WO2008120904A1

WO2008120904A1 - System for providing advertisements and method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2008120904A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/001736
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jong-Hun Lee
Original assignee: J4Ad Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2007-03-29
Filing date: 2008-03-27
Publication date: 2008-10-09
Also published as: KR20090076872A; KR20090001992A; WO2008120904B1; KR100925552B1

Abstract

An advertisement providing system and method are provided. The advertisement providing system provides advertisement content corresponding to the keyword based on pre-stored advertisement registration information including advertisement keywords, advertisement contents, advertisement provider identifications (ID), and matching/mismatching information. The advertisement providing system performs a differential charge for the advertisement provider based on the matching/mismatching information.

Description

[DESCRIPTION] [Invention Title]

SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING ADVERTISEMENTS AND METHOD THEREOF [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a system and method for providing advertisements. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for providing advertisements, which are configured to provide advertisements related to keywords and efficiently charge sponsors for advertising services based on statistical data on the advertisements provided. [Background Art]

A variety of online advertising practices using banners, popup windows, Flash, user created contents UCC, and keyword search are well known.

The advertisements using the banners, popup windows, Flash, and UCC are configured to place advertising images at specific locations of websites and link the advertising images to sponsor's websites. The advertisements are formed with a variety of contents such as text contents, video contents, and the like. Each advertisement is finished by one exposure (primary exposure).

An advertisement using the keyword search is configured to expose advertisement contents depending on the keyword search. That is, an advertisement using the keyword search is designed to expose advertisement contents matching keywords input by users and to access more users to the sponsor's websites. The advertisement using the keyword search is also

i finished by one exposure.

Such advertisements using the banners, popup windows, Flash, UCC, and keyword search are provided through the websites in various ways, but have the following limitations. > The advertisements using the banners, popup windows, Flash, and UCC are exposed to users randomly and thus it is very difficult to verify an actual advertising effect.

The advertisements using the keyword search are provided only when the advertisements match the keywords, and the advertisements provided are finished by only one exposure. Therefore, it is also difficult to verify an actual advertising effect.

For the advertisements using the banners, popup windows, Flash, UCC, and keyword, the advertising expenses that will be charged are set in proportion to an exposure rate without verifying the actual advertising effect. Therefore, when the advertisement is put in a website that is exposed many times, the sponsor may feel too burdened by advertising expenses.

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 solve the above limitations, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for providing advertisements, which are configured to provide advertisements related to keywords and efficiently charge sponsors for 5 advertising services based on statistical data on the advertisements provided. [Technical Solution]

In an aspect of the present invention for solving the above-described problems, a system for providing an advertisement to a user terminal includes: a content providing device for storing therein advertisement registration lϋ information having advertisement keywords, advertisement contents, advertisement provider identifications (IDs), and matching/mismatching information, providing advertisement content corresponding to a keyword received from the user terminal based on the advertisement registration information, and collecting user action information on webpage moving of a user, lδ wherein the matching/mismatching information is information that is set to determine whether the advertisement matching the advertising keywords is provided or the advertisement mismatching the advertising keywords is provided; and an advertisement providing device for receiving the advertisement registration information from the advertisement provider, providing the received

20 advertisement registration information to the content providing device, and performing a differential charge for the advertisement providers based on the matching/mismatching information and the user action information. Here, the user action information includes user action information generated based on action-generated webpage information and action-ended webpage information in accordance with webpage moving of the user.

The advertisement providing device performs the differential charge for the advertisement provider based on the action information and the matching/mismatching information.

Here, the content providing device includes: a webpage providing unit for sending and receiving data to and from the user terminal, providing a pre-stored webpage to the user terminal, and providing the advertisement content to the user terminal when receiving the keyword from the user terminal; an advertisement providing unit for searching the advertisement content related to the keyword based on the matching/mismatching information of the advertisement registration information and providing the searched advertisement content to the webpage providing unit; and an action information collecting unit for collecting the user action information by being linked to the webpage providing unit and sending the collected user action information to the advertisement providing unit.

In an aspect of the present invention, a method of providing an advertisement to a user terminal includes: receiving a keyword from the user terminal; providing advertisement content corresponding to the keyword based on pre-stored advertisement registration information including advertisement keywords, advertisement contents, advertisement provider identifications (IDs), and matching/mismatching information, and performing a differential charge for an advertisement provider based on the matching/mismatching information, wherein the matching/mismatching information is information that is set to determine whether the advertisement matching the advertising keywords is > provided or the advertisement mismatching the advertising keywords is provided

Here, the method further includes, after providing the advertisement content, collecting user action information on webpage moving of the user from the user terminal based on the advertisement registration information, wherein it) the performing of the differential charge is performed based on the user action information and the matching/mismatching information

In an aspect of the present invention, a system for providing an advertisement to a user terminal includes a content providing device for storing therein advertisement registration information including advertisement keywords,

15 step information, advertisement contents corresponding to the step information, advertisement provider identifications (IDs), and matching/mismatching information, providing advertisement content corresponding to a keyword received from the user terminal based on the matching/mismatching information and the step information, and collecting user action information on webpage 0 moving of a user, wherein the matching/mismatching information is information that is set to determine whether the advertisement matching the advertising keywords is provided or the advertisement mismatching the advertising keywords is provided, and the step information is the number of provisions of the advertisement related to the keyword received from the user terminal to the user terminal, and an advertisement providing device for receiving the advertisement registration information from an advertisement provider, providing the received > advertisement registration information to the content providing device, and performing a differential charge for the advertisement providers based on the matching/mismatching information and the step information

Here, the user action information includes action information generated based on the advertisement provider ID, the advertisement keyword, the step information, and action-generated webpage information and action-ended webpage information in accordance with webpage moving of the user

The advertisement providing device performs the differential charge for the advertisement providers based on the step information, the matching/mismatching information, and the action information In an aspect of the present invention, a method of providing an advertisement to a user terminal includes receiving a keyword from the user terminal, providing advertisement content of an advertisement keyword corresponding to the keyword based on pre-stored advertisement registration information including advertisement keywords, step information, advertisement contents corresponding to the step information, and an advertisement provider identification (ID), collecting user action information on webpage moving of a user from the user terminal based on the provided advertisement content, and performing a differential charge for advertisement providers based on the step information and the matching/mismatching information, wherein the matching/mismatching information is information that is set to determine whether the advertisement matching the advertising keywords is provided or the I advertisement mismatching the advertising keywords is provided, and the step information is the number of provisions of the advertisement related to the keyword received from the user terminal to the user terminal

Here, the method further includes, after the providing of the advertisement content, collecting user action information on webpage moving of

K) a user from the user terminal based on the provided advertisement content

The performing of the differential charge is performed based on the step information, the matching/mismatching information, and the user action information

In an aspect of the present invention, a method of providing an

15 advertisement to a user terminal includes receiving first user action information including matching/mismatching information, step information, advertisement keywords, and advertisement provider identification (ID) from a first content providing device to which the user terminal was previously connected based on a connection of the user terminal, providing an advertisement content pre-stored

20 by an advertisement provider to the user terminal based on the step information and the advertisement keyword, collecting second user action information on user action generated by the user from the user terminal, and performing a differential charge for the advertisement provider based on the collected second user action information, the step information, and the matching/mismatching information.

