WO2004049209A1

WO2004049209A1 - Method for providing classified advertissements on the internet

Info

Publication number: WO2004049209A1
Application number: PCT/KR2003/002584
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sang Won Park
Original assignee: Nhn Corporation
Priority date: 2002-11-27
Filing date: 2003-11-27
Publication date: 2004-06-10
Also published as: KR20040046559A; AU2003284775A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing classified advertisements on the Internet. The present invention provides a method for providing classified advertisements using the Internet, comprising the steps of receiving information on a box advertisement from an advertisement applicant; receiving a key word related to the box advertisement from the advertisement applicant; storing the box advertisement information and the key word in a storage device; providing a box advertisement containing contents corresponding to the box advertisement information to a web page; receiving a search key word for use in searching for a box advertisement from a user; and searching the storage device and providing information on a box advertisement associated with a key word matched with the search key word. According to the present invention, there is provided a method of efficiently and correctly searching for box advertisements by accommodating various needs of users.

Description

METHOD FOR PROVIDING CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS ON THE

INTERNET

Technical Field The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing classified advertisements on the Internet, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing classified advertisements on the Internet, which has novel and useful functions that have not been provided in the related art.

Background Art

Box advertisements are a type of advertisement method widely employed in newspapers or magazines and correspond to simple advertisements regarding marriage, obituary notice, various meetings, job offering, job hunting, sales of used articles, and the like within small rectangular boxes. A single box advertisement has an advantage in that advertisement costs can be reduced since an area which the box advertisement occupies in a newspaper or magazine is small. Generally, a lot of box advertisements are arranged together on a specific page of a newspaper or magazine.

Meanwhile, as the Internet is popularized, a variety of Internet-based services have been provided. Users may refer to the articles stated in newspapers or magazines on the Internet, and a variety of Internet-based advertisement methods have been provided. In case of Internet-based banner advertisements and the like, it is required that users' homepages be constructed additionally. Therefore, if an individual has no his/her own homepage, it is difficult to advertise a simple notice and the like through the Internet. Thus, as an advertisement method for overcoming such disadvantages there has been proposed a method of providing box advertisements on the Internet.

Such box advertisements are generally displayed in a single web page or a plurality of web pages. Since the number of box advertisements displayed in such a way is large, it is a time-consuming work to review all the box advertisements on a one- by-one basis. Therefore, there is a need for a method of efficiently searching these box advertisements. Particularly, in the case of classified advertisements, the sizes of boxes for the classified advertisements are small and there are limitations on sentences contained in the boxes for the classified advertisements. As a result, if a search is performed with respect to box advertisements based on only sentences included in the box advertisements, a user may not often obtain proper search results that he/she desires. In the related art, to overcome these disadvantages, there has been provided a method of classifying box advertisements into predetermined categories and performing a search by categories. For example, box advertisements are classified into and registered with predetermined categories such as marriage, job offering, job hunting, and the like, and a user searches the box advertisements by categories. However, such classification of box advertisements into categories cannot sufficiently meet a variety of users' demands. Therefore, there is a need for a method of meeting a variety of users' demands and enabling a more efficient and correct search of box advertisements.

Furthermore, some users have interest in only particular box advertisements and desire to receive information on the box advertisements whenever they are posted. For example, a person who seeks a new job may have interest in only job offering advertisements among box advertisements that have been posted, and it would be convenient to receive information on the related advertisements whenever the relevant advertisements are posted. However, there is inconvenience in the related art in that there has not been proposed a method of providing information on specific advertisements whenever they are posted.

Further, as for box advertisements, since a lot of box advertisements are displayed on a single web page or a plurality of web pages, an advertisement applicant desires that his/her own box advertisement be posted at a position where more users can see the advertisement. Therefore, to meet such users' demands, there is a need for a method of efficiently displaying a particular box advertisement at a position where more users can see the advertisement. In addition, since the related art has not provided an advertisement applicant with information on exposure level or the number of clicks for a box advertisement, the advertisement applicant cannot know how often his/her own box advertisement has been exposed or how many times it has been clicked. Disclosure of Invention The present invention is designed to solve the aforementioned problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of meeting a variety of users' demands and more efficiently and correctly searching box advertisements. In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of searching box advertisements without being limited to sentences included in the advertisements.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of providing a user who has interest in only specific advertisements with information on the advertisements whenever they are posted.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of efficiently displaying a box advertisement at a position where more users can see the advertisement in order to meet a demand of an advertisement applicant who wishes that his/her own advertisement be posted at the position where more users can see the advertisement. A still another object of the present invention is to provide an advertisement applicant with information on exposure level or the number of clicks for a box advertisement, so that the advertisement applicant can know how efficiently his/her own box advertisement has worked. \

To achieve the objects and overcome the problems in the related art, the present invention provides a method for providing classified advertisements using the Intemet, comprising the steps of receiving information on a box advertisement from an advertisement applicant; receiving a key word related to the box advertisement from the advertisement applicant; storing the box advertisement information and the key word in a storage device; providing a box advertisement containing contents corresponding to the box advertisement information to a web page; receiving a search key word for use in searching for a box advertisement from a user; and searching the storage device and providing information on a box advertisement associated with a key word matched with the search key word.

