above the account maintenance limit cost, the account balance adjustment system 200 cumulatively adds the number of clicks of the corresponding search result by the received selection. The advertising cost calculated using the accumulated number of clicks during the period unit (eg, the first period) is periodically deducted from the account balance. The account balance adjustment system 200 of the present invention can minimize the system resources required for the payment processing through the periodic deduction of the advertising costs, it is possible to perform the payment processing of the stable advertising costs.

On the other hand, when the result of the comparison of the account balance and the account maintenance margin cost (S445), if the account balance is held below the account maintenance margin cost, the account balance adjustment system 200 calculates the click advertisement cost for the corresponding search result, and the user In connection with the click of 120, the deduction of the click advertisement cost to the account balance may be performed in real time. Hereinafter, the real time deduction of the advertising cost will be described with reference to FIG. 5B.

5B is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of allowing a predetermined advertising cost to be subtracted in real time when the account balance according to the present invention is less than the account maintenance threshold cost.

First, when the account balance adjustment system 200 is less than the account maintenance limit cost, the account balance adjustment system 200 calculates the click advertisement cost using the bid price information associated with the search result selected from the user 120 (S551). This step (S451) is a process of determining the advertising costs to deduct the account balance in real time in conjunction with the user's click on the search results. The determination of the click advertising cost can be flexibly determined by the operator of the system in consideration of the bid price information of the search results. For example, a search is performed by adding a predetermined value (+5) to the bid price of the search result displayed at the next-highest impression position. The click advertising cost of the result can be calculated (see FIG. 3).

In addition, the account balance adjustment system 200 subtracts the click advertisement cost calculated from the account balance associated with the search result in real time (S552). Here, the click advertisement cost may refer to numerical information for temporarily subtracting the account balance associated with the search result in association with the user's one-time click selection for the search result. That is, when it is determined that the advertising balance for the predetermined period (first period) is not sufficient, the account balance adjustment system 200 of the step S552 may be applied to the click advertising expenses at the time when a click occurs on the search result. Payment processing is performed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even if the account balance is held below the account maintenance threshold cost, the keyword advertising service is maintained for the maximum time for the search results, thereby increasing the profitability by continuing the advertising effect and deducting the advertising cost. Can be done.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, if the account balance adjustment system 200 is small enough that the account balance held in the advertiser 130's account can not be paid in real time advertising costs, the corresponding search result Allows the keyword advertising service of to stop immediately To this end, if the account balance associated with the search result is less than the calculated click advertisement cost as a result of subtracting the calculated click advertisement cost in real time, the account balance adjustment system 200 removes the search result from the search result list in real time (S553). . This step (S553) is a process of comparing the account balance of the account and click advertising costs, and the arrangement of the search results are not made when the account balance falls below the click advertising costs. That is, the account balance adjustment system 200 of the present step (S553) determines that the account balance enough to pay in real time the advertising costs generated by the user 120's click is not held in the account, The keyword advertising service will be stopped. Thus, the user may be provided with a search result list containing fewer search results than the search results normally provided until the next period of regenerating a new search result list.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, even if the account balance adjustment system 200 falls below the click advertisement cost, if the search result list is generated periodically, the search result is maintained as it is until the next cycle You can also At this time, even if a search result less than the click advertisement cost is selected by the user before the next cycle, the account balance is insufficient to deduct even the click advertisement cost for the search result. There is no. In the present embodiment, the search result list does not include the search result when the advertiser regenerates the search result list unless the advertiser charges the account balance.

Next, the account balance adjustment system 200 updates the search result database 220 by using the search result list from which the search result is removed (S554). This step (S554) is a process of generating a new search result list according to the size of the bid price for the remaining search results, except for the corresponding search results for which the account balance is depleted. Accordingly, in response to a predetermined keyword input, a new search result list is provided to the user 120 as search result information.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to secure the maximum advertising profitability by maintaining the provision of the keyword advertising service until the account of the advertiser 130 has the ability to pay the minimum advertising cost.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the account balance adjustment system 200 calculates an advertisement fee for the first period by using the accumulated number of clicks and bid price information associated with the search result after the selected first period (S460). . This step (S460), in order to periodically add the advertising costs for the keyword advertising service, by multiplying the bid price information of the corresponding search results by the total number of clicks of the specific search results generated during the first period, the advertising costs for the first period It is a process of calculating (see FIG. 3). This embodiment corresponds to a case where a bid price is selected as a click advertisement cost.

In addition, the account balance adjustment system 200 subtracts the calculated advertising cost from the account balance associated with the search result (S470), and updates the advertiser information database 210 using the information on the deducted account balance (S480). These steps (S470, 480) is a process of periodically paying the advertising costs incurred during the first period (every time point of the first period type) and adjusting the account balance of the account to the deducted amount value.

