Methods and apparatuses for offline selection of pay-per-call advertisers

• US 9,203,974 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2006
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• 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
• Primary Examiner(s): VANDERHORST, MARIA VICTORIA
• Application Number:
  US11/536,616
• Publication Number:
  US 20070121844A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,351 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• 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 15/06 Recording class or number of calling , i.e. A-party or called party , i.e. B-party
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/08 Metering calls to called party , i.e. B-party charged for the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/09 Third party charged communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/46 Real-time negotiation between users and providers or operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/51 for resellers, retailers or service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/68 Payment of value-added services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/805 Bidding
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8207 Time based data metric aspects, e.g. VoIP or circuit switched packet data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/85 characterised by the type of condition triggering a notification
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/851 Determined tariff
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/858 Request users acknowledgement prior to use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0164 Billing record, e.g. Call Data Record [CDR], Toll Ticket[TT], Automatic Message Accounting [AMA], Call Line Identifier [CLI], details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0168 On line or real-time flexible customization or negotiation according to wishes of subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0192 Sponsored, subsidised calls via advertising, e.g. calling cards with ads or connecting to special ads, free calling time by purchasing goods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0196 Payment of value-added services, mainly when their charges are added on the telephone bill, e.g. payment of non-telecom services, e-commerce, on-line banking
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/202 : VoIP; Packet switched telephony
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/54 : Resellers-retail or service providers billing, e.g. agreements with telephone service operator, activation, charging/recharging of accounts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/56 : On line or real-time flexible agreements between service providers and telecoms operators
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/62 : Called party billing, e.g. reverse billing, freephone, collect call, 0800 or 0900
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/66 : Third party billing, i.e. third party can also be the predetermined telephone line of the caller if he is calling from another telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7457 : Biding
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7813 : Time based data, e.g. VoIP or circuit switched packet data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/815 : Notification when a specific condition, service or event is met
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8183 : Request users acknowledgement prior to use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/2218 : Call detail recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 : Advertisement messages

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses to connect telephone calls and track information about the telephone calls resulting from advertisements for groups of advertisers. In one embodiment, a method includes: receiving a telephone call at a second telephone number from a caller; connecting the telephone call to a first telephone number of a first entity who provides a price bid for a phone lead to be directed to the first telephone number of the first entity; where the first entity is to be billed for the telephone call connected to the first telephone number according to the price bid in response to a determination that the telephone is not a repeated telephone call from the caller to the first entity within a time period.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, via a computing device, a plurality of price bids from each of a plurality of entities;

presenting, via the computing device, a second telephone number in an advertisement on behalf of the plurality of entities;

receiving, via the computing device, a telephone call at the second telephone number from a caller;

in response to receiving the telephone call;

processing a set of status information corresponding to the plurality of entities, the set of status information comprising status indicators each indicating whether a respective entity of the plurality of entities is currently available to talk to the caller, wherein the status indicators comprise a first status indicator indicating that a first entity of the plurality of entities is not currently available to talk to the caller;

based at least in part on the set of status information, excluding the first entity from a subset of the plurality of entities and identifying one or more entities from the plurality of entities that are currently available to talk to the caller, the one or more entities corresponding to the subset of the plurality of entities that excludes the first entity; and

presenting, via the telephone call, respective information relating to each of the one or more available entities, wherein the respective information relating to each of the one or more available entities is presented ranked in an order determined by the respective price bid of the respective entity;

receiving a search request from the caller during the telephone call, the search request including one or more criteria specified by the caller to search for a suitable one of the plurality of entities;

performing a search according to the search request;

presenting a result of the search to the caller, the result comprising listings for at least some of the one or more available entities including a first entity;

receiving, via the telephone call, a selection of a first listing from the result by the caller that corresponds to a first telephone number of the first entity of the one or more available entities; and

in response to the selection by the caller, connecting the telephone call to the first telephone number of the first entity.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the telephone call is a repeated telephone call from the caller to the first entity within a time period; and