[Advantageous Effect] With the above-described configuration, the advertisement providing system according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention differentially charges the advertisement provider based on a point calculated in accordance with the providing of the advertisement so that advertisement expenses can be significantly reduced. Further, since the advertisement contents the advertisement provider desires can be consecutively provided through the step information, advertisement efficiency can be improved.

Further, the differential charge can be efficiently realized based on the point calculated based on the step information and the matching/mismatching information.

In addition, when the advertisement content that is mismatched with the advertisement keyword is provided to the user terminal, consecutive advertisement contents are provided in accordance with the webpage moving by increasing the step information. Therefore, the advertisement contents can be systemically provided to the users. [Description of Drawings]

FIG. 1 is a detailed block diagram of an advertisement providing system according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an advertisement providing device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a content providing device of the advertisement providing system according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a table illustrating user action information provided from a content providing device to an advertisement providing system according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an advertisement providing system according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an advertisement purchasing process of an advertisement providing system according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a charging process of an advertisement providing system according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an advertisement providing system according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a content providing device of an advertisement providing system according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a table illustrating user action information provided from a content providing device to an advertisement providing device according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an advertisement providing method according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a user action collecting method of an advertisement providing system according to a second 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 terms "portion," "device," "module," "block," and the like represent units for processing at least one function or operation, and may be realized by software, hardware, or a combination thereof. The following will define terms used herein

A matching/mismatching advertisement is a practice for providing advertisements that match or mismatch advertising keywords input from terminals of users For example, when a matching advertisement registered by > a sponsor (hereinafter referred to as "advertisement provider") are set to have an advertising keyword "Anycall" and an advertisement content "Anycall video," when the users input the keyword "Anycall," the advertisement content "Anycall video" is provided to the users When a mismatching advertisement registered by the advertisement provider is set to have an advertising keyword "Cyon" and K) an advertisement content "Anycall video," when the users input the keyword "Cyon", the advertisement content "Anycall video" that does not match with the keyword "Cyon" is provided to the users

The advertisement content is content data provided as the advertisement matching the advertising keyword based on the matching/mismatching setting π The advertisement content may include an image, a video, a Flash and the like

Matching/mismatching information is information that is set by the advertisement provider to determine whether the advertisement matching the advertising keywords is provided or the advertisement mismatching the advertising keywords is provided 0 Advertisement registration information is information registered by the advertisement provider The advertisement registration information includes matching/mismatching information, an advertising keyword, advertisement content, an advertisement provider ID, and website connection information.

The website connection information is a website connection address(access address) matching the advertisement content.

A step advertisement is an advertisement practice that constantly f) provides series or consecutive advertisement contents. When the user moves to another webpage, the series or consecutive advertisement contents related to the advertisement provided to a current webpage are provided to the next webpage.

A search engine is a program used for searching websites matching with lϋ or similar to keywords related to an object that will be searched.

User action information is information generated depending on user's action. The user action information includes an advertisement keyword, action information, a user uniform resource locator (URL), an action time, an action-generated URL, a page moving URL, and an action-ended URL. 15 A system and method for providing advertisements according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A system and method for providing advertisements according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described first. 0 FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an advertisement providing system according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 , an advertisement providing system in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an advertisement providing device 300 and a content providing device 200 The advertisement providing system is connected to a user terminal 100 through a network to send and receive data to and from the user terminal 100 The advertisement providing device 300 provides an advertisement keyword purchasing function to the advertisement provider and stores advertisement keywords purchased by the advertisement provider therein The advertisement providing device 300 receives advertisement registration information corresponding to the advertisement keyword from the advertisement provider and stores the received advertisement registration information therein At this point, the advertisement providing device 300 provides the advertisement registration information to the content providing device 200

In addition, the advertisement providing device 300 stores user action information received from the content providing device 200 and pre-stored matching/mismatching information as statistical information therein The advertisement providing device 300 generates charging information for the advertisement provider based on the statistical information and stores the charging information therein

The advertisement providing device 300 will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG 2

The content providing device 200 receives the advertisement registration information from the advertisement providing device 300 and stores the same therein. When the content providing device 200 receives the keyword from the user terminal 100, it provides an advertisement content corresponding to the received keyword based on the advertisement registration information, and collects the user action information received from the user terminal 100. .^") In more detail, the content providing device 200 receives the keyword from the user terminal 100, and determines if the received keyword is an advertisement keyword based on the advertisement registration information. When the keyword is an advertisement keyword, the content providing device 200 provides the advertisement content of the advertisement registration

LU information corresponding to the advertisement keyword. At this point, the content providing device 200 provides the advertisement content based on the matching/mismatching information set in the advertisement registration information corresponding to the advertisement keyword.

When the keyword received from the user terminal 100 is not an

15 advertisement keyword, the content providing device 200 provides pre-stored advertisement content together with a search result. The pre-stored advertisement content provided by the content providing device 200 may be advertisement content that is preset to be provided when the keyword is not the advertisement keyword, or it may be randomly selected from pre-stored 0 advertisement contents.

The content providing device 200 collects the provided advertisement content or the user action information with respect to the search result and provides the received user action information to the advertisement providing device 300

The content providing device 200 may include a search engine function to provide a search result for the received keyword to the user terminal 100 At T this point, the content providing device 200 provides the search result and the advertisement content corresponding to the keyword that is searched to the user terminal 100 based on the stored advertisement registration information

The content providing device 200 will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG 3 lϋ The user terminal 100 is connected to the content providing device 200 to receive a search result of websites and the like In addition, the user terminal

100 provides the keyword input by a user to the content providing device 200 and receives the advertisement content corresponding to the keyword and the search result to provide the same to the user 15 The user terminal 100 may be a terminal that can transmit and receive data through a network such as a personal computer, a wireless connection terminal, and the like

The following will describe the advertisement providing device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG 0 2

FIG 2 is a block diagram of the advertisement providing device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention As shown in FIG 2, the advertisement providing device 300 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an advertisement managing unit 310, a charging managing unit 320, a statistical unit 330, a keyword managing unit 340, an authentication unit 350, a database 360, and a controller 370

