WO2004051515A1

WO2004051515A1 - A method of registering website information to a search engine and a method of searching a website by using the registering method

Info

Publication number: WO2004051515A1
Application number: PCT/KR2003/002585
Authority: WO
Inventors: Woo Sung Lee; Chun Sik Kang
Original assignee: Nhn Corporation
Priority date: 2002-12-02
Filing date: 2003-11-27
Publication date: 2004-06-17
Also published as: AU2003284776A1; CN1717684A; JP2006508466A; KR20040048103A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a search engine for providing information on a predetermined website on the Internet on which a variety of information is located. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of registering information on a predetermined website to a search engine and a method of providing a search engine user with the website information registered using the registering method. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing a search service by registering a website to a search engine, comprising the steps of receiving a request for registration of the website from a user, storing data related to the website registration, extracting the data in a given period of time, indexing the extracted data in a given time period, indexing the data extracted every certain period of time, receiving a predetermined search word from a search service user, searching for relevant data associated with the predetermined search word by referring to the indexed data and the data extracted and indexed every the certain period of time, and displaying the searched relevant data according a predetermined criterion. The method of registering the website information to the search engine according to the present invention allows the information on the websites, of which registration has been requested by a user, to be registered to the search engine in real time or in a short time. Therefore, there is a technical advantage in that a variety of user's needs can be satisfied.

Description

A METHOD OF REGISTERING WEBSITE INFORMATION TO A SEARCH ENGINE AND A METHOD OF SEARCHING A WEBSITE BY USING THE

REGISTERING METHOD

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a search engine for providing information on a predetermined website on the Internet on which a variety of information is located.

More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of registering information on a predetermined website to a search engine and a method of providing a search engine user with the website information registered using the registering method.

Background Art

Typical search engines such as AltaVista (http://www.altavista.com), Lycos (http://www.lycos.com) and Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com) generally comprise a database for classifying, storing and managing website information according to predetermined criteria; a spider implemented in the form of software for mechanically collecting new website information while continuously surfing the web; and a search engine software for allowing users of the search engines to search for websites by organizing the collected data into a database. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an entire system for providing such normal search engine services. Referring to FIG. 1 , a user accesses a search engine server 150 via the Internet using a user terminal 1 10. If the user enters predetermined search words, the search engine server 150 queries website information for the associated search words to a search engine software 140 which in turn searches an associated database 130 and passes predetermined website information to the server. As described above, the spider 120 is an entity that is implemented in the form of software for mechanically collecting new website information from a web server 160 while continuously surfing the web. The spider 120 searches for sentences written into HTML (HyperText Markup Language) on a network and parses described links so as to collect the data from the web server 160 existing on the network. Thus, the data collected by the spider 120 are organized into a database, wherein the organization of data into a database means a series of sequences of performing morphological analysis for the predetermined information located on websites, producing an index table, and storing the index table in the database 130. The database 130 serves to store all the website information collected by the spider 120. The search engine software 140 functions to show the users search results. This software searches numerous web pages stored in the database 130 and arranges the search results in an accuracy order indicating consistency with search terms. Although FIG. 1 shows as if the search server 150 and the search engine units 120, 130 and 140 are separate entities from one another, it is only intended for convenience of explanation. Alternatively, they can be the same entities as one another. Existing search engines that provide the predetermined website information through the information collection using such a spider have encountered the following problems:

1. As a great number of websites are created on the web, an amount of data to be stored and managed increases rapidly. 2. It is difficult to evaluate which data are valuable among the rapidly increased data.

