Systems and methods to provide communication connections via partners

• US 9,092,793 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2012
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thryv, Inc. (Mudrick Capital Management LP)
• Original Assignee: YellowPages.com LLC (Mudrick Capital Management LP)
• Inventors: Altberg, Ebbe, Faber, Scott, Hirson, Ron, Van Der Linden, Sean, Manca, Paul G.
• Primary Examiner(s): VANDERHORST, MARIA VICTORIA
• Application Number:
  US13/470,159
• Publication Number:
  US 20120226547A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0258 Registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses to provide user interfaces dynamically customized according to partners through which the user interfaces are accessed in a customer acquisition process. One embodiment includes providing to a plurality of entities a platform, configured to assign references for embedding in listings for presentation and configured to connect people for real time communications according to the references embedded in the listings, the references to be used to request the platform to provide the connections; responsive to a request received via a first entity of the plurality of entities, presenting a user interface of the platform in a first format to identify the first entity; and responsive to a request received via a second entity of the plurality of entities, presenting the user interface of the platform in a second format to identify the second entity.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

assigning, via a server system communicatively coupled to a network, references for embedding in advertisement listings for presentation via the network, the assigning comprising exposing a platform hosted by the server system to a plurality of servers of demand partners each acting as a demand partner for a respective set of advertisers, wherein the platform is made accessible via the network and is configured to assign the references, wherein the platform is further configured to connect people for real time communications according to the references embedded in the listings, the references used to request the platform to provide connections for the real time communications;

processing, by the server system, a first request received via the network and a first server of a first demand partner of the plurality of demand partners and, responsive to the first request, exposing, via the network, a customizable user interface of the platform in a first format and with a first type of reference tailored to the first demand partner for managing web advertisements and selected at least in part based on a comparison of a success rate for the first demand partner to one or more success rates of one or more other demand partners, wherein references of the first type of reference are embedded in the web advertisements and correspond to a first type of tracking mechanism to track web advertisements;

processing, by the server system, a second request received via the network and a second server of a second demand partner of the plurality of demand partners and, responsive to the second request, exposing, via the network, the customizable user interface of the platform in a second format and with a second type of reference tailored to the second demand partner for managing advertisements configured to initiate telephonic communications and selected at least in part based on a comparison of a success rate for the second demand partner to the one or more success rates of one or more other demand partners, wherein references of the second type of reference are telephonic references and correspond to a second type of tracking mechanism to track telephonic communications; and

establishing, via a connection server of the server system, a media connection over a data communication network to connect a customer and an advertiser of a listing, wherein the media connection does not go through the platform.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first demand partner is identified in the first format via one or more of a text, an icon image, an audio clip, a video clip, an animation, and/or an applet.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of user interfaces is customized for presentation according to a demand partner through which the platform is accessed, the user interfaces to register a user, to create a listing, to manage the listing, to show a progress of a connection process initiated via a presentation of the listing, and to guide a user through the connection process.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of user interfaces is customized according to at least one preference setting of the demand partner through which the platform is accessed.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertiser is charged an advertisement fee per the media connection to connect the advertiser.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

assigning, via the platform, a telephonic reference and embedding the telephonic reference in the listing of the advertiser for presentation of the listing to the customer; and

responsive to a request made via the telephonic reference embedded in the listing, the platform establishing a first connection to the customer and a second connection to the advertiser and bridging the first and second connections to connect the customer and the advertiser.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein bridging the first and second connections comprises establishing the media connection to connect the customer and the advertiser.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the telephonic reference embedded in the listing of the advertiser comprises one or more of a telephone number of the platform without an extension, a telephone number of the platform with an extension, a session initiation protocol (SIP) uniform resource identifier (URI), a user identifier of an instant messaging network, and/or a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoiP) user identifier.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the media connection to connect the advertiser comprises a peer to peer connection between a user terminal of the customer and a user terminal of the advertiser.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

charging, via the platform, the customer on behalf of the advertiser in response to the customer accepting a payment request from the advertiser.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

charging, via the platform, the customer on behalf of the advertiser in response to the customer purchasing one or both of a product and service from the advertiser.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the listing is created via the first demand partner and presented via the second demand partner, a user interface to the customer is presented to identify both the first demand partner and the second demand partner.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein when the listing is created

via the first demand partner, the method further comprises:

requesting, via the platform, the first demand partner to authenticate the advertiser for accessing user interfaces to manage the listing.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, via the platform, a duplicate registration of the advertiser.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, via the platform, a duplicate listing of the advertiser.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, via the platform, the customizable user interface for embedding in an interface of the first demand partner to serve requests received via the first demand partner and for embedding in an interface of the second demand partner to serve requests received via the second demand partner.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium for tangibly storing computer instructions that, when executed by a server system, cause the server system to perform a method, the method comprising:

assigning, via the server system, references for embedding in advertisement listings for presentation via the network, the assigning comprising exposing a platform hosted by the server system to a plurality of servers of demand partners each acting as a demand partner for a respective set of advertisers, wherein the platform is configured to assign the references and is configured to connect people for real time communications according to the references embedded in the listings, the references used to request the platform to provide connections for the real time communications;

processing, by the server system, a first request received via the network and a first server of a first demand partner of the plurality of demand partners and, responsive to the first request, exposing a customizable user interface of the platform in a first format and with a first type of reference tailored to the first demand partner for managing web advertisements and selected at least in part based on a comparison of a success rate for the first demand partner to one or more success rates of one or more other demand partners, wherein references of the first type of reference are embedded in the web advertisements and correspond to a first type of tracking mechanism to track web advertisements;

processing, by the server system, a second request received via the network and a second server of a second demand partner of the plurality of demand partners and, responsive to the second request, exposing the customizable user interface of the platform in a second format and with a second type of reference tailored to the second demand partner for managing advertisements configured to initiate telephonic communications and selected at least in part based on a comparison of a success rate for the second demand partner to the one or more success rates of one or more other demand partners, wherein references of the second type of reference are telephonic references and correspond to a second type of tracking mechanism to track telephonic communications; and

establishing, via a connection server of the server system, a media connection over a data communication network to connect a customer and an advertiser of a listing, wherein the media connection does not go through the platform.

18. A data processing system, comprising:

a memory storing instructions;

a server system communicatively coupled with the memory, the server system executing the instructions to;

assign references for embedding in advertisement listings for presentation, the instructions to assign comprising instructions to expose a platform hosted by the server system to a plurality of servers of demand partners each acting as a demand partner for a respective set of advertisers, wherein the platform is configured to assign the references and is configured to connect people for real time communications according to the references embedded in the listings, the references used to request the platform to provide connections for the real time communications;

process a first request received via the network and a first server of a first demand partner of the plurality of demand partners and, responsive to the first request, exposing a customizable user interface of the platform in a first format and with a first type of reference tailored to the first demand partner for managing web advertisements and selected at least in part based on a comparison of a success rate for the first demand partner to one or more success rates of one or more other demand partners, wherein references of the first type of reference are embedded in the web advertisements and correspond to a first type of tracking mechanism to track web advertisements;

process a second request received via the network and a second server of a second demand partner of the plurality of demand partners and, responsive to the second request, exposing the customizable user interface of the platform in a second format and with a second type of reference tailored to the second demand partner for managing advertisements configured to initiate telephonic communications and selected at least in part based on a comparison of a success rate for the second demand partner to the one or more success rates of one or more other demand partners, wherein references of the second type of reference are telephonic references and correspond to a second type of tracking mechanism to track telephonic communications; and

establish via a connection server of the server system, a media connection over a data communication network to connect a customer and an advertiser of a listing, wherein the media connection does not go through the platform.