The advertisement managing unit 310 receives the advertisement registration information from the advertisement provider, stores the received advertisement registration information in the database 360, and manages the stored advertisement registration information The advertisement managing unit 310 provides the stored advertisement registration information to the content providing device 200

Further, the advertisement managing unit 310 receives the user action information with respect to providing the advertisement contents to the user terminal 100 from the content providing device 200, and provides the received user action information to the statistical unit 330

The user action information includes an advertisement provider identification (ID), an advertisement keyword, an action time, a user URL, an action information/generation URL, a page moving URL, and an action-ended

URL The user action information will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG 4

The keyword managing unit 340 provides an advertisement purchasing window (ι e , a purchasing webpage) for allowing the advertisement provider to purchase the advertisement keyword, receives the advertisement keyword from the advertisement provider, and stores the received advertisement keyword in the database 360. The keyword managing unit 340 manages the stored advertisement keyword. Here, the advertisement keyword is a keyword the advertisement provider purchases. The advertisement keyword includes a singular advertisement keyword and a plural advertisement keyword (two or more advertisement keywords).

The charging managing unit 320 performs a charging function for charging the advertisement provider for the purchase of the advertisement keyword and a differential charging function for the advertisement provider.

In more detail, the charging managing unit 320 performs the differential charging for the advertisement providers based on a point contained in the statistical information. That is, the charging managing unit 320 generates the charging information for differentially charging the advertisement provider based on the point (i.e., a score in the first exemplary embodiment) that is generated based on the user action information and the matching/mismatching information of the statistical information stored in a statistical information storing unit, and stores the generated charging information in a charging information storing unit 366.

According to the advertisement providing system, since the charging managing unit 320 differentially charges the advertisement provider based on the point, the advertising cost can be reduced for the advertisement provider as compared with the advertisement for which the cost is charged in proportion to the exposure and the charging can be efficiently performed.

The authentication unit 350 is for authenticating the advertisement r> provider and the user. At this point, it is assumed that IDs and passwords that are pre-stored in the authentication unit 350 are registered by the advertisement providers and users.

The authentication unit 350 includes an internal authentication engine (IAE) function, a keyword filtering function, and the like.

U) The IAE function is an automatic authentication function for an advertisement contents standard received from the advertisement provider. For example, when the advertisement content is an image, the IAE function reads image header information and verifies size, color, and other constituent information of the image. When the advertisement content is a video, the IAE 15 function verifies format, sound information, and color information of the video. That is, the IAE function is for verifying if the image or video meets standard requirements.

The keyword filtering function is for determining if the keyword received from the user or the advertisement provider is included in a prohibition keyword 0 list.

The statistical unit 330 generates a point of each advertisement provider based on the user action information and the pre-stored matching/mismatching information, and stores the generated points and the user action information in a statistical information storing unit 364.

In more detail, the statistical unit 330 generates a point corresponding to pre-stored point conversion information based on the matching/mismatching information and user action information received from the content providing device 200 and stores the generated point in the statistical information storing unit 364 for the advertisement provider ID.

The pre-stored point conversion information is shown in the following Table 1. [Table 1]

The database 360 includes an advertisement storing unit 362, the statistical information storing unit 364, and a charging information storing unit 366. The advertisement storing unit 362 is linked to the advertisement managing unit 310 and the keyword managing unit 340. That is, the advertisement storing unit 362 stores the advertisement keyword information received from the keyword managing unit 340 and the advertisement registration information matching the advertisement keyword received from the advertisement managing unit 310 therein.

The statistical information storing unit 364 is controlled and managed by the statistical unit 330 and stores the statistical information received from the statistical unit 330 therein.

The charging information storing unit 366 is controlled and managed by the charging managing unit 320 and stores charging information for the advertisement provider, which is calculated by the charging managing unit 320, therein.

The controller 370 controls connection and data transmission between the advertisement providing device 300 and the content providing device 200. The controller 370 further controls and manages the advertisement managing unit 310, charging managing unit 320, statistical unit 330, keyword managing unit 340, authentication unit 350, and database 360. The controller 370 further controls and manages data transmission between the units of the advertisement providing device 300.

The following will describe the content providing device 200 of the advertisement providing system according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention in more detail with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the content providing device of the advertisement providing system according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the content providing device 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a webpage providing unit 210, a search engine unit 220, an advertisement providing unit 230, a data storing unit 240, an advertisement registration information storing unit 250, and an action information collecting unit 260.

The webpage providing unit 210 is connected to the user terminal 100 by the network to transmit or receive the data to and from the user terminal 100. .) When the user terminal 100 is connected to the webpage providing unit 210, the webpage providing unit 210 provides a front page that is pre-stored in the data storing unit 240 to the user terminal 100 and receives user action (e.g., click action by the user) from the user terminal 100.

In addition, the webpage providing unit 210 receives the keyword from lϋ the user terminal 100 and provides the received keyword to the search engine unit 220 and the advertisement providing unit 230. Further, the webpage providing unit 210 provides the search result for the keyword received from the search engine unit 220 and the advertisement content received from the advertisement providing unit 230 to the user terminal 100. 15 The search engine unit 220 includes a search engine to provide the search result of, for example, a webpage by the search engine to the user terminal 100.

The advertisement providing unit 230 receives the advertisement registration information from the advertisement providing device 300 and stores 0 the received advertisement registration information therein. The advertisement providing unit 230 receives the keyword from the webpage providing unit 210 and determines if the received keyword is the advertisement keyword based on the pre-stored advertisement registration information

At this point, when the received keyword is the advertisement keyword, the advertisement providing unit 230 provides the advertisement content corresponding to the advertisement keyword to the webpage providing unit 210 o The advertisement providing unit 230 provides the advertisement content based on the matching/mismatching information set in the advertisement registration information corresponding to the advertisement keyword For example, when the matching/mismatching information set in the advertisement information is mismatching information, the advertisement keyword is "Cyon," the lϋ advertisement content is "Anycall video," and the advertisement keyword received from the user terminal is "Cyon", the advertisement providing unit 230 provides the advertisement content (ι e , Anycall video) to the user terminal

The data storing unit 240 stores the webpage that will be provided to the user terminal 100 therein The data storing unit 240 further stores information

15 (e g , webpage connection information (website links) corresponding to the keyword) that will be provided as search results for a specific keyword therein

The advertisement registration information storing unit 250 stores the advertisement registration information received from the advertisement providing device 300 therein

20 The action information collecting unit 260 includes a user action information collecting module 262 and a user action information storing module 264 The user action information collecting module 262 is linked to the webpage providing unit 210, the search engine unit 220, and the advertisement providing unit 230. The user action information collecting module 262 collects the user action information through the webpage providing unit 210 and stores the collected user action information in the user action information storing module 264.