3. Since website information extraction through the spider is limited to websites configured based on texts such as HTML documents, it is difficult to extract information from image-based websites. To solve such problems, the existing search engines receive a website registration request from a user and provide a service of registering the user's website to the search engine, such that the benefit of a search engine operator and the expected interest of users who wish to maximize advertisement effects of their own websites through the registration are properly in harmony with each other. Such paid search engine services through the registration were first provided by Yahoo from 2000 in the United States of America, and most of search engine operating companies are currently providing such paid registration services. As these paid registration services have been widely popular, user's requests are also continuously changing. Since it takes three to five days at the shortest or two weeks at the longest to provide such conventional paid registration services after receiving the registration request from the user, there is a problem in that it cannot satisfy the requests of the users who wish to quickly register. At present, foreign well-known search engines such as LookSmart, Yahoo and Lycos also need two to five days at the shortest until the registration to the search engine is substantially completed after the user has requested the registration. The reason is that it takes two weeks or three to five days at the shortest for the conventional search engine to create a new indexing file by reflecting information on the website of which the registration has been newly requested, due to the limitation or operational problems in the system. It causes a problem in that more various differentiated registration services cannot be provided to each user as well as a problem in that a variety of requests of the users who wish to quickly register cannot be satisfied.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of registering website information to a search engine, wherein needs from a variety of users for quick registration can be satisfied by allowing the website information to be registered to the search engine in real time or within a short time.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of registering website information to a search engine, wherein wide selection of the user can be made and a new benefit model can also be created using the search engine by allowing the website information to be registered within a time interval corresponding to a predetermined fee.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of providing a search service by registering a website to a search engine, wherein the website information can be quickly registered to the search engine and provided to a third party.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of registering website information to a search engine, comprising the steps of receiving a request for registration of the website from a user, storing data related to the website registration, extracting the data in a given period of time, merging the extracted data with data extracted every certain period of time, and indexing the merged data in a given period of time. According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of registering website information to a search engine, comprising the steps of receiving a request for registration of the website from a user, storing data related to the website registration, extracting the data in a given period of time, and indexing the extracted data in a given period of time.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing a search service by registering a website to a search engine, comprising the steps of receiving a request for registration of the website from a user, storing data related to the website registration, extracting the data in a given period of time, indexing the extracted data in a given time period, indexing the data extracted every certain period of time, receiving a predetermined search word from a search service user, searching for the relevant data associated with the predetermined search word by referring to the indexed data and the data extracted and indexed every the certain period of time, and displaying the searched relevant data according a predetermined criterion.

Brief Description of Drawings FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an entire system for providing a website search engine service;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a website search engine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the process of registering website information performed in a conventional search engine;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the process of registering the website information performed in the conventional search engine shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the process of registering website information performed in a search engine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the process of registering the website information performed in the search engine according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the process of registering website information performed in a search engine according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the process of registering the website information performed in the search engine according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the process of providing a search service performed in the search engine according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 7.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Hereinafter, a method of registering website information to a search engine and a method of providing a website search service using the registering method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a search engine according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, a user sends a request for the registration of his/her website and information to a search engine via a terminal 210. A storage unit 220 stores such website information. A professional reviewer 230 such as a surfer reviews the stored website information and then accordingly checks, modifies, and supplements website registration details based on the information. An extracting unit 250 performs a function of extracting predetermined data from the modified and supplemented website registration details, and an indexer 240 indexes the extracted data. The indexed data are stored again in an indexing database (not shown) in the storage unit 220. The data extraction performed in the search engine according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention is to extract the data stored in the storage unit in accordance with a specific format for use in the search engine and to store the extracted data in the form of a text file. Further, the indexing is to convert the extracted data into data in a format in which the search process can be conducted in the search engine. Generally, the indexing performed in the search engine is to make data organized up to such an extent that the search engine can perform the search process without using any typical fields. However, the indexing performed in the search engine may be substantially identical with that performed in the database. That is, in the case of AltaVista, data are indexed for specialized search for titles, contents, URLs (Uniform Resource Locators), or the like of web documents. An index page is normally composed of URL, keyword, and attribute information. URL corresponds to information necessary for the access to page data, and includes information such as protocol, domain name, port number, and path name. The keyword is intended for search, and the attribute information may be information including an update date of the indexing page and the like. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a conventional website information registration process performed in the search engine. The website information registration process shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. 4. A user sends a request for the registration of his/her own website and information related to the website (search words, phrases for website publicity, etc.) to the search engine. The search engine receives such a registration request from the user (step 410) and stores data related to the website registration in the storage unit (step 430). A professional reviewer such as a surfer reviews the stored data related to the website registration according to predetermined criteria (e.g., whether the website is intended for exaggerated advertisement, whether there are discrepancies between the relevant information and the real website, and the like) to properly modify and supplement the information (step 440) and then stores the modified and supplemented information again in the storage unit. All the data stored in the storage unit including registration data of the newly stored website are extracted every certain period of time (generally, two to three days) from the storage unit (step 450), and the extracted data are also indexed every certain period of time (generally, two to three days) (step 460). The indexed data are stored again in the indexing database (not shown) in the storage unit, so that predetermined search results can be provided to a search engine user in response to input (query) of the search word from the user. According to such a conventional website information registration process, the extraction and indexing of data can be conducted every relatively long period of time. Therefore, there is a problem in that it takes two to three days at the shortest or a few weeks at the longest for website information, desired to be newly registered, to be indexed and actually seen to the search engine user.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a website information registration process performed in a search engine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. This website information registration process shown in FIG. 5 is as follows. A user sends a request for the registration of his/her own website and information related to the website (e.g., search words, phrases for website publicity, etc.) to the search engine. This may be made by either the transmission over a network through the user terminal or the transmission via a mail or a telephone. The search engine receives the registration request from the user and stores data related to the website registration in the storage unit. A professional reviewer such as a surfer reviews the stored data related to the website registration according to predetermined criteria (e.g., whether the data are intended for exaggerated advertisement, whether there are discrepancies between the relevant information and the real website, and the like) to properly modify and supplement the information and then stores the modified and supplemented information again in the storage unit. The stored data related to the registration of the new website are extracted from the storage unit every given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time). Then, the extracted data are merged with data that are extracted every certain period of time (generally, one day), and the merged data are indexed every given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time). The indexed data are stored again in the indexing database (not shown) in the storage unit, so that predetermined search results can be provided to the search engine user in response to input (query) of the search word from the user. In this search engine according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the merging of data means is to append newly created data or files to the existing data or files.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the website information registration process performed in the search engine according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 5. Referring to FIG. 6, the registration process is initiated (step 610), and the request for registration and the information related to a website of which the registration is desired are received from the user (step 620). The received data related to the website registration are stored in the storage unit (step 630) and are reviewed by the professional reviewer (step 640). The data related to the registration of the new website, which are stored in the storage unit, are extracted from the storage unit every given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time) (step 650), and the extracted data are merged with data that are extracted every certain period of time (generally, one day) (step 660). The merged data are indexed every given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time) (step 670), and the registration process is then ended (step 680).

