WO2008032950A1

WO2008032950A1 - Information providing system and method

Info

Publication number: WO2008032950A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/004275
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jung- Han Chae
Original assignee: Chae Jung-Han
Priority date: 2006-09-11
Filing date: 2007-09-05
Publication date: 2008-03-20

Abstract

The present invention relates to an information providing system and method that provides customized information based on recent POI (point of interest) information of visitors. A client module extracts search information including a search word according to a search operation of a user on user terminals or click information including a click title according to a click operation of the user or a similar click operation, and transmits the search information or the click information. The client module receives and stores corresponding keyword information and adds the keyword information to access information of the corresponding affiliated site to generate new access information when the user accesses an affiliated site. An information providing server compares the search information or the click information extracted by the client module with previously stored keyword category information to select corresponding keyword information, and transmits the keyword information to the client module. An affiliated site server stores the keyword category information in the information providing server, generates customized information on the basis of the new access information generated by the client module, and provides the customized information to the user through the user terminals.

Description

INFORMATION PROVIDING SYSTEM AND METHOD

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an information providing system and method. More particularly, the present invention relates to an information providing system and method that provides customized information based on recent POI (point of interest) information of visitors. Background Art

In general, if a client module that performs a specific function is installed in a user terminal, it is possible to obtain information (i.e., POI (point of interest) information) by keeping track of a user's activity, such as search of products or fields, that an Internet user performs to obtain certain information on websites.

As an example, a search word that is entered into a search window to search desired information may also be referred to as "POI information", which a user desires to obtain. Further, the user clicks a title that is linked from one web page to another web page to obtain detailed information from the linked web page. Thus, a link title, which simply displays contents of the linked web page, may also be referred to as "POI information".

Search-related information, such as a search word, a search site name, and a search time, or click-related information, such as a link title, a URL address of a linked web page, and a click time may also referred to as to as "POI information".

Meanwhile, a client program that extracts user information generally repels users.

Although there are customized shopping malls that are based on previous information of visitors, these shopping malls can only use POI information that is extracted from operations that the visitors perform at corresponding sites.

For example, POI information, which an "A" shopping mall extracts from the result of various operations (i.e., a search operation, a click operation, and the like) performed by visitors accessing a corresponding shopping mall site, is stored in a server of the A shopping mall. The A shopping mall provides related products based on the POI information of members of the A shopping mall to the members through a portion of a screen. However, there is a limitation in providing customized information in the related art because the customized information is based on POI information from a corresponding site with respect to customers that have already visited.

That is, with respect to visitors who visit a site or shopping mall for the first time on the basis of POI information of the visitors from a different site or shopping mall, a new web page that mainly includes product information or event information based on recent POI information of the visitors needs to be specifically generated. However, according to the related art, this function cannot be provided.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

The present invention has been made in an effort to provide an information providing system and method having advantages of providing customized information based on recent POI (point of interest) information of visitors. Technical Solution According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, an information providing system and method is implemented, in which a user is provided with a client module that is capable of extracting POI information of the user, and when the user accesses an affiliated information providing site, a web page screen is configured by using information that corresponds to recent POI information of the user.

According to exemplary embodiments, an information providing system and method is implemented. According to the information providing system and method, POI information is extracted from a search operation or a click operation that visitors have performed at a different search site or a different shopping site, and the visitors who first access a shopping site are also provided with customized information based on POI products or fields of the visitors. As a result, it is possible to increase a click-through rate (CTR) of the user at the corresponding shopping site. Since it is possible to remove inconvenience to the user when directly searching the POI product according to a category, a frequency of buying a product can be increased. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, an information providing system and method is implemented. According to the information providing system and method, keyword information of an affiliated site matched with POI information of a user is stored in a client module before the user visits an affiliated site. When the user accesses the affiliated site, the keyword information is transmitted to an affiliated site server together with an affiliated site access URL address. As a result, it is possible to prevent a delay of a web page loading time that may occur when selecting the keyword of the affiliated site matched with the POI information extracted after the user tries to access the affiliated site.

A first exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides an information providing system that provides information to user terminals each having a client module. The client module includes: a POI (point of interest) information extracting unit that extracts search information including a search word according to a search operation of a user on a web browser, or click information including a click title according to a click operation of the user or a similar click operation; a module interface unit that transmits the search information or the click information extracted by the POI information extracting unit and receives keyword information that corresponds to the search information or the click information, and transmits new access information and receives customized information that corresponds to the new access information; a storage unit that stores the keyword information received from the module interface unit for each affiliated site access information; and an information processing unit that confirms, when the user accesses an affiliated site, access information of the corresponding access site, compares the access information of the corresponding affiliated site with access information of affiliated sites stored in the storage unit to read corresponding keyword information, adds the read keyword information to the affiliated site access information to generate new access information, processes the customized information received from the module interface unit, and provides the customized information to the user. The information processing unit may confirm time information of the keyword information that is stored in the storage unit, only read keyword information whose time information is within a predetermined time, and delete, when the predetermined time elapses, the corresponding keyword information. The module interface unit may transmit POI information that includes the search information or the click information extracted by the POI information extracting unit, and selectively further includes search or click location information of the user and a search time or click time.

The module interface unit may transmit POI information in real time, the POI information including the search information or the click information extracted by the POI information extracting unit, and selectively further including search or click location information of the user and a search time or click time, or temporarily store the POI information in the storage unit and transmit the POI information at a set time or when information transmission is requested. The module interface unit may delete the POI information stored in the storage unit right after the POI information is completely transmitted.

The storage unit may assign a predetermined identification code to the client module and store and manage the predetermined identification code, when the storage unit stores identification codes of the user terminals or downloads the client module and installs the client module in the user terminals.

The storage unit may store an IP address that is assigned when the user accesses a predetermined affiliated site server or an information providing server using the user terminals, and a MAC address that is independently assigned to each of the user terminals. The information processing unit may read, when the user accesses the affiliated site, homepage access URL address information corresponding to an identification code of the affiliated site from the storage unit, and recognize the fact that the user accesses the affiliated site.

