CN1839405A - A method and apparatus to dynamically allocate and recycle telephone numbers in a call-tracking system - Google Patents

Abstract

In one embodiment, the invention provides a method. The method includes dynamically allocating a telephone number to an advertisement on a just-in-time basis; and if the telephone number is not called for a predefined period of time then unallocating the telephone number.

Description

Method and apparatus for dynamically allocating and reusing telephone numbers within a call tracking system

Cross References to Related Applications

This patent application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application No. 60/568,156, filed May 4, 2004, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

technical field

The present invention relates to telephone call tracking. In particular, the invention relates to tracking telephone calls for the purpose of measuring call activity and billing directories and their advertisers according to this activity.

Background technique

Performance-based advertising refers to advertising in which the advertiser pays only for measurable events that are a direct result of the consumer viewing the advertisement. For example, paid inclusion advertising is a form of performance-based search advertising. With paid inclusion, the ad is included within the search results page for a keyword search. Each selection ("click") of an ad from the results page is a measurable event for which the advertiser will be paid. In other words, the advertiser's payment is based on each click (per click).

Another form of performance-based advertising includes paid placement advertising. Paid placement ads are the same as paid inclusion ads in that the payment is on a per-click basis. However, with paid placement ads, the advertiser ranks a particular ad so that it appears or is placed in a particular location, such as at the top of a search engine results page, thereby increasing the ad's likelihood of being selected.

The two forms of performance-based advertising, paid-to-place and partially-included, suffer from the limitation that advertisers or participants in the paid-to-place or pay-to-include advertising programs have a network presence in the form of web pages. However, there are advertisers who either (a) do not have a web page or (b) have a web page that does not effectively capture the value of web visitors, and therefore are unable or unwilling to participate in performance-based advertising as described above.

Contents of the invention

In one embodiment, a method and apparatus for providing pay-per-call performance-based advertising is provided. In this method, a phone number is dynamically allocated for advertising on a just-in-time basis, and if the phone number is not displayed or called for a predetermined period of time, the phone is deallocated and reused Number.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 shows how a customer and an advertiser interact with each other using a pay-to-place or pay-to-include ad model according to the prior art;

Figure 2 illustrates the interaction between a customer and an advertiser according to one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 3 shows a flowchart of operations performed according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 shows the high-level functional presentation of the system according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 shows the account creation and management module of the system in more detail;

Fig. 6 shows the advertisement publication (publication) module of the system in more detail;

Figure 7 shows the call management module of the system in more detail;

Figure 8A illustrates an example of a user interface that may be presented to a user during advertisement creation, according to one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 8B illustrates an activity management interface presented to a user according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 9 illustrates an example of a search engine results page including generated advertisements according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 10 shows an example of an email alert sent to an advertiser when a call is generated, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 shows a high-level hardware block diagram of a system for implementing the system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 12-19 present the process of tracking/crediting a demand partner (demand partner) according to an embodiment of the present invention;

20 represents a flow diagram presenting the process of determining a demand partner credited for serving an advertisement that generated a phone call;

Figure 21 represents a flow diagram presenting the process of assigning an advertiser/advertisement's telephone number to multiple demand partners;

Figure 22 represents a flow chart representing one embodiment of reusing a phone number;

Figure 23 provides a flow diagram presenting an additional process for assigning a telephone number according to one embodiment; and

Figure 24 represents a flow diagram presenting the process of maintaining a separate pool of unique phone numbers, according to one embodiment.

Detailed ways

In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the invention.

"One embodiment" or "an embodiment" in the specification means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic presented in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Additionally, various features are present that some embodiments present but others do not. Similarly, various requirements are presented that may be requirements of some embodiments but not others.