According to the method of registering the website information to the search engine of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the data related to the website registration, which are extracted every given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time), are merged with the data extracted every certain period of time (generally, one day) in order to minimize system load that may be caused by extracting all the data including the new and existing data from the storage unit. That is, the system load can be minimized by extracting only the data related to the registration of the new website from the storage unit, merging the extracted data with the data extracted every certain period of time and indexing the merged data. Further, according to the registration method of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method can be implemented in such a manner that different billing systems are applied to users who wish register their own websites, based on the given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time) for performing the extracting and indexing operations. That is, it is possible to coordinate between the benefit of a search engine operator and the expected interest of users who wish to rapidly register their websites, by charging the user a higher fee with a shorter given period of time.

Further, the registration method of the present invention shown in FIGS. -5 and 6 may be configured such that the data extracted as described above are merged with the data extracted every certain period of time (generally, one day) and the merged data are then indexed every given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time), or such that the extracted data are indexed and the indexed data are then merged with data extracted and indexed every certain period of time (generally, one day). The two configurations are the same as each other in view of implementing the registration method, but there is a difference in that the merging process is performed before or after the indexing process.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a website information registration process performed in a search engine according to another embodiment of the present invention. The website information registration process of the present invention shown in FIG. 7 is as follows:

A user sends a request for the registration of his/her own website and information related to the website (e.g., search words, phrases for website publicity, etc.) to the search engine. This may be made by either the transmission over a network through the user terminal or the transmission via a mail or a telephone. The search engine receives the registration request from the user and stores data related to the website registration in the storage unit. A professional reviewer such as a surfer reviews the stored data related to the website registration according to predetermined criteria (e.g., whether the data are intended for exaggerated advertisement, whether there are discrepancies between the relevant information and the real website, and the like) to properly modify and supplement the information and then stores the modified and supplemented information again in the storage unit. The stored data related to the registration of the new website are extracted from the storage unit every given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time) and indexed again every given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time). In this embodiment of the present invention, the data that are extracted and indexed every constant period of time (generally, one day) are managed separately from the data related to the newly registered websites. It will be described below in detail when explaining the search service performed in the search engine according to a further preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating the website information registering process performed in the search engine according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 7. Referring to FIG. 8, the registration process is initiated (step 810), and the request for registration and the information related to a website of which the registration is desired are received from the user (step 820). The received data related to the website registration are stored in the storage unit (step 830) and are reviewed by the professional reviewer (step 840). The data related to the registration of the new website, which are stored in the storage unit, are extracted from the storage unit every given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time) (step 850). The extracted data are indexed again every given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time) (step 860), and the registration process is then ended (step 870).

According to the method of registering the website information to the search engine according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the new data related to the website registration are indexed separately from the data extracted per other certain period of time (generally, one day). Thus, since only the data extracted every the given period of time (every one hour, in real time, or the like), of which size are smaller than that of the data extracted every the other certain period of time, are separately indexed, system load that can be caused when all the extracted data are indexed can be reduced. Further, according to the registration method of this embodiment of the present invention, different billing systems can also be applied to users, who desire to register their websites, based on the given period of time needed for performing the extracting and indexing processes, as explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing a search service performed in the search engine according to another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 7. Referring to FIG. 9, the process of providing the search service according to with the embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows.