A second exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides an information providing system that provides information to user terminals. The information providing system includes a database server that stores and manages search information or click information extracted from the user terminals, user terminal information or client module information, affiliated site information, and affiliated site keyword category information, and a processing server that compares the search information or the click information and the affiliated site keyword category information stored in the database server, selects keyword information that corresponds to an identification code of the affiliated site, and provides the keyword information to the user terminals.

The database server may include: a POI (point of interest) information database that receives, from the user terminals, search information including a search word according to a search operation of the user on a web browser or click information including a click title according to a click operation of the user or a similar click operation, and stores the search information or the click information to correspond to user terminal identification codes or client module identification codes; a basic information database that stores at least one of the user terminal identification codes, the client module identification codes being installed in the user terminals, and affiliated site-related information; and an affiliated site keyword category database that is automatically updated from affiliated site servers through a network and stores an affiliated site keyword category that corresponds to the affiliated site identification codes.

The processing server may store the search information or the click information extracted from the user terminals in the database server, and search the database server to extract keyword information corresponding to a search word or a link title included in the search information or the click information.

A third exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides an information providing system. The information providing system includes: a client module that extracts search information including a search word according to a search operation of a user on user terminals or click information including a click title according to a click operation of the user or a similar click operation and transmits the search information or the click information, and receives and stores corresponding keyword information and adds, when the user accesses an affiliated site, the corresponding keyword information to access information of the corresponding affiliated site to generate new access information; an information providing server that compares the search information or the click information extracted by the client module with previously stored keyword category information to select corresponding keyword information, and transmits the keyword information to the client module; and an affiliated site server that stores the keyword category information in the information providing server, generates customized information on the basis of the new access information generated by the client module, and provides the customized information to the user through the user terminals.

The affiliated site server may receive an access URL address that includes the keyword information transmitted from the client module and provide a screen including news information, product information, or event information corresponding to the received keyword information to the user through the user terminals, while searching, and when there is no information corresponding to the received keyword information a general category corresponding to the received keyword information is provided, along with a screen including substitute information belonging to the same category to the user through the user terminals.

The client module may be downloaded from the information providing server or the affiliated site server and installed in the user terminals, and be automatically executed when an operating system of the user terminals or a web browser is driven. A fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a method of providing information. The method includes: downloading a client module from an information providing server or an affiliated site server and installing the client module in a user terminal; detecting a search operation or a click operation of a user and extracting search information including a search word according to the search operation or click information including a click title according to the click operation; generating POI (point of interest) information including the extracted search or click information, an extraction time, a site address, and a client module identification code or a user terminal identification code, and transmitting the POI information to the information providing server; receiving keyword information corresponding to the POI information from the information providing server and storing the keyword information; confirming, when the user accesses an affiliated site, an identification code of the corresponding affiliated site and comparing the identification code of the corresponding affiliated site with previously stored access information of affiliated sites to confirm whether the corresponding affiliated site is a proper affiliated site; confirming, when the corresponding affiliated site is the proper affiliated site, whether there is keyword information that corresponds to the identification code of the affiliated site; reading, when there is keyword information that corresponds to the identification code of the affiliated site, keyword information corresponding to the affiliated site identification code, and inserting the read keyword information into the affiliated site access information to generate new access information; and transmitting the new access information to the affiliated site server.

The method according to the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include determining whether to transmit the extracted search or click information or to temporarily store the extracted search or click information. The method according to the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include recognizing, when it is determined that a specific time elapses on the basis of time information of the stored keyword information, the corresponding keyword information as keyword information that has become insignificant as recent POI information, and deleting the corresponding keyword information. The method according to the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include confirming, when there is keyword information that corresponds to the affiliated site identification code, whether the extraction time is within an effective time range. The method according to the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include transmitting general access information to the affiliated site server, when there is no keyword information that corresponds to the affiliated site identification code or even if the keyword information exists but the extraction time is not within the effective time range.

The method according to the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include receiving the new access information from the affiliated site server and confirming the keyword information, determining whether information matched with the confirmed keyword information exists, and providing customized information matched with the confirmed keyword information to the user when the matched information exists. The method according to the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include providing substitute information in the same category where the confirmed keyword information is included to the user when there is no matched information.

A fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a method of providing information. The method includes receiving search information or click information extracted from a user terminal and storing the search information or the click information, matching the search information or the click information extracted from the user terminal with a previously stored affiliated site keyword category and selecting a corresponding affiliated site keyword, and transmitting the selected keyword and keyword information including an affiliated site identification code and information extraction time information to the user terminal.

A sixth exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a method of providing information. The method includes: installing a client module in a user terminal and extracting search information including a search word according to a search operation of a user on the user terminal or click information including a click title according to a click operation of the user or a similar click operation; causing an information providing server to compare the extracted search information or click information with previously stored keyword category information and select corresponding keyword information; receiving the selected keyword information from the client module and storing the keyword information, and adding, when the user accesses an affiliated site, the keyword information to access information of the corresponding affiliated site to generate new access information; and receiving the new access information from the affiliated site server and providing customized information corresponding to the new access information to the user.

The keyword information may include a keyword selected by the information providing server, an affiliated site identification code, and time information.

The providing of the customized information to the user may include extracting the selected keyword information from the new access information received from the affiliated site server, linking the user terminal to a URL address of a web page including product information or event information corresponding to the extracted keyword information, and providing a web page including information corresponding to the extracted keyword information to the user. Advantageous Effects

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the POI information is extracted from the search operation or the click operation that the visitors previously perform at the different search site or the different shopping site, and the visitors who first access the shopping site are also provided with the customized information based on the POI products or fields of the visitors. As a result, it is possible to increase a click-through rate of the user. Since it is possible to remove an inconvenience to the user when directly searching the POI product according to the category, a frequency of buying a product can be increased.