A method for providing classified advertisements using the Internet according to an aspect of the present invention comprises the steps of receiving certain search criteria for use in searching for a box advertisement from a user and storing the search criteria; receiving information on a box advertisement from an advertisement applicant; storing the box advertisement information in a storage device; providing a box advertisement containing contents corresponding to the box advertisement information to a web page; and if the provided box advertisement satisfies the search criteria, providing information on the box advertisement.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for providing classified advertisements using the Internet, comprising the steps of providing a special box advertisement which has limitations on the number and is displayed at a predetermined position on a web page; displaying a non-special box advertisement in a region on the web page except the position where the special box advertisement is displayed; and converting the non-special box advertisement into the special box advertisement and displaying it at the predetermined position in response to a request of an advertisement applicant.

Brief Description of Drawings FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a network for providing classified advertisement services in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a picture of an Internet web page with box advertisements displayed therein in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view showing a picture of a screen on which box advertisements are displayed in an Internet web page in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a picture of a screen on which special and non-special box advertisements are displayed separately in an Internet web page in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a detailed information page to be displayed when one of box advertisements is clicked on the screen shown in FIG. 3 or 4 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a detailed information page displayed when one of box advertisements is clicked on the screen shown in FIG. 3 or 4 in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a picture of a screen on which search results of box advertisements are displayed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a view showing a web page for use in an application for a box advertisement in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a web page for use in entering detailed information for an application for a box advertisement in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a web page for use in entering detailed information for an application for a box advertisement in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a view showing examples of box templates of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a web page for use in entering detailed information for an application for a box advertisement in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a view showing "My Advertisement Page" according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a classified advertisement service using the Internet in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a classified advertisement service using the Internet in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the inner configuration of a classified advertisement server according to the present invention. FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating a typical computer system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a network for providing classified advertisement services in accordance with the present invention.

A terminal 102 of an advertisement applicant and a terminal 104 of a user are connected to a classified advertisement server 103 through the Internet 101. The classified advertisement server 103 may be connected to a wireless communication network (not shown) to provide a user with information on a searched box advertisement using SMS as described later. The applicant terminal 102 and the user terminal 104 may include a variety of types of terminals such as desktop computers, notebook computers, PDAs and mobile communication terminals, which can communicate with general computer systems. The advertisement applicant accesses the classified advertisement server 103 through the applicant terminal 102 and registers his/her own box advertisement with the classified advertisement server 103 according to a method to be described later. The registered box advertisement is served by the classified advertisement server 103, and other users access the classified advertisement server 103 through the user terminal 104 and search information on box advertisements provided by the classified advertisement server 103. FIG. 2 is a view showing a picture of an Internet web page with box advertisements displayed therein in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, according to the present invention, a plurality of box advertisements 201 are displayed in a single web page. According to the present invention, a message search window 202 is provided and the box advertisements can be searched by entering a key word into the message search window and clicking a search button. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the search can be carried out by selecting and entering key words related to either names or contents of the advertisements using the message search window 202. Further, a more detailed search of the box advertisements can be performed by clicking "Find Message" link 203. When "Find Message" link 203 is clicked, a method of searching the box advertisements in various ways is provided. For example, a method of searching the box advertisements using names and IDs of advertisement applicants, the contents of the box advertisements, categories of the box advertisements (e.g., categories such as job offering, job hunting, marriage, or obituary notice provided by a classified advertisement service provider), posting periods of the box advertisements, and key words related to the box advertisements is provided. Such information related to the search of' the box advertisements may be information entered by an advertisement applicant when applying for a box advertisement, or information provided by a classified advertisement service provider. The information is stored in a database associated with the classified advertisement server, and upon search of the box advertisements, the classified advertisement server 103 searches the database and provides a user with information on a matched box advertisement. Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a user may enter information on a recipient who intends to receive the search results, and the classified advertisement server 103 accordingly provides the search results to the recipient. Thus, a method of providing a user or recipient with search results for box advertisements includes a method of outputting the search results onto a home page, a method of transmitting the search results to an e-mail account of the user or recipient by electronic mail, or a method of transmitting the search results to a mobile communication terminal of the user or recipient using SMS. As used herein, the box advertisement is also referred to as a "message board." "Register" linlc 204 provides a link to a home page through which an advertisement applicant applies for a box advertisement. Applying for a box advertisement will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 8 to 12.

"My Message" linlc 205 provides a function of enabling view of a box advertisement registered by an advertisement applicant and information on himself/herself. A picture of a screen upon click of "My Message" linlc 205 is shown in FIG. 13, which will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 13.

