Overture Services, Inc.

Yahoo! Inc.

Goto.com

Overture Service, Inc.

Darren J Davis

Dominic Dough-Ming Cheung

Tod E Kurt

Ka Luk Lee

Johann Garcia

Preston Pfarner

Steve Skovran

Larry Greco

Matthew Derer

Thomas Kwong

Jonathan C Lee

Scott W Snell

Narinder Pal Singh

Thomas A Soulanille

Scott A Shifflett

Eugene F Hu

Peter Savich

Douglas T Huffman

Winton Henry Davies

Mark Paine

Donald F Geddis

Jon Dukes-Schlossberg

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

Keyword suggestion system for a computer network search engine

A method and apparatus for managing search listings in a search database include storing one or more search listings for an advertiser. Each search listing includes an associated search term. The system receives from the advertiser identification information for a search listing and a desired rank for the identified search listing, a maximum cost per click for the search listing, or both. The system stores the desired rank and/or maximum cost per click for the search listing. The system then determines a cost per click for the identified search listing based on the desired rank and other search listings which include the search term associated with the identified search listing.

System and method for providing place and price protection in a search result list generated by a computer network search engine

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

A notification method in a computer database system includes receiving a notification instruction from an owner associated with a search listing stored in the computer database system, monitoring conditions specified by the notification instruction for the search listing, and sending a notification to the owner upon detection of a changed condition of the search listing.

Automatic advertiser notification for a system for providing place and price protection in a search result list generated by a computer network search engine

A database search system includes a database of search terms, each search term associated with a bid amount payable by an advertiser of a plurality of advertisers and a search engine responsive to search queries from searchers for searching the database. A flight management agent is responsive to advertiser-specified parameters for adjusting bid amounts of search listings to manage expenditures over a time interval.

Automatic flight management in an online marketplace

A system and method of generating an ordered search list via a search engine by determining various account balances to determine where a search listing will appear, if at all, in a search results list. If a web site advertiser's account is below a threshold, the search listing associated with the advertiser will not appear in the search list. Various balances may be used. Some of the balances may be closer to real-time balances and others may be more accurate, for example by removing certain event charges that were later determined to be non-chargeable. By using and monitoring the various account balances, the search engine prevents over-delivery of advertising through search result listings and possible over-billing of the advertisers.

Search engine account monitoring

A system and method for enabling information providers using a computer network to influence a position for a search listing within a search result list. A database stores accounts for the network information providers. Each account contains contact and billing information. In addition, each account contains at least one search listing having at least three components: a description, a search term comprising one or more keywords, and a bid amount. The network information provider may add, delete, or modify a search listing after logging into his or her account via an authentication process. The network information provider influences a position for a search listing in the provider's account by first selecting a relevant search term and entering that search term and the description into a search listing. A continuous online competitive bidding process occurs when the network information provider enters a new bid amount for a search listing. This bid amount is compared with all other bid amounts for the same search term. A rank value is generated for all search listings having that search term. The generated rank value determines where the network information provider's listing will appear on the search results list page that is generated in response to a query of the search term by a searcher at a client computer on the computer network. A higher bid by a network information provider will result in a higher rank value and a more advantageous placement.

In a pay-for-placement search system, the system makes search term recommendations to advertisers managing their accounts in one or more of two ways. A first technique involves looking for good search terms directly on an advertiser's web site. A second technique involves comparing an advertiser to other, similar advertisers and recommending the search terms the other advertisers have chosen. The first technique is called spidering and the second technique is called collaborative filtering. In the preferred embodiment, the output of the spidering step is used as input to the collaborative filtering step. The final output of search terms from both steps is then interleaved in a natural way.

Recommending search terms using collaborative filtering and web spidering

A method for providing a search result list. The method includes receiving a search request from a searcher. In a database of search listings in which each search listing is associated with an advertiser and includes at least one search term and a bid amount by the advertiser, search listings generating a match with the search request are identified. A predetermined number of identified search listings are selected according to bid amount for display to the searcher. The identified search listings are arranged for display in a random order as the search result list. The search result list is then communicated to the searcher.

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

A system and method of generating an ordered search list via a pay-for-performance search engine by determining various account balances to determine if a search listing is given preferential placement in a search list. If a web site advertiser's account is below a threshold, for example zero dollars, the search listing associated with the advertiser is not given preferential placement in a search list regardless of the advertiser bid amount for that search listing. Various balances may be used. Some of the balances may be closer to real-time balances and other may be more accurate, for example by removing click charges that were later determined to be non-chargeable. By using the various account balances, the pay-for-performance search engine prevents over-delivery of preferential placement and possible over-billing of the advertisers.

Growing community of inventors

Rowland Heights, CA, United States of America

Darren J Davis