Further, according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the keyword information of the affiliated sites matched with the POI information of the user is stored in the client module before the user visits the affiliated sites. When the user accesses the affiliated sites, the keyword information is transmitted to the affiliated site servers together with the access URL address. As a result, it is possible to prevent a delay of a web page loading time that may occur when selecting the keyword of the affiliated sites matched with the POI information extracted after the user access is tried.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network connection state of an information providing system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram illustrating a client module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating an information providing server according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of selecting a shopping mall keyword based on POI information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary view illustrating a screen that shows the operation of extracting POI information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of providing information corresponding to keyword information selected from POI information to an affiliated site visitor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an exemplary view illustrating a screen that shows a type where a keyword is inserted into an access URL address, which a client module according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention transmits to an affiliated site server.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary view illustrating a screen of a web page that includes customized information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE

In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.

In addition, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word "comprise" and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. The term "unit", "module", and "block" used herein mean one unit that processes a specific function or operation, and may be implemented by hardware or software or a combination thereof.

An information providing system and method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network connection state of an information providing system, which provides customized information based on recent POI (point of interest) information of visitors, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a customized information providing system (for convenience of explanation, hereinafter simply referred to as an "information providing server") 100 that is based on recent POI information of visitors according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is connected to a client module 500 (shown in FIG. 2) and a plurality of affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m through a plurality of user terminals 300-1 to 300-n and a network 200.

That is, the information providing server 100 is connected to the plurality of user terminals 300-1 to 300-n through the network 200, which means all wire and wireless networks, such as the Internet, a wireless communication network, and a future network. Also, the information providing server 100 is connected to the plurality of affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m that desire to receive customized information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention through the network 200. Further, the information providing server 100 may be connected to predetermined download affiliated site servers (for convenience of explanation, not shown in the drawings), which are affiliated such that the client module 500 can be downloaded.

The information providing server 100 stores information that is transmitted from the client module 500 and keyword category information that is provided by the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m. The information providing server 100 compares POI information provided by the client module 500 and the keyword category information provided by the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m and selects a corresponding keyword. The user terminals 300-1 to 300-n are communication devices that are connected to the information providing server 100 through the network 200 and exchange data with the information providing server 100. For example, the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n may be wire terminals, which include a computer that can be connected to the network 200 through wire communication, a TV in which Internet access is possible, and the like. The user terminals 300-1 to 300- n may be wireless terminals, which include a cellular phone, a PDA, and the like that can be connected to the network 200 through wireless communication.

In addition, each of the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n includes the client module 500 (shown in FIG. 2). The client module 500 extracts search-related information (e.g., a search word, a search site name, a search time, and the like), which can be extracted from a search operation of a user on the user terminal, and click-related information (e.g., a link title, a URL address of a linked web page, a click time, and the like), which can be extracted from a click operation of the user or a similar click operation.

In this case, the search-related information or the click-related information is referred to as "POI information", for convenience of explanation. The client module 500 extracts POI information, such as a search word that is entered according to a search operation of a user on a web browser or a link title that is clicked according to a web surfing operation of the user, and provides the extracted POI information to the information providing server 100. The client module 500 receives information of a keyword that is selected from the information providing server 100, and transmits the keyword information together with a URL address to the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m that the user accesses.

The affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m are servers of sites that affiliate with the information providing server 100 and provide customized information that is based on recent POI information of visitors on the network 200. The affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m provide customized information that is based on the keyword information transmitted from the client module 500 (shown in FIG. 2). For example, the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m may be sites that provide a predetermined program in which the client module 500 is mounted, sites that provide advertisement space from which the client module 500 can be downloaded, or shopping sites that desire to provide customized shopping sites based on POI information of visitors. The affiliated site servers 400-1 and 400-m may be sites that are operated by companies operating the information providing server 100, or sites that are operated by companies that are affiliated to receive keyword information based on POI information of visitors from the information providing server 100. Specifically, the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m receive a URL address that includes keyword information transmitted from the client module 500. The affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m constitute a screen that includes news information, production information, or event information corresponding to the keyword, and provide the screen to the user. If there is no information that corresponds to the received keyword, the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400- m search a general category that corresponds to the keyword and provide a screen that includes substitute information that belongs to the same category.

Meanwhile, the client module 500 (shown in FIG. 2) can be downloaded from the information providing server 100 to the user terminals 300-1 and 300-n through various paths and be installed in the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n. Further, in addition to the information providing server 100, the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m can provide the client module 500 to the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n. The client module 500 is automatically executed when the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n are driven. The client module 500 is mounted in another program, such as a messenger, a toolbar, or a music player, and is driven together therewith.

The client module 500 may also be called a "client program". The client module 500 extracts a search word that is entered according to all search operations on the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n, and extracts clicked information on the web page (i.e., information for a title of a linked page, a linked URL address, a click time, a clicked site, and the like) and transmits it to the information providing server 100. Further, the client module 500 receives and stores keyword information that is provided by the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m corresponding to the search information and the click information (that is, POI information). If the user accesses the affiliated site, the client module 500 recognizes the access from the user and transmits the keyword information and the URL address to the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m. In addition, the client module 500 is automatically executed when an operating system (OS) of each of the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n is driven, or is mounted in a messenger, a music player, a multimedia player, a P2P program, a mini homepage, a web browser, a toolbar, or the like, and is automatically executed when the user performs the login. It is assumed that the client module 500 is implemented to be automatically executed when the OS of the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n or the web browser is driven. In this case, even though the user does not directly drive the client module 500, the client module 500 extracts POI information according to a search operation or a click operation from the user and provides the POI information to the information providing server 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the client module 500 includes a POI information extracting unit 510, an information processing unit 520, a module interface unit 530, and a storage unit 540. The client module 500 extracts POI information according to a search operation of a user or a similar click operation of the user including a click operation that is performed on the user terminals 300-1 to 300- n, and provides it to the information providing server 100. The client module 500 stores a keyword that is received from the information providing server 100. Then, when the user accesses the affiliated sites, the client module 500 provides the keyword information together with the access URL address to the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m.