"Notice" link 206 is used for providing notices related to the classified advertisement service. "Best Message" linlc 207 provides a link to the best box advertisement selected based on one of the number of references, the number of clicks, examination marks and the number of memoranda by users, or a combination thereof. The best box advertisements may exist one or more. "Suggest" linlc 208 is to collect users' opinions about the classified advertisement service and is presented in the form of a bulletin board in accordance of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. "Service Guide' linlc 209 includes guidance, introduction, or questions/answers regarding the classified advertisement service.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a picture of a screen on which box advertisements are displayed in an Internet web page in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which newly registered box advertisements are displayed at an upper portion of the web page. As shown in FIG. 3, the box advertisements may contain only simple information on weddings without details of dates and places of the weddings. The detailed information on the dates and places of the weddings is presented on detailed information pages provided when the box advertisements are clicked. Such detailed information pages will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

"Register Message" link 301 makes it possible to register messages by categories such as marriage, proposal, announcement, speaking, obituary notice, congratulation, advertisement, or diary. Further, a search window provides a method of searching the box advertisements by categories. With "My People" linlc 302, a user can beforehand store information on people, which the user has interest in, in the classified advertisement server 103, and if box advertisements related to the people are registered, information on the box advertisements is provided to the user through a web page linked to "My People" link 302.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a picture of a screen on which special and non-special box advertisements are displayed separately in an Internet web page in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. According to the present embodiment, to meet demands of advertisement applicants who want to display their own box advertisements at a position where more users can see them, box advertisements are classified into the special box advertisements 401 and the non-special box advertisements 402. The number of the special box advertisements 401 is limited to a predetermined value and they are displayed at a predetermined position on a web page. The number of the special box advertisements 401 may be limited to a predetermined value either in total or by categories. If the special box advertisements 401 are provided by categories, the special box advertisements 401 are also displayed at a predetermined position on a web page that represents the results of a search by categories. As shown in FIG. 4, if the number of the special box advertisements 401 that can be displayed in a single web page is 10, the total number of the special box advertisements 401 may be limited to 10 or a certain number larger than 10. If the number of the special box advertisements 401 is limited to a certain number larger than 10, the special box advertisements 401 cannot be displayed in a single web page. Thus, some of the entire special box advertisements 401 are displayed according to a predefined rule. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, whenever each user attempts to gain access to box advertisements, randomly selected special box advertisements 401 or ten special box advertisements 401 selected according to a predetermined order may be displayed.

Non-special box advertisements 402 may be displayed on a web page either in random order or in order of time when advertisement applicants registered the non- special box advertisements 402. The method of displaying non-special box advertisements on a web page according to the time when advertisement applicants registered them has an advantage in that it can be implemented in a simple manner. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the non-special box advertisements may be displayed at different positions in the web page as time passes. For example, the positions at which the non-special box advertisements are displayed may vary in predetermined order. This method has an advantage in that non-special box advertisements have substantially fair opportunities of exposure to a certain extent. Special and non-special box advertisements may differ from each other in the design of template, and the like. "My Advertisement" field contains basic information on registered advertisements and advertisements of interest, and "Go to My Advertisement" link serves to make connection to "My Advertisement Web Page" shown in FIG. 13. "Registered Advertisement" 403 represents the number of advertisements registered by a user, and "Advertisement of Interest" 404 represents the number of advertisements registered by a user as advertisements of interest. The advertisements of interest may be registered in such a manner that some box advertisements are registered as advertisements of interest during search of box advertisements, or that predetermined search criteria have been entered in advance and when box advertisements satisfying the criteria are posted, these box advertisements are registered automatically as advertisements of interest.

FIG. 5 a is a view showing a detailed information page to be displayed when one of box advertisements is clicked on the screen shown in FIG. 3 or 4 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5a, the detailed information page contains title 501, status 502, image 503, advertiser information and detailed description 504, user evaluation bulletin board 505, "Modify Advertisement" linlc 506, "Delete Advertisement" link 507, "Register Advertisement of Interest" linlc 508, and "Upgrade My Advertisement" link 509. Title 501 represents the title of a box advertisement, and status 502 contains information on the date of registration, date of modification, posting due date of the box advertisement, and the like. Further, according to an embodiment of the present invention, status 502 also includes information on the exposure level or the number of clicks of the box advertisement to or by users. Image 503 may be an image contained in the box advertisement, or an image that is not contained in the box advertisement but provided only in the detailed information page.

Advertiser information and detailed description 504 contains information on an advertiser and a detailed description of the box advertisement. The box advertisement contains very little information therein in view of its characteristics. Therefore, if greater detailed information is included in advertiser information and detailed description 504 and then provided to users, the users can obtain more information. For example, only the fact that A and B will get married to each other is stated in the box advertisement and the date, place of a wedding, and the like are included in the detailed information page. Even in case of job offering, there is convenience if only simple information is displayed within the box advertisement and information on pay, required type of occupation, location of company, and the like related to the job offering is included in the detailed information page.

User evaluation bulletin board 505 is a bulletin board on which users can freely write their own opinions, impressions, and the like on registered box advertisements. Box advertisements have been also widely used to notify one's intimate persons of specific facts such as marriage, obituary notice, official announcement, or meeting. Therefore, user evaluation bulletin board has an advantage in that these intimate persons that have seen the box advertisement can write various opinions, impressions, and the like in the bulletin board, thereby allowing the box advertisement to be used for establishing intimacy between the advertisement applicant and the users.

"Modify Advertisement" link 506 performs a function of enabling modification of information on already registered box advertisements. "Delete Advertisement" linlc 507 is used to delete already registered box advertisements. "Register Advertisement of interest" link 508 enables a user to register some of box advertisements as box advertisements of interest during search of box advertisements or to beforehand enter the specific search criteria. In a case where the specific search criteria for advertisements of interest are registered using "Register Advertisement of Interest" 58, when box advertisements satisfying the search criteria are posted, it will be automatically registered as advertisements of interest.