The user action information collecting module 262 provides the user action information stored in the user action information storing module 264 to the advertisement providing device 300 at a predetermined period. The user action information collected will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG. 4.

The user action information storing module 264 stores the user action information collected by the user action information collecting module 262 therein. The following will describe the user action information that is transferred to the advertisement providing device by the action information collecting unit of the content providing device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a table illustrating the user action information that is provided to the advertisement providing device by the content providing device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the user action information includes an advertisement provider ID, an advertisement keyword, an action time, a user URL, action information, an action-generated URL, a page moving URL, and an action-ended URL.

The advertisement provider ID is an ID assigned to the advertisement r> provider, and the advertisement keyword is a keyword purchased by the advertisement provider. The action time is a time at which the user action occurs. The user URL is a URL of the user. At this point, the user URL is pre-registered by the user.

The action-generated URL, the page moving URL, and the action-ended H) URL are respectively a URL of a webpage on which the user has acted, a URL of a webpage opened by the user action, and a URL of a webpage that is opened when the user action is completed.

The action information is user action information that is classified into "View," "Buying," and "Click" based on the action-generated URL, the page 15 moving URL, and the action-ended URL. The action-generated URL is a current connection URL on which the user action occurs. The page moving URL is a URL that is opened by the user action. The action-ended URL is a URL that is opened when the connection with the user is cut.

Here, the "View" is action information representing that the 20 action-generated URL and the action-ended URL are same as each other. That is, the "View" represents that the user views and closes the webpage corresponding to the specific keyword without opening another webpage. The "Click" is action information representing that the action-generated

URL and the action-ended URL are different from each other That is, the

"Click" represents that the user views the webpage (including the search result and the advertisement content) corresponding to the specific keyword and n moves to another webpage by performing a specific action

The "Buying" is action information representing that the action-ended URL is a preset URL (a payment completion website) showing that a specific product is sold

The user action information is collected by the action information lϋ collecting unit 260 of the content providing device 200 of FIG 3, which is linked to the webpage providing unit 210, the search engine unit 220, and the advertisement providing unit 230

Therefore, the content providing device 200 can effectively provide the advertisements to the users based on the matching/mismatching information

15 corresponding to the keyword and the user action information Additionally, the advertisement providing device can differentially charge the advertisement providers

FIG 5 is a data flow diagram illustrating an advertisement providing method of the advertisement providing system according to the first exemplary 20 embodiment of the present invention

As shown in FIG 5, an advertisement providing method in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is realized as the content providing device 200 receives, through the advertisement providing device 300, the advertisement registration information registered by the advertisement provider.

First, the advertisement providing device 300 receives and stores an advertisement keyword input through an advertisement keyword purchasing process by the advertisement provider therein (S100 and S102).

The advertisement keyword purchasing process will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG. 6.

The advertisement providing device 300 receives the advertisement keyword from the advertisement provider and requests the advertisement provider to provide the advertisement registration information (S104). The advertisement providing device 300 receives the advertisement registration information in accordance with the request and stores the same therein (S106).

The advertisement providing device 300 transfers the stored advertisement registration information to the content providing device 200 (S108).

The content providing device 200 stores the received advertisement registration information therein based on the advertisement keyword (S110).

Through the above-described process, the content providing device 200 sets the advertisement keyword that the advertisement provider wants, and receives and stores the advertisement registration information therein.

The user terminal 100 is connected to the content providing device 200 (S112) and transmits the keyword input by the user to the content providing device 200 (S114).

The content providing device 200 receives the keyword from the user terminal 100 and performs the search engine function based on the received .) keyword (S 116).

The content providing device 200 determines if the received keyword is a pre-stored advertisement keyword (S118). When the received keyword is not a pre-stored advertisement keyword, the content providing device 200 provides pre-stored advertisement content (S 120). At this point, the pre-stored lϋ advertisement content provided by the content providing device 200 may be advertisement content that is preset to be provided when the keyword is not the advertisement keyword or advertisement content that is randomly selected among pre-stored advertisement contents.

When it is determined in the step of S118 that the keyword received from

15 the user terminal 100 is the advertisement keyword, the content providing device 200 searches advertisement content matching the advertisement keyword based on the pre-stored advertisement registration information (S 122). In more detail, when the keyword received from the user terminal 100 is the advertisement keyword, the content providing device 200 searches the 0 advertisement content matching the advertisement keyword based on the matching/mismatching information of the pre-stored advertisement registration information. Further, the content providing device 200 collects the user action information received from the user terminal 100 while searching the advertisement content matching the advertisement keyword (S 124)

The content providing device 200 transfers the search result for the I keyword in accordance with the performance of the search engine function and the searched advertisement content to the user terminal 100 (S 126) At this point, it is assumed that the advertisement content provided includes connection information for connecting with the website of the advertisement provider or for connecting with another content providing device

K) The user terminal 100 provides the search result for the keyword and the advertisement content to the user

The user terminal 100 is connected to the website of the advertisement provider or another content providing device in accordance with a user reaction (e g , "Click") to the search result or the advertisement content provided, and 15 informs the content providing device 200 that the user terminal 100 is connected to the website of the advertisement provider or the other content providing device (S128)

When the user terminal 100 is connected to the website of the advertisement provider or the another content providing device through the 0 advertisement content, the content providing device 200 provides the user action information, which is collected before the user terminal 100 is connected to the website of the advertisement provider or the other content providing device, to the advertisement providing device 300 (S130).

The advertisement providing device 300 receives the user action information from the content providing device 200 and generates statistical information based on the received user action information and the pre-stored matching/mismatching information (S132). That is, the advertisement providing device 300 calculates a point based on the user action information and the matching/mismatching information.

The advertisement providing device 300 charges the advertisement provider in accordance with a preset charging process based on the statistical information that are generated on the predetermined period (e.g., on a monthly basis) (S 134).

The preset charging process will be described in more detail later with reference to FIG. 7.

The following will describe an advertisement keyword purchasing process of the advertisement providing device according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an advertisement keyword purchasing process of the advertisement providing system according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, the advertisement purchasing process of the advertisement providing device 300 according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is realized as the advertisement provider connects to the advertisement providing device 300 through the terminal of the advertisement provider.

The advertisement providing device 300 provides the advertisement keyword purchasing window for providing the purchasing information on a

:> plural/package advertisement keyword or a singular advertisement keyword to the advertisement provider (S200), and receives the advertisement keyword purchasing information from the advertisement provider (S201 ).

