| Claims
[1] An Internet advertisement searching system, comprising: one or more advertiser servers; and at least one advertising media server comprising a member management module for processing a member subscription procedure and a log-in/out procedure for one or more consumers who access a web site, a member Database (DB) for storing member information, an advertisement DB for storing advertisements linked to one of the advertiser servers, a searching module for searching the advertisement DB for one or more corresponding advertisements based on a keyword entered by one of the consumers, an advertisement posting module for outputting the advertisements, that is, search results of the searching module, as a search result list, and a point management module for providing points to the corresponding consumer and accumulating them in the member DB in one or more cases selected from among a case in which the consumer selects one of the advertisements and then accesses the advertiser server linked with the corresponding advertisement and a case in which the consumer performs a transaction in the accessed advertiser server.
[2] The Internet advertisement searching system according to claim 1, wherein the member management module installs a consumer identification code capable of communicating with a member management module in a terminal of a consumer, who subscribed as a member, so as to identify the consumer, who accesses the advertising media server, without performing a log-in procedure.
[3] The Internet advertisement searching system according to claim 1, further comprising a Payment Gateway (PG) for mediating connection between the advertisements and the advertiser server and connecting a terminal of a consumer who clicked one of the advertisements to the advertiser server, processing a payment process performed based on a transaction in the advertiser server, and transmitting performance record information about a number of connections between the consumer and the advertiser server or about performance of one or more transactions to the advertising media server.
[4] An Internet advertisement searching service method in an Internet advertisement searching system, the internet advertisement searching system including one or more advertiser servers, and an advertising media server comprising an advertisement DB for storing advertisements linked to one of the advertiser servers, and a searching module for searching the advertisement DB based on a keyword entered by a consumer, the Internet advertisement searching service method comprising: a searching step of a consumer who accesses the advertising media server entering a keyword, and searching the advertisement DB for one or more advertisements related to the keyword and posting found advertisements; an advertiser server accessing step of the consumer clicking one of the advertisements, and a terminal of the consumer being connected to the advertiser server; and a point accumulating step of, if the consumer is a member of the advertising media server, providing points to the consumer in one or more cases selected from among a case in which the consumer selects one of the advertisements and then accesses the advertiser server linked with the corresponding advertisement and a case in which the consumer performs a transaction in the accessed advertiser server.
[5] The Internet advertisement searching service method according to claim 4, further comprising a member identifying step of, when the consumer accesses the advertising media server, determining whether the corresponding consumer is a member through a log-in of the consumer or through a check on a consumer identification code installed in the terminal of the consumer.
[6] The Internet advertisement searching service method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the advertiser server accessing step comprises: an advertisement clicking step of the consumer clicking one of the advertisements, and the terminal of the consumer being connected to a PG; a click number checking step of the PG counting and storing a number of connections to the advertiser server when the consumer clicks the advertisement; an accessing step of connecting the terminal of the consumer, connected to the PG, to the advertiser server; a payment step of, when a transaction is performed in the advertiser server, the PG processing a payment process while communicating with the consumer; and a performance record providing step of transmitting information about the number of clicks, stored at the click number checking step, to the advertising media server.
[7] The Internet advertisement searching service method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the advertiser server accessing step comprises: an advertisement clicking step of the consumer clicking one of the advertisements, and the terminal of the consumer being connected to the PG; an accessing step of connecting the terminal of the consumer, connected to the PG, to the advertiser server; a payment step of, when a transaction is performed in the advertiser server, the PG processing a payment process while communicating with the consumer, de- termining whether the corresponding consumer is a consumer identified at the advertisement clicking step, and storing information about transactions of the consumer; and a performance record providing step of transmitting the information about transactions of the consumer, stored at the payment step, to the advertising media server. |
Description
SEARCHING SYSTEM OF INTERNET ADVERTISEMENT AND SEARCHING SERVICE METHOD THEREOF
Technical Field
[1] The present invention relates to an Internet advertisement searching system and a searching service method that post commercial advertisements, provide information service to Internet users who access a corresponding server in order to view the advertisements, provide points based on searching together with the information service, and enable advertisers to increase advertising effects.
[2]
Background Art
[3] A small number of portal sites, which are well-recognized and have earned the confidence of the public, function as advertising media by posting various types of advertisements on web sites through banner advertisements and keyword search advertisements. Although such portal sites have an advantage of having high advertising effects attributable to a high Internet user access rate, they have a disadvantage in that advertising expenses are burdensome, compared to typical web sites.
