US6983272B2 — System and method for influencing a position on a…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 230 words

A method of generating a result list in response to a computer user entering a keyword, comprising: storing a plurality of listings, where each listing is associated with an information provider, at least one keyword, a money amount, and a computer network location; receiving a keyword entered by a user; identifying at least some listings having a keyword generating a match with the keyword entered by the user; ordering the identified listings based at least in part on the money amounts for the respective identified listings; generating a result list including at least some of the ordered listings; displaying the result list to the user; receiving a retrieval request from the user to retrieve information associated with a listing selected from the result list and charging to an account of the information provider associated with the selected listing an amount related to the money amount associated with the selected listing for each retrieval request; providing an information provider with online authenticated login access permitting the information provider to modify the money amount associated with the listing of the information provider; and at the request of an information provider provided with login access, automatically estimating the cost of including an information provider listing in the database for a specified time period; wherein the displayed listings which generate a charge to the information provider are identified in the display as paid listings.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 230 words

A method of generating a result list in response to a computer user entering a keyword, comprising: storing a plurality of listings, where each listing is associated with an information provider, at least one keyword, a money amount, and a computer network location; receiving a keyword entered by a user; identifying at least some listings having a keyword generating a match with the keyword entered by the user; ordering the identified listings based at least in part on the money amounts for the respective identified listings; generating a result list including at least some of the ordered listings; displaying the result list to the user; receiving a retrieval request from the user to retrieve information associated with a listing selected from the result list and charging to an account of the information provider associated with the selected listing an amount related to the money amount associated with the selected listing for each retrieval request; providing an information provider with online authenticated login access permitting the information provider to modify the money amount associated with the listing of the information provider; and at the request of an information provider provided with login access, automatically estimating the cost of including an information provider listing in the database for a specified time period; wherein the displayed listings which generate a charge to the information provider are identified in the display as paid listings.

Claim 3

Independent Claim 214 words

A method of generating a search result list in response to a user submitting a search request to a search engine operating over a computer network, comprising: maintaining a database including a plurality of network information provider listings, wherein each listing is associated with at least one search term, a money amount and a network information provider; receiving a search request entered by a user; identifying at least some network information provider listings having a search term generating a match with the search request received from the user; displaying to the user a search result list including at least some of the identified network information provider listings; and upon receiving a retrieval request from the user to retrieve information associated with a network information provider listing selected from the result list, charging to an account of a network information provider associated with the selected listing the money amount associated with the listing; wherein a network information provider is provided with online authenticated login access permitting the network information provider to modify the money amount associated with a listing of the network information; and at the request of a network information provider provided with login access, automatically estimating the cost of including a network information provider listing in the database for a specified time period.

Claim 4

Independent Claim 214 words

A method of generating a search result list in response to a user submitting a search request to a search engine operating over a computer network, comprising: maintaining a database including a plurality of network information provider listings, wherein each listing is associated with at least one search term, a money amount and a network information provider; receiving a search request entered by a user; identifying at least some network information provider listings having a search term generating a match with the search request received from the user; displaying to the user a search result list including at least some of the identified network information provider listings; and upon receiving a retrieval request from the user to retrieve information associated with a network information provider listing selected from the result list, charging to an account of a network information provider associated with the selected listing the money amount associated with the listing; wherein a network information provider is provided with online authenticated login access permitting the network information provider to modify the money amount associated with a listing of the network information; and at the request of a network information provider provided with login access, automatically estimating the cost of including a network information provider listing in the database for a specified time period.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 21 words

The method of claim 2 , further comprising: providing a network information provider with suggested alternative search terms for a listing.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 22 words

The method of claim 3 , wherein the suggested alternative search terms comprise search terms associated with other listings from the database.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 18 words

The method of claim 3 , wherein the suggested alternative search terms comprise terms from a thesaurus database.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 26 words

The method of claim 2 , wherein the listings in the search result list are ordered taking into account the money amounts for the respective listings.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 20 words

The method of claim 6 , wherein the listings in the search result list are ordered by decreasing money amount.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 29 words

The method of claim 7 , wherein listings in the search result list that have the same money amount are ordered from earliest to most recent time of creation.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 27 words

The method of claim 2 , wherein the displayed listings which generate a charge to the network information provider are identified in the display as paid listings.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 30 words