Figure 1 shows how a customer and an advertiser interact with each other according to the prior art pay-to-place and pay-to-include advertising models. Referring to FIG. 1 , a number of clients indicated at 10 are connected via communication paths 12 to a wide area network (WAN) 14 such as the Internet. Advertiser 16 is connected to WAN 14 via communication path 18. Communication paths 12 and 18 may support the TCP/IP protocol in one embodiment. Each advertiser 16 has a web page 20 that can be included in the results pages of a user-initiated keyword search for a client 10 in accordance with the pay-to-place and pay-to-include advertising models described above. The search is performed by an online search engine 19 . According to a pay-to-place or pay-to-include model, the web page 20 of the advertiser 16 is included within the results page compiled by the search engine 19 and sent via the communication path 12 to the client 10 who initiated the search, thereby requesting the user of the client 10 of the search Select or view page 20. As noted above, if an advertiser 16 does not have a web page 20, or does not have a web page 20 of value that can effectively capture web visitors, then at present, such an advertiser will not be able to participate or effectively participate in performance-based selling Examples include paid placement and paid inclusion programs.

Furthermore, the techniques disclosed herein are not limited to publishing or serving advertisements to advertisers 16 via web pages. Thus, in an alternative embodiment, the directory may be used to publish or provide unique telephone numbers assigned to advertisers without creating a web page for the advertiser. The Directory can be an existing Directory or a new Directory. The placement or ranking of telephone numbers within the directory can be controlled by the ranking techniques described below.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , a method of allowing an advertiser to participate in a pay-per-call advertising program without requiring the advertiser to have a network presence is shown, according to one embodiment. It can be seen that the client 10 is connected to the WAN 14 via the communication path 12 as previously described. However, the communication path 18 between the advertiser 16 and the WAN 14 is completely optional. In other words, the techniques of the present invention allow advertisers 16 to participate in performance-based advertising programs without requiring advertisers 16 to be connected to WAN 14 via communication path 18. In fact, an advertiser 16 need not have a web page 20 in accordance with the techniques disclosed herein. Alternatively, an optional non-network-based communication path 22 is provided between the client 10 and the advertiser 16 in accordance with the techniques disclosed herein. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the non-network-based communication path 22 may be provided by a conventional telephone network. Alternatively, non-network-based communication path 22 may utilize Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to connect customers through switches of network 14 and switches of the public telephone network in a manner that does not require advertiser 16 to be connected to network 14. . Additionally, advertisers may be notified via other media channels such as email, chat, instant messaging, and the like.

FIG. 3 illustrates a technique for establishing the non-network-based communication path 22 of FIG. 2, according to one embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3 , at block 26 an advertiser 16 is assigned a unique telephone number. Thereafter, at block 28, the advertisement associated with the advertiser 16 is provided or posted on behalf of the advertiser 16 on a publication or media channel. Advertisement includes a unique phone number or a reference to that unique phone number. At block 30, telephone calls to the unique telephone number are monitored, as will be explained below. At block 32, as will be explained below, the advertiser is charged based on the activity of telephone calls through the assigned telephone number.

FIG. 4 shows a functional presentation of a system implementing the method of FIG. 3 . Referring to FIG. 4 , the system includes an account creation and management module 34 , an advertisement publication module 36 , a call processing module 38 and an accounting module 40 . In alternative embodiments, the system may include additional, fewer or different modules without departing from the invention.

Elements of the account creation and management module 34 according to one embodiment are shown in more detail in FIG. 5 . Referring to FIG. 5 , the visible account creation and management module 34 includes a user interface module 44 , an advertisement creation module 46 and a fee specification module 48 . User interface module 44 includes logic to present information to and receive information from the user. For example, in one embodiment, user interface module 44 causes a web page such as web page 112 of FIG. 8 to be displayed on the customer's browser.

