Patent ID: 8015063
Filing Date: 2011-09-06
Classification: G06F,G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method of operating a search system, the method comprising: maintaining a database of search listings searchable by a search engine, each search listing being associated with a search term, a respective web site promoter and one or more bid element amounts, the one or more bid element amounts corresponding to money amounts chargeable to the respective web site promoter when a search listing is referred by the search engine; at a search engine web server in data communication with the database, receiving a search request from the searcher; at the search engine web server, identifying search listings in the database which generate a match with the search request; at the search engine web server providing search listings from the database to a searcher in conjunction with a page of information, including providing with the provided search listings a search result list which includes the identified search result listings, including ordering the identified search listings into the search result list in accordance with values of respective bid element amounts for the identified search listings, wherein the values of the respective bid amounts comprise: subsequently, receiving at the search engine web server, none, one or more of the following: at an account management server in data communication with the search engine web server, debiting an account of the web site promoter associated with the selected search listing as follows: