Methods and apparatuses for pay for deal advertisements

• US 9,118,778 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2012
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2003
• 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, Lyon, Ben Harris, Manca, Paul G.
• Primary Examiner(s): VANDERHORST, MARIA VICTORIA
• Application Number:
  US13/421,785
• Publication Number:
  US 20120179524A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,258 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 30/0242 Determining effectiveness of advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0246 Traffic
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0274 Split fees
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 379/90 Internet, e.g. Internet phone, webphone, internet-based telephony

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for advertising where the advertisement performance is determined via tracking the deals made as a result of communication leads generated from the advertisements. One embodiment includes: providing an advertisement containing a communication reference to a customer on behalf of a party; providing a connection via the reference for real time communications between the customer and the party; and charging an advertisement fee in response to an action of a predetermined type being performed by the customer (or an agreement between the customer and the party being reached) as a result of the real time communications.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing, by a computing device, an advertisement to a customer on behalf of an advertising party, the advertisement comprising a communication reference;

establishing, by the computing device via the communication reference presented in the advertisement, a connection for real time communications between the customer and the advertising party;

monitoring, by the computing device, at least a portion of the real time communications between the customer and the advertising party transmitted via the connection established via the communication reference presented in the advertisement;

determining, by the computing device based on at least the portion of the real time communications between the customer and the advertising party that is monitored by the computing device, whether or not a deal between the customer and the advertising party has been reached; and

in response to a determination that the deal between the customer and the advertising party has been reached based on at least the portion of the real time communications between the customer and the advertising party over the connection, charging, by the computing device, the advertising party an advertisement fee for the advertisement to the customer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the connection comprises a connection for real time two-way voice communications.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the communication reference comprises at least one of a phone number without an extension, a phone number with an extension, a session initiation protocol address, a member identifier of an instant messaging network, and/or a click-to-call reference.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

establishing, via a communication network, a phone connection with the customer through the communication reference;

identifying, via the computing device, the advertising party based on the communication reference through which the phone connection is established; and

bridging, via the communication network, the phone connection to the advertising party.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein establishing the phone connection comprises a connection provider communicating with the advertising party in voice over Internet protocol for the phone connection with the customer.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein bridging the phone connection to the advertising party further comprises:

the connection provider communicating, via the communication network, with a third party in voice over Internet protocol for a separate call to the advertising party to which the phone connection is bridged.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein a first virtual softphone at the third party corresponds to the customer;

a second virtual softphone at the third party corresponds to the advertising party to which the phone connection is bridged; and

bridging the phone connection to the advertising party further comprises;

directing, via the communication network, the first and second virtual softphones to establish a media connection wherein call signaling between the first and second virtual softphones goes through the connection provider only after bridging the phone connection to the advertising party.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the advertisement comprises providing, via the computing device, the advertisement using one of a web site, a search result, a banner, a billboard, a printed medium, a broadcasting medium, or an electronic message.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a deal comprises at least one of a purchase request from the customer, an order from the customer, a transaction, an electronic payment, a payment via an interactive voice response system, a payment via a wireless device, a consent of the customer to release information to the advertising party, a submission of information from the customer, and a selection of a portion of a web page by the customer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertisement fee is a predetermined fee independent of a duration of the connection.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertisement fee comprises a percentage of revenue generated from a transaction as a result of the deal.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the deal comprises the customer paying the advertising party an amount for a purchase resulting from the real time communications.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the transaction comprises the advertising party paying the customer an amount for an acquisition of one of information, a product or a service resulting from the real time communications.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertisement fee is based on a bid price of one of the advertising party or the customer.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion of the real time communications comprises at least one dual-tone multi frequency signal from the customer.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the charging the advertisement fee comprises charging the advertising party at least a portion of the advertisement fee.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein a telecommunication service provider provides the connection for real time communications between the customer and the advertising party;

and the charging the advertisement fee comprises charging the telecommunication service provider at least a portion of the advertisement fee.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the advertisement is provided in response to a request from a mobile device;

and the communication reference is used to request the connection through the telecommunication service provider.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

instructing, via the computing device, the telecommunication service provider to bill one of the advertising party or the customer a fee for a transaction as a result of the real time communications.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

instructing, via the computing device, the telecommunication service provider to credit one of the advertising party or the customer a fee for a transaction as a result of the real time communications.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the mobile device comprises a cellular phone.

22. A non-transitory machine readable medium tangibly storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method, the method comprising:

providing, by the computing device, an advertisement to a customer on behalf of an advertising party, the advertisement comprising a communication reference;

establishing, by the computing device via the communication reference presented in the advertisement, a connection for real time communications between the customer and the advertising party;

monitoring, by the computing device, at least a portion of the real time communications between the customer and the advertising party transmitted via the connection established via the communication reference presented in the advertisement;

determining, by the computing device based on at least the portion of the real time communications between the customer and the advertising party that is monitored by the computing device, whether or not a deal between the customer and the advertising party has been reached; and

in response to a determination that the deal between the customer and the advertising party has been reached based on at least the portion of the real time communications between the customer and the advertising party over the connection, charging by the computing device, the advertising party an advertisement fee for the advertisement to the customer.

23. A system, comprising:

at least one processor; and

memory storing instructions configured to instruct the at least one processor to;

provide an advertisement to a customer on behalf of an advertising party, the advertisement comprising a communication reference;

establish, using the communication reference presented in the advertisement, a connection for real time communications between the customer and the advertising party;

monitor, by the computing device, at least a portion of the real time communications between the customer and the advertising party transmitted via the connection established via the communication reference presented in the advertisement;

determine, by the computing device based on at least the portion of the real time communications between the customer and the advertising party that is monitored by the computing device, whether or not a deal between the customer and the advertising party has been reached; and

in response to a determination that the deal between the customer and the advertising party has been reached based on at least the portion of the real time communications between the customer and the advertising party over the connection, charge the advertising party an advertisement fee for the advertisement to the customer.