The POI information extracting unit 510 extracts POI information according to various website utilization operations on the web browser. That is, the POI information extracting unit 510 extracts the search information including the search word according to the search operation of the user that is performed on the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n, or extracts click information including a click title according to a similar click operation of the user including a click operation.

When the user tries to access a predetermined website, the information processing unit 520 confirms an access URL address of the corresponding website, compares the access URL address with the affiliated site access URL address stored in the storage unit 540, and confirms whether the corresponding website is the affiliated site. When it is confirmed that the corresponding website is the affiliated site, the information processing unit 500 extracts keyword information that corresponds to the affiliated site access URL address (i.e., affiliated site identification code), adds the keyword information to the affiliated site access URL address to generate a new access URL address, and transmits the new access URL address to the corresponding affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m. Further, the information processing unit 520 may process customized information that is received through the module interface unit 530 and provide the customized information to the user.

The information processing unit 520 may only extract keyword information with time information that is within an effective time range while referring to time information of keyword information that is stored in the storage unit 540. The information processing unit 520 may recognize the corresponding keyword information as keyword information of which the time range has expired and that has become insignificant as recent POI information, and deletes the corresponding keyword information. Further, when the user tries to access the affiliated site, the information processing unit 520 reads, from the storage unit 540, information of a homepage access URL address that correspond to an identification code of the affiliated site, and recognizes when the user accesses the affiliated site.

The module interface unit 530 transmits the POI information extracted by the POI information extracting unit 510 to the information providing server 100. The module interface unit 530 receives keyword information corresponding to the POI information (an affiliated shopping mall identification code, a keyword, and time information of when POI information is extracted) from the information providing server 100, and stores the received keyword information in the storage unit 540. Further, the module interface unit 530 transmits the new access URL address, which is generated by the information processing unit 520, to the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m. Furthermore, the module interface unit 530 may receive customized information corresponding to the new access URL address from the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m and transmit it to the information processing unit 520.

Specifically, the module interface unit 530 transmits, to the information providing server 100, POI information that includes the POI information provided by the POI information extracting unit 510, and selectively further includes search/ click location information on places where the user has performed a search or click operation and a search word input time or a click time. At this time, the POI information that is generated by the module interface unit 530 may be transmitted to the information providing server 100 in real time. The POI information may be temporarily stored in the storage unit 540, and may be transmitted to the information providing server 100 when predetermined conditions, such as a set time or an information transmission request from the information providing server 100, are satisfied.

Further, the module interface unit 530 transmits the POI information to the information providing server 100 (for example an advertisement system) in real time when the user directly accesses the information providing server 100 or accesses the information providing server 100 through the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m. In contrast, when the user does not access the information providing server 100, the module interface unit 530 stores the POI information in the storage unit 540. Then, when the user accesses the information providing server 100, the module interface unit 530 can transmit the stored POI information to the information providing server 100. At this time, the module interface unit 530 may transmit the POI information that is stored in the storage unit 540 to the information providing server 100, and may delete the POI information directly after the POI information is completely transmitted.

When the user accesses the affiliated sites, the module interface unit 530 transmits the corresponding keyword information together with the URL addresses of the affiliated sites to the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m.

The storage unit 540 stores at least one of a user terminal identification code and a module identification code. The storage unit 540 stores the keyword information that is received from the information providing server 100 for each of the URL addresses of the affiliated sites. Specifically, the storage unit 540 stores predetermined information that is assigned to the client module 500 or user terminal related information. For example, when the client module 500 is downloaded from the predetermined affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m or the information providing server 100, the storage unit 540 assigns a predetermined identification code to the client module 500 and stores and manages the identification code. At this time, the identification code may be called a "module identification code", and the corresponding module identification code may be used as an identification code for a user who performs a predetermined search operation. Accordingly, it can be understood that the user can be identified on the basis of the module identification code even though the user does not perform an authentication process, for example the user does not perform the login with respect to the predetermined affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m or the information providing server 100. In addition to the module identification code, the storage unit 540 may store IP addresses assigned when the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n access the predetermined affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m or the information providing server 100, MAC addresses independently assigned to the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n, and the like. Further, the storage unit 540 stores homepage access URL address information that corresponds to the affiliated site identification code, so as to recognize when the user accesses the affiliated site. For example, if "INTERPARK" is an affiliated site and an identification code of an affiliated site of "INTERPARK" is "01", the storage unit 540 stores data of "01 : www.interpark.com" .

Further, the storage unit 540 stores keyword information (i.e., keyword information that corresponds to affiliated site identification codes) that is received from a processing server 110. For example, when it is assumed that POI information of a user is "Nike RTmall" and a keyword of Interpark as an affiliated shopping mall that corresponds to the "Nike RTmall" is "Nike", "01 : Nike" as data is stored as keyword information. In this case, a POI information extracting time may be included in the keyword information, and keyword information of which a predetermined time has elapsed can be automatically deleted. Since the keyword may be selected for a plurality of affiliated sites, a plurality of pieces of keyword information may be stored to correspond to a plurality of site identification codes. FIG. 3 is a detailed configuration diagram illustrating an information providing server according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the information providing server 100 is connected to the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n through the network 200. The information providing server 100 includes the processing server 110 and a database server 120. The processing server 110 exchanges information with the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n (i.e., client module 500), and processes POI information and related information. The processing server 110 compares the POI information provided by the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n and the affiliated site keyword category information so as to generate keyword information, and provides the keyword information to the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n. The database server 120 stores and manages user terminal information or client module information, affiliated site information, affiliated site keyword category information, and POI information that is transmitted by the client module 500 (i.e., POI information that is extracted from search information or click information of a user).

The processing server 110 includes a module interface unit 111 that exchanges information with the client module 500, and a POI information processing unit 112 that processes the POI information provided by the client module 500 and generates keyword information that is related to the POI information.

The module interface unit 111 transmits the keyword extracted by the POI information processing unit 112 together with the corresponding affiliated site identification code to the client module 500. At this time, it is preferable that the module interface unit 111 transmits time information of when the POI information is extracted, together with the POI information.