Ad creation module 46 includes text creation logic 50 . The purpose of the text creation logic 50 is to allow the advertiser 16 or an agent working on behalf of the advertiser 16 to enter text for the advertisement that is ultimately created by the advertisement creation module 46 . To improve understanding of the invention, for the remainder of the description, a local business known as "Burt's Plumbing" will be used as an example of an advertiser who would benefit from the techniques disclosed herein. Burt's Plumbing may or may not have a direct connection to the network 14. If Burt's Plumbing is not directly connected to the network 14, then a representative of Burt's Plumbing (hereinafter referred to as "Burt") will have to access a computer not connected to the network 14 in order to view the web page 112 of Figure 8A. For example, Burt may use a friend's computer, a computer at the local library, etc. In another embodiment, a search operator, Internet Yellow Pages provider, or other type of publisher may perform or manage this activity on Burt's behalf. Text creation logic 50 allows Burt to enter text such as "Burt's Plumbing in San Francisco. Check out our special deals" which when presented is included within the ad. Module 46 also includes keyword association logic 52, which allows Burt to enter some keywords, which are then associated with Burt's advertisements. The idea here is that when a customer 10 initiates a search through the search engine 19 using keywords matching one of Burt's entered keywords, then Burt's advertisement will be displayed within the search results. Since Burt's Plumbing is not a national operation or business, Burt ads must be displayed to customers within a specific geographic area. Accordingly, module 46 includes location determination logic 54 that establishes a geographic location association with Burt's advertisement. In one embodiment, location determination logic 54 allows Burt to select a particular geographic location of interest, such as San Francisco, so that Burt's advertisements are only displayed to customers within the San Franciso area.

Module 46 also includes automatic phone number generation logic 56 that automatically generates a unique phone number, maps the unique phone number to Burt's actual phone number, so that Burt's phone will ring when the unique number is called, and the A unique phone number is associated with Burt's ad. In one embodiment, the automatically generated phone number may be a toll-free number. In one embodiment, the phone number may be a local number with the same area code as Burt's actual phone number. In one embodiment, the phone number may be an easily recognizable 800 number modified with a unique extension mapped to Burt's business phone number. For example, in one embodiment, the number may be the number "1-800-YEL-PAGES-1234". The 1234 portion of this 800 number is the only extension that maps to Burt's phone number so that when a Seeker calls the number 1-800-YEL-PAGES-1234, as will be explained in more detail below, the call will be automatically grounded to Burt's Telephone.

In one embodiment, ad creation module 46 automatically inserts Burt's unique phone number assigned to Burt's ad. Optionally, the click-to-call logic 58 may be invoked to generate a button or clickable phone number that is automatically inserted into Burt's advertisement so that when the user operating customer 10 selects or clicks on the button or phone number, a phone call to Burt is automatically initiated Number of phone calls.

Module 46 also includes on/off logic 60 that allows Burt to selectively turn advertisements on or off. Optionally, on/off logic 60 allows Burt to assign an active or inactive status to a particular ad. When an ad is turned off or marked as inactive, it may be considered at least temporarily withdrawn from the ad campaign and no longer published, eg, by the search engine 19 . Alternatively, only advertisements that are opened or have an "active" status are published according to the techniques disclosed herein.

Module 46 includes smart connect logic 62 that allows calls to multiple phone numbers to be automatically routed. For example, Burt may include a primary phone number, and one or more secondary phone numbers to be associated with its advertisement. Thus, in one embodiment, the smart connect logic 62 first routes calls to Burt's primary phone number, and if a connection is not made, then cycles through the list of Burt's secondary phone numbers until a connection is made.

Module 46 also includes set call logic 64 which allows the Seeker to enter a time at which the Seeker would like to speak with Burt. The system then contacts Burt to set up the call with the Seeker. Burt can be contacted in a variety of ways, eg by faxing Burt, emailing Burt, calling Burt, etc., to alert him to the phone call he has placed. In alternative embodiments, additional, less, or different logic may be included within the ad creation module without departing from this invention.

The fee specification module 48 allows Burt to select a particular model and various parameters associated with billing. Module 48 includes flat fee logic 66 that presents Burt, via user interface module 44, with an option that, if selected, will be charged on a flat fee basis for each call received within a particular directory category or subcategory. Call Burt for accounting. Module 48 also includes Bid for Placement logic 68 that presents Burt through user interface module 44 with an option that, if selected, will be billed on the basis of Bid for Placement as described above. Logic 68 supports proxy bidding, and max/min bidding.

Module 48 also includes spend level logic 70 that allows Burt to specify daily/weekly/monthly spend levels. This specified spending level basically defines the budget for each time period, so that if the budget is exceeded for a certain period of time, Burt's advertisement will be automatically marked as inactive or closed for the remainder of the time period. The system notifies Burt of this activity and offers Burt the option to reactivate his ad by injecting supplementary funds into his account.