Accordingly, it is possible to obtain the effect of faithfully performing the purpose of the present invention, in which an advertisement cost is added periodically to the search result, provided that the account balance of the account is at least equal to or greater than the account maintenance limit cost.                     

Hereinafter, as another embodiment of the present invention, it will be described to adjust the various information stored in the advertiser information database 210 in real time according to the new data input.

5C and 5D are flowcharts illustrating an example of a method of updating real-time data of an advertiser information database according to the present invention.

First, FIG. 5C illustrates that the advertiser information database 210 is updated as bid price information related to the calculation of the advertisement cost is newly input from the advertiser 130. To this end, when the bid price change signal is input from the advertiser 130, the account balance adjustment system 200 changes the bid price information associated with the bid price change signal of the advertiser information database 210 in real time (501). This step (S501) is a process of receiving a bid price change signal generated when the bid price of the related search results are to be adjusted by the discretion of the advertiser 130. The bid price change signal may be generated when, for example, the advertiser 130 moves the position (exposure position) where the search results are arranged on the search result list or adjusts the added advertising cost, and the account balance adjustment system 200 ) Changes the bid price information by the adjustment size according to the bid price change signal to be stored in the advertiser information database 210 in real time. According to the change of the bid price information, a search result that is not included in a predetermined search result list is included in the search result list, or a search result included in a search result list is not included in the search result list, or The location of the search result may be changed on the search result list. In addition, according to the change of the bid price information, the account maintenance limit cost for the search result and the advertising cost for the first period for the search result may be changed in real time or periodically.

In addition, FIG. 5D illustrates that the size of the account balance that is changed through the deposit of the advertiser 130 is updated in the advertiser information database 210.

To this end, when the account balance charge signal is input, the account balance adjustment system 200 updates the advertiser information database 210 by changing the account balance associated with the account balance charge signal in real time (S502). This step (S502) is a process to increase the size of the account balance held in the account by the discretion of the advertiser 130, so that the account balance is updated according to the information related to the change size included in the account balance charge signal. . Here, the account balance charge signal is generated in connection with the credit card payment approval or cash deposit to the account, the account balance adjustment system 200 is linked to the input of the account balance charge signal, the account changed in the advertiser information database 210 The balance will be saved.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to induce a rapid data update process by performing a real-time change process on the information related to the calculation of the advertising cost and the settlement process according to the input of the new information.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 6, the validity determination about the selection (click) of the user 120 is demonstrated.

6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method of performing click validation according to the present invention.

The validity check on the click of the present invention may be performed in step S450 of increasing the number of clicks described above.

First, the account balance adjustment system 200 generates log information associated with the selection of the search result (S610). This step (S610) is a process of generating predetermined record data regarding a search result that is clicked by the user 120 among search results included in the search result list. Here, the log information may include network address information of the terminal means 125 of the user 120 who inputs the search result and selection time information of the time when the search result is selected. Accordingly, the account balance adjustment system 200 of the present invention can recognize the information of the user 120 who generated the click on the search result or the information on the time when the click occurred.

In addition, the account balance adjustment system 200 determines whether the selection of the search result is valid by referring to the log information generated during the first period (S620). This step (S620) is a process of determining the validity of the click by using the generated log information, etc., so that at least one of valid, invalid, or invalid suspicion is determined for each click. For example, the validity judgment of the account balance adjustment system 200 may determine the result of the validity determination as invalid suspicion for the click generated from a network address that previously generated a large number of invalidity. In the present embodiment, as an example, it is described that the validity of the click is performed using the network address information and the viewpoint information included in the log information. However, this is only an embodiment of the present invention. Of course, the validity judgment may be performed in consideration of various information according to the system environment such as information on the occurrence frequency.

Next, the account balance adjustment system 200 increments the number of clicks only for the selection of a search result that is valid as a result of the validity determination (S630). This step (S630) is a process for the user 120 is connected to the website of the advertiser 130, the advertising cost is added only to the click that determines that the actual advertising effect. At this time, a click determined to be invalid or suspected invalid does not accumulate the number of clicks, thereby suspending ad costs. According to an exemplary embodiment, the total number of clicks, the number of valid clicks, and the number of invalid clicks may be calculated regardless of whether they are valid or invalid. However, the advertising fee for the first period is calculated using only the number of valid clicks.

Therefore, as a result of the validity determination, the advertisement cost can be calculated only for the valid click, so that the advertisement cost can be settled more reasonably. In addition, according to the present invention, except for the click judged to be invalid or suspected invalid, the advertising cost calculation is performed for a valid click every first period, for example, at a relatively short time such as 10 minutes. Fast charging can be enabled.