The advertisement providing device 300 determines if the receive advertisement keyword purchasing information is plural/package advertisement

H) keyword purchasing information (S202). When the received advertisement keyword purchasing information is not the plural/package advertisement keyword, the advertisement providing device 300 determines that the received advertisement keyword purchasing information is the singular advertisement keyword purchasing information and charges for the purchasing of the singular

15 advertisement keyword (S204 and S208).

In S202, when it is determined that the received advertisement keyword purchasing information is the plural/package advertisement keyword purchasing information, the advertisement providing device 300 charges for the purchasing of the plural/package advertisement keyword (S206 and S208). 0 The advertisement providing device 300 provides the advertisement keyword purchased to the advertisement provider (S210). The advertisement providing device 300 receives the advertisement registration information on the advertisement keyword from the advertisement provider and stores the same therein

Here, the singular advertisement keyword is one advertisement keyword and the package advertisement keyword is a group of advertisement keywords I related to each other The plural advertisement keyword is a group of the singular advertisement keywords

The advertisement providing system allows the advertisement provider to purchase the advertisement keyword so that the advertisement providing system can provide advertisement contents related to singular or plural lϋ advertisement provider-desired keywords

FIG 7 is a flowchart illustrating a charging process of the advertisement providing system according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention

As shown in FIG 7, in accordance with a charging process of the 15 advertisement providing device 300, the statistical unit 330 of the advertisement providing device 300 collects the user action information from the content providing device 200 and stores the collected user action information therein

The charging managing unit 320 of the advertisement providing device 300 collects the point of the advertisement provider from the statistical 0 information stored in the statistical information storing unit 364 on a predetermined period (e g , on a monthly basis) (S302)

The charging managing unit 320 generates the charging information including a charge that will be settled by the advertisement provider (S304) and provides the generating charging information to the advertisement provider.

At this point, the charging managing unit 320 stores the generated charging information in the charging information storing unit 366 (S306). The advertisement providing system is designed to perform efficient differential charging for the advertisement provider based on the point information included in the statistical information.

The advertisement providing system in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be designed to charge the advertisement provider by adding step information on the webpage movement of the user to the user action information. An advertisement providing system according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

In the following description of an advertisement providing system and method in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a detailed description of parts that are apparent to one ordinarily skilled in the art from the advertisement providing system and method in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment will be omitted.

An advertisement providing system and an advertisement providing device in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be first described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 8 through 10, after which an advertisement providing method in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an advertisement providing system in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. AS shown in FIG. 8, an advertisement providing system in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an advertisement providing device 300 and a content providing device 400. The advertisement providing system is connected to a user terminal through a network to send and receive data to and from the user terminal 100. The advertisement providing device 300 in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment will be first described with reference to FIG. 2.

The advertisement providing device 300 in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an advertisement managing unit 310, a charging managing unit 320, a statistical unit 330, a keyword managing unit 340, an authentication unit 350, and a database 360 that have respective functions matching those of the advertisement providing device in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment.

When the advertisement managing unit 310 receives advertisement registration information for providing advertisement content matching an advertisement keyword to the user terminal 100, the advertisement managing unit 310 receives information on whether a step advertisement will be provided when mismatched advertisement content is provided from the advertisement provider.

When the advertisement provider wants to provide the step advertisement to the user terminal 100, the advertisement managing unit 310 receives the advertisement registration information including a plurality of f> advertisement contents matching one keyword to provide the step advertisement. At this point, the plurality of advertisement contents received are set to correspond to respective steps. The steps represent the providing number of the advertisements matching the keyword in accordance with the webpage movement of the user. lϋ The advertisement managing unit 310 sends the received advertisement registration information to the content providing device 400. At this point, the advertisement managing unit 310 further provides partnership website information (i.e., website addresses that are allied to provide the advertisement to the users) to the content providing device 400.

15 Here, the advertisement registration information includes step information, an advertisement keyword, advertisement content, an advertisement provider, matching/mismatching information, and website connection information. When the step advertisement is applied, the advertisement registration information includes a plurality of advertisement 0 contents.

Meanwhile, the advertisement managing unit 310 in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention applies the step only when the mismatching advertisement content is provided. However, the advertisement managing unit 310 may provide a series of advertisements in accordance with the webpage movement of the user terminal by applying the step when the matching advertisement content is provided. The statistical unit 330 receives user action information including the step information from the content providing device 400, and generates a point based on the received step information and the pre-stored matching/mismatching information.

In more detail, the statistical unit 330 generates the point corresponding to pre-stored point conversion information based on the step information and the matching/mismatching information, and stores the point in a statistical information storing unit 364.

Here, the point conversion information is shown in the following Table 2.

[Table 2]

An advertisement storing unit 362 stores the advertisement registration information and the partnership website information that is pre-stored by the manager.

The following will describe the content providing device in accordance r> with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the content providing device of the advertisement providing system according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. lϋ As shown in FIG. 9, the content providing device 400 in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment includes a webpage providing unit 410, an advertisement providing unit 420, a data storing unit 440, an advertisement registration information storing unit 450, and an action information collecting unit 430.

15 When the content providing device 400 receives the user action information from another content providing device in accordance with the connection of the user terminal 100, the advertisement providing unit 420 provides the step information contained in the received user action information and the advertisement content that is included in the advertisement registration 0 information based on the advertisement keyword to the user terminal 100.

The action information collecting unit 430 includes a user action information collecting module 432 and a user action information storing module 434.

The user action information collecting module 432 stores the user action information after increasing the step information by a predetermined number (e.g., 1) when the user terminal 100 moves the webpage based on a search result or advertisement content.

At this point, when the moved webpage is provided to the user terminal

100 by another content providing device, the user action information collecting module 432 sends the user action information after increasing the step information by 1 and stores the sent user action information in the user action information storing module 434.

That is, when the user terminal 100 that is currently connected moves to the other content providing device, the user action information collecting module

432 containing the user action information that is currently collected is closed and the collected user action information (step information is increased by 1) is sent to the other content providing device. On the contrary, when the user terminal 100 is connected to the content providing device through the other content providing device, the user action information collecting module 432 receives the user action information of the user terminal 100 from the other content providing device, collects the user action information on the user action, and provides the advertisement content to the advertisement providing unit 420.

The user action information storing module 264 stores the user action information collected by the user action information collecting module 262 therein.

Meanwhile, the content providing device in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention may further include a search engine unit performing the search engine function. r> The following will describe the user action information that is sent to the advertisement providing device by the content providing device according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 is a table illustrating the user action information that is sent to the lϋ advertisement providing device by the content providing device in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 10, the user action information in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes an advertisement provider ID, step information, an advertisement keyword, an

15 action time, a user URL, action information, an action-generated URL, a page moving URL, and an action-ended URL.