A user sends a request for the registration of his/her own website and information related to the website (e.g., search words, phrases for website publicity, etc.) to the search engine (step 910). This may be made by either the transmission over a network through the user terminal or the transmission via a mail or a telephone. The search engine receives the registration request from the user (step 920) and stores data related to the website registration in the storage unit (step 930). A professional reviewer such as a surfer reviews the stored data related to the website registration according to predetermined criteria (e.g., whether the data are intended for exaggerated advertisement, whether there are discrepancies between the relevant information and the real website, and the like) to properly modify and supplement the information (step 940) and then stores the modified and supplemented information again in the storage unit. The stored data related to the registration of the new website are extracted from the storage unit every given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time) (step 950) and indexed again every given period of time (e.g., every one hour or in real time) (step 960). Upon the search for the predetermined search words input by the search engine user, the indexed data related to the registration of the new websites are referenced along with the data indexed every certain period (generally, one day) as illustrated in FIG. 3 (step 970). For example, assuming that a relevant keyword for the indexed data related to the newly registered websites is 'NAVER', when the search engine user inputs 'NAVER' as a search word, the search engine searches the indexed data related to the registration of the new websites and then the data indexed every certain period of time (generally, one day) for the information on websites of which keyword corresponds to 'NAVER'. In such a way, the indexed data are dually maintained and both indexed data are referred to the data search. Thus, the data search can be performed in response to a predetermined query.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the search results for the predetermined query can be provided to the search engine user in accordance with the following criteria: (1) The search results obtained by referring to the indexed data related to the registration of the new websites and the search results obtained by referring to the data indexed every the certain period of time (generally, one day) are displayed with different priorities from each other.

(2) The indexed data related to the registration of the new websites and the data indexed every the certain period (generally, one day) are all referred to, and then, the searched data are displayed according to predetermined criteria (e.g., evaluation for website by reviewers and general users, click count, similarity to search words, website existence, etc.).

(3) The search results obtained by referring to the indexed data related to the registration of the new websites are displayed on a separate box positioned on a search result screen during a specific period of time from the registration date.

The search results can be provided to the search engine user according to either one of the various said methods or any other manners. Further, in case of the search results being displayed according to the method of said (3), different services can be provided to each user by differently charging the user who has registered his/her own website, based on the specific period of time when the search results are being displayed on the separate box positioned on the search result screen.

Industrial Applicability The method of registering the website information to the search engine according to the present invention allows the information on the websites, of which registration has been requested by a user, to be registered to the search engine in real time or in a short time. Therefore, there is a technical advantage in that a variety of user's needs can be satisfied.

Further, the method of registering website information to a search engine according to the present invention allows the website information to be registered within a time interval corresponding to a predetermined fee. Therefore, there is a technical advantage in that a wide selection of the user can be made and a new benefit model can also be created using the search engine.

Further, the method of providing a search service by registering a website to a search engine according to the present invention allows the website information to be quickly registered to the search engine. Therefore, there is a technical advantage in that the registered information can be provided to a third party.

The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.

The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method of registering a website to a search engine, comprising the steps of: receiving a request for registration of the website from a user; storing data related to the website registration; extracting the data in a given period of time; merging the extracted data with data extracted every certain period of time; and indexing the merged data in a given period of time.

2. A method of registering a website to a search engine, comprising the steps of: receiving a request for registration of the website from a user; storing data related to the website registration; extracting the data in a given period of time; indexing the extracted data in a given period of time; and merging the indexed data with data indexed every certain period of time.

3. A method of registering a website to a search engine, comprising the steps of: receiving a request for registration of the website from a user; storing data related to the website registration; extracting the data in a given period of time; and indexing the extracted data in a given period of time.

4. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the given period of time in the extracting step is zero.

5. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the given period of time in the indexing step is zero.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the certain period of time in the merging step is determined on the daily basis.

7. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein fees for the registration are charged according to the given period of time.

8. A method of providing a search service by registering a website to a search engine, comprising the steps of: receiving a request for registration of the website from a user; storing data related to the website registration; extracting the data in a given period of time; indexing the extracted data in a given time period; indexing the data extracted every certain period of time; receiving a predetermined search word from a search service user; searching for relevant data associated with the predetermined search word by referring to the indexed data and the data extracted and indexed every the certain period of time; and displaying the searched relevant data according a predetermined criterion.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the given period of time is zero.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the certain period of time in the indexing step is determined on the daily basis.

1 1. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the predetermined criterion is to set priorities of the relevant data searched from the data extracted and indexed every the certain period of time and the relevant data searched from the indexed data to be different from each other.

12. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the predetermined criterion is to display the relevant data so that the relevant data searched from the indexed data is differentiated from the relevant data searched from the data extracted and indexed every the certain period of time.

13. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 is recorded.