Delivering non-default items in association with search results
AssigneeInktomi Corporation
InventorsAndrew Littlefield, Matthew Charles Grogan Hall, Michael E. Palmer, Troy Richardson Toman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Techniques are provided for delivering search results pages to the users of a search engine, where one or more search result listings on the search results pages include items that are not included by default. The non-default items may take many forms, including but not limited to images, banners, controls, animations, and even Java applets. The non-default items may be designed to entice the search engine users to select the search result listing with which they are associated over possibly higher-ranked search result listings that contain only default items.
Claims4
A method for delivering search results for searches conducted over a network, the method comprising the steps of:
- establishing an association between one or more searchable items and one or more non-default items that are separate from said one or more searchable items;
- in response to a search that is initiated at a client on said network, performing the steps of identifying a set of searchable items that satisfy said search;
- inspecting said mapping to determine whether any searchable items in said set of searchable items are associated with non-default items;
- and
- delivering search results over said network to said client, wherein said search results include any non-default items that are associated with the searchable items that are in said set of searchable items;
- wherein at least one non-default item of the one or more non-default items is an animation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.