[4] Meanwhile, since keyword search advertisements are less expensive than banner advertisements, small- and medium-sized companies have used them without burden. However, in order to determine priority for search results, various methods of outputting search results, such as an auction bidding method, are used, with the result that companies have entered into intense competition to obtain advertising media, so that advertising expenses have increased due to the competition, thereby increasing the burden of advertising expenses on the small- and medium-sized companies.
[5] Besides, portal sites output various search result lists which have different purposes as keyword search results on web pages. Therefore, in the case in which such a keyword search advertisement is performed for the purpose of advertisement, there is a problem in that it is difficult to attract Internet users' attention because non- advertisement search results are output along with corresponding search results.
[6] In consequence, the prior art Internet advertisement searching system has a problem in that it is difficult to expect sufficient advertising effects for advertising expenses paid by advertisers, and it is difficult to obtain desired search results because Internet users who perform searches having commercial purposes must search for desired advertisements from search result lists including unnecessary search results.
[7]
Disclosure of Invention
Technical Problem
[8] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an Internet advertisement searching system and a searching service method which enable Internet users who attempt to search the Internet for the purpose of searching for commercial advertisements to easily view desired search results, and enable advertisers to obtain high advertising effects, compared to prices.
[9]
Technical Solution
[10] In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an Internet advertisement searching system, including one or more advertiser servers; and at least one advertising media server comprising a member management module for processing a member subscription procedure and a log-in/out procedure for one or more consumers who access a web site, a member Database (DB) for storing member information, an advertisement DB for storing advertisements linked to one of the advertiser servers, a searching module for searching the advertisement DB for one or more corresponding advertisements based on a keyword entered by one of the consumers, an advertisement posting module for outputting the advertisements, that is, search results of the searching module, as a search result list, and a point management module for providing points to the corresponding consumer and accumulating them in the member DB in one or more cases selected from among the case in which the consumer selects one of the advertisements and then accesses the advertiser server linked with the corresponding advertisement and the case in which the consumer performs a transaction in the accessed advertiser server.
[H]
[12] In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an Internet advertisement searching service method in an Internet advertisement searching system, the internet advertisement searching system including one or more advertiser servers, and an advertising media server including an advertisement DB for storing advertisements linked to one of the advertiser servers, and a searching module for searching the advertisement DB based on a keyword entered by a consumer, the Internet advertisement searching service method including a searching step of a consumer who accesses the advertising media server entering a keyword, and searching the advertisement DB for one or more advertisements related to the keyword and posting found advertisements; an advertiser server accessing step of the consumer clicking one of the advertisements, and a terminal of the consumer being connected to the advertiser server; and a point accumulating step of, if the consumer is a member of the ad-
vertising media server, providing points to the consumer in one or more cases selected from among the case in which the consumer selects one of the advertisements and then accesses the advertiser server linked with the corresponding advertisement and the case in which the consumer performs a transaction in the accessed advertiser server. [13]
Advantageous Effects
[14] According to the present invention, there are advantages of providing desired information to Internet users, who access a corresponding server in order to view advertisements by posting the advertisements which are commercially utilized, providing points based on searching together with the information, and enabling advertisers, who are the operators of respective advertiser servers, to increase advertising effects.
[15] Further, for the clarity of relationship of a performance record between advertiser servers and an advertising media server, payment based on the performance record is explicitly processed through a PG, with the result that consumers can receive proper points, so that there is an advantage in that profits are effectively distributed to the consumers, advertisers, and advertising media companies.
[16]
Brief Description of the Drawings
[17] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of an Internet advertisement searching system according to the present invention;
[18] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment of a searching service method according to the present invention;
[19] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the Internet advertisement searching system according to the present invention;
[20] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the searching service method according to the present invention; and
[21] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a third embodiment of the searching service method according to the present invention.
[22]
Mode for the Invention
[23] The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.
[24] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of an Internet advertisement searching system according to the present invention, and the present invention will be described with reference to the drawing.
[25] The Internet advertisement searching system according to the present invention includes one or more terminals of consumers (hereinafter referred to as consumers) 20,
20', and 20", that is, Internet users who want to purchase products and services and obtain information only by performing commercial searches, unlike a portal site used to perform searches of various types of fields and for various purposes, such as learning, knowledge and news, as well as commercial searches, and an advertising media server 30 for connecting one or more commercial servers 10, 10', and 10" which can provide desired information based on the commercial searches.