When the advertisement content that is mismatched with the keyword is provided together with the user action information of the first exemplary embodiment, the user action information in accordance with the second

20 exemplary embodiment includes the step information, enhancing advertisement efficiency.

The content providing device 400 in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention identifies the advertisement content provided to the user terminal 100 through the step information and can provide a series of advertisement contents or consecutive advertisements Therefore, it is possible to differentially charge the advertisement providers in a ") charging process

The following will describe an advertisement providing method of the advertisement providing system according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG 1 1

FIG 1 1 is a data flow diagram illustrating an advertisement providing lϋ method of the advertisement providing system according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention

As shown in FIG 11 , an advertisement providing method of the advertisement providing system in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention is realized as a first content providing i τ device 400-1 receives, through the advertisement providing device 300, the advertisement registration information registered by the advertisement provider

First, the advertisement providing device 300 receives and stores an advertisement keyword input through an advertisement keyword purchasing process by the advertisement provider therein (S400 and S402)

20 The advertisement providing device 300 receives the advertisement keyword from the advertisement provider and requests the advertisement provider to provide the advertisement registration information (S404) The advertisement providing device 300 receives the advertisement registration information in accordance with the request and stores the same therein (S406) At this point, the advertisement providing device 300 includes step application information in addition to the advertisement registration information If the advertisement provider wishes to provide the step advertisement to the user terminal 100, the advertisement managing unit 310 receives the advertisement registration information including a plurality of advertisement contents corresponding to one advertisement keyword to provide the step advertisement At this point, the received advertisement contents are set to correspond to the respective steps

The advertisement providing device 300 sends the stored advertisement registration information to the respective content providing devices 400-1 and 400-2 (S408)

The first content providing device 400-1 stores the received advertisement registration information therein based on the advertisement keyword (S410)

As described above, the first content providing device 400-1 sets the advertisement keyword that the advertisement provider is wanting, and receives and stores the advertisement registration information therein The user terminal 100 is connected to the first content providing device

400-1 , receives the keyword from the user, and sends the received keyword to the first content providing device 400-1 (S412 and S414) The first content providing device 400-1 receives the keyword from the user terminal 100 and determines if the received keyword is the pre-stored advertisement keyword (S418)

At this point, when the first content providing device 400-1 includes the search engine function, the first content providing device 400-1 performs the search engine function based on the received keyword and extracts the search result (S416)

When it is determined that the keyword is not the advertisement keyword in S418, the first content providing device 400-1 provides the pre-stored advertisement content (S420) At this point, the pre-stored advertising content provided by the first content providing device 400-1 may be pre-designated to be provided when the keyword is not the advertisement keyword or may be randomly selected from the pre-stored advertisement contents

When it is determined that the keyword received from the user terminal 100 is the advertising keyword in S418, it is determined if the advertisement content matching the advertisement keyword is provided based on the pre-stored matching/mismatching information (S421)

When it is determined that the advertisement content matching the advertisement keyword is provided in S421 (ι e , when the matching/mismatching information is set as matching), the first content providing device 400-1 performs a matching advertisement process operation (S423)

That is, the first content providing device 400-1 provides advertising content matching the advertisement keyword to the user terminal 100 and receives user action information on the provided advertising content Subsequently, the first content providing device 400-1 sends the received user action information to the advertisement providing device 300

^") When it is determined that the advertisement content mismatching the advertisement keyword is provided in S421 (ι e , when the matching/mismatching information is set as mismatching), the first content providing device 400-1 searches advertisement content that is mismatched with the advertisement keyword (S422), 0 In addition, the first content providing device 400-1 sends the search result for the keyword and the searched advertisement content to the user terminal 100 (S424)

At this point, it is assumed that the provided advertisement content includes connection information to the second content providing device 400-2=5 After the above, the first content providing device 400-1 searches the advertisement contents matching the advertisement keyword and, at the same time, collects the user action information received from the user terminal 100 (S426)

The user terminal 100 receives the search result for the keyword and the0 advertisement content from the first content providing device 400-1 and provides the same to the user

The user terminal 100 is connected to the second content providing device 400-2 depending on the user action (e.g., Click) on the provided search result or the advertisement content, and sends connection information of the second content providing device 400-2 to the first content providing device 400-1 (S428). When the first content providing device 400-1 receives the connection information of the user terminal 100 to the second content providing device 400-2 through the advertisement content, the first content providing device 400-1 stops collecting the user action information and sends the user action information that is collected before the user terminal 100 is connected to the second content providing device 400-2 to the advertisement providing device 300 (S430).

In addition, the first content providing device 400-1 determines if the second content providing device 400-2 is a partnership website. When the second content providing device 400-2 is a partnership website, the first content providing device 400-1 increases the step contained in the collected user action information by 1 (S432) and sends the user action information having the increased step to the second content providing device 400-2 (S434).

In addition, the second content providing device 400-2 provides the advertisement content of the corresponding step to the user terminal 100 based on the step information of the user action information received from the first content providing device 400-1 , the advertisement keyword, and the pre-stored matching/mismatching information. The sending of the user action from the first content providing device 400-1 to the second content providing device 400-2 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG 12

At this point, when the second content providing device 400-2 is not a partnership website, the first content providing device 400-1 simply sends the collected user action information to the advertisement providing device 300

The advertisement providing device 300 receives the user action information from the first content providing device 400-1 and calculates statistical information based on the received user action information (S436) At this point, the advertisement providing device 300 calculates the point based on the matching/mismatching information and the step information

The advertisement providing device 300 charges the advertisement provider in accordance with the preset charging process based on the calculated statistical information calculated on the predetermined period (e g , on a monthly basis) (S438)

Since the first content providing device 400-1 can provide the consecutive advertisement contents by increasing the step information in accordance with the movement of the webpage when the advertisement content that is mismatched with the advertisement keyword is provided to the user terminal, the image that the advertisement provider wants to advertise can be systematically promoted

In addition, since the advertisement providing system is designed to charge the advertisement provider based on the matching/mismatching information and the step information, the differential charge can be effectively provided to the advertisement providers

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a user action collecting method of the ;> advertisement providing system according to the second exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 12, in the advertisement providing system in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the user action information is collected by sending a keyword from the user terminal K) 100 to the first content providing device 400-1.

The first content providing device 400-1 provides a pre-stored webpage in accordance with the connection of the user terminal 100 and receives the keyword from the user terminal 100 (S500).

When the first content providing device 400-1 includes a search engine 15 function, the first content providing device 400-1 performs the search engine function for the keyword and extracts the search result (S502).

