Method and apparatus to provide pay-per-call performance based advertising

• US 20070116217A1
• Filed: 08/21/2006
• Published: 05/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thryv, Inc. (Mudrick Capital Management LP)
• Original Assignee: Ingenio Incorporated
• Inventors: Barach, Marc, Somorjai, John, Altberg, Ebbe, Faber, Scott, Hickson, Chris, Fordyce, Michael, Hirson, Ron, Der Linden, Sean
• Granted Patent: US 7,876,886 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 379/114.10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

In one embodiment, the invention provides a method. The method includes assigning a unique telephone number to an advertiser; providing an advertisement on a media channel on behalf of the advertiser, the advertisement including one of the unique telephone number and a reference to the unique telephone number; monitoring telephone calls to the unique telephone number; and billing the advertiser for telephone calls to the unique telephone number in accordance with a predefined model.

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A method, comprising:

assigning a reference to be included in an advertisement, the reference to be used to initiate a real time communication connection;

monitoring communications initiated via the reference; and

billing for the advertisement in response to a real time communication initiated via the reference.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the real time communication comprises a voice communication over a telephonic connection.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the telephonic connection is at least partially via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the billing comprises billing a fee per telephone call connected via the reference.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

receiving a specification of the fee from a party who is to receive the real time communication.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the reference comprises a telephone number.

27. The method of claim 22, wherein the reference comprises a click to call reference.

28. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

associating one or more key words with the advertisement.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the one or more key words include a geographic location.

30. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

determining whether the real time communication is over a repeated connection between two parties within a predetermined time period;

wherein the the advertisement is not billed if the real time communication is over a repeated connection within the predetermined time period.

31. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

providing the advertisement in response to a search request.

32. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

receiving a price bid from an advertiser;

wherein said billing for the advertisement comprises billing the advertiser for the advertisement based on the price bid; and

wherein the price bid received from the advertiser is not conditioned on receiving a bid on a reference.

33. A system, comprising:

a first unit to assign a reference to be included in an advertisement, the reference to be used to initiate a real time communication connection;

a second unit to monitor communications initiated via the reference; and

a third unit to bill for the advertisement in response to a real time communication initiated via the reference.

34. A machine-readable medium, having stored thereon a sequence of instructions, which when executed by a data processing system, cause the system to perform a method, comprising:

assigning a reference to be included in an advertisement, the reference to be used to initiate a real time communication connection; and

billing for the advertisement in response to a real time communication initiated via the reference.

35. A method comprising:

in response to receiving requests from a set advertisers, assigning the advertisers with separate references for their respective advertisements which can be displayed concurrently, the references to be used to initiate real time communication connections;

monitoring communications initiated via the references; and

billing for the advertisements in response to real time communications initiated via the separate references.

36. A method, comprising:

assigning a first reference to a first advertiser, the first reference to be embedded in a first advertisement to facilitate initiation of real time communications with the first advertiser;

assigning a second reference to a second advertiser, the second reference to be embedded in a second advertisement to facilitate initiation of real time communications with the second advertiser;

billing for the first advertisement in response to a real time communication initiated via the first reference; and

billing for the second advertisement in response to a real time communication initiated via the second reference.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the first advertisement and the second advertisement are for a common field of service.

38. A method, comprising:

assigning to an advertiser a placement for an undefined advertisement and a communication reference for the advertisement, the communication reference to be used to initiate a real time communication connection; and

billing for the advertisement in response to a real time communication initiated via the communication reference.

39. A method, comprising:

assigning a communication reference to an advertiser to be included in an advertisement, the communication reference assigned independent of a price to be paid by the advertiser for the advertisement, the communication reference to be used to initiate a real time communication connection; and

billing for the advertisement in response to a real time communication initiated via the communication reference.

40. A method, comprising:

providing a communication reference to be included in an advertisement for an advertiser, without the advertiser having to bid to receive the communication reference, the communication reference to be used to initiate a real time communication connection; and

billing for the advertisement in response to a real time communication initiated via the communication reference.