The POI information processing unit 112 compares the POI information received from the client module 500 and the affiliated site keyword category and selects the keyword that corresponds to the affiliated site identification code. That is, the POI information processing unit 112 stores the POI information provided by the client module 500 in the POI information database 122 of the database server 120. Further, the POI information processing unit 112 searches an affiliated site keyword category database 123 in the database server 120, and extracts a shopping mall keyword that corresponds to a search word and/ or a link title that is included in the POI information. At this time, the number of affiliated sites that have the keywords corresponding to the received POI information may be plural, and the number of keywords that correspond to the received POI information may be plural.

Meanwhile, the database server 120 includes a basic information database 121, a POI information database 122, and an affiliated site keyword category database 123.

The basic information database 121 stores at least one of user terminal identification code information, client module identification code information that is installed in the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n, and affiliated site-related information. At this time, the user terminal identification code information as user terminal information may be, for example, an IP address, a MAC address, and the like. Further, information that is related to the affiliated sites may include site names, site URL addresses, site identification codes, and the like.

The POI information database 122 stores the POI information that is extracted by the client module 500 (i.e., search information extracted from a search operation of a user or click information extracted from a similar click operation of the user including a click operation). That is, the POI information database 122 stores the POI information that is provided by the client module 500. In particular, the POI information database 122 stores POI information that corresponds to the user terminal identification code and/ or the module identification code assigned to the client module 500.

The affiliated site keyword category database 123 stores a keyword category so as to correspond to the identification codes of the affiliated sites. That is, the affiliated site keyword category database 123 stores the affiliated site keyword categories that correspond to the affiliated site identification codes. The affiliated site keyword category database 123 is connected to the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m through the network 200 and automatically updated.

The information providing system according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention that has the above-described structure provides the client module 500, which can extract the POI information of the user, to each of the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n. When the user accesses the affiliated information providing site, the information providing system configures a web page screen by using information corresponding to the recent

POI information of the user. At this time, the POI information extracting module is the client module 500 that is related to the extraction of the search information or the click information. Preferably, the POI information extracting module is mounted in a program that provides a large amount of information or functions on the basis of the extracted information rather than a client program that only functions to extract the POI information. That is, in the information providing system according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the client module 500 is provided together with various functions and installed in the user terminals 300-1 to 300- n. At this time, the client module 500 extracts search information including a search word that can be extracted from a search operation of the user on the website, or click information including a link title that can be extracted from a similar click operation of the user including a click operation.

The information providing server 100 links with the client module 500 and receives the POI information of the user. The information providing server 100 compares the received POI information of the user and keyword information (i.e., keyword category) of the affiliated sites that provide customized information to a visitor on the basis of the POI information of the user, and selects a matched keyword. The information providing server 100 transmits keyword information (including affiliated site identification codes) including the selected keyword to the client module 500. Therefore, the client module 500 stores the keyword information, detects when the user tries to access the affiliated site, adds the keyword information to the access URL address, and transmits it to the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m.

The affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m configure a screen that includes product information or event information corresponding to the keyword. As a result, the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m can provide customized web pages based on recent POI information of visitors to the visitors who first access the corresponding sites.

The information providing server 100 compares the POI information extracted before the user visits the affiliated site, and the keyword category information of the affiliated sites, and previously selects the keyword of the affiliated site corresponding to the POI information. The information providing server 100 stores the previously selected keyword in the client module 500. When the user accesses the affiliated site, the information providing server 100 provides the previously selected keyword information together with the access URL address. As a result, the keyword does not need to be selected again in the affiliated site servers, thereby reducing the amount of time that is needed to provide the web page including the customized information to the user.

It can be understood that the structure of the information providing system according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is classified according to a processing function and is not limited to the specific structure. For example, in the case where companies that operate the information providing server 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention operate information providing sites, the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m may be included in the information providing server 100. A method of providing information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing customized information based on recent POI information of visitors according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The information providing server 100 is connected to the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n through the network 200. When the information providing server 100 provides customized information based on recent POI information of users (i.e., visitors) to the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n, the information providing server 100 downloads the client module 500 from the information providing server 100 (or affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m) through various paths and installs the client module 500 in the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n (step SlOO). In this case, the client module 500 extracts POI information including search information and/ or click information from search operations and/ or click operations of users on the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n, and provides the extracted POI information to the information providing server 100. Then, when the user performs a search or click operation (i.e., desired operation of the user) on the web browser through the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n, the client module 500 extracts the POI information of the user and transmits the extracted POI information to the information providing server 100 (step S200). At this time, examples of the desired operation of the user according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention include an operation in which the user accesses the predetermined site and enters a search word in the input window, an operation in which the user enters a predetermined address in an address window on the web browser to access the predetermined website, and an operation in which the user enters a search word using a search application such as a predetermined search toolbar. That is, the examples of the desired operation of the user include all operations in which the user enters a search word using a predetermined program on the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n. The examples of the desired operation of the user according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention further include all click operations in which the user clicks a linked title to move a screen to the web page linked to a predetermined site or performs an operation similar to the click operation. Accordingly, the client module 500 extracts the POI information from the attentive operation of the user.

The information providing server 100 receives the POI information that is transmitted by the client module 500, matches the received POI information with the affiliated site keyword category, and selects the affiliated site keyword that corresponds to the received POI information. Then, the information providing server 100 transmits keyword information, which includes the selected keyword, affiliated site identification codes, and time information, to the client module 500 (step S300).

Therefore, the client module 500 stores the keyword information that is received from the information providing server 100 (step S400), recognizes the access of the user to the affiliated site when the user tries to access the affiliated site, and extracts the keyword information that corresponds to the identification code of the affiliated site which the user tries to access. The client module 500 inserts the extracted keyword information into the affiliated site access URL address to generate a new access URL address, and transmits the new access URL address to the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m (step S500). Then, the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m extract the information that corresponds to the keyword information received from the client module 500 and provides the web page where information corresponding to the keyword is included to the users through the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n (step S600). That is, the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m can link the user terminals to the URL addresses of the web pages including the product information or event information corresponding to the keyword, thereby providing the web pages including information corresponding to the keyword to the users.

