Method of enhancing email text with hyperlinked word pointing to targeted ad

• US 7,974,874 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2010
• Issued: 07/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tamiras Per Pte Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Consallus Group LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Bosarge, Jason, Little, Roger
• Primary Examiner(s): Boveja; Namrata
• Application Number:
  US12/778,809
• Publication Number:
  US 20100268601A1
• Time in Patent Office: 419 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/14.49
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0254 based on statistics
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

A computer method and device for intercepting contracting client'"'"'s sent electronic messages, scanning the message body content for key words, sending the key words to a remote central computer server which analyses the key words and enhances the message by attaching a relevant, contextual advertising tag line or image/banner/words/HTML/Flash, etc. to the electronic message, and transmitting the enhanced message to a receiver.

Claims

1. In a computing system having access to a third party content database and including a server system configured to receive and analyze electronic communications and route the electronic communications to recipient addresses, a method for enhancing electronic communications with contextually relevant third party content, comprising:

the server system identifying a list of keywords determined to be relevant to third party content stored in the third party content database;

the server system receiving electronic communications from one or more senders that are addressed to one or more recipient addresses, each electronic communication including text that is initially un-enhanced when received by the server system;

the server system analyzing each electronic communication and determining one or more words that match and/or contextually relate to any keywords determined to be relevant to third party content;

upon analyzing an electronic communication and finding one or more words that match and/or contextually relate to any keywords determined to be relevant to third party content, the server system identifying initially un-enhanced text in the electronic communication to be changed into a hyperlink that points to a website associated with the third party content;

the server system contextually enhancing the electronic communication by changing the initially un-enhanced text in the electronic communication into a hyperlink that points to a website associated with the third party content;

the server system routing the electronic communication to one or more recipient addresses.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein, as a result of changing the initially un-enhanced text into the hyperlink, a recipient of the electronic communication can access contextually relevant third party content without moving a cursor outside a message body of the electronic communication.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, each electronic communication comprising a subject line and message body text, the hyperlink that points to a website associated with the third party content being contained within at least one of the subject line or message body text.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, further comprising the server system contextually enhancing the electronic communication with contextually relevant third party content so as to be displayed on a side of the message body text when the electronic communication is later accessed by a recipient.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, the contextually relevant third party content comprising at least one advertisement tag line that includes a hyperlink that points to a website of a third party content provider.

6. A method as recited in claim 5, the contextually relevant third party content comprising a plurality of different advertisements tag lines from different third party content providers, the server system routing the contextually relevant third party content so that the plurality of different advertisements tag lines are displayed vertically on the side of the message body text when the electronic communication is later accessed by a recipient.

7. A method as recited in claim 6, the server system routing the contextually relevant third party content so that the different advertisements tag lines are displayed in a predetermined order, based on which of the different third party content providers paid more money, when the electronic communication is later accessed by a recipient.

8. A method as recited in claim 4, the server system analyzing each electronic communication and determining, independently of stored data relating to general interests of the one or more senders, whether the electronic communication contains one or more words that match and/or contextually relate to any keywords determined to be relevant to third party content.

9. A method as recited in claim 4, the server system identifying the contextually relevant third party content based solely on the one or more words of each electronic communication that match and/or contextually relate to any keywords determined to be relevant to third party content without ever considering stored data relating to general interests of both the senders and recipients of the electronic communications.

10. A method as recited in claim 3, the server system changing at least one word in the message body text and/or subject line of the electronic communication that is initially un-enhanced when received by the server system into a hyperlink that points to a website corresponding to a third party content provider that paid more money than at least one other third party content provider.

11. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the initially un-enhanced text comprises text received from the sender.

12. A method as recited in claim 1, the server being interposed between a sender computing system and a recipient computing system, the server intercepting each electronic communication and performing contextual analysis to determine overall message meaning and content before routing the electronic communication and any third party content to the one or more recipient addresses.

13. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein compensation is provided in response to the electronic communication being contextually enhanced.

14. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the electronic communications comprise one or more of e-mail, Short Messaging Service messaging, or instant messaging.

15. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the server system does not retain the contents of the electronic communications once they are contextually enhanced and routed to the one or more recipients.