In one embodiment, billing module 40 includes logic to automatically forego billing for referrals (calls) from Seekers/Customers who have recently called Burt. For example, if a customer calls one day, and then dials the same number a day later to make a subsequent call, the system will automatically waive the charge for the second call because the lead has already been charged. Thus, the advertiser (Burt) does not have to worry about the consumer using the advertised phone number more than once and incurring multiple charges. In one embodiment, the system of the present invention may be configured to waive charges for referrals to consumers who have called a particular advertiser within a specified number of days. In alternative embodiments, additional, less, or different logic may be included without departing from the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the elements of the advertisement publishing module 36 are shown in greater detail. It can be seen from the figure that the module 36 includes an advertisement presentation machine 74 and an advertisement syndicate engine 76 . The purpose of the advertisement rendering engine 74 is to automatically render Burt's advertisements on a particular channel. In some embodiments, ad presentation engine 74 displays campaign management interface 113 (see FIG. 8B ) to the advertiser. Interface 113 allows the advertiser to select the channels such as SBC, QwestDex, Ingenio and Classifieds in which the advertisement will be served/published. Interface 113 allows the advertiser to specify the maximum bid amount that the advertiser is willing to pay to serve an advertisement using the selected channel and category. FIG. 9 shows an example of a web page 112 that includes advertisements rendered/served in accordance with the techniques described herein. In one embodiment, this published channel may be a web-based published channel operated by the operator of the system of the present invention.

Alternatively, the simultaneous publishing engine 76 may be used to simultaneously publish Burt's advertisement to multiple third parties that host a publishing channel of Burt's choice. Thus, in one embodiment, the simultaneous publication engine 76 may simultaneously publish Burt's advertisements to third party search engines, Internet Yellow Pages, online directories, and other mediums.

As can be seen in FIG. 6 , ad presentation engine 74 includes per-call pricing logic 78 , campaign history logic 80 , call status logic 82 , connection success logic 84 , manual indexing logic 86 , and randomization logic 88 . Each logic element 78-88 controls the parameters that form the basis of how Burt's advertisement is ultimately rendered. Pricing-per-call logic 78 enables Burt's advertisement to be published on a price-per-call basis. So, for example, if Burt is only willing to pay a small fee per call, then his ad is placed or ranked downwardly within the advertiser's search results page or category. Alternatively, if Burt is willing to pay a higher price per call, place his ad higher on the search results page or within the category. The table below shows how the price-per-call logic 78 ranks or places advertisers according to the bid amount per call that the advertisers are willing to pay.

Placement Advertiser (Bids Per Call)

1 800-349-2398 ($3.88)

2 866-324-3242 ($3.22)

3 800-323-5321 ($2.01)

The activity history logic 80 analyzes the number of calls Burt received over a given period of time, such as the previous day/week/month, and will rank Burt's advertisements within the displayed page according to this activity record. Call state logic 82 checks the state of Burt's advertisement (active or inactive) and selectively publishes Burt's advertisement based on the state. Connection success logic 84 measures the connection success rate of calls to the telephone number assigned to Burt's advertisement and ranks Burt's advertisement within the displayed page according to the connection success rate. For example, if Burt's phone number has a low connection success rate, the logic 84 will rank Burt's ad lower within the posting page. Manual indexing logic 86 allows an operator to manually index or arrange Burt's advertisements within a published page. Random logic 88 allows random ordering or placement of Burt's ads within the results page. In one embodiment, the arrangement of Burt's advertisements within the displayed page is based on any combination of parameters controlled by logic elements 78-88, which may be specified by a third party using the system. In alternative implementations, additional, less, or different logic may be included within the advertisement presentation engine 74 without departing from this invention.

Referring to FIG. 7 , elements within call processing module 38 include call routing engine 92 and call monitoring engine 94 . As can be seen, call routing engine 92 includes redirection logic 96 to redirect telephone calls to the number assigned to Burt's advertisement. The redirection is towards the phone number specified by Burt in creating the ad device using the ad creation module 46 . Call routing engine 92 also includes VoIP logic 98 to route calls to or from customers to the telephone number specified by Burt in the advertisement using VoIP technology.