Now, it is assumed that in the case where the customized information is provided to the users (i.e., visitors) who visit the affiliated sites, there is no information that corresponds to the keyword received from the client module 500. In this case, the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m provide substitute keyword information that belongs to the same category as the received keyword so as to perform the process that corresponds to step S600 described above. The operations that correspond to the processes ranging from steps SlOO to S400, that is, the operations for selecting the keyword of the affiliated sites based on the extracted POI information according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, will now be described in detail with reference to a flowchart illustrated in FIG. 5.

First, the user accesses a server (i.e., information providing server 100, or affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m) that provides the client module 500 through the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n. Then, if the user requests to download the client module 500, the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n confirm a request for downloading of the client module from the user through various paths (step Sill), and transmit the confirmed fact to the information providing server 100 (or affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m) (step S112).

Then, the information providing server 100 (or affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m) receives the request for downloading the client module transmitted by the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n (step S113), and transmits the corresponding client module 500 to the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n (step S114).

Therefore, the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n download the client module

500 from the information providing server 100 (or affiliated site severs 400-1 to

400-m) (step S115), and install the downloaded client module 500 (step S116). Then, when the user performs a search or click operation on the web browser through the user terminals 300-1 to 300-n, the client module 500 detects the search or click operation of the user (step Sl 17). The client module 500 extracts search information including a search word that can be extracted from the search operation of the user on the website, or click information including a link title that can be extracted from a similar click operation of the user including a click operation (step S118).

In addition, the client module 500 generates POI information that includes the search information or click information (i.e., POI information) extracted in step S118 that has been described above, as well as time at which the corresponding POI information is extracted and a site address, and transmits the POI information to the information providing server 100 (step Sl 19). At this time, the client module 500 includes a module identification code or a terminal identification code assigned to the client module 500 in the corresponding POI information, and transmits the corresponding POI information to the information providing server 100.

Alternatively, the information processing unit 520 that is provided in the client module 500 determines whether to transmit the POI information extracted by the POI information extracting unit 510 in the client module 500 to the processing server 110 in the information providing server 100 through the module interface unit 530 in the client module 500, or to temporarily store the POI information in the storage unit 540 of the client module 500. Therefore, the information providing server 100 receives the POI information that is transmitted by the client module 500 (step S120). At this time, the information providing server 100 stores the received POI information in the POI information database 122 (step S121). In this case, it can be understood that the process in step S121 may be performed at the same time as a process in step S122 or S123, which will be described below, or before or after the process in step S122 or S123.

The information providing server 100 matches the received POI information with the affiliated site keyword category that is stored in the affiliated site keyword category database 123 (step S122), and selects an affiliated site keyword that corresponds to the received POI information (step S123). Then, the information providing server 100 transmits the selected keyword and keyword information, which includes the affiliated site identification codes and information of POI information extracting time, to the client module 500 (step S124). Then, the client module 500 receives the keyword information that is transmitted by the information providing server 100 (step S125). At this time, the information processing unit 520 stores keyword information, which includes the affiliated site identification codes, the selected keyword, and the time information received from the processing server 110, in the storage unit 540 (step S126).

Further, the information processing unit 520 also performs a function of deleting keyword information of which a specific time has elapsed and that has become worthless as the recent POI information, on the basis of the time information of the keyword information that is stored in step S126 that has been described above.

Now, the operation of extracting search information (or click information) in step S118 that has been described above will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary view illustrating a screen that shows the operation of extracting POI information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows POI information that a user can obtain by entering the search word "Nike" at a search site and clicking "Nike RTmall" on the search result page.

As shown in a) of FIG. 6, if the user enters "Nike" in a search window of a search site or a shopping site to buy Nike sneakers, the POI information extracting unit 510 that is provided in the client module 500 searches typewritten letters corresponding to the search word "Nike" from URL addresses of the search result page. Then, the POI information extracting unit

510 decodes the typewritten letters in the form of the search word and generates the search word entered by the user, thereby extracting the generated search word as the POI information.

Further, as shown in b) of FIG. 6, if the user clicks "Nike RTmall" as a link title, which is linked to an RT mall, to visit the RT mall as one of shopping malls that sell Nike sneakers, the POI information extracting unit 510 can extract an URL address that is linked together with a sentence "Nike RTmall" as the link title. That is, the POI information extracting unit 510 can extract the sentence "Nike RTmall" as the link title, match the sentence with the affiliated site keyword, and select the keyword "Nike".

In this case, the POI information may include a URL address of the web page that is linked with the sentence "Nike RTmall" as the link title, and the click time information.

In addition, it can be understood that the client module 500 can extract the click information not only when the click operation but also when a similar click operation is performed. In this case, the "click operation" includes all operations that are similar to the click operation, in addition to the click operation.

The operations that correspond to the processes ranging from steps S500 to S600 that have been described above, that is, the operations of providing customized information in the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m on the basis of the keyword information of the visitors transmitted by the client module 500 when the user accesses the affiliated sites, will now be described in detail with reference to a flowchart illustrated in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of providing information corresponding to keyword information selected from POI information to an affiliated site visitor according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In a state where keyword information corresponding to the affiliated site identification codes is stored in the client module 500, if the user tries to access the affiliated site homepage, the client module 500 detects when the user tries to access the affiliated site (step S211). Then, the client module 500 confirms an identification code of the affiliated site that the user tries to access, compares the identification code with the access URL address of the affiliated site stored in the storage unit 540, and determines whether the corresponding affiliated site is a proper affiliated site (step S212).

At this time, when it is determined in step S212 that the corresponding affiliated site is a proper affiliated site, the client module 500 confirms whether there is no keyword information that corresponds to the identification code of the affiliated site that the user desires to access (step S213).

