System and method for enabling multi-element bidding for influencinga position on a search result list generated by a computer network search engine

A method of operating a pay for placement web site, the method comprising:

• maintaining a database searchable by a search engine, the database including a plurality of search listings, each search listing being associated with an Internet website, a search term and a bid amount, the bid amount corresponding to a money amount chargeable to a web site promoter each time the web site promoter's web site is referred by the search engine, the bid amount including at least one of a bid element amount for impression, a bid element amount for a clickthrough and a bid element amount for an action;
• receiving a search request from a searcher;
• identifying search listings generating a match with the search request;
• and
• returning a search list including the identified search listings, components of the search list being ordered according to bid amount.

A database search system comprising:

• a database which stores a plurality of search listings, each search listing being associated with a bid amount and a search term, the bid amount including a market value corresponding to a money amount chargeable to an account of an advertiser associated with the search listing;
• a computer system which determines the market values of the respective bids by determining a product of a bid received from a respective advertiser and a probability that one or more bid events will occur, the one or more bid events including a click-through, including
• program code which calculates a numerator as a ratio of an estimated number of times the one or more bid events will occur to an estimated number of times the one or more bid events could occur within a specified time period,
• program code which calculates a denominator representing the standard click-through rate for listings of the average ranking, over the same specified period of time, of the identified search listing corresponding to the bid, and
• program code which calculates the probability as the ratio of the numerator to the denominator;
• a server system which receives a search request from the searcher;
• a search engine operative in conjunction with the database to identify search listings having search terms generating a match with the received search request,
• the server system configured to
• order the identified search listings in a search result list according to values of the respective bid amounts of the identified search listings;
• detect a clickthrough by the searcher of one of the ordered search listings;
• and
• in response to the clickthrough, charge the account of the advertiser associated with the one search listing by the bid amount.