Call routing engine 92 also includes prompt logic 99 to play a prompt to the caller prior to routing the phone call to Burt's phone number. In one embodiment, prompt logic 99 plays an information prompt to the caller informing the caller of Burt's actual phone number. Thus, the caller can call Burt directly in the future using Burt's real phone number instead of the phone number assigned to Burt by the system. In this case, the system will not bill Burt for the phone call to his actual phone number. In one embodiment, prompt logic 99 may also play an information prompt to Burt informing Burt of the source of the phone call. In some cases, Prompt Logic 00 enables an email or fax alert to be automatically generated and sent to the advertiser, informing the advertiser of the caller's phone number. An example of such an email is shown in FIG. 10 and labeled as 116 . In alternative embodiments, additional, less, or different logic may be included within call routing engine 92 without departing from the invention.

Call monitoring engine 94 includes call number logic 100 to track call numbers generated in response to Burt's advertisements. Call monitoring engine 94 also includes automatic number identification (ANI) logic 102 to automatically identify the single number calling number that called Burt. Call monitoring engine 94 also includes call length logic 104 that monitors the length of each call to Burt. The connection status logic 108 monitors whether the call was successful, received a busy or busy tone, or whether Burt simply did not answer his phone. From the information provided by logic elements 100-106, a report is compiled and can be viewed by Burt. In one embodiment, the report includes the number of calls, the number of calls from a unique phone number, the caller's phone number, the length of each call, and the number of successful calls for which a busy tone was returned or was not answered. Burt can use this report in order to monitor the effectiveness of the advertising campaign and optimize the campaign. In alternative embodiments, call monitoring engine 94 may contain additional, less, or different logic without departing from the invention.

In one embodiment, the advertisement publishing module may publish advertisements on a telephone-based advertising service. For example, advertisements may be delivered via audio to consumers as part of a voice-based portal or phone directory, such as a 411 directory.

Referring to Figure 11, reference numeral 150 generally indicates hardware that may be used to implement the system described above. Hardware 150 generally includes at least one processor 152 coupled to memory 154 . Processor 152 may represent one or more processors (e.g., a microprocessor), and memory 154 may represent a random access memory (RAM) device including the main memory of hardware 150, as well as any secondary levels of memory such as cache memory, memory Volatile or backup memory (such as programmable or flash memory), read-only memory, etc. Additionally, memory 154 is contemplated to include memory physically located elsewhere in hardware 150 , such as any cache memory within processor 152 , as well as any storage capacity used as virtual memory, such as stored on mass storage device 160 .

Hardware 150 also typically receives a number of inputs and outputs for communicating information externally. For interfacing with a user or operator, hardware 150 may include one or more user input devices 156 (e.g., keyboard, mouse, etc.) and display 158 (e.g., cathode ray tube (CRT), monitor, liquid crystal display (LCD) panel ).

For secondary storage, hardware 150 may also include one or more mass storage devices 160, such as floppy disks or other removable disk drives, hard drives, direct access storage devices (DASD), optical drives such as compact disc (CD) drives , Digital Video Disc (DVD) drive, etc.) and/or tape drive, etc. Additionally, hard drive 150 may include interfaces to one or more networks 162 (e.g., local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless network, and/or the Internet, etc.) to allow information exchange with other computers connected to the network. communication. It should be understood that hardware 150 typically includes suitable analog and/or digital interfaces between processor 152 and each of elements 154, 156, 158, and 162 as is known in the art.

The hardware 150 operates under the control of an operating system 164 and executes various computer software applications 166 , elements, programs, objects, modules, etc. (eg, programs or modules that perform the operations described above). In addition, various applications, elements, programs, objects, etc. can also be executed on one or more processors in another computer connected to the hardware 150 via the network 152, for example, in a distributed computing environment, thereby implementing the computer program The processors needed to function can be distributed among multiple computers on the network.