When it is confirmed in step S213 that there is no keyword information that corresponds to the identification code of the affiliated site, or when even though the keyword information exists, the POI information extracting time is not within an effective time range and the keyword information becomes worthless as the recent POI information, the client module 500 transmits the general access information (e.g., URL address) to the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m (step S214). The affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m receive a general access URL address from the client module 500 (step S215), and provides the web page (i.e., standardized web page) including the general information to the user (step S216). Meanwhile, when it is confirmed in step S213 that there is keyword information that corresponds to the identification code of the affiliated site and the POI information extracting time is within an effective time range, the client module 500 reads, from the storage unit 540, the keyword information that corresponds to the identification code of the affiliated site that the user tries to access (step S217). Then, the client module 500 inserts the read keyword information into the access URL address of the affiliated site according to a predetermined format, and generates new access information (e.g., URL address) (step S218).

The client module 500 transmits the new access URL address generated in step S218, which has been described above, to the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m (step S219).

The type where the keyword information is inserted into the new access URL address the client module 500 transmits to the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m is shown in FIG. 8. Further, the type where the keyword information is inserted into the affiliated site access URL address may be implemented in various methods according to prior consultation between companies operating the information providing server 100 and the affiliated sites.

Therefore, the access URL address that includes the newly generated keyword information is immediately transmitted to the affiliated site servers

400-1 to 400-m. The affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m receive the new access information (step S220) and confirm the keyword information in the received access information (step S221). The affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400- m determine whether there is information (e.g., news information, product information or event information) matched with the confirmed keyword information (step S222).

If there is information that corresponds to the keyword confirmed in step S222 described above, the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m link the user terminals to the web page including the information corresponding to the confirmed keyword, thereby providing the customized information matched with the confirmed keyword to the user (step S223). For example, when the customized information that is matched with the confirmed keyword is customized shopping information, the screen including the customized shopping information is provided to the user, as shown in FIG. 9.

Meanwhile, when it is determined in step S222 that there is no information that corresponds to the confirmed keyword, the affiliated site servers 400-1 to 400-m link the user terminals with the web pages including the related information (i.e., substitute information) in the same category where the confirmed keyword is included, and provide the substitute information in the same category to the user (step S224). According to the method of providing information according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, different from the existing shopping sites that provide the same product information to all visitors, the POI information is extracted from the search operation or the click operation that the visitors previously perform at different search sites or different shopping sites. As a result, customized information that is based on the POI products or fields of visitors who first visit the shopping site can be provided to the visitors, thereby increasing a click-through rate of users. At this time, when the affiliated site is a shopping site, it is possible to remove an inconvenience to the user when directly searching the POI product according to the category, thereby improving a frequency of buying a product.

According to the method of providing information according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the keyword information of the affiliated site matched with the user's POI information is stored in the client module before the user visits the affiliated site. When the user accesses the affiliated site, the keyword information is transmitted to the affiliated site server together with the access URL address. As a result, it is possible to prevent a delay of a web page loading time that may occur when selecting the keyword of the affiliated site matched with the POI information extracted after the user access is tried. That is, the user selects the affiliated site keyword that corresponds to the search word and/ or the link title before visiting the affiliated sites, and stores it in the client module. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of time that is needed to provide the customized web page to the user when the user accesses the affiliated sites.

According to the system and method of providing a customized web page based on the recent POI information of the visitors that has been described above, the client module is installed in the user terminal, and the information providing server links with the corresponding client module and receives the POI information of the user. The received POI information of the user is compared with the keyword category of the affiliated sites to select the matched keyword, and the matched keyword and the identification codes of the affiliated sites are transmitted to the client module. The client module stores the corresponding information, adds the keyword information to the access URL address when the user accesses the affiliated site, and transmits the keyword information and the access URL address to the affiliated site servers. The affiliated site servers link the user terminals to the web pages that include the information corresponding to the received keyword. As a result, the visitors who first visit the corresponding sites can be provided with the customized web page based on the recent POI information of the visitors.

The exemplary embodiment of the present invention that has been described above may be implemented by not only a method and an apparatus but also a program that is capable of realizing a function corresponding to the structure according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention and a recording medium having the program recorded therein. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the implementation can be easily made from the above-described exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CALIMED IS

1. An information providing system that provides information to user terminals each having a client module, wherein the client module comprises: a POI (point of interest) information extracting unit that extracts search information including a search word according to a search operation of a user on a web browser, or click information including a click title according to a click operation of the user or a similar click operation; a module interface unit that transmits the search information or the click information extracted by the POI information extracting unit and receives keyword information that corresponds to the search information or the click information, and transmits new access information and receives customized information that corresponds to the new access information; a storage unit that stores the keyword information received from the module interface unit for each affiliated site access information; and an information processing unit that confirms, when the user accesses an affiliated site, access information of the corresponding access site, compares the access information of the corresponding affiliated site with access information of affiliated sites stored in the storage unit to read corresponding keyword information, adds the read keyword information to the affiliated site access information to generate new access information, processes the customized information received from the module interface unit, and provides the customized information to the user.

2. The information providing system of claim 1, wherein the information processing unit confirms time information of the keyword information that is stored in the storage unit, only reads keyword information of which time information is within a predetermined time, and deletes, when the predetermined time elapses, the corresponding keyword information.

3. The information providing system of claim 1, wherein the module interface unit transmits POI information that includes the search information or the click information extracted by the POI information extracting unit and selectively further includes search or click location information of the user and a search time or click time.

4. The information providing system of claim 1, wherein the module interface unit transmits POI information in real time, the POI information including the search information or the click information extracted by the POI information extracting unit, and selectively further including search or click location information of the user and a search time or click time, or temporarily stores the POI information in the storage unit and transmits the POI information at a set time or when information transmission is requested.

5. The information providing system of claim 4, wherein the module interface unit deletes the POI information stored in the storage unit directly after the

POI information is completely transmitted.

6. The information providing system of claim 1, wherein the storage unit assigns a predetermined identification code to the client module and stores and manages the predetermined identification code, when the storage unit stores identification codes of the user terminals or downloads the client module and installs the client module in the user terminals.

7. The information providing system of claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores an IP address that is assigned when the user accesses a predetermined affiliated site server or an information providing server using the user terminals, and a MAC address that is independently assigned to each of the user terminals.