The method of claim 9 , wherein the displayed listings which generate a charge to the network information provider include in the display an identification of their respective money amounts.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 23 words

The method of claim 2 , wherein the modification of a listing by a network information provider is performed substantially in real time.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 43 words

The method of claim 2 , wherein a network information provider provided with login access is permitted to change the manner by which a search term associated with the network information providers listing is matched with a search request received from a user.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 33 words

The method of claim 2 , wherein a match is based at least in part on a search term of a listing being a synonym of a search request received from a user.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 24 words

The method of claim 2 , wherein a match is based at least in part on a location associated with a network information provider.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 24 words

The method of claim 14 , wherein the location is one of a country, a city, a zip code, and a telephone area code.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 25 words

The method of claim 2 , wherein a match is based at least in part on the language of the text associated with a listing.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 71 words

The method of claim 2 , wherein, at the request of a network information provider provided with login access, an activity report is generated automatically for at least one listing for a specified time period, including information on at least one of the number of retrieval requests received from users, the number of occurrences of a user entering a matching search request, the number of impressions, and the click through rate.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 204 words

An online method for an information provider to automatically update information relating to a listing includable in a result list generated by a computer network server, wherein the listing is stored and is associated with at least one keyword, a money amount, and the information provider; the result list is generated by the server in response to a user entering a keyword; keywords associated with the listings in the result list match the user keyword; the listings in the result list are ordered at least in part on the basis of the money amounts of the respective listings; and a request from the user to retrieve information associated with a selected listing from the result list causes a charge to an account of the information provider associated with the selected listing in the money amount associated with the selected listing, the method comprising: navigating the computer network to a network location of the server; accessing at least one listing associated with the information provider through an authenticated login procedure; requesting the server to modify the money amount with the access listing; and requesting and receiving from the server a cost estimate for including a listing among the stored listings for a specified time period.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 204 words

An online method for an information provider to automatically update information relating to a listing includable in a result list generated by a computer network server, wherein the listing is stored and is associated with at least one keyword, a money amount, and the information provider; the result list is generated by the server in response to a user entering a keyword; keywords associated with the listings in the result list match the user keyword; the listings in the result list are ordered at least in part on the basis of the money amounts of the respective listings; and a request from the user to retrieve information associated with a selected listing from the result list causes a charge to an account of the information provider associated with the selected listing in the money amount associated with the selected listing, the method comprising: navigating the computer network to a network location of the server; accessing at least one listing associated with the information provider through an authenticated login procedure; requesting the server to modify the money amount with the access listing; and requesting and receiving from the server a cost estimate for including a listing among the stored listings for a specified time period.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 25 words

The method of claim 18 , further comprising: receiving from the server suggested alternative keywords; and selecting a suggested alternative keyword for the accessed listing.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 29 words

The method of claim 18 , further comprising: changing the manner by which a keyword associated with the accessed listing is matched with a keyword entered by a user.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 24 words

The method of claim 20 , wherein one match option is based at least in part on a location associated with the information provider.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 24 words

The method of claim 21 , wherein the location is one of a country, a city, a zip code, and a telephone area code.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 67 words

The method of claim 18 , further comprising: requesting and receiving from the server an activity report for a specified time period for at least one listing associated with the information provider, including information on at least one of the number of retrieval requests received from users, the number of occurrences of a user entering a matching keyword, the number of impression, and the click through rate.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 38 words

The method of claim 18 , further comprising: requesting from the server a calculation of a money amount for a listing that would place the listing in a desired rank among the ordered listings in the result list.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 31 words

The method of claim 24 , wherein the requested calculated money amount is a predetermined amount greater than the money amount associated with the next ranked listing in the ordered listings.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 30 words

The method of claim 18 , further comprising: receiving an online notification from the server that a predetermined event has occurred with respect to an account of the information provider.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 20 words

The method of claim 26 , wherein the notification is that an account balance has fallen below a specified level.

Claim 31

Dependent Claim 25 words

The method of claim 26 , wherein the notification is that a listing associated with the information provider has changed rank in the result list.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2009-01-02	2009-07-04	2010-01-03	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2013-01-02	2013-07-04	2014-01-03	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2017-01-02	2017-07-04	2018-01-03	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

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

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