[26] The advertising media server 30 can post or search only for commercially purposed advertisements on a web site, so that the consumers 20, 20', and 20" can easily and simply perform desired searches. Further, the advertising media server 30 affiliates the consumers 20, 20', and 20" with members. Therefore, in the case in which one of the consumers 20, 20', and 20" searches for advertisements, accesses one of the commercial servers 10, 10', 10" by clicking one of search results or posted advertisements, or performs a transaction in the corresponding commercial server 10, 10', or 10", the advertising media server 30 provides benefits corresponding to the above activities, thereby motivating the consumer 20, 20', or 20" to actively use the advertising media server 30.
[27] For this purpose, the advertising media server 30 includes a member management module 31 for managing one or more members, a member Database (DB) 32 for storing member information, a point management module 33 for managing points, which are benefits provided by the advertising media server 30 to the consumers 20, 20', and 20", a searching module 34 for searching for advertisements based on keywords input by the consumers 20, 20', and 20", an advertisement DB 35 for storing not only advertisements to be posted on a web site as search results but also advertisements which have no relationship with the search, and an advertisement posting module 36 for posting the advertisements on a web site managed by the advertising media server 30 and managing the posted advertisements.
[28] The member management module 31 determines whether a consumer 20, 20', or 20" who accesses the advertising media server 30 is a member, processes a log-in/log-out process, and performs a member subscription procedure.
[29] In the case in which the consumer 20, 20', or 20" searches for advertisements, accesses the commercial server 10, 10', or 10" by clicking one of the search results or posted advertisements, or performs a transaction in the corresponding commercial server 10, 10', or 10", the point management module 33 provides benefits corresponding to the above activities. The benefits are regarded as points in the embodiment according to the present invention.
[30] The points correspond to e-money, which can be used as cash online. Incidental services provided by an advertising media company can be used using such points, and the types and quality of service provided through the points can be improved through
cooperation with other companies.
[31] The searching module 34 searches for related information (advertisements) based on a keyword entered into a search box by the consumer 20, 20', or 20" who accesses the advertising media server 30. The searching module 34 searches the advertisement DB 35. The advertisements, stored in the advertisement DB 35, correspond to the advertisements of the advertiser server 10, 10', or 10" which has made contact with the advertising media server 30. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.
[32] The advertisement posting module 36 outputs advertisements stored in the advertisement DB 35 so that the consumer 20, 20', or 20" who accesses the advertising media server 30 can view the advertisements.
[33] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment of a searching service method according to the present invention, and a searching service method based on the above- described advertisement searching system will be described with reference to the drawing.
[34]
[35] SlO; Step of accessing advertising media server
[36] The consumer 20, 20', or 20" accesses the advertising media server 30 and performs communication using his/her own terminal.
[37]
[38] SI l and S 12; Step of identifying member
[39] The member management module 31 determines whether the consumer 20, 20', or
20" who accesses the advertising media server 30 is a member. A method of identifying a member includes prompting log-in so that the corresponding consumer 20, 20', or 20" enters an Identification (ID) and a Password (PW), or checking a consumer identification code 21 (refer to FIG. 3), which will be described later.
[40] As described above, the advertisement searching system according to the present invention allows profits obtained by the manager of the advertiser server 10, 10', or 10" through advertising to be distributed to consumers as well as advertising media companies. Therefore, in order to provide benefits corresponding to the performance record of the individual consumer 10, 10', or 10", discrimination between the consumers 10, 10', and 10" is inevitable.
[41] Therefore, on the web site of the advertising media server 30, notification, used to notify a consumer 20, 20', or 20" who accesses the advertising media server 30, of promoting to perform member subscription, or an event used to promote member subscription is presented.
[42]
[43] S 13 and S 14; Step of subscribing as member
[44] The consumer 20, 20', or 20" performs a general member subscription procedure
along the notification of the advertising media server 30. The member management module 31 performs the member subscription procedure by outputting a fixed form in which the private information of the consumer 20, 20', or 20" can be entered, and the entered private information is stored and kept in the member DB 32.
[45] When the member subscription is completed, the process returns to a member identifying step at steps SI l and S 12 in order to perform a log-in process. When the consumer 20, 20', or 20" has not subscribed as a member, a procedure subsequent to the member identifying step at steps SI l and S 12 is performed.
[46] In the latter case, since the consumer 20, 20', or 20" rejects the provision of points based on the use of the advertising media server 30, the accumulation of points for the corresponding consumer 20, 20', or 20" is not performed.
[47]
[48] S 16; Step of performing searching
[49] The consumer 20, 20', or 20" enters a desired search keyword into the advertising media server 30 and performs a search.
