IP Library Granted Patent US 11,023,937
Granted Patent B2
US 11,023,937 · App. 14/970,208 · Granted Jun 1, 2021

Validation and optimization in an online marketing platform for home sellers

Inventors: Alexandria Phillips (Oakland, CA); Richard Phillips (Oakland, CA)
Assignee: Zillow, Inc.
G06Q30/0601G06Q50/16
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,023,937
App. No.
14/970,208
Granted
Jun 1, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

A technology for providing validation and optimization for listings on an online marketing platform for home sellers is described. In some embodiments, the disclosed technology provides a validation tool for users of the online marketing platform to quality check the users' home feeds in real-time through a graphical user interface of the online marketing platform. In some embodiments, the disclosed technology provides an optimizer tool for the users to optimize the users' home feeds through a graphical user interface of the online marketing platform. The users of the online marketing platform can be home sellers, which can include, for example, home builders, brokers, and their agents.

Claims (96)

1. A method for identifying errors in listing generator application code comprising:

generating a hierarchy of property listings for a set of property developments, wherein the highest level of the hierarchy includes data items concerning a first property development in the set of property developments, and the lowest level of the hierarchy includes data items concerning specific units of property within the first property development;

tracking web browsing activities of at least one potential buyer;

receiving user selections of one or more Internet property listing services from among a plurality of Internet property listing services;

for each selected Internet property listing service:

generating, by at least one processor, a first version of one or more property development code files for the first property development, wherein the first version of the one or more code files is readable by the selected Internet property listing service according to specifications corresponding to the selected Internet property listing service,

validating, by the at least one processor, the first version of the one or more property development code files for the first property development,

in response to the validating identifying at least one error, in the first version of the one or more property development code files, relating to a distinguished unit of property in the first property development:

causing at least one alert to be displayed, at each of a plurality of levels of the hierarchy, proximate to an entry field related to the distinguished unit of property; and

receiving user input correcting the at least one identified error;

in response to receiving the user input, generating, by the at least one processor, a second version of the one or more code files for the first property development, wherein the second version of the one or more code files is readable by the selected Internet property listing service according to the specifications corresponding to the selected Internet property listing service, and wherein the second version of the one or more code files incorporates the received user input correcting the at least one identified error;

validating, by the at least one processor, the second version of the one or more code files for the first property development; and

transmitting the second version of the one or more code files for the first property development to the selected Internet property listing service.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to receiving the user input, removing the at least one alert.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hierarchy of property listings comprises at least one intermediate level between the highest level of the hierarchy and the lowest level the hierarchy, wherein the at least one intermediate level of the hierarchy corresponds to a plan available within the property development.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

causing the list of Internet property listing services to be displayed according to a theme to which each Internet property listing services adheres to, and wherein the theme is one or more of:

luxury property,

retirement property,

resort property, or

property within a geographical region.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the Internet property listing services is accessed through a paywall, and wherein the method further comprises:

for each paywall accessible Internet property listing service:

receiving user information to setup an account with the paywall accessible Internet property listing service, wherein the user information comprises financial account information of a user;

transmitting the received user information to the paywall accessible Internet property listing service; and

upon receiving confirmation from the paywall accessible Internet property listing service of successful user account setup,

transmitting the second version of the one or more code files for the property development to the paywall accessible Internet property listing service.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

for each of the one or more Internet property listing services, determining a listing effectiveness of the Internet property listing service.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

for each of the one or more Internet property listing services,

causing to be displayed, proximate to the one or more Internet property listing service, an indication of the listing effectiveness determined for the Internet property listing service.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the list of Internet property listing services is sorted based on the determined listing effectiveness of each of the one or more Internet property listing services.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein each listing effectiveness is determined based on:

statistics on potential home buyer browsing activity at the corresponding Internet property listing service,

geographical location of the property development,

or any combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one identified error includes at least one empty field, at least one field with bad syntax, at least one broken or dead hyperlink, at least one incompatible file intended for upload, at least one file location not found, and at least one corrupted file.

11. A system for identifying errors in listing generator application code comprising a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, in response to being executed by one or more processors of the system, cause the system to:

generate a hierarchy of property listings for a set of property developments, wherein the highest level of the hierarchy includes data items concerning a first property development in the set of property developments, and the lowest level of the hierarchy includes data items concerning specific units of property within the first property development;

receive user selections of one or more Internet property listing services;

for each selected Internet property listing service:

generate, by at least one of the one or more processors, a first version of one or more property development code files for the first property development, wherein the first version of the one or more code files is readable by the selected Internet property listing service according to specifications corresponding to the selected Internet property listing service,

validate, by at least one of the one or more processors, the first version of the one or more property development code files for the first property development,

in response to the validation identifying at least one error, in the first version of the one or more property development code files, relating to a distinguished unit of property in the first property development:

cause at least one alert to be displayed, at each of a plurality of levels of the hierarchy, proximate to an entry field related to the distinguished unit of property; and

receive user input correcting the at least one identified error;

in response to receiving the user input, generate, by at least one of the one or more processors, a second version of the one or more code files for the first property development, wherein the second version of the one or more code files is readable by the selected Internet property listing service according to the specifications corresponding to the selected Internet property listing service, and wherein the second version of the one or more code files incorporates the received user input correcting the at least one identified error; and

transmit the second version of the one or more code files for the first property development to the selected Internet property listing service.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions, in response to being executed by the one or more processors of the system, further cause the system to:

in response to receiving the user input, remove the at least one alert.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the hierarchy of property listings comprises at least one intermediate level between the highest level of the hierarchy and the lowest level of the hierarchy, wherein the at least one intermediate level of the hierarchy corresponds to a plan available within the first property development.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions, in response to being executed by the one or more processors of the system, further cause the system to:

cause a list of Internet property listing services to be displayed according to a theme to which each Internet property listing services adheres to, and wherein the theme is one or more of:

luxury property,

retirement property, or

resort property.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein at least one of the Internet property listing services is accessed through a paywall, and wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processors of the system further cause the system to:

for each paywall accessible Internet property listing service:

receive user information to setup an account with the paywall accessible Internet property listing service, wherein the user information comprises financial account information of a user;

transmit the received user information to the paywall accessible Internet property listing service; and

upon receiving confirmation from the paywall accessible Internet property listing service of successful user account setup,

transmit the second version of the one or more code files for the property development to the paywall accessible Internet property listing service.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the instructions, in response to being executed by the one or more processors of the system, further cause the system to:

determine listing effectiveness of each of the one or more Internet property listing services.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the instructions, in response to being executed by the one or more processors of the system, further cause the system to:

cause to be displayed an indication of at least one determined listing effectiveness proximate to the Internet property listing service for which the at least one determined listing effectiveness was determined.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the list of Internet property listing services is sorted based on the determined listing effectiveness of each of the one or more Internet property listing services.

19. The system of claim 16 , wherein each listing effectiveness is determined based on:

statistics on potential home buyer browsing activity at the corresponding Internet property listing service,

geographical location of the property development,

or any combination thereof.

20. A computer program product for identifying errors in listing generator application code, the computer program product being embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

generating a hierarchy of property listings for a set of property developments, wherein the highest level of the hierarchy includes data items concerning a first property development in the set of property developments, and the lowest level of the hierarchy includes data items concerning specific units of property within the first property development;

receiving user selections of one or more Internet property listing services;

for each selected Internet property listing service:

generating, by at least one processor, a first version of one or more property development code files for the first property development, wherein the first version of the one or more code files is readable by the selected Internet property listing service according to specifications corresponding to the selected Internet property listing service,

validating, by the at least one processor, the first version of the one or more property development code files for the first property development,

in response to the validating identifying at least one error, in the first version of the one or more property development code files, relating to a distinguished unit of property in the first property development:

causing at least one alert to be displayed, at each of a plurality of levels of the hierarchy, proximate to an entry field related to the distinguished unit of property; and

receiving user input correcting the at least one identified error; and

in response to receiving the user input, generating and validating, by the at least one processor, a second version of the one or more code files for the first property development, wherein the second version of the one or more code files is readable by the selected Internet property listing service according to the specifications corresponding to the selected Internet property listing service, and wherein the second version of the one or more code files incorporates the received user input correcting the at least one identified error.

21. The computer program product of claim 20 , wherein at least one of the Internet property listing services is accessed through a paywall, further comprising computer instructions for:

for each paywall accessible Internet property listing service:

receive user information to setup an account with the paywall accessible Internet property listing service, wherein the user information comprises financial account information of a user;

transmit the received user information to the paywall accessible Internet property listing service; and

upon receiving confirmation from the paywall accessible Internet property listing service of successful user account setup,

transmit the second version of the one or more code files for the property development to the paywall accessible Internet property listing service.

22. A method for identifying errors in listing generator application code comprising:

generating, by at least one processor, a first version of one or more property development code files for a first property development, wherein the first version of the one or more code files is readable by a first Internet property listing service according to specifications corresponding to the first Internet property listing service;

validating, by the at least one processor, the first version of the one or more property development code files for the first property development; and

in response to the validating identifying at least one error, in the first version of the one or more property development code files, relating to a distinguished unit of property in the first property development:

causing at least one alert to be displayed, at each of a plurality of levels of a hierarchy of property listings, proximate to an entry field related to the distinguished unit of property.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein at least one entry field related to the distinguished unit of property includes identifying information for the distinguished unit of property, wherein the identifying information for the distinguished unit of property includes a street address for the distinguished unit of property so that the causing at least one alert to be displayed comprises causing at least one alert is displayed proximate to the at least one entry field corresponding to the distinguished unit of property includes identifying information for the distinguished unit of property.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the identifying information for the distinguished unit of property includes a price associated with the distinguished unit of property so that the at last one alert is caused to be displayed proximate to the entry field that includes the price associated with the distinguished unit of property and wherein the identifying information for the distinguished unit of property includes a date associated with the distinguished unit of property so that the at least one alert is caused to be displayed proximate to the entry field that includes the date associated with the distinguished unit of property.

Assignments (6)
MERGER Recorded Jan 12, 2023
From: PUSH SUB I, INC.
To: MFTB HOLDCO, INC.
Reel/Frame 062389/0035 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 11, 2023
From: ZILLOW, LLC
To: PUSH SUB I, INC.
Reel/Frame 062353/0901 →
ARTICLES OF ENTITY CONVERSION AND CERTIFICATE OF FORMATION Recorded Dec 15, 2022
From: ZILLOW, INC.
To: ZILLOW, LLC
Reel/Frame 062136/0427 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 8, 2021
From: NEW HOME FEED, INC.
To: ZILLOW, INC.
Reel/Frame 055178/0791 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jan 22, 2021
From: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE, INC.
To: NEW HOME FEED, INC.
Reel/Frame 055087/0876 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 6, 2016
From: PHILLIPS, ALEXANDRIA; PHILLIPS, RICHARD
To: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE, INC.
Reel/Frame 039954/0555 →
Continuity (4)
Continuation In Part 12904828 · Oct 14, 2010
Provisional Application 62093384 · Dec 17, 2014
Provisional Application 61257796 · Nov 3, 2009
Related Publication 20160132945A1 · May 12, 2016
Cited By (1)
US 12,271,967