"Upgrade My Advertisement" linlc 509 functions to convert a non-special box advertisement to a special box advertisement. An advertisement applicant may pay certain extra charges according to a rule predefined by a classified advertisement service provider. With the "Upgrade My Advertisement" function of the present invention, since an advertisement applicant can convert a non-special box advertisement into a special box advertisement even while the non-special box advertisement is being posted, the advertisement applicant may post his/her own box advertisement as a non-special box advertisement and then convert it into a special box advertisement, if necessary. Therefore, there is an advantage in that an advertisement applicant can post a box advertisement in the most proper manner in consideration of costs to be paid by himself/herself. FIG. 5b is a view showing a viewing window 511 for other advertisements of an advertisement applicant and a viewing window 512 for information on the advertisement applicant in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The viewing window 511 for other advertisements of the advertisement applicant represents the status of all box advertisements submitted by the advertisement applicant in various formats, and the viewing window 512 for information on the advertisement applicant represents the information on the advertisement applicant.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a detailed information page displayed when one of box advertisements is clicked on the screen shown in FIG. 3 or 4 in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment of FIG. 6 is different from that of FIG. 5 in that it includes "Registrant's comment" field 601 so that a box advertisement applicant can freely describe a box advertisement.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a picture of a screen on which search results of box advertisements are displayed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. A user can search box advertisements in various ways, e.g., using the names and IDs of advertisement applicants, categories and posting dates of box advertisements, the contents of box advertisements, or key words related to box advertisements. In particular, it would be efficient in many aspects that advertisement applicants register key words related to box advertisements and users perform search based on the key words. In case of search by categories, special box advertisements and non-special box advertisements may be displayed separately. FIGS. 8a and 8b are views showing a web page for use in an application for a box advertisement in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 8a and 8b, special box advertisements and non-special box advertisements may differ from each other in fees, or special box advertisements may be provided with fees and non-special box advertisements may be provided without fees. FIG. 9 is a view showing a web page for use in entering detailed information for an application for a box advertisement in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

"Registrant Verification Information" field 901 is a field for use in entering or modifying information on ID, password, name, address, contact, e-mail, sex and the like of an advertisement applicant. "Select product" field 902 is a field for use in selecting the type of box advertisement, posting period and a variety of options for the box advertisement. Since box advertisements may be divided into special box advertisements and non-special box advertisements, an advertisement applicant selects one of the types of box advertisements. Further, the advertisement applicant can select the posting period of the box advertisement and fees are determined depending on the posting period.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a web page for use in entering detailed information for an application for a box advertisement in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. A box advertisement applicant selects a box template in "Select Box Template" field 1001 to register a box advertisement. An example of the box template is shown in FIG. 11. "Enter Advertisement Contents" field 1002 is a field for use in entering the contents of advertisement to be displayed within a box advertisement. "Enter Advertisement Contents" field 1002 is roughly divided into "Enter Title" field and "Enter Contents" field. "Select Icon" field 1003 is a field for use in selecting an icon to be used for a box advertisement, and "Decorate Text" field 1004 is to provide various effects to text to be included in a box advertisement. "Select Key Word" field 1005 is a field for use in entering key words useful in searching box advertisements. If advertisement applicants enter such key words when applying for box advertisements, matched box advertisements associated with key words are provided as search results when other users search box advertisements. In addition, a preview function is provided so that an advertisement applicant can confirm in advance how a box advertisement looks when it is displayed on the screen.

FIGS. 11 (a), (b) and (c) are views showing examples of box templates, wherein FIG. 11 (a) shows a box advertisement with only text, FIG. 11 (b) shows a box advertisement with only text but with a textured background, and FIG. 11 (c) shows a box advertisement with an image together with text. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the box advertisements shown in FIGS. 11 (a), (b) and (c). Although all the box advertisements of this embodiment are by way of example in the form of rectangles, they may take various shapes such as ovals or animals. FIG. 12 is a view showing a web page for use in entering detailed information for an application for a box advertisement in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention.

"Enter Title" field 1201 is a field for use in entering the title of a box advertisement. "Registrant's Information" field 1202 is to determinine whether a user is an individual or company. If an advertisement applicant is an individual, "Enter Individual Information" field 1203 is displayed. On the contrary, if an advertisement applicant is a company, "Enter Company Information" field 1204 is displayed. "Enter Individual Information" field 1203 may include sections for entering information such as name, ID, e-mail, contact, or address, and allow the respective pieces of infoπnation to be set as to whether they are opened. "Enter Company Information" field 1204 may include sections for entering information such as compnay name, name and e-mail of a staff in charge, and contact and address of company, and allow the respective pieces of information to be set as to whether they are opened. "Enter Detailed Description" field 1205 is a field for use in entering various descriptions of a box advertisement. "Image" field 1206 is provided to add an image to a box advertisement. When a certain image file is selected through "Image" field 1206, an image of the image file is added to the box advertisement. "Comment Bulletin Board" field 1207 is used for a case where the use of the bulletin board 505 shown in FIG. 5 is required.

FIG. 13 is a view showing "My Advertisement Page" according to an embodiment of the present invention.