[50] The searching module 34 checks the keyword entered by the consumer 20, 20', or
20", and searches the advertisement DB 35 for one or more related advertisements.
[51] When the search by the searching module 34 is completed, the advertisement posting module 36 configures a search result list, and posts the search result list on a web site so that the consumer 20, 20', or 20" can view the search result list.
[52]
[53] S 17; Step of clicking on advertisement
[54] The consumer 20, 20', or 20" selects and clicks one of the advertisements included in the search result list posted on the advertising media server 30. Of course, the corresponding advertisement is linked to the advertiser server 10, 10', or 10" related to the corresponding advertisement. Therefore, when the consumer 20, 20', or 20" clicks the corresponding advertisement, the consumer 20, 20', or 20" is connected to the advertiser server 10, 10', or 10".
[55]
[56] S 18; Step of accessing advertiser server
[57] Via the advertisement clicking step S 17, the access of the consumer 20, 20', or 20" is certified as access through the advertising media server 30, and then the consumer 20, 20', or 20" accesses the advertiser server 10, 10', or 10".
[58] The consumer 20, 20', or 20" accessing the advertiser server 10, 10', or 10" can perform a transaction in the state in which log-in is performed by subscribing to the advertiser server 10, 10', or 10" as a member, or in the state in which log-in is not performed.
[59]
[60] S 19; Step of accumulating points
[61] Meanwhile, when the consumer 20, 20', or 20" who is a member of the advertising media server 30 accesses the advertiser server 10, 10', or 10" through the advertising media server 30, the point management module 33 can provide points corresponding to the access to the corresponding consumer 20, 20', or 20".
[62] The points provided in such a manner are added to existing points, and then recorded and stored in the member DB 32.
[63]
[64] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the Internet advertisement searching system according to the present invention and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a second embodiment of the searching service method according to the present invention. The present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[65]
[66] S 15; Step of installing consumer identification code
[67] In the second embodiment of the Internet advertisement searching system according to the present invention, a consumer identification code 21, provided by the member management module 31 when member subscription to the advertising media server 30 is performed, is installed in the terminal of a consumer 20.
[68] With regard to the consumer identification code 21, when the consumer 20 completes member subscription at the member subscription steps S 13 and S 14, the member management module 31 transmits a unique consumer identification code 21 to the terminal of a corresponding member and installs it in the terminal of the corresponding member. Therefore, when the consumer 20 accesses the advertising media server 30 through the terminal thereafter, the member management module 31 checks the consumer identification code 21 of the terminal of the accessing consumer 20, thereby recognizing the consumer 20 even when the consumer 20 does not perform any separate log-in operation. When points for the consumer 20 are generated, the member management module 31 accumulates the points.
[69] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a third embodiment of the searching service method according to the present invention. The present invention will be described with reference to the drawing.
[70] The advertisement searching system according to the present invention further includes a Payment Gateway (PG) 50 for opening a record of transaction clearly and managing the record of transaction strictly, so that confidence between an advertising media company and the operator of the advertiser server 10 is increased, mediating the connection of the consumer 20 between the advertising media server 30 and the advertiser server 10 so that the consumer 20 can gain suitable profits, and taking full
charge of a payment procedure for a transaction performed in the advertiser server 10.
[71] Since the advertising media server accessing step SlO to the searching step S 16 were previously described, the description thereof is omitted.
[72]
[73] S 17'; Step of clicking advertisement
[74] The consumer 20 selects and clicks one of advertisements registered on the advertising media server 30. The corresponding advertisement is linked to the advertiser server 10 related to the corresponding advertisement. Therefore, when the consumer 20 clicks on the corresponding advertisement, it seems that the consumer 20 is directly connected to the advertiser server 10 when viewed from outside.
[75] However, in the present invention, when the consumer 20 is connected to the advertiser server 10 through the advertising media server 30, the consumer 20 is connected through the PG 50. That is, when the consumer 20 clicks one of the advertisements on the advertising media server 30, the consumer is connected to the PG 50 first, an identification code, used to check the IP of the consumer 20 or to identify communications between the consumer 20 and the advertiser server 10, is attached, and then connection is changed so that the consumer is connected to the advertiser server 10.
[76] It is determined that the corresponding consumer 20 who accesses the current advertiser server 10 is the person who accesses the advertiser server 10 through a contracted advertising media server 30 so that the PG 50 can discriminate between the consumer 20 and another consumer who directly accesses the advertiser server 10 when the consumer 20 performs payment based on the transaction.