billing the first entity for the telephone call according to the respective price bid associated with the first entity in response to a determination that the telephone call is not a repeated telephone call from the caller to the first entity within the time period.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the advertisement advertises a common service provided by one or more entities of the plurality of entities in a specific geographic area, and wherein the time period is predetermined to be one of an hour, a day, or a week.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an input, via the telephone call, that includes an indication of a geographical area of interest to the caller and one or more of the plurality of entities that service the geographical area of interest to the caller.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a geographical location of the caller from the telephone call to determine a geographical area of interest to the caller.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining the geographical location of the caller is based on at least one of an automatic number identification service, a cellular positioning system, or a satellite positioning system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the telephone call is connected to the first telephone number without revealing the first telephone number to the caller.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising excluding, from the presentation to the user via the telephone call, information related to an entity of the plurality of entities that is not available to talk to the caller.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a request from the caller via the telephone call, presenting information related to an entity of the plurality of entities that is not available to talk to the caller.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising collecting availability information for one or more of the plurality of entities, wherein the identification of the one or more available entities is based at least partially on the collected availability information.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to:

receive a plurality of price bids from each of a plurality of entities;

present a second telephone number in an advertisement on behalf of the plurality receive, via the computing device, a telephone call at the second telephone number from a caller;

in response to receiving the telephone call;

process a set of status information corresponding to the plurality of entities, the set of status information comprising status indicators each indicating whether a respective entity of the plurality of entities is currently available to talk to the caller, wherein the status indicators comprise a first status indicator indicating that a first entity of the plurality of entities is not currently available to talk to the caller;

based at least in part on the set of status information, exclude the first entity from a subset of the plurality of entities and identify one or more entities from the plurality of entities that are available to talk to the caller, the one or more entities corresponding to the subset of the plurality of entities that excludes the first entity; and

present, via the telephone call, respective information relating to each of the one or more available entities, wherein the respective information relating to each of the one or more available entities is presented ranked in an order determined by the respective price bid of the respective entity;

receive a search request from the caller during the telephone call, the search request including one or more criteria specified by the caller to search for a suitable one of the plurality of entities;

perform a search according to the search request;

present a result of the search to the caller, the result comprising listings for at least some of the one or more available entities including a first entity;

receive, via the telephone call, a selection of a first listing from the result by the caller that corresponds to a first telephone number of the first entity; and

in response to the selection by the caller, connect the telephone call to the first telephone number of the first entity.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:

determine whether the telephone call is a repeated telephone call from the caller to the first entity within a time period; and

bill the first entity of the plurality of entities for the telephone call according to the respective price bid associated with the first entity in response to a determination that the telephone call is not a repeated telephone call from the caller to the first entity within the time period.

13. A system, comprising:

at least one processor; and

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

receive a plurality of price bids from each of plurality of entities;

present a second telephone number in an advertisement on behalf of the plurality of entities;

receive a telephone call at the second telephone number from a caller;

in response to receiving the telephone call;

process a set of status information corresponding to the plurality of entities, the set of status information comprising status indicators each indicating whether a respective entity of the plurality of entities is currently available to talk to the caller, wherein the status indicators comprise a first status indicator indicating that a first entity of the plurality of entities is not currently available to talk to the caller;

based at least in part on the set of status information, exclude the first entity from a subset of the plurality of entities and identify one or more entities from the plurality of entities that are available to talk to the caller, the one or more entities corresponding to the subset of the plurality of entities that excludes the first entity; and

present, via the telephone call, respective information relating to each of the one or more available entities, wherein the respective information relating to each of the one or more available entities is presented ranked in an order determined by the respective price bid of the respective entity;

receive a search request from the caller during the telephone call, the search request including one or more criteria specified by the caller to search for a suitable one of the plurality of entities;

perform a search according to the search request;

present a result of the search to the caller, the result comprising listings for at least some of the one or more available entities including a first entity;

receive, via the telephone call, a selection of a first listing from the result by the caller that corresponds to a first telephone number of the first entity; and

in response to the selection by the caller, connect the telephone call to the first telephone number of the first entity.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the instructions are further configured to instruct the at least one processor to:

determine whether the telephone call is a repeated telephone call from the caller to the first entity of the plurality of entities within the time period; and

bill the first entity for the telephone call according to the respective price bid associated with the first entity in response to a determination that the telephone call is not a repeated telephone call from the caller to the first entity within the time period.