Patent Document ID: 7983963
Application ID: 12345453

Base Claim:
1. A computer implemented method of facilitating a guided navigational search by one or more users of one or more remote user computers in communication with an online retail or wholesale store computer defining an online e-commerce computer associated with an online e-commerce product provider, through an electronic communication network, the method comprising the steps of: providing a product search request content page of an online e-commerce website having a pre-selected format, through the communication network, the product search request content page viewable on a display of one or more user computers and including fields for entering into the product search request content page product search request criteria comprising one or more search terms; initiating an initial product search request responsive to receipt of the one or more search terms from the one or more remote second computers; returning a plurality of product search results responsive to the initial product search request; accessing a plurality of general product attributes associated with the plurality of returned product search results; determining at least one website user interaction refinement associated with a specific customer user by the online e-commerce computer, the at least one website user interaction refinement based upon a customer user lifecycle stage with the e-commerce product provider for the specific customer user and a traffic segment purchasing expectation associated with a traffic segment classification associated with the specific customer user; sorting the returned product search results responsive to the at least one website user interaction refinement to thereby form a plurality of potential refined product search results; and generating a product search results content page including at least a subset of the plurality of potential refined product search results and at least a subset of the sorted plurality of general product attributes for display on a display of the one or more remote second computers responsive to the plurality of refined product search results and the associated general product attributes.

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Claim 8:
8. A method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the product search results content page includes a plurality of refinement categories arranged in a preselected pattern; wherein each of the plurality of user refinement categories define a column having a plurality of user-selectable subcategory rows; wherein each of the plurality of refinement categories include a plurality of refinement links, each refinement link associated with one of the general product attributes in the at least a subset of the sorted plurality of general product attributes; wherein the plurality of refinement categories define a guided navigation tool configured so that when a user selects a portion of the guided navigational search tool, a user search is substantially more focused and thereby provided with significantly fewer product search results than the results generated without use of the guided navigational search tool; wherein the guided navigational search tool can include one or more rows; wherein the one or more rows and plurality of columns are arranged in the preselected pattern; wherein the plurality of columns and the one or more rows of the guided navigational search tool can further define a table format displayed to a user on the one or more remote second computers; and wherein a portion of the guided navigational search tool that a user selects can include either or both of a column and a subcategory row within the guided navigational tool so that when selected, a user search is substantially more focused and thereby able to provide the user with significantly fewer product search results than the results generated without use of the guided navigational tool.