Granted Patent B2

US 9,183,545 · App. 11/467,129 · Granted Nov 10, 2015

Abstract

Claims (56)

1. A method, comprising:

establishing, by a server system, a communication connection between caller and a callee based at least in part on a Voice over Internet Protocol connection and via a communication reference embedded in an advertisement that is presented on behalf of the callee;

processing identification information received by the server system to determine an attribute of the caller based at least in part on the identification information, the attribute of the caller based at least in part on an identity of the caller or an anonymity of the caller;

processing by the server system an indication of a previously stored preference associated with the callee pertaining to charging callers and/or not charging callers;

based at least in part on i) the attribute of the caller and ii) the indication of the previously stored preference associated with the callee, determining by the server system whether to initiate an authentication process to authenticate the caller by determining whether a first condition exists or a second condition exists, where:

upon determining existence of the first condition based at least in part on i) the attribute of the caller and ii) the indication of the previously stored preference associated with the callee, the server system initiates the authentication process to authenticate the caller;

upon determining existence of the second condition based least in part on i) the attribute of the caller and ii) the indication of the previously stored preference associated with the callee, the server system does not charge the caller for a first period of time;

billing, by the server system, the callee for the advertisement in response to the communication connection being established via the communication reference;

monitoring, by the server system, the communication connection between the caller and the callee to detect a first pre-defined indication provided by the caller;

charging, by the server system, the caller, on behalf of the callee, for communications with the callee over the communication connection in response to a detected occurrence of the first pre-defined indication;

processing, by the server system, a second pre-defined indication from a user device of the callee during the communication connection, wherein the second pre-defined indication corresponds to a user input made via a user interface of the callee; and

stopping, by the server system, the charging of the caller for communication time over the communication connection in response to a detected occurrence of the second pre-defined indication provided by the callee.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the caller is not charged a fee for the communication connection between the caller and the callee before the detected occurrence of the first pre-defined indication.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

assigning to the service provider the real time communication reference for inclusion in the second advertisement; and

billing the service provider for the second advertisement based on the real time communication connection directed to the service provider via the real time communication reference.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the real time communication connection comprises a telephone call.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

receiving the telephone call made via the real time communication reference from a prospective customer; and

determining whether to connect the telephone call to the service provider based at least partially on the indication of the at least one first period of time.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of the at least one first period of time specifies a number of hours in a day.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of the at least one first period of time specifies a number of periods in a number of days.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of the at least one first period of time is specified on a periodic basis.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a message from the service provider during a first time period that is specified by the indication of the at least one first period of time, the message indicating that the service provider is not to receive real time communications generated from advertising in a remaining portion of a first time period; and

managing delivery of a third advertisement for the service provider further according to the message.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the indication of the at least one first period of time indicates time periods during which the service provider is not to receive real time communications generated from advertising; and said managing delivery of the advertisement comprises determining whether to deliver the third advertisement based at least partially on a relation between a time instant of advertising opportunity and the indication of the at least one first period of time.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein said managing delivery of the third advertisement comprises determining a priority of the advertisement for presentation at a time instance of opportunity for advertising.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one first period of time corresponds to a schedule of business hours of the service provider.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication is received via one of a computer server hosting an Internet website or a telephone line by a live operator.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the service provider is billed for the advertisement according to real time communications connected to the service provider via the advertisement.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one second period of time is calculated by shifting the at least one first period of time.

16. A system, comprising:

a server system comprising one or more servers and storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more servers, cause the server system to:

transmit a first transmission via a network to a first end-user device associated with a service provider to facilitate a user interface that prompts specification of at least one first period of time during which the service provider is available to provide services to customers via real time communication connections;

process a second transmission received from the via the network from the first end-user device to identify an indication of the at least one first period of time during which the service provider is available to provide services to customers via real time communication connections;

calculate at least one second period of time during which an advertisement of the service provider is available for delivery responsive to search requests, where the at least one second period of time is calculated based at least in part on the at least one first period of time, wherein the at least one first period of time during which the service provider is indicated as available to provide services via real time communications and the at least one second period of time are at least partly different in time;

process a third transmission received via the network, the third transmission corresponding to a key word search;

based at least in part on the third transmission, identify, in response to the key word search, the advertisement of the service provider stored by the server system, wherein the advertisement is identified for potential delivery in a search result responsive to the key word search;

prior to delivery of the search result responsive to the key word search, determine, in response to a search request, whether to deliver the advertisement for the service provider, based at least in part on whether a time of delivery of the advertisement is within the at least one second period of time during which the advertisement of the service provider is available for delivery responsive to search requests;

consequent to a determination that the time of delivery of the advertisement is within the at least one second period of time, cause delivery of a second advertisement corresponding to the advertisement, the delivery responsive to the key word search during the at least one second period of time, the second advertisement comprising a real time communication reference which when used to request a real time communication connection facilitates a Voice over Internet Protocol connection; and

process a fourth transmission received by the server system from a second end-user device and made via the real time communication reference, and, responsive to the fourth transmission, establishing the real time communication connection.

17. The system of claim 16 , further comprising:

a communication handling module;

wherein the advertisement contains a real time communication reference which when used to request the real time communication connection causes the communication handling module to determine a connection to the service provider.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the real time communication reference comprises a telephone number which when dialed causes the communication handling module to receive a call and further connect the call to the service provider if the telephone number is dialed within a time period as specified by the indication of the at least one second period of time.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the service provider is billed for the advertisement based on a number of calls connected to the service provider as a result of the advertisement.

20. One or more non-transitory, computer-readable medium having stored thereon a set of instructions which, when executed by a server system, cause the server system to:

transmit a first transmission via a network to a first end-user device associated with a service provider to facilitate a user interface that prompts specification of at least one first period of time during which the service provider is available to provide services to customers via real time communication connections;

process a second transmission received from the via the network from the first end-user device to identify an indication of the at least one first period of time during which the customer can communicate with the service provider to establish the real time communication link with the service provider for the provision of services to customers via real time communication connections;

calculate at least one second period of time during which an advertisement of the service provider is available for delivery responsive to search requests, where the at least one second period of time is calculated based at least partly on the at least one first period of time during which the service provider is indicated as available to provide services via real time communications, wherein the at least one first period of time and the at least one second period of time are at least partly different in time;

process a third transmission received via the network, the third transmission corresponding to a key word search;

based at least in part on the third transmission, identify, in response to a key word search, the advertisement of the service provider stored by the server system, wherein the advertisement is identified for potential delivery in a search result responsive to the key word search;

prior to delivery of the search result responsive to the key word search, determine whether to deliver the advertisement for the service provider in the search result, based at least partially on whether of delivery of the advertisement is within the at least one second period of time during which the advertisement of the service provider is indicated as available for delivery responsive to search requests;

consequent to a determination that the time of delivery of the advertisement is within the at least one second period of time, cause delivery of a second advertisement corresponding to the advertisement, the delivery responsive to the key word search during the at least one second period of time, the second advertisement comprising a real time communication reference which when used to request a real time communication connection facilitates a Voice over Internet Protocol connection; and

processing a fourth transmission received by the server system from a second end-user device and made via the real time communication reference, and, responsive to the fourth transmission, establishing the real time communication connection.

Assignments (36)