Systems and methods to provide voice connections via local telephone numbers

• US 9,317,855 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2007
• Issued: 04/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thryv, Inc. (Mudrick Capital Management LP)
• Original Assignee: YellowPages.com LLC (Mudrick Capital Management LP)
• Inventors: Altberg, Ebbe, Crothers, Christopher Scott, Faber, Scott, Hirson, Ron, Manca, Paul G., Van Der Linden, Sean
• Primary Examiner(s): Alvarez, Raquel
• Application Number:
  US11/778,878
• Publication Number:
  US 20080097845A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,199 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14.61, 705/14.4, 705/14.49, 705/14.54, 705/14.55, 705/14.58, 705/14.67, 705/14.72, 705/14.73
• 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 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0264 based upon schedule
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• 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 15/56 for VoIP communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8033 location-dependent, e.g. business or home
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/003 Click to dial services

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses to dynamically allocate location dependent telephone numbers to facilitate voice connections between people. One embodiment includes: responsive to a request from a user, selecting a telephone number from a plurality of telephone numbers of a connection server to match a location indicator of the request; embedding the telephone number in an advertisement, the telephone number to be used by the user to initiate a telephone call to the connection server for further connection to an advertiser of the advertisement; and providing the advertisement with the telephone number of the connection server as a response to the request. In one embodiment, responsive to receiving the telephone call at the telephone number of the connection server from the user, whether to play a prompt message to the user is determined based at least in part on statistic data about telephone calls collected at the connection server.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

storing by a server system a plurality of advertisements in association with respective specifications of respective geographic areas of service in a database of the server system;

processing, by the server system, a transmission from an end-user device associated with a user to facilitate a user interface presented with an application of the end-user device, the transmission corresponding to a request for an advertisement from the user made with the user interface, the transmission comprising query information;

in response to the request from the user;

determining, by the server system, a location indicator relating to the request, the determining comprising;

processing the query information to identify whether the query information comprises a location search criterion;

consequent to identifying that the query information comprises the location search criterion, basing the location indicator at least partially on the location search criterion;

consequent to identifying that the query information does not comprise the location search criterion, estimating the location indicator based at least partially on processing source information about the request;

searching by the server system the database to identity a first advertisement based at least in part on the query information and the location indicator, the location indicator corresponding to one or more specifications of a first geographic area of service associated with the first advertisement;

generating by the server system a second advertisement based at least in part on the first advertisement stored in association with the one or more specifications of the first geographic area of service, the generating comprising;

dynamically allocating, by the server system, a telephone number of a connection server of the server system to the second advertisement from a plurality of telephone numbers stored by a database server of the server system, such that the telephone number is a local telephone number with respect to a location corresponding to the location indicator and the first geographic area of service associated with the first advertisement, wherein the plurality of telephone numbers each correspond to one of a plurality of different locations;

embedding, by the server system, the telephone number in the second advertisement, the telephone number used by the user to initiate a telephone call to the connection server for further connection to an advertiser of the second advertisement; and

transmitting, by the server system, the second advertisement with the telephone number of the connection server as a response to the request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location indicator comprises a location search criterion submitted by the user as part of the request.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the location indicator of the request based on an identifier of the user from whom the request is received.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the identifier of the user includes one of a phone number of the user, an Internet address of the user, and a member identification of the user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the location indication of the request based on a location of a wireless access point used by the user to submit the request.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving the telephone call at the telephone number of the connection server from the user, determining whether to play a prompt message to the user based at least in part on statistical data about telephone calls collected at the connection provider server.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the statistical data includes a number of calls connected to the advertiser within a predetermined period of time;

and the method further comprising;

playing the prompt message to the user in the telephone call when the number of calls is below a threshold within the predetermined period of time.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the statistical data includes a number of abnormal calls connected to the advertiser within a predetermined period of time.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the statistical data includes a number of calls received from the user within a predetermined period of time;

and the method further comprises;

playing the prompt message to the user when the number of calls received from the user within the predetermined period of time is above a threshold;

connecting the telephone call to an interactive voice response system for an input from the user; and

in response to an input received via the interactive voice response system, further connecting the telephone call to the advertiser.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the presentations of the advertisement are through a specific media channel among a plurality of media channels in which the advertisement is presented.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving the telephone call at the telephone number of the connection provider server from the user, determining whether to play a prompt message to the user based at least in part on whether a valid telephone number of the user can be determined using an automatic number identification service; and