The first content providing device 400-1 searches an advertisement content related to the keyword (S504). At this point, the first content providing device 400-1 determines if the received keyword is an advertisement keyword. 20 When the keyword is the advertisement keyword, the first content providing device 400-1 determines if it will provide the advertisement content matching the advertisement keyword based on the matching/mismatching information of the advertisement registration information matching the advertisement keyword. When it is determined that the first content providing device 400-1 will provide the advertisement content that is mismatched with the advertisement keyword, the first content providing device 400-1 searches the advertisement content that .I is mismatched with the advertisement keyword and performs the following step S506

If it is determined that the first content providing device 400-1 will provide the advertisement content matching the advertisement keyword, the first content providing device 400-1 operates in accordance with the matching advertisement K) providing process.

The first content providing device 400-1 provides the searched advertising content and the search results to the user terminal 100 (S506) and collects the user action information received from the user terminal 100 (S508)

The user terminal 100 receives the advertisement content and the 15 search results from the first content providing device 400-1 and provides the same to the user. Subsequently, the user terminal 100 receives the user action information on the provided advertisement contents and search result (S510).

The user terminal 100 is connected to the second content providing device 400-2 through the advertisement content or the search results (S512), 0 and sends the connection information to the second content providing device 400-2 to the first content providing device 400-1 (S514).

The first content providing device 400-1 determines if the second content providing device 400-2 is a partnership website (S516), and stops collecting the user action information when the second content providing device 400-2 is a partnership website (S518)

The first content providing device 400-1 increases the step information by 1 and sends the user action information including the step information to the second content providing device 400-2 (S520)

After the above, the first content providing device 400-1 sends the collected user action information to the second content providing device 400-2 and the advertisement providing device 300 (S522 and S524) When it is determined that the second content providing device 400-2 is not a partnership website in S516, the first content providing device 400-1 stops collecting the user action information from the user terminal 100 and sends the collected user action information to the advertisement providing device 300 (S524) The second content providing device 400-2 receives the user action information of the user terminal 100 from the first content providing device 400-1 and searches the advertisement content based on the received matching/mismatching information, the step information, and the advertisement keyword In addition, the second content providing device 400-2 provides the searched advertisement content together with the webpage stored therein to the user terminal 100 (S526 and S530)

At this point, the second content providing device 400-2 collects the user action information generated by the user terminal 100 after providing the searched advertisement content and the webpage (S528)

In the advertisement providing system in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention when the advertisement I content that is mismatched with the advertisement keyword received is provided to the user terminal, the advertisements the advertisement provider wants are consecutively provided based on the step information, thereby enhancing the advertisement effect

While this invention has been described in connection with what is

U) 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

[CLAIMS] [Claim 1 ]

A system for providing an advertisement to a user terminal, the system comprising: a content providing device for storing therein advertisement registration information comprising advertisement keywords, advertisement contents, advertisement provider identifications (IDs), and matching/mismatching information, providing advertisement content corresponding to a keyword received from the user terminal based on the advertisement registration

information, providing advertisement content corresponding to a keyword received from the user terminal based on the advertisement registration

information, and collecting user action information on webpage moving of a user, wherein the matching/mismatching information is information that is set to determine whether the advertisement matching the advertising keywords is provided or the advertisement mismatching the advertising keywords is provided , and an advertisement providing device for receiving the advertisement registration information from the advertisement provider providing the received advertisement registration information to the content providing device, and performing a differential charge for the advertisement providers based on the matching/mismatching information and the user action information

[Claim 2]

The system of claim 1 , wherein the user action information includes user action information generated based on action-generated webpage information and action-ended webpage information in accordance with webpage moving of the user, and the advertisement providing device performs the differential charge for the advertisement provider based on the action information and the matching/mismatching information

[Claim 3]

The system of claim 2, wherein the content providing device comprises a webpage providing unit for sending and receiving data to and from the user terminal, providing a pre-stored webpage to the user terminal, and providing the advertisement content to the user terminal when receiving the keyword from the user terminal,

^") an advertisement providing unit for searching the advertisement content related to the keyword based on the matching/mismatching information of the advertisement registration information and providing the searched advertisement content to the webpage providing unit, and an action information collecting unit for collecting the user action lϋ information by being linked to the webpage providing unit and sending the collected user action information to the advertisement providing unit

[Claim 4]

The system of claim 3, further comprising a search engine unit for is performing a search for the keyword by performing a search engine function providing search results to the webpage providing unit

[Claim 5]

The system of claim 4, wherein the action information collecting unit 20 comprises an action information storing module for storing the collected user action information therein, and an action information collecting module for collecting the user action information by being linked to the webpage providing unit, storing the collected user action information in the action information storing module, and sending the stored user action information to the advertisement providing device in a

.^"> predetermined period.

[Claim 6]

The system of claim 2, wherein the advertisement providing device comprises:

K) a keyword managing unit for providing an advertisement purchasing process to the advertisement provider and storing the advertisement keyword purchased by the advertisement provider therein; an advertisement managing unit for receiving and storing the advertisement registration information matching the advertisement keyword 15 purchased and providing the advertisement registration information to the content providing device; a statistical unit for generating a point corresponding to the user action information and the matching/mismatching information based on pre-stored point conversion information and storing the point therein; ϋ a charging unit for charging the advertisement provider based on the point stored in the statistical unit; and a controller for controlling the keyword managing unit, the advertisement managing unit, the statistical unit, and the charging unit

[Claim 7]

The system of claim 6, further comprising an authentication unit that is > controlled by the controller to perform authentication for the advertisement provider, verification for a content standard, and keyword filtering

[Claim 8]

The system of claim 7, further comprising it) a first storing unit for storing the advertisement registration information therein, a second storing unit for storing the point of the statistical unit and the user action information therein, and a third storing unit for storing charging information calculated by the 15 charging unit to charge the advertisement provider

[Claim 9]

The system of any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein the action information comprises a view action indicating that the action-generated webpage is the 0 same as the action-ended webpage, a click action indicating that the action-generated webpage is different from the acting ending webpage, and a buying action indicating that the action-ended webpage is a preset page representing a payment completion

[Claim 10]

A method of providing an advertisement to a user terminal, the method > comprising receiving a keyword from the user terminal, providing advertisement content corresponding to the keyword based on pre-stored advertisement registration information comprising advertisement keywords, advertisement contents, advertisement provider identifications (IDs),) and matching/mismatching information, and performing a differential charge for an advertisement provider based on the matching/mismatching information, wherein the matching/mismatching information is information that is set to determine whether the advertisement matching the advertising keywords is provided or the advertisement mismatching the advertising keywords is provided

[Claim 11 ]

The method of claim 10, further comprising, after providing the advertisement content, collecting user action information on webpage moving of the user from the user terminal based on the advertisement registration information, wherein the performing of the differential charge is performed based on the user action information and the matching/mismatching information.