"My Advertisement Page" generally includes "My Registered Advertisement" field 1301 and "Scraps of Advertisement of Interest" field 1302. "My Registered Advertisement" field 1301 shows a box advertisement of which registration has been applied for by a user. "Scraps of Advertisement of Interest" field 1302 includes a box advertisement that has been registered as an advertisement of interest by a user. "Delete Advertisement of Interest" button 1303 functions to delete a displayed advertisement of interest from an advertisement-of-interest database for a user, so that the deleted advertisement of interest cannot be shown when "Scraps of Advertisement of Interest" field 1302 is displayed later again. "Set Automatic Notice" button 1304 establishes a configuration for notifying a user of a newly registered advertisement of interest. When "Set Automatic Notice" button 1304 is clicked, the configuration can be established through a separate web page (not shown). With the use of the configuration of "Set Automatic Notice," the fact that an advertisement of interest has been registered can be announced to a user's electronic mail account by e-mail or to a user's mobile communication terminal by SMS. "Send by Mail" button 1305 is to send a displayed advertisement of interest to a designated mail account. The mail account may have been set in advance or may be entered when the "Send by Mail" button 1305 is clicked, so that the advertisement of interest can be sent to the mail account.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a classified advertisement service using the Internet in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

In step 1401, the classified advertisement server 103 receives information on a box advertisement from the advertisement applicant terminal 102. The embodiments in which the box advertisement information is received from the advertisement applicant are shown in FIGS. 9 to 12. The box advertisement information may be one or a combination of information on an advertisement applicant such as ID, password, name, address, contact, or e-mail of the advertisement applicant; information on whether an box advertisement is a special or non-special box advertisement; information on the shape and style of a box advertisement; information on the posting date of a box advertisement; the title of a box advertisement; the contents contained in a box advertisement; an image contained in a box advertisement; additional detailed information related to a box advertisement to be displayed in a detailed information page which will be provided upon click of the box advertisement; and icon, font, character decoration and predetermined sentences provided by the box advertisement provider. When the number of already registered special box advertisements has reached a predetermined value, an application for a special box advertisement by an advertisement applicant is rejected. Further, according to an embodiment of the present invention, an emoticon is received from an advertisement applicant in a case where the emoticon is intended to be displayed in a box advertisement. The term "emoticon" is a compound word made of the words "emotion" and "icon" and is a symbol for delivering a specific intention using a combination of characters and symbols assigned to keys of a computer keyboard. With the development of the Internet, emoticons have been used widely. The present invention enables advertisement applicants to use box advertisements more intimately by allowing such emoticons to be used in box advertisements. In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the emoticons may be provided in a template or created in various manners. For example, an advertisement applicant may directly create emoticons while inputting the contents of a box advertisement, or download and use emoticons created previously by himself/herself or a third person. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the classified advertisement server 103 provides a template for sentences to be contained in a box advertisement so that an advertisement applicant can select a sentence therefrom. In step 1402, the classified advertisement server 103 receives key words related to the box advertisement from the advertisement applicant. As described above, since the box advertisement has limitations on information to be displayed due to its limited size, a search may not be properly performed if only the contents displayed in the box advertisement are used for the search. Thus, to solve this problem, in the present invention, the key words related to the box advertisement are received from the advertisement applicant. For example, the advertisement applicant enters only "Sales of DVD titles" as the contents of the box advertisement and additionally enters key words such as "game" and "movie" so that a user who performs a search with a key word "game" can search for this box advertisement. In such a way, the key words entered by the advertisement applicant may be independent of words included in the contents of the box advertisement displayed on a web page. In step 1403, the box advertisement information and key words entered in steps

1401 and 1402 are stored in a storage device associated with the classified advertisement server 103. The storage device may be a storage device embedded in the classified advertisement server 103 or a storage device independent of the server 103. In step 1404, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a box advertisement containing contents corresponding to the box advertisement information is created and then provided to a web page of the classified advertisement server 103. The server 103 creates the box advertisement based on the shape and style of the box advertisement entered as the box advertisement information. The contents to be included in the box advertisement are adapted to contain the contents entered by the advertisement applicant. If the advertisement applicant enters or selects an emoticon that is to be displayed in the box advertisement, the emoticon is included and displayed in the box advertisement.

If the advertisement applicant selects special box advertisement as the type of the box advertisement to be displayed, the box advertisement is subjected to the limitations on the number of special box advertisements and displayed at a predetermined position on the web page. The embodiment in which the special and non-special box advertisements are displayed is shown in FIG. 4. In case of non- special box advertisements, they are displayed at other positions except the positions where special box advertisements are displayed. Thus, according to the present invention, all of the needs of an advertisement applicant who wants to place a box advertisement at a better position at any expense and an advertisement applicant who wants to post a box advertisement at a low cost or without cost are satisfied by providing both the special and non-special box advertisements.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the non-special box advertisements are displayed in order of time when advertisement applicants have applied for the box advertisements. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the non-special box advertisements are adapted to be displayed at different positions as time passes. As for such a method, we have a method of randomly changing the positions of the non-special box advertisements whenever the web page is accessed, or a method of changing the positions thereof according to a predefined rule. An example of the method of changing the positions according to the predetermined rule includes a method of shifting the box advertisement by one column whenever the web page is accessed. Through the above methods, the non-special box advertisements can be fairly exposed to users to a certain extent.