Burt's advertisements are simultaneously published to multiple third parties using the simultaneous publication engine 76, as described above. Additional examples of third parties include companies such as Yahoo! <RTI ID=0.0 ^>(R) ,</RTI> MSN ^(R) , AOL ^(R) , and other similar demand partners. These demand partners (also referred to herein as co-publishing partners) often receive a percentage of the advertising revenue generated via the pay-per-call methods and systems described herein. Thus, as in the example of the table above, the advertiser of placement 1 pays $3.88 for each call received to the phone number 800-349-2398. Now, assume that the call to the advertiser for Placement 1 is due to an advertisement present on the demand partner's web site. Demand partners will get a portion of the $3.88. The methods and systems of the present invention provide multiple embodiments for tracking, monitoring and determining demand partner compensation.

In one embodiment described in the flowchart of FIG. 12 , in process 1202, an advertiser (also referred to herein as a merchant or list) is provided with A separate phone number. As described herein, in various embodiments, telephone number auto-generation logic 56 is used to assign a telephone reference comprising a telephone number and a telephone extension corresponding to the host telephone number.

In one embodiment, an alias phone number is mapped to the advertiser's actual phone number, and calls to this alias are monitored in order to track individual demand partners. Accordingly, in process 1204, billing module 40 tracks the demand partner and/or will charge (or collect from) the advertiser for calls to the advertiser's alias phone number corresponding to each demand partner. ) a percentage of revenue is credited to demand partners.

In another embodiment depicted in the flowchart of FIG. 13, in process 1302, an advertiser receives a single/host (same) phone number for a set of demand partners. In process 1304, for each individual demand partner, an individual extension is assigned to the advertiser. More specifically, the individual demand partners list the same phone number for the advertiser, but also include each demand partner's unique extension. For example, the list could have the numbers "(800) new-cars" for the group of demand partners, but each demand partner posting that common phone number for the advertiser could also provide a separate extension ( For example, the extension 102 corresponding to the XYZ simultaneous posting partner, the extension 104 corresponding to the ABC simultaneous posting partner, etc.). In process 1306, billing module 40 tracks the demand partner and/or the amount of revenue that will be charged to (or collected from) the advertiser for calls to the advertiser via the telephone extension corresponding to each demand partner. A certain percentage is credited to the demand partner.

In an alternative embodiment described in the flowchart of FIG. 14, in process 1402, a demand partner may use one host telephone (ie, individual) number for a group of advertisers. In process 1404, the demand partner provides a separate extension to each of the advertisers using the same host number. For example, a demand partner may use the phone number (800) Call XYZ for a group of advertisers and provide extension 102 to Joe's plumbing, extension 104 to Carl's plumbing, etc. In process 1406, billing module 40 tracks demand partners and/or assigns calls to advertisers at each demand partner via the host telephone number corresponding to each demand partner and the unique telephone extension assigned to the advertiser. A portion of the revenue charged to (or collected from) the advertiser is credited to the demand partner.

According to another embodiment, it is proposed as described in co-pending U.S. Patent Application No. 60/552124, filed March 10, 2004, entitled "A Method and Apparatus to Provide Pay-per-Call Performance Based Advertising and Billing" The click-to-reveal method of the patent application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15, in process 1502, an advertisement is presented to a user via a demand partner's website. The advertisement does not show the advertiser's full phone number, but instead contains a hyperlink revealing the advertiser's phone number or the remainder of the phone number. In process 1504, the ad presentation engine 74 monitors the number of click-throughs to reveal the advertiser's number. In one embodiment, it is assumed that each clickthrough from a demand partner results in a call to the corresponding advertiser. As a result, in process 1506, billing module 40 tracks the demand partner and/or calculates an amount to credit the demand partner based at least in part on the number of click-throughs that reveal the advertiser's phone number.

In another alternative embodiment, the demand partner has a click-to-call format. In one embodiment, as described in the flowchart of FIG. 16 , at process 1602, in addition to listing the advertiser's phone number (or instead of listing the advertiser's phone number), the demand partner provides a link Establishment of a telephony link between the viewer/customer and the advertiser begins in response to the viewer/customer activating/selecting the provided hyperlink. In one embodiment, in process 1604, in response to activating/selecting the provided hyperlink, the viewer/customer is prompted to enter their phone number to establish a phone connection with the advertiser. After the consumer enters their telephone number, a telephone connection is established between the consumer and the advertiser.

