Methods and system for a distributed advertiser publishing system in enhanced directory assistance services

• US 20040010518A1
• Filed: 07/02/2003
• Published: 01/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Local.com Corporation (Local.com)
• Original Assignee: Interchange Corporation (Local Corporation)
• Inventors: Montemer, William A.
• Application Number:
  US10/612,575
• Publication Number:
  US 20040010518A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/104.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0214 Referral reward systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising

Abstract

Directory assistance provides telephone number look up services to callers based on the business or caller name as listed in a telephone directory. In the prior art, directory assistance provides a value-added service to telephone users and an expense that must be charged back to telephone users or absorbed by telephone carriers. In enhanced directory assistance (EDA) services as described in the disclosure, EDA is further developed to deliver a keyword targeted advertising service to telephone listing owners and advertisers. The present invention provides a method and system to publish and distribute advertised listings to multiple EDA service providers in a collaborative marketplace. A further object of the invention is to provide methods and systems that increase competition for the most sought-after business keyword categories and provide near-realtime maintenance and placement provisioning for location-based products and services.

Claims

1. A method of sharing directory listings in a distributed environment using a computer network comprising:

maintaining a database including a plurality of directory listings, wherein each listing is associated with a referral phone number, at least one keyword and a bid amount;

a directory listing owner is willing to pay for a single telephone referral;

publishing directory listings into a shared data system;

receiving a directory assistance request in the form of a keyword from the customer;

identifying the directory listings from the shared data system having keyword terms generating a match with the request;

ordering the identified directory listings into a phone number result list in accordance with the values of the bid amounts for the identified directory listings;

selecting one of the directory listings;

generating a paid referral business transaction and associating it with the listing owner'"'"'s advertising account;

generating one or a plurality of derivative business transactions to execute the business processes involved in the referral transaction.