8. The information providing system of claim 1, wherein the information processing unit reads homepage access URL address information corresponding to an identification code of the affiliated site from the storage unit when the user accesses the affiliated site, and recognizes the fact that the user accesses the affiliated site.

9. An information providing system that provides information to user terminals, the system comprising: a database server that stores and manages search information or click information extracted from the user terminals, user terminal information or client module information, affiliated site information, and affiliated site keyword category information; and a processing server that compares the search information or the click information and the affiliated site keyword category information stored in the database server, selects keyword information that corresponds to an identification code of the affiliated site, and provides the keyword information to the user terminals.

10. The information providing system of claim 9, wherein the database server includes: a POI (point of interest) information database that receives search information from the user terminals including a search word according to a search operation of the user on a web browser or click information including a click title according to a click operation of the user or a similar click operation, and stores the search information or the click information to correspond to user terminal identification codes or client module identification codes; a basic information database that stores at least one of the user terminal identification codes, the client module identification codes installed in the user terminals, and affiliated site-related information; and an affiliated site keyword category database that is automatically updated from affiliated site servers through a network and stores an affiliated site keyword category that corresponds to the affiliated site identification codes.

11. The information providing system of claim 9, wherein the processing server stores the search information or the click information extracted from the user terminals in the database server, and searches the database server to extract keyword information corresponding to a search word or a link title included in the search information or the click information.

12. An information providing system, comprising: a client module that extracts search information including a search word according to a search operation of a user on user terminals or click information including a click title according to a click operation of the user or a similar click operation and transmits the search information or the click information, and receives and stores corresponding keyword information and adds, when the user accesses an affiliated site, the corresponding keyword information to access information of the corresponding affiliated site to generate new access information; an information providing server that compares the search information or the click information extracted by the client module with previously stored keyword category information to select corresponding keyword information, and transmits the keyword information to the client module; and an affiliated site server that stores the keyword category information in the information providing server, generates customized information on the basis of the new access information generated by the client module, and provides the customized information to the user through the user terminals.

13. The information providing system of claim 12, wherein the affiliated site server receives an access URL address that includes the keyword information transmitted from the client module, and provides a screen including news information, product information, or event information corresponding to the received keyword information to the user through the user terminals, while searching a general category corresponding to the received keyword information when there is no information corresponding to the received keyword information and providing a screen including substitute information belonging to the same category to the user through the user terminals.

14. The information providing system of claim 12, wherein the client module is downloaded from the information providing server or the affiliated site server and installed in the user terminals, and is automatically executed when an operating system of the user terminals or a web browser is driven.

15. An information providing method, comprising: downloading a client module from an information providing server or an affiliated site server and installing the client module in a user terminal; detecting a search operation or a click operation of a user and extracting search information including a search word according to the search operation or click information including a click title according to the click operation; generating POI (point of interest) information including the extracted search or click information, an extraction time, a site address, and a client module identification code or a user terminal identification code, and transmitting the POI information to the information providing server; receiving keyword information corresponding to the POI information from the information providing server and storing the keyword information; confirming, when the user accesses an affiliated site, an identification code of the corresponding affiliated site, and comparing the identification code of the corresponding affiliated site with previously stored access information of affiliated sites to confirm whether the corresponding affiliated site is a proper affiliated site; confirming, when the corresponding affiliated site is a proper affiliated site, whether there is keyword information that corresponds to the identification code of the affiliated site; reading, when there is keyword information that corresponds to the identification code of the affiliated site, keyword information corresponding to the affiliated site identification code; and inserting the read keyword information into the affiliated site access information to generate new access information, and transmitting the new access information to the affiliated site server.

16. The information providing method of claim 15, further comprising deterinining whether to transmit the extracted search or click information or to temporarily store the extracted search or click information.

17. The information providing method of claim 15, further comprising recognizing, when it is determined that a specific time has elapsed on the basis of time information of the stored keyword information, the corresponding keyword information as keyword information that has become insignificant as recent POI information, and deleting the corresponding keyword information.

18. The information providing method of claim 15, further comprising confirming, when there is keyword information that corresponds to the affiliated site identification code, whether the extraction time is within an effective time range.

19. The information providing method of claim 18, further comprising transmitting general access information to the affiliated site server, when there is no keyword information that corresponds to the affiliated site identification code or if the keyword information exists but the extraction time is not within the effective time range.

20. The information providing method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving the new access information from the affiliated site server and confirming the keyword information; determining whether information matched with the confirmed keyword information exists; and providing customized information matched with the confirmed keyword information to the user when the matched information exists.

21. The information providing method of claim 20, further comprising providing substitute information in the same category to which the confirmed keyword information is included to the user when there is no matched information.

22. An information providing method, comprising: receiving search information or click information extracted from a user terminal and storing the search information or the click information; matching the search information or the click information extracted from the user terminal with a previously stored affiliated site keyword category, and selecting a corresponding affiliated site keyword; and transmitting the selected keyword and keyword information including an affiliated site identification code and information extraction time information to the user terminal.

23. An information providing method, comprising: installing a client module in a user terminal and extracting search information including a search word according to a search operation of a user on the user terminal or click information including a click title according to a click operation of the user or a similar click operation; causing an information providing server to compare the extracted search information or click information with previously stored keyword category information and to select corresponding keyword information; receiving the selected keyword information from the client module and storing the keyword information, and adding, when the user accesses an affiliated site, the keyword information to access information of the corresponding affiliated site to generate new access information; and receiving the new access information from the affiliated site server and providing customized information corresponding to the new access information to the user.

24. The information providing method of claim 23, wherein the keyword information includes a keyword selected by the information providing server, an affiliated site identification code, and time information.

25. The information providing method of claim 23, wherein the providing of the customized information to the user comprises extracting the selected keyword information from the new access information received from the affiliated site server, linking the user terminal to a URL address of a web page including product information or event information corresponding to the extracted keyword information, and providing the web page including information corresponding to the extracted keyword information to the user.