In another embodiment, if the viewer/customer has a VoIP communication device, the VoIP logic 98 may enable the advertiser to connect to the viewer/customer without requiring the customer/viewer to provide their phone number. VoIP communication devices include telephone devices connected to users' computers and mobile communication devices such as PDAs and cellular phones.

In embodiments using click-to-call (for RSTN and VoIP connections), in process 1604, tracking/crediting provides click-through whenever a viewer/customer selects/activates a click-to-call icon for each Demand partners for call options (ie a percentage of the advertiser's payment).

In another embodiment, described in the flowchart of FIG. 17, in process 1702, the advertiser is provided with a phone number for a set of demand partners. In process 1704, charges paid to demand partners for calls to the advertiser's listed telephone numbers are prorated based on multiple page views of the advertiser's telephone number listings via the various demand partners. For example, if 70% of an advertiser's page views are accessed via demand partner ABC, and 30% of the advertiser's page views are accessed via demand partner XYZ, ABC demand partner will receive a listing for the advertiser 70% of the fee is paid to Demand Partner for calls to the phone number, while Demand Partner XYZ receives 30%.

In another embodiment, described in the flowchart of FIG. 18, in process 1802, at least a first group of advertisers is provided with a unique telephone reference to each demand partner. Each of the one or more advertisers is provided with a telephone reference to a set of demand partners.

In process 1804, a statistical sample of calls to the advertiser with the unique phone reference is generated. In one embodiment, the statistical sample represents calls to an advertiser (or group of advertisers) originating from an ad listed by a first demand partner versus the same (or similar) ad listed from other demand partners. A sample of the part of the call comparison. In one embodiment, sampling may be done separately by category of advertiser (eg, restaurant, car, etc.).

In process 1806, the sample is used as a basis for tracking/attributing to the demand partner a portion of the fee paid to at least one group of advertisers. Consider the following example, where Advertisers 1 and 2 are each given a unique phone number, and 70% of calls to Advertisers 1 and 2 are from phone references listed by partner ABC. Given this example, assume that 70% of calls to advertisers using common numbers between demand partners originate from advertisements listed by partner ABC.

Therefore, in one embodiment, according to statistical sampling, partner ABC should be credited 70% of calls to the advertiser using a common number between demand partners. In one embodiment, statistical sampling based tracking/crediting demand partners can also be applied to advertisers using a unique number of demand numbers.

Assign and reuse phone numbers

As described above, telephone call tracking is used to determine the number of telephone calls that have been received to a particular party or directory. This can be used for various purposes. It is especially useful in measuring advertising success. For example, a telephone directory may offer ad placement to its advertisers such as plumbers. By tracking the number of calls received calling a particular advertisement, the directory can display the value of its advertisement to the advertiser.

Phone call tracking can be used to measure the effectiveness of various advertising mediums in addition to physical yellow pages phone books. Classified newspapers can use call tracking, as can television advertisements that show phone numbers consumers can call. The effectiveness of the campaign can be measured by counting the number of phone calls such advertisements receive. This is beneficial to both the advertiser and the directory.

Phone call tracking is also available in online directories such as the online yellow pages. Similarly, phone call tracking can be used to track the success of online search advertising, such as keyword advertising.

As explained above in some embodiments, phone call tracking is particularly useful in pay-for-performance advertising systems. In a pay-for-performance system, the advertiser pays when the ad is executed. For example, an advertiser pays $1 each time a potential consumer clicks on an online search ad. Similarly, in a pay-per-call advertising system as contained in Application No. X (Application No. 10/872117), the advertiser's payment is linked to the number of calls the advertiser receives. In such a per-call system, call tracking is critical because counting the number of calls received determines the rate an advertiser must pay. In one embodiment, not only the number of calls received is counted but also the time of the calls, since in one embodiment advertisers can bid to pay more per call in order to make their Ads have more prominent placement.

Not only is it important to track the number of calls and the precise time of the calls, but also the source of demand for the caller to view the advertisement. An online directory can have many different external websites through which they simultaneously post the same advertiser, it is important to know which website a phone call originates from, so that in some cases the directory can compensate for the external website. Application No. Y (Application No. 60/560926) outlines this situation.

