Search system and search method

Abstract

In a search system for searching a database based on a keyword input from a portable terminal while outputting a result of the search to the portable terminal to display, there are provided a search server that searches the database for information including the input keyword, a degree-of-popularity calculating apparatus which acquires number-of-member information from an i-Mode® server having the number-of-member information on the number of members for each menu in which various webpages are sorted for each category thereof, and calculates the degree of popularity of the menu based on the acquired number-of-member information, and information ranking means for ranking a plurality of pieces of information searched by the search server based on the degree of popularity of the menu to which the information belongs generated by the degree-of-popularity calculating apparatus.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.