16. A method as recited in claim 1, upon analyzing an electronic communication and determining that the electronic communication does not contain any words that match and/or contextually relate to any keywords determined to be relevant to third party content, the server system routing other content with the electronic communication to one or more specified recipient addresses.

17. In a computing system having access to a third party content database and including a server system configured to receive and analyze electronic communications and route the electronic communications to recipient addresses, a method for enhancing electronic communications with contextually relevant third party content, comprising:

the server system identifying a list of keywords determined to be relevant to third party content stored in the third party content database;

the server system receiving electronic communications from a plurality of different senders, at least some of which electronic communications specify different recipient addresses and contain message bodies that differ from those of other electronic communications received by the server system;

the server system analyzing each of the electronic communications and determining, for each of the electronic communications, one or more words that match and/or contextually relate to any keywords determined to be relevant to third party content;

upon analyzing electronic communications containing differing message bodies and finding one or more words that match and/or contextually relate to different keywords, the server system identifying, for each of the electronic communications, contextually relevant third party content stored in the third party content database that differs based on the different message bodies contained in the electronic communications; and

the server system routing the electronic communications and any contextually relevant third party content to the specified recipient addresses so as to be displayed together when the electronic communications are later accessed by recipients, the third party content routed by the server system to some recipients differing from third party content routed to other recipients based on differences in the messages bodies contained in respective electronic communications, the server system linking at least a portion of the contextually relevant third party content to the electronic communication by changing one or more words in the electronic communication into a hyperlink that points to a website associated with contextually relevant third party content when the electronic communication is displayed by a recipient.

18. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein contextually enhancing the electronic communication with the third party content further comprises:

determining which one advertiser of a plurality of advertisers has paid most for advertising; and

changing at least one word in the message body authored by the sender into a hyperlink which corresponds to a keyword selected by the one advertiser that is determined to have paid most for advertising.

19. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein the server system identifies the contextually relevant third party content stored in the third party content database independently of stored data relating to general interests of the sender.

20. In a computing system having access to an advertisement database and including a server system configured to receive and analyze e-mail communications and route the e-mail communications to recipient addresses, a method for enhancing e-mail communications with contextually relevant advertisements, comprising:

the server system identifying a list of keywords determined to be relevant to advertising content of advertisers stored in the advertisement database;

the server system determining which of the advertisers has paid more money and creating an advertisement hierarchy;

the server system receiving e-mail communications from a plurality of different senders, at least some of which e-mail communications specify different recipient addresses and contain subject lines and/or message bodies that differ from those of other e-mail communications received by the server system;

the server system analyzing the subject lines and/or message bodies of the e-mail communications and determining one or more words that match and/or contextually relate to any keywords determined to be relevant to advertising content;

upon analyzing the subject lines and/or message bodies of the e-mail communications and finding one or more words that match and/or contextually relate to different keywords, the server system identifying, based on the advertisement hierarchy, contextually relevant advertising content from the advertisement database that differs as between different e-mail communications based on differences in respective subject lines and/or message bodies contained in the e-mail communications; and

the server system routing the e-mail communications and any contextually relevant advertising content to the specified recipient addresses so as to be displayed together when the e-mail communications are later accessed by recipients,

the advertising content routed by the server system to some recipients differing from advertising content routed to other recipients based on differences in the subject lines and/or message bodies of respective e-mail communications,

the server system linking at least a portion of the contextually relevant advertising content to the e-mail communications by changing one or more words in the e-mail communications into hyperlinks that point to websites associated with respective contextually relevant advertising content when the e-mail communications are displayed by respective recipients.

21. A method as recited in claim 20, wherein routing the e-mail communications and any contextually relevant advertising content comprises the server system changing initially un-enhanced text in the message body of an e-mail communication into a hyperlink that points to a website associated with the contextually relevant advertising content.

22. A method as recited in claim 20, the server system further routing each e-mail communication and contextually relevant advertising content so that one or more tag lines are displayed outside the subject line and message body of the e-mail communication when later accessed by a recipient.

23. A method as recited in claim 22, wherein the one or more tag lines are displayed in an order determined by the advertisement hierarchy.