Associative search engine
View Patent ↗This invention relates to an advertisement machine which provides advertisements to a user searching for desired information within a data network. The machine receives, from a user, a search request including a search argument corresponding to the desired information and searches, based upon the received search argument, a first database having data network related information to generate search results. It also correlating the received search argument to a particular advertisement in a second database having advertisement related information. The search results together with the particular advertisement are provided by the machine to the user.
1. A method of providing advertisements to a user searching for desired information within a data network, comprising the steps of:
receiving, from the user, a search request including a search argument corresponding to the desired information;
searching, based upon the received search argument, a first database having data network related information to generate search results;
correlating the received search argument to a particular advertisement in a second database having advertisement related information; and
providing the search results together with the particular advertisement to the user.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the step of correlating the received search argument to the particular advertisement including selecting the particular advertisement based on the received search argument and user profile data.
3. A method as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the user profile data includes selections of the user from previous search arguments.
4. A method as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the user profile data includes selections of the user from previous search results.
5. A method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the user profile data includes user specified preferences.
6. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the step of providing the search results and the particular advertisement to the user includes displaying the search results as a page on a data processing device and the particular advertisement as an insert on the page.
7. A system for providing advertisements to a user searching for desired information within a data network, comprising:
means for receiving, from the user a search request including a search argument corresponding to the desired information;
means for searching, based upon the received search argument, a first database having data network related information to generate search results;
means for correlating the received search argument to a particular advertisement in a second database having advertisement related information; and
means for providing the search results together with the particular advertisement to the user.
8. A method of providing advertisements to a user searching for desired information within a data network, comprising the steps of:
receiving, at a server, a search request sent from a user, the search request including a search argument corresponding to the desired information;
searching, by the server computer based upon the received search argument, a first database to generate search results, the first database having data network related information and being contained on the server computer;
correlating the received search argument to a particular advertisement in a second database having advertisement related information, the second database contained on a client computer; and
providing the search results together with the particular advertisement to the user.
9. A method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the step of correlating the received search argument to the particular advertisement includes selecting the particular advertisement based on the received search argument and user profile data.
10. A method as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the user profile data is based partially upon previous search arguments of the user.
11. A method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the user profile data is based partially upon previous search results for the user.
12. A method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the user profile data includes user specified preferences.
13. A method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the step of providing the search results and the particular advertisement to the user includes displaying the search results as a page on a data processing device and the particular advertisement as an insert on the page.
14. A method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the step of correlating the received search argument to a particular advertisement in the second database is performed by the client computer.
15. A method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein:
the server computer is a database search engine computer; and
the client computer is an access provider computer.
16. A method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein:
the server computer is a database search engine computer; and
the client computer is an associate search engine computer.
17. An advertising machine for providing advertisements to a user searching for desired information within a data network, the advertising machine comprising:
a server computer coupled to the data network that receives a search request from the user, the search request including a search argument corresponding to the desired information;
a database search engine coupled to the server computer that receives the search argument from the server computer and searches a first database to generate search results, the first database having data network related information and being contained on the server computer;
an associative search engine coupled to the server computer that correlates the received search argument to a particular advertisement in a second database having advertisement related information, the second database contained on a client computer; and
the server computer providing the search results together with the particular advertisement to the user.
18. The advertising machine of claim 17 , wherein the associative search engine selects the particular advertisement based on the received search argument and user profile data.
19. The advertising machine of claim 18 , wherein the user profile data is based partially upon previous search arguments of the user.
20. The advertising machine of claim 18 , wherein the user profile data is based partially upon previous search results for the user.
21. The advertising machine of claim 18 , wherein the user profile data includes user specified preferences.
22. An advertising machine coupled to a data network for providing advertisements to a user, the advertising machine comprising:
a server computer coupled to the data network that receives a search request from the user, the search request including a search argument corresponding to the desired information;
a database search engine coupled to the server computer that receives the search argument from the server computer and searches a first database to generate search results, the first database having data network related information and being contained on the server computer;
an associative search engine coupled to the server computer that correlates the received search argument to a particular advertisement in a second database having advertisement related information, the second database contained on a client computer;
the server computer providing the search results together with the particular advertisement to the user;
the server computer determining whether the advertisement was successful; and
the server computer altering criteria for subsequent correlations of received search arguments to the second database.
23. The advertising machine of claim 22 , wherein the associative search engine correlates the received search argument to the particular advertisement based on the received search argument and user profile data.