In addition, when a click occurred, the validity of the click was determined in real time. However, when the validity of the click was determined using the log information collected during the first period, the click is a valid click. It is determined and reflected in calculating the advertising costs for the first period.

In addition, the click result is reconsidered through the validity judgment performed again by further using the additionally collected data for a period longer than the first period (second period), thereby validating the click for the user 120's selection. Or it can be clearly confirmed as invalid.

In addition, the account balance adjustment system 200 further determines whether the selection of the search result is valid by referring to the log information generated during the selected second period (S640). Since the step S640 further determines whether the click is an illegal click by further using log information on the click generated during the second period exceeding the first period, the validity of the click can be more accurately determined. have.

The account balance adjustment system 200 reports the validity determination result for the second period as more accurate as a result of the additional determination, the result of the validity determination for the first period and the result of the validity determination for the second period. In operation S650, the account balance associated with the search result is corrected. This step (S650) is a process of performing correction processing on the account balance when the results determined by at least two or more validity determinations for the same click are different. That is, when the account balance adjustment system 200 in this step S650 is a click determined as valid in the initial validity determination for the first period and is free in the final validity determination for the second period, for example, A correction is made to reduce the advertising costs already added in association with the click to increase the account balance. On the other hand, in the case of a click determined to be invalid in the initial validity judgment and determined to be paid in the final validity judgment, a predetermined advertising cost (preferably click advertising cost) is generated in association with the valid click, and the generated advertising cost is It will be deducted from your account balance. This correction is performed in a separate process from subtracting the advertising cost periodically every first period.

Therefore, according to the present invention, an advertisement cost may be added to only valid clicks according to the initial validity determination, thereby obtaining an effect of guaranteeing an advertisement cost profit to an operator of the present system. In addition, if the result of the click decision is changed in the final validity judgment, the account balance is corrected so that the keyword advertising service can be provided without imposing an adverse cost or an advertising fee that should be imposed. The loss to the service provider can be prevented.

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 media 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 recording media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, magnetic-optical media such as floppy disks, and ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute the same program instructions are included. 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.

7 is an internal block diagram of a general purpose computer device that may be employed to perform the method of adjusting the account balance according to the present invention.

Computer device 700 includes one or more processors 710 connected to a main memory device including random access memory (RAM) 720 and read only memory (ROM) 730. The processor 710 is also called a central processing unit (CPU). As is well known in the art, the ROM 730 serves to transfer data and instructions to the CPU unidirectionally, and the RAM 720 typically transfers data and instructions bidirectionally. Used to. RAM 720 and ROM 730 may include any suitable form of computer readable media. Mass storage 740 is bidirectionally coupled to processor 710 to provide additional data storage capabilities, and may be any of the computer readable recording media described above. The mass storage device 740 is used to store programs, data, and the like, and is typically an auxiliary memory device such as a hard disk which is slower than the main memory device. Certain mass storage devices such as CD ROM 760 may be used. The processor 710 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. 750 is connected. Finally, the processor 710 may be connected to a wired or wireless communication network through the network interface 770. 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.

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, 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.

As can be seen from the above description, according to the present invention, the account maintenance marginal cost is determined by each of the search results, and the advertising cost for the keyword advertising service is limited only when the current account balance is maintained above the account maintenance marginal cost. By periodically paying, it is possible to provide an account balance adjustment system and a method of adjusting an account balance that guarantees a stable payment of advertising costs.

In addition, according to the present invention, if the account balance falls below the account maintenance threshold cost, the payment processing for the account balance is performed in real time in conjunction with the generation of advertising costs, so as to extend the period for which the keyword advertising service is provided. It is possible to provide an account balance adjustment system and a method of adjusting the account balance that maximizes advertising profitability.

In addition, according to the present invention, by repeatedly validity determination for a given click a plurality of times, the validity of the click is more accurately determined, and the correction process for the account balance is flexibly performed according to the determination result. An account balance adjustment system and a method for adjusting account balances that improve the reliability of advertising costs can be provided.

Claims (1)

Here's how to adjust your account balance for keyword ads: Maintaining a bid information database for storing predetermined bid price information corresponding to a search result including a predetermined keyword; Changing the bid price information of the bid information database according to the reception of a predetermined price change signal Counting the number of occurrences of click selection for the search result for each search result; And After elapse of the first selected period, calculating an advertising cost in consideration of the counted number of occurrences and the changed bid price information, and subtracting the calculated advertising cost from a predetermined account; Account balance adjustment method comprising the.

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