Search engine account monitoring
View Patent ↗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.
1. A method of generating an ordered search list via a search engine, comprising:
receiving a search request having at least one search term over a network from a searcher;
retrieving a set of search listings from a search results database associated with the search term, where a plurality of the search listings each have a bid amount associated with the search term and a search listing is associated with an advertiser's account such that the advertiser's account is charged the bid amount if the search listing is selected from the set of search listings;
determining an account balance for the advertiser's account where the account balance is the difference between charges assessed by the search engine and deposits from the advertiser;
ordering the search listings into a search result list in accordance with the values of bid amounts such that search listings having larger bid amounts are listed before search listings having smaller bid amounts, wherein search listings associated with advertisers whose account balances that are below threshold are ordered as if their bid amount for the search term was zero to prevent over-delivery of the search listings associated with the advertisers whose account balances are below threshold and overcharging of competing advertisers;
providing the ordered search result list to the searcher via the network; and assessing charges to the advertiser's account as a function of the searcher selection of the search listing.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining an account balance comprises determining a reconciled balance for an advertiser's account via an accounting system, where the reconciled balance is the difference between credit card-based deposits and a set of current click charges;
and ordering comprises ordering the search listings associated with advertisers with reconciled balances that are below a reconciled threshold as if their bid amount for the search term was zero.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining an account balance comprises determining a definitive balance for an advertiser's account, where the definitive balance is the reconciled balance adjusted for charges and deposits after those included in the reconciled balance.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the definitive balance is the reconciled balance less any new definitive click charges plus any new credit card charges and plus any new adjustments.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein determining an account balance comprises determining an estimated definitive balance for an advertiser's account, where the estimated definitive balance is the definitive balance less an estimated amount of new definitive click charges.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein determining an account balance comprises determining a monitoring balance for an advertiser's account, where the monitoring balance is smaller of the estimated definitive balance plus a credit limit and a remaining capital amount.
7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the definitive click charges are click charges that have passed a fraud filter.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the fraud filter detects double clicks as non-chargeable clicks.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the fraud filter detects multiple clicks on a search listing in a search list from a searcher as non-chargeable clicks.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the fraud filter detects multiple clicks on a search listing from a searcher during a session as non-chargeable clicks.
11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the non-definitive click charges are click charges that have passed a real-time fraud filter and the definitive click charges are click charges that have passed a second fraud filter that uses data generated after a click charge is charge to determine if that click charge is fraudulent.
12. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining an account balance comprises determining a working balance for an advertiser's account, where the working balance is the definitive balance adjusted for any new non-definitive click charges.
13. The method of claim 3 , wherein the threshold is zero dollars.