In step 1405, the classified advertisement server 103 receives the key words, which will be used for a search of box advertisement, from the user terminal 104. For example, a user who wishes to search for information on job offering enters "job offering" as a key word.

In the present invention, step 1406 is optionally performed. In step 1406, the classified advertisement server 103 receives, from a user, information on a recipient who will receive information on the box advertisement provided as search results. According to an embodiment of the present invention, information on the recipient is an e-mail account of the recipient. In this case, in step 1408, information on the searched box advertisement is transmitted to the recipient's e-mail account by e-mail. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the information on the recipient is a mobile phone number of the recipient, hi this case, in step 1408, the information on the searched box advertisement is transmitted to a mobile phone of the recipient using SMS. According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the information on the recipient is ID information on a personal homepage or "My Personal Advertisement" of the recipient. In this case, in step 1408, the searched box advertisement is displayed in the form of an advertisement of interest within "My Personal advertisement" or an advertisement transmitted from a user. An example of the advertisement of interest displayed within the "My Personal Advertisement" web page is shown in FIG. 13. In case of the advertisement transmitted from the user, the name or ID of the user is displayed in the "My Personal Advertisement" web page and the transmitted box advertisement is then transmitted (not shown). In the aforementioned embodiments, the information on the box advertisement to be transmitted to the recipient may be the box advertisement itself, summarized information on the box advertisement, or a link to the box advertisement. In step 1407, the classified advertisement server 103 searches key word information stored in the storage device associated with the classified advertisement server 103 and then searches for a box advertisement associated with a key word matched with a received key word. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the search of the box advertisement is performed using one or a combination of information on an advertisement applicant such as the name or ID of the box advertisement applicant, the contents of the box advertisement, the category of the box advertisement, the posting date of the box advertisement and a key word associated with the box advertisement. With the support of the search method, the user can correctly search for various box advertisements.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a search of similar key words can be supported. The present embodiment further includes a database for a similar search word dictionary (not shown), and the database stores information on similar words. For example, "marriage," "wedding," "matrimony," and "wedlock" have been stored in the database for the similar search word dictionary. Then, if an advertisement applicant registers only the word "marriage" as a key word for a box advertisement registered by himself/herself, a search can be made even when a user enters a search key word such as "wedding," "matrimony" and "wedlock." Therefore, according to the aforementioned embodiments of the present invention, there is an advantage in that even though a user enters an incorrect key word, a coπ-ect box advertisement can be provided.

If the search of the box advertisement is terminated, in step 1408, the information on the searched box advertisement obtained from the search is provided to the user or the recipient designated by the user. The simplest example of this method is to provide the user with an Internet web page containing the search results. According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the information on the box advertisement is provided to the user or recipient using SMS or e-mail.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method of providing a classified advertisement service using the Internet in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

The present embodiment is implemented in such a manner that when a user has beforehand entered search criteria for an advertisement of interest and an advertisement of interest satisfying the search criteria is registered later, the user is then provided with information on the registered advertisement of interest. For example, a user having interest in information on job offering may want to receive information on box advertisements that have the word "job offering" as a key word or belong to the category of "job offering." In this case, it is convenient in that the user can receive information on box advertisements related to job offering as soon as they are registered. In step 1501, the classified advertisement server 103 receives certain search criteria for box advertisements from the user and stores them. The search criteria may be one or a combination of information on an advertisement applicant such as the name and ID of the advertisement applicant, the contents of a box advertisement, the category of the box advertisement, the posting date of the box advertisement, or a key word related to the box advertisement.

In step 1502, the classified advertisement server 103 receives, from the user, infonnation on a recipient who will receive information on a box advertisement satisfying the search criteria. Since step 1502 is performed optionally and corresponds to step 1406 in FIG. 14, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The classified advertisement server 103 receives information on a box advertisement from an advertisement applicant in step 1503, and stores the box advertisement information in the storage device associated with the classified advertisement server 103 in step 1504. Further, in step 1505, the classified advertisement server 103 provides a box advertisement containing contents corresponding to the box advertisement information to a web page. Since steps 1503, 1504 and 1505 of the present embodiment correspond to steps 1401, 1403 and 1404, respectively, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. In step 1506, it is determined whether a newly registered and displayed box advertisement satisfies the search criteria. If so, information on the box advertisement is provided to the user or recipient in step 1507. Since the method of providing the information on the box advertisement to the user or recipient corresponds to step 1408 of FIG. 14, a description thereof will be omitted herein. If it is determined in step 1506 that the box advertisement does not satisfy the search criteria, the procedure goes to step 1503 and waits for a new box advertisement to be registered by an advertisement applicant. FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the inner configuration of a classified advertisement server according to the present invention. The classified advertisement server 1600 of the present invention roughly comprises an input unit 1601, an output unit 1605, a storage unit 1608, and a search unit 1611. The input unit 1601 comprises a box advertisement information input unit 1602, a search key word input unit 1603, and a search criterion input unit 1604. The box advertisement information input unit 1602 receives information on a box advertisement and a key word related to the box advertisement from an advertisement applicant. The box advertisement information includes information on the advertisement applicant, key word information, category information, posting period information of the box advertisement, and the like. The received box advertisement information and key word are stored in the storage unit 1608.

