Coupon and internet search method and system with mapping engine

Abstract

The invention relates to coupon information (e.g., actual coupons, links to coupon, and information related to one or more coupons) that may be selectively displayed based on an association with search terms for an internet-based search. If a user, for instance, submits a search request to an internet-based search engine, the search engine may process the request and provide the search results, but, in addition, a coupon engine may perform a separate search to determine the availability of coupons relating to the search (e.g., based on one or more search terms, one or more of the search results, or other criteria). Available coupons (or coupon information) may then be displayed with, or separately from, the general internet search results.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exemplary depiction of a schematic of an electronic coupon distribution system.

FIG. 2 depicts a flow chart of processing according to the invention, in one regard.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary depiction of a display that may be presented to a user.

FIG. 4 depicts a flow chart of processing according to the invention, in one regard.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary depiction of coupon information displayed on a wireless device.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary depiction of a display that may be presented to a user.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary depiction of a display that may be presented to a user.

Claims

1. A method for generating a search response including: receiving input from a user's device identifying one or more search criteria;determining search results corresponding to the user's one or more search criteria;selecting coupon information based on an association with the search results; andtransmitting a search response including search results and coupon information for simultaneous display at the user's device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein coupon information comprises information about one or more coupons including a product, a manufacturer, a retailer, a redemption location, indication of availability, a discount value, an expiration date, or an image of a coupon.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the search results and the coupon information are displayed in separate panes within a display page.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the search results corresponding to the user's one or more search criteria include keyword based ads or local search results.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more search criteria include search terms or location search parameters.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of generating a map view comprising location identifiers corresponding to the selected coupon information; and transmitting the map view for simultaneous display with search results and coupon information at the user's device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of selecting coupon information is further based on the one or more search criteria.

8. A method for supplementing search results from a search engine with coupon information, including: receiving search results corresponding to a user's one or more search criteria;selecting coupon information based on an association with the search results; andtransmitting the selected coupon information to the search engine.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein coupon information comprises information about one or more coupons including a product, a manufacturer, a retailer, a redemption location, indication of availability, a discount value, an expiration date, or an image of a coupon.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the search results corresponding to the user's one or more search criteria include keyword based ads or local search results.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more search criteria include search terms or location search parameters.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the step of selecting coupon information is further based on the one or more search criteria.

13. A method for generating response based at least on a search request from a user's computing device comprising: receiving a search request including one or more user specified search criteria;determining search results corresponding to the one or more user specified search criteria;determining one or more keyword-ads based on an association with the one or more search criteria;selecting coupon information based on an association with the determined keyword ads; andtransmitting a search response including the determined search results, the one or more keyword ads, and the selected coupon information for simultaneous display at the user's computing device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein coupon information comprises information about one or more coupons including a product, a manufacturer, a retailer, a redemption location, indication of availability, a discount value, an expiration date, or an image of a coupon.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the search results corresponding to the one or more user specified search criteria include local search results.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more search criteria include search terms or location search parameters.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the keyword-ads include advertisements, commercials, logos, product information, sponsor information, or links to other websites.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising a step of generating a map view comprising location identifiers corresponding to the selected coupon information; and transmitting the map view for simultaneous display with search results and coupon information at the user's device.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of selecting coupon information is further based on the one or more search criteria.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of determining one or more keyword-ads is further based on the search results.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein the search results, the keyword ads, and the coupon information are each displayed in separate panes in a display page.

22. A method for generating a response based at least on a search requests from a user computing device including: receiving a search request including search criteria and one or more local search parameters;determining local search results based on local search parameters and search criteria;selecting coupon information based on an association with the local search results; andtransmitting a search response including the local search results and the selected coupon information for simultaneous display at the user computing device.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein coupon information comprises information about one or more coupons including a product, a manufacturer, a retailer, a redemption location, indication of availability, a discount value, an expiration date, or an image of a coupon.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the local search results and the coupon information are displayed in separate panes within a display page.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the one or more search criteria include search terms or location search parameters.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of selecting coupon information is further based on the one or more search criteria.

27. The method of claim 22, wherein the location search parameter comprises location of the user's computing device.

28. The method of claim 22, wherein the location search parameter is based on location information from a user profile.

29. The method of claim 22, wherein the location search parameter comprises zip code, address, city, state, county, area code, district, point of interest, or coordinates.

30. The method of claim 22, wherein location search parameter is based on GPS signal, IP address, or cookie information received from the user's computing device.

31. The method of claim 22, further comprising a step of generating a map view comprising location identifiers corresponding to the selected coupon information and local search results; and transmitting the map view for simultaneous display with local search results and coupon information at the user's device.

32. A method for generating a search response based at least on information received from a user's device including: receiving a search request from the user's device;identifying location information associated with the user's device;determining search results corresponding to the search request;selecting coupon information based on an association with the search results and location information;generating a map view including location identifiers corresponding to the selected coupon information; andtransmitting a search response including the determined search results, the selected coupon information and the generated map view for simultaneous display to the user's device.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein coupon information comprises information about one or more coupons including a product, a manufacturer, a retailer, a redemption location, indication of availability, a discount value, an expiration date, or an image of a coupon.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the location information comprises location of the user's device.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein the search results, the coupon information and the map view are displayed in separate panes within a display page.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein the location information is based on one or more locations specified in a user profile.

37. The method of claim 32, wherein the location information comprises zip code, address, city, state, county, area code, district, point of interest, or coordinates.

38. The method of claim 32, wherein location information is based on GPS signal, IP address or cookie information received from the user's device.

39. The method of claim 32, further including the step of generating direction information between a user's device location and a specified location identifier.

40. A method for generating response based at least on a search request from a user computing device comprising: storing user profile information;receiving a search request including one or more user specified search criterion;determining search results based the one or more search criterion;selecting coupon information based on an association with the determined search results and user profile information; andtransmitting a search response including the determined search results and the selected coupon information for simultaneous display to the user's computing device.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein coupon information comprises information about one or more coupons including a product, a manufacturer, a retailer, a redemption location, indication of availability, a discount value, an expiration date, or an image of a coupon.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein the search results and the coupon information are displayed in separate panes within a display page.

43. The method of claim 40, wherein the search results include keyword based ads or local search results.

44. The method of claim 40, wherein the one or more search criteria include search terms, location search parameters, or geographical location.

45. The method of claim 40, further comprising a step of generating a map view comprising location identifiers corresponding to the selected coupon information; and transmitting the map view for simultaneous display with search results and coupon information at the user's device.

46. The method of claim 40, wherein the step of selecting coupon information is further based on the one or more search criteria.

47. The method of claim 40, wherein the user profile information comprises, a record of a user's observed online behavior, categories of interest, preferred locations, preferred devices, age, sex, marital status, or frequency of visits to particular facilities.