[77] Since the technology performed by the PG 50, such as the Internet Protocol (IP) identification and identification code attachment, is a well-known technology, applied for the purpose of distinguishing between the consumers 20 who access the advertiser server 10, in order to calculate advertising expenses, a description thereof is omitted. Further, since the IP identification and the identification code attachment are examples of technology applied for the purpose of distinguishing between the consumers 20 who access the advertiser server 10, the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited to the examples of the technology, and it is apparent that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
[78]
[79] S 18'; Step of accessing advertiser server
[80] Via the advertisement clicking step S 17', the access of the consumer 20 is certified as access through the advertising media server 30, and then the consumer 20 accesses the advertiser server lO.The consumer 20, who accesses the advertiser server 10, can
perform a transaction in the state in which log-in is performed by subscribing to the advertiser server 10 as a member, or in the state in which log-in is not performed.
[81]
[82] S 19; Step of accumulating points
[83] Meanwhile, when the consumer 20, 20', or 20" who is the member of the advertising media server 30 accesses the advertiser server 10, 10', or 10" through the advertising media server 30, the point management module 33 can provide points, which correspond to access, to the corresponding consumer 20, 20', or 20".
[84] The points provided in such a manner are added to existing points, and recorded and stored in the member DB 32.
[85]
[86] S20; Step of performing transaction
[87] The consumer 20 performs a procedure of purchasing a desired product or service using information on a web page, transmitted from the advertiser server 10.
[88]
[89] S21 ; Step of checking payment
[90] The transaction between the advertiser server 10 and the consumer 20 is completed by the payment of the consumer 20, and the payment is realized by the PG 50.
[91] That is, when the consumer 20 clicks a payment button after purchasing a product or service, the consumer 20 accesses the PG 50 again. Here, the PG 50 recognizes the IP or identification code of the consumer 20, and then determines that the corresponding consumer 20, who performed the payment procedure that is currently performed, is a consumer connected through the advertising media server 30.
[92]
[93] S22; Step of calculating payment amount
[94] The PG 50 calculates a payment amount paid by the consumer 20 excluding the commission of the PG 50.
[95] The calculation of the PG 50 can be performed according to one of two methods.
First, only the commission of the PG 50 is distributed from the payment amount paid by the consumer 20. Second, the payment amount paid by the consumer 20 is distributed to the commission of the PG 50, the income of the operator of the advertiser server 10, and the advertising expenses of the advertising media company.
[96] These two methods can cause the deposit status of the PG 50 to be different, and thus a detailed description thereof will be provided when describing the money transferring step S25.
[97]
[98] S23; Step of providing performance record
[99] The PG 50 transmits log data, in which the content of a transaction performed by the
consumer 20, connected through the advertising media server 30, in the advertiser server 10 is recorded, to both the advertiser server 10 and the advertising media server 30, so that the details of the advertising expenses, calculated at the payment amount calculating step S22, and the source of demand of the advertising expenses can be known. The log data includes information about a payment amount paid by the consumer 20.
[100] The first embodiment of the present invention is an example of a payment method (Cash Payment System (CPS)) of paying advertising expenses when the consumer 20 connected through the advertising media server 30 performs a transaction in the advertiser server 10. However, even when the consumer 20 subscribes to the corresponding advertiser server 10 as a member without performing a real transaction, the subscription is certified, and then it can be utilized for the advertising expenses calculation.
[101]
[102] S25; Step of accumulating transaction points
[103] When the performance record providing step S23 is completed, the point management module 33 accumulates points for the corresponding consumer 20 based on the performance record of the consumer 20.
[104]
[105] S26; Step of depositing
[106] When only the commission of the PG 50 is distributed at the payment amount calculating step S22, the PG 50 deposits remaining money, other than the commission, to the advertiser server 10. The advertiser server 10 calculates the advertising expenses based on the amount of money deposited by the PG 50, and then remits the advertising expenses to the advertising media company.
[107] Meanwhile, in the case in which the PG 50 divides the payment amount deposited by the consumer 20 at the advertising expenses calculating step S18 into the commission of the PG 50, the income of the operator of the advertiser server 10, and the advertising expenses of the advertising media company, the income is deposited to the operator of the advertiser server 10 and the advertising expenses are deposited to the advertising media company, from the remaining money excepting the commission.
[108] In both cases, since the payment is fairly performed with confidence by the PG 50, which is a third party in which the public has confidence, there are effects in that both the operator of the advertiser server 10 and the advertising media company can understand the payment, and in that the rapid transfer of currency is realized.