The search key word input unit 1603 receives a search key word for use in searching for a box advertisement from the user. The received search key word is transferred to the search unit 1611 which in turn refers to the storage unit 1608 and outputs box advertisement information related to a key word matched with the search key word to the output unit 1605.

The search criterion input unit 1604 receives certain search criteria for use in searching for the box advertisement from the user. The search criteria are stored in the storage unit 1608, and the search unit 1611 determines whether a newly registered box advertisement satisfies the search criteria. If so, the search unit 1611 transfers information on the box advertisement to the output unit 1605.

The output unit 1605 comprises a box advertisement providing unit 1606 and a search result providing unit 1607. The box advertisement providing unit 1606 provides a box advertisement containing contents corresponding to the box advertisement information to a web page, and the search result providing unit 1607 provides search results based on the key word and search criteria to the user.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the output unit delivers the box advertisement or the search results to a user's mobile communication terminal using SMS. Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the output unit delivers the box advertisement or the search results to a user's e-mail account by e- mail. The storage unit 1608 stores information, such as box advertisement information and key words, necessary for operations of the classified advertisement server, and the search unit 1611 performs a search based on search criteria or search key words entered by a user. According to an embodiment of the present invention, when a user clicks a box advertisement displayed on a web page, the classified advertisement server 103 provides an additional web page including a bulletin board in which other users can write their impressions or evaluations of the box advertisement and a description of the box advertisement. For example, when the user clicks one of the box advertisements shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the classified advertisement server 103 provides an additional web page including a further description of the box advertisement and a bulletin board in which other users can write their impressions or evaluations of the box advertisement, as shown in FIG. 5 or 6. The present invention can establish an intimate relationship between advertisement applicants and users through the bulletin board. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the classified advertisement server 103 provides an advertisement applicant with information on the number of page views, i.e. the number of exposure of a registered box advertisement to users, and information on the number of clicks of the box advertisement by the users. Therefore, getting a feedback for the effects of the box advertisement, the advertisement applicant can obtain the information on the effects of the box advertisement.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the classified advertisement server 103 bills an advertisement registrant for fees based on one or a combination of information on the number of page views, i.e. the number of exposure of a registered box advertisement to users, and information on the number of clicks of the box advertisement by the users; or a combination of other information with the above information or combination thereof. According to the embodiment of the present invention, since the advertisement applicant pays the fees based on the number of page views or clicks, he/she can pay the fees depending on substantial advertisement effects.

According to a still further embodiment of the present invention, the classified advertisement server 103 receives bidding price information on the box advertisement from the advertisement applicant. The classified advertisement server 103 determines the position of the box advertisement to be displayed on a web page based on the bidding price information input as such. According to the embodiment of the present embodiment, since an advertisement applicant who has paid higher costs has his/her box advertisement placed in a better position, the advertisement applicant can more easily predict the position of his/her box advertisement. According to a still further embodiment of the present invention, the classified advertisement server 103 receives a request for modification of the box advertisement information stored in the storage unit from the advertisement applicant and then modifies the box advertisement information stored in the storage unit in response to the request. Moreover, a modified box advertisement is provided in the web page by reflecting the modified box advertisement information. According to the present embodiment, the advertisement applicant can modify an already registered box advertisement. For example, if the place of meeting has already been noticed through a box advertisement but the place is changed due to changes in circumstances later, the box advertisement can be modified while being posted. According to a still further embodiment of the present invention, the classified advertisement server 103 provides a re-registration function and the advertisement applicant can extend the posting -period of the box advertisement using the re- registration function before the posting of his/her own box advertisement terminates. Furthermore, the classified advertisement server maintains information on the box advertisement of which posting has already terminated, so that when the advertisement applicant intends to post the box advertisement again, the box advertisement can be registered using the previous box advertisement information which has been maintained by the classified advertisement server.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention further relate to computer readable media that includes program instructions for performing various computer- implemented operations. The media may also include, alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, data structures, tables, and the like. The media and program instructions may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD-ROM disks; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory devices (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). The media may also be a transmission medium such as optical or metallic lines, wave guides, etc. including a carrier wave transmitting signals specifying the program instructions, data structures, etc. Examples of program instructions include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter.

FIG. 17 illustrates a typical computer system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The computer system 1700 includes any number of processors 1701 (also referred to as central processing units, or CPUs) that are coupled to storage devices including primary storage 1702 (typically a random access memory, or "RAM"), primary storage 1703 (typically a read only memory, or "ROM"). As is well known in the art, primary storage 1703 acts to transfer data and instructions uni-directionally to the CPU and primary storage 1702 is used typically to transfer data and instructions in a bi-directional manner. Both of these primary storage devices may include any suitable type of the computer-readable media described above. A mass storage device 1704 is also coupled bi-directionally to CPU 1701 and provides additional data storage capacity and may include any of the computer-readable media described above. The mass storage device 1704 may be used to store programs, data and the like and is typically a secondary storage medium such as a hard disk that is slower than primary storage. A specific mass storage device such as a CD-ROM 1706 may also be used.