playing a prompt message to the user in the telephone call to terminate the telephone call when no valid telephone number of the user can be determined from the automatic number identification service.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving the telephone call at the telephone number of the connection provider server from the user, determining whether to play a prompt message to the user based at least in part on a preference received from the user prior to the telephone call.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the connection server receiving, via a telecommunication carrier, a first voice over Internet protocol call from the user using the telephone number provided in the advertisement;

determining a telephonic reference of the advertiser based on the telephone number used to receive the first voice over Internet protocol call;

the connection server initiating, via a telecommunication carrier, a second voice over Internet protocol call to the advertiser using the telephonic reference of the advertiser; and

bridging the first voice over Internet protocol call and second voice over Internet protocol calls to connect the user and the advertiser.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the bridging of the first voice over Internet protocol call and the second voice over Internet protocol calls includes establishing a media connection that does not go through the connection provider server to connect the user and the advertiser.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving the telephone call at the telephone number of the connection provider server from the user, customizing a prompt message in the telephone call for the user based on a geographic area represented by the telephone number.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the prompt message identifies the advertiser when a location of the user as determined for the telephone call is outside the geographic area represented by the telephone number.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertiser is charged an advertisement fee responsive to the connection provider server connecting the telephone call of the user to the advertiser;

and the advertisement fee is determined based on a bid price specified by the advertiser.

18. One or more non-transitory, computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by a server system, cause the server system to:

store a plurality of advertisements in association with respective specifications of respective geographic areas of service in a database of the server system;

process a transmission from an end-user device associated with a user to facilitate a user interface presented with an application of the end-user device, the transmission corresponding to a request for an advertisement from the user made with the user interface, the transmission comprising query information;

in response to the request from the user;

determine a location indicator relating to the request, the determining comprising;

processing the query information to identify whether the query information comprises a location search criterion;

consequent to identifying that the query information comprises the location search criterion, basing the location indicator at least partially on the location search criterion;

consequent to identifying that the query information does not comprise the location search criterion, estimating the location indicator based at least partially on processing source information about the request;

search the database to identity a first advertisement based at least in part on the query information and the location indicator, the location indicator corresponding to one or more specifications of a first geographic area of service associated with the first advertisement;

generate a second advertisement based at least in part on the first advertisement stored in association with the one or more specifications of the first geographic area of service, the generating comprising;

dynamically allocating a telephone number of a connection server of a server system to the second advertisement from a plurality of telephone numbers stored by a database server of the server system, such that the telephone number is a local telephone number with respect to a location corresponding to the location indicator and the first geographic area of service associated with the first advertisement, wherein the plurality of telephone numbers each correspond to one of a plurality of different locations;

embeding the telephone number in the second advertisement, the telephone number used by the user to initiate a telephone call to the connection server for further connection to an advertiser of the second advertisement; and

transmit the second advertisement with the telephone number of the connection server as a response to the request.

19. A system, comprising:

a server system comprising a connection server, a database server, a database, memory storing instructions, one or more servers coupled with the memory to execute the instructions, the instructions configured to instruct the one or more servers to;

store a plurality of advertisements in association with respective specifications of respective geographic areas of service in the database;

process a transmission from an end-user device associated with a user to facilitate a user interface presented with an application of the end-user device, the transmission corresponding to a request for an advertisement from the user made with the user interface, the transmission comprising query information;

in response to the request from the user;

determine a location indicator relating to the request, the determining comprising;

processing the query information to identify whether the query information comprises a location search criterion;

consequent to identifying that the query information comprises the location search criterion, basing the location indicator at least partially on the location search criterion;

consequent to identifying that the query information does not comprise the location search criterion, estimating the location indicator based at least partially on processing source information about the request;

search the database to identity a first advertisement based at least in part on the query information and the location indicator, the location indicator corresponding to one or more specifications of a first geographic area of service associated with the first advertisement;

generate a second advertisement based at least in part on the first advertisement stored in association with the one or more specifications of the first geographic area of service, the generating comprising;

dynamically allocating a telephone number of the connection server to the second advertisement from a plurality of telephone numbers stored by the database server, such that the telephone number is a local telephone number with respect to a location corresponding to the location indicator and the first geographic area of service associated with the first advertisement, wherein the plurality of telephone numbers each correspond to one of a plurality of different locations;

embeding the telephone number in the second advertisement, the telephone number used by the user to initiate a telephone call to the connection server for further connection to an advertiser of the second advertisement; and

transmit the second advertisement with the telephone number of the connection server as a response to the request.