[Claim 12]

The method of claim 11 , wherein the performing of the differential charge comprises: generating and storing a point corresponding to the user action information and the matching/mismatching information based on pre-stored point conversion information; and periodically performing the differential charge for the advertisement provider based on the stored point.

[Claim 13]

The method of claim 12, wherein the user action information includes an action information generated based on action-generated webpage action-ended webpage information in accordance with the webpage moving of the user; and the generating and storing of the point is performed by generating the point corresponding to the matching/mismatching information and the action information based on the pre-stored point conversion information.

[Claim 14] The method of claim 13, further comprising, before the receiving of the keyword: receiving a plural/package or singular advertisement keyword; requesting the advertisement provider to pay for the received plural/package or singular keyword; and receiving and storing the advertisement registration information corresponding to the plural/package or singular advertisement keyword from the .^") advertisement provider based on payment.

[Claim 15]

The method of any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the providing of the advertisement content comprises: lϋ determining if the keyword received from the user is the advertisement keyword; providing advertisement content corresponding to the keyword based on a pre-stored advertisement registration information when the keyword is the advertisement keyword; and

15 providing pre-stored advertisement content when the keyword is not the advertisement keyword.

[Claim 16]

The method of claim 15, wherein the action information comprises a view 0 action indicating that the action-generated webpage is the same as the action-ended webpage, a click action indicating that the action-generated webpage is different from the acting ending webpage, and a buying action indicating that the action-ended webpage is a preset page representing a payment completion.

[Claim 17]

;i The method of claim 15, further comprising, after the receiving of the keyword: performing a search engine function based on the keyword; and providing search results extracted by the search engine function to the user terminal. lϋ

[Claim 18]

A system for providing an advertisement to a user terminal, the system comprising: a content providing device for storing therein advertisement registration

15 information comprising advertisement keywords, step information, an advertisement content corresponding the step information, advertisement provider identifications (IDs), and matching/mismatching information, providing advertisement content corresponding to a keyword received from the user terminal based on the matching/mismatching information and the step 0 information, and collecting user action information on webpage moving of a user, wherein the matching/mismatching information is information that is set to determine whether the advertisement matching the advertising keywords is provided or the advertisement mismatching the advertising keywords is provided, and the step information is the number of provisions of the advertisement related to the keyword received from the user terminal to the user terminal; and an advertisement providing device for receiving the advertisement registration information from an advertisement provider, providing the received advertisement registration information to the content providing device, and performing a differential charge for the advertisement providers based on the matching/mismatching information and the step information.

[Claim 191

The system of claim 18, wherein the user action information includes an action information generated based on the advertisement provider ID, the advertisement keyword, the step information, action-generated webpage information, and action-ended webpage information in accordance with webpage moving of the user; and the advertisement providing device performs the differential charge for the advertisement providers based on the step information, the matching/mismatching information, and the action information.

[Claim 201

The system of claim 19, wherein, when the content providing device receives the user action information including first step information from a first content providing device based on a connection of the user terminal, the content providing device provides the advertisement content to the user terminal based on the first step information and collects the user action information based on the providing of the advertisement content corresponding to the first step .^") information.

[Claim 21 ]

The system of claim 19, wherein the advertisement providing device receives partnership website information from a manager, and lϋ when the user terminal is connected to a second content providing device through the advertisement content, the content providing device receives the partnership website information from the advertisement providing device, determines if the second content providing device is a partnership website, and sends the collected user action information to the second content providing 15 device in accordance with the determination.

[Claim 22]

The system of any one of claims 18 to 21 , wherein the advertisement providing device generates a point corresponding to the step information and the 0 action information contained in the user action information received from the content providing device and the pre-stored matching/mismatching information based on pre-stored point conversion information, and charges the advertisement provider based on the point

[Claim 23]

The system of any one of claims 18 to 21 , wherein the content providing device performs a search engine function for the keyword and provides search results by the search engine function to the user terminal

[Claim 24]

A method of providing an advertisement to a user terminal, the method comprising receiving a keyword from the user terminal, providing advertisement content of an advertisement keyword corresponding to the keyword based on pre-stored advertisement registration information comprising advertisement keywords, step information, advertisement contents corresponding to the step information, matching/mismatching information, and advertisement provider identification (ID), collecting user action information on webpage moving of a user from the user terminal based on the provided advertisement content, and performing a differential charge for the advertisement provider based on the step information and the matching/mismatching information, wherein the matching/mismatching information is information that is set to determine whether the advertisement matching the advertising keywords is provided or the advertisement mismatching the advertising keywords is provided, and the step information is the number of provisions of the advertisement related to the keyword received from the user terminal to the user terminal

[Claim 25]

The method of claim 24, further comprising, after the providing of the advertisement content, collecting user action information on webpage moving of a user from the user terminal based on the provided advertisement content, lϋ wherein the performing of the differential charge is performed based on the step information, the matching/mismatching information, and the user action information

[Claim 26] l T The method of claim 25, wherein the performing of the differential charge comprises generating a point corresponding to the step information, the user action information, and the matching/mismatching information based on pre-stored point conversion information, and 20 performing the differential charge for the advertisement provider based on the generated point

[Claim 27]

The method of claim 26 wherein the providing of the advertisement content comprises determining if the keyword received from the user is the advertisement keyword, providing advertisement content corresponding to the keyword based on a pre-stored advertisement registration information when the keyword is the advertisement keyword, and providing pre-stored advertisement content when the keyword is not the advertisement keyword

[Claim 28]

The method of any one of claims 25 to 27, further comprising, after the providing of the advertisement content receiving connection information of the user terminal to a first content providing device from the user terminal based on the provided advertisement content, determining if the first content providing device has a partnership relationship, increasing the step information by the predetermined number when the content providing device the first content providing device has the partnership relationship, and sending the user action information with the increased step information to the first content providing device

[Claim 29]

> A method of providing an advertisement to a user terminal, the method comprising receiving first user action information comprising matching/mismatching information, step information, advertisement keywords, and advertisement provider identification (ID) from a first content providing device to which the user) terminal was previously connected based on a connection of the user terminal, providing advertisement content pre-stored by an advertisement provider to the user terminal based on the step information and the advertisement keyword, collecting second user action information on user action generated by the user from the user terminal, and performing a differential charge for the advertisement provider based on the collected second user action information, the step information, and the matching/mismatching information

[Claim 30]

The method of claim 29, wherein the performing of the charge comprises generating a point corresponding to step information, the second user action information, and the matching/mismatching information based on pre-stored point conversion information, and performing the differential charge for the advertisement provider based on the generated point