Processor 1701 is also coupled to an interface 1705 that includes one or more input/output devices such as video monitors, track balls, mice, keyboards, microphones, touch-sensitive displays, transducer card readers, magnetic or paper tape readers, tablets, styluses, voice or handwriting recognizers, or other well-known input devices such as, of course, other computers. Finally, processor 1701 optionally may be coupled to a computer or telecommunications network using a network connection as shown generally at network interface 1707. With such a network connection, it is contemplated that the CPU might receive information from the network, or might output information to the network in the course of performing the above-described method steps. The above-described devices and materials will be familiar to those of skill in the computer hardware and software arts. The hardware devices described above may be configured to act as one or more software modules for performing the operations of this invention.

Industrial applicability According to the present invention, there is provided a method of efficiently and correctly searching for box advertisements by accommodating various needs of users. In particular, the present invention provides a method of searching for box advertisements without being limited to sentences contained in the box advertisements. Further, the present invention provides a method of providing a user having interest in only specific advertisements with information on the advertisements whenever they are posted. The present invention provides a method of efficiently displaying a box advertisement at a position where more users can view the advertisement in order to meet a demand by an advertisement applicant who wishes that his/her own advertisement be posted at the position where more users can view the advertisement.

Further, the present invention provides an advertisement applicant with information on exposure level or the number of clicks for a box advertisement, so that the advertisement applicant can know the extent to which the effects of his/her own box advertisement have been obtained. The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for providing classified advertisements using the Internet, comprising the steps of: receiving information on a box advertisement from an advertisement applicant; receiving a key word related to the box advertisement from the advertisement applicant; storing the box advertisement information and the key word in a storage device; providing a box advertisement containing contents corresponding to the box advertisement information to a web page; receiving a search key word for use in searching for a box advertisement from a user; and searching the storage device and providing information on a box advertisement associated with a key word matched with the search key word.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of: searching the storage device and providing information on a box advertisement associated with a key word similar to the search key word.

3. A method for providing classified advertisements using the Intemet, comprising the steps of: receiving certain search criteria for use in searching for a box advertisement from a user and storing the search criteria; receiving information on a box advertisement from an advertisement applicant; storing the box advertisement information in a storage device; providing a box advertisement containing contents corresponding to the box advertisement information to a web page; and if the provided box advertisement satisfies the search criteria, providing information on the box advertisement.

4. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of receiving the box advertisement information comprises the step of selecting and entering, by the advertisement applicant, at least one of predetermined sentences, images, the shapes of boxes, icons, fonts and text decoration provided by a classified advertisement provider, and wherein the step of providing the box advertisement to the web page comprises the step of creating a predetermined box advertisement and displaying it on the web page in response to the selection.

5. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of providing the information on the box advertisement comprises the step of providing the information on the box advertisement to the user using an Internet web page, SMS or e- mail.

6. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of providing the information on the box advertisements comprises the steps of: receiving information on a recipient to be provided with the information on the box advertisement from the user; and providing the information on the box advertisement to the recipient using an Intemet web page, SMS or e-mail.

7. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the search criteria includes at least one of information on the advertisement applicant, key word information, category information on the box advertisement, and posting period information on the box advertisement.

8. A method for providing classified advertisements using the Internet, comprising the steps of: providing a special box advertisement which has limitations on the number thereof and is displayed at a predetermined position on a web page; displaying a non-special box advertisement in a region on the web page except the position where the special box advertisement is displayed; and converting the non-special box advertisement into the special box advertisement and displaying it at the predetermined position in response to a request of an advertisement applicant.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the step of displaying the non- special box advertisement comprises the step of displaying the non-special box advertisement on the web page according to time when the advertisement applicant registered the non-special box advertisement.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the step of displaying the non- special box advertisement comprises the step of displaying the non-special box advertisement at different positions on the web page as time passes.

11. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 and 7 to 10, further comprising the steps of: receiving an emoticon associated with the box advertisement from the advertisement applicant; and displaying the box advertisement including the emoticon on the web page when the box advertisement is displayed on the web page.

12. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 and 7 to 10, further comprising the step of: providing the advertisement applicant with information on the number of page views that is the number of exposure of the box advertisement to users.

13. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 and 7 to 10, further comprising the step of: providing the advertisement applicant with information on the number of clicks that is the number of clicks of the displayed box advertisement by users.

14. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 and 7 to 10, further comprising the step of: billing the box advertisement applicant based on the number of page views that is the number of exposure of the box advertisement to users, or the number of clicks that is the number of clicks of the displayed box advertisement by the users.

15. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 and 7 to 10, further comprising the steps of: receiving a click of the box advertisement displayed on the web page from the user; providing an additional web page including a bulletin board in which other users can write their evaluation of the box advertisement and a description of the box advertisement; and providing the user with a link to the additional web page in response to the click.

16. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 and 7 to 10, further comprising the steps of: receiving bidding price information associated with the box advertisement from the advertisement applicant; and determining a position where the box advertisement is displayed on the web page, based on the bidding price information.

17. The method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 and 7 to 10, further comprising the steps of: receiving a request for modification of the box advertisement information stored in the storage device from the advertisement applicant; modifying the stored box advertisement information; and providing a box advertisement modified by reflecting the modified box advertisement information to the web page.

18. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program implementing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 and 7 to 10 in a computer is recorded.