Tracking phone calls may include posting a unique phone number that is different from the advertiser's standard phone number. When a caller views the ad, this unique phone number appears and the caller dials the number. The calling device using the phone tracker then forwards calls on that unique phone number to the advertiser's standard phone number. Call tracker also records the calls made and the exact time of that call. In pay-per-call advertising systems, this information can be used to bill the advertiser for the call.

In the case where the directory can also identify the source of demand for the call, a single advertiser must be provided with multiple unique telephone numbers, one for each source of demand where the advertiser is present. For example, an ad for a single plumber may appear in two different online directories and three different online search engines. In order to track which of these demand sources generates calls from customers, a single plumber must be assigned five different unique phone numbers. By monitoring which unique phone number is dialed, it can be determined which demand source will be credited for the call.

A potential problem with this method is that it requires many unique phone numbers. A single plumber may have 5 different advertisements, each published simultaneously on 100 website directories, so that 500 unique phone numbers would need to be provided to track call assignments for a single plumber. A directory with 100,000 advertisers requires millions of unique phone numbers to track call assignments. Unique phone numbers are widely available - local numbers or toll-free 1-800 numbers. Using a large number of the above numbers would be very expensive.

Accordingly, one embodiment of the present invention provides a system for assigning and reusing telephone numbers. In one embodiment, phone numbers are assigned dynamically only when needed. As a result, only a very small number of telephone numbers are required. For example, a particular plumber's ad for "industrial sprinklers" might never show on a particular search engine site. It would therefore be wasteful to assign a unique phone number to the ad on the site. The system dynamically assigns a unique phone number only when a consumer searches for "industrial sprinklers" on that particular website. This way, numbers are only assigned when needed, reducing waste.

In addition, an embodiment of the present invention reuses numbers, thereby further reducing the total number of numbers required. For example, if a certain amount of time has passed since a unique number was displayed, the system may automatically consider the number "unused" and reuse the number, placing it back in the number pool. Similarly, if a certain amount of time has passed since a unique number was called, the system can automatically consider that number "unused" and reuse the number, putting it back into the pool of numbers. Using these and other parameters, one embodiment of the invention saves and reuses unique phone numbers, requiring fewer phone numbers and potentially reducing costs.

Figure 19 provides a flow diagram presenting the process of assigning a telephone number according to one aspect of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 19, in process 1902, telephone numbers are assigned on an just-in-time basis. For example, a telephone number is assigned in response to an end user search submitted to a demand partner that requires display of a particular advertiser's telephone number. In one embodiment, a pool of unassigned phone numbers is maintained. An unassigned phone number is a phone number that has not been pre-assigned or linked in any way to a particular advertisement, advertiser, or demand partner. Process 1902 is performed by selecting a phone number from the pool of unassigned phone numbers and assigning the phone number to an advertisement on a just in time basis. By use of the term "just in time basis" is meant that a phone number remains in a pool of unassigned phone numbers and is assigned or assigned to a particular ad just before a consumer is about to view an ad that will include that phone number.

In process 1904, if the phone number assigned to the advertisement is not called for a predetermined period of time, the phone number is deallocated and recycled back into the pool of unassigned phone numbers. For example, in one embodiment, the predetermined period of time is a fixed number of days. If there are no phone calls to the phone number, then the phone number is deallocated.

Referring to Figure 19, if the assigned phone number has not been called for a predetermined period of time, then the phone number is correlated with the advertisement/advertiser to which the phone number will be assigned. Once a phone call is made using the assigned phone number, the assigned phone number is assigned to the advertiser associated with the advertisement (hereafter referred to herein as an "associated advertisement"). Otherwise, if there is no call to the assigned phone number, the number remains free and available to all demand partners.

In one embodiment, if an advertisement for a demand partner service results in an inquiry rather than a phone call, then the dynamically assigned phone number is then correlated with the advertisement for a predetermined period of time. If the dynamically assigned telephone number is called within the predetermined period of time, the telephone number is then correlated with the advertisement for a longer period of time.

Referring again to FIG. 19, in process 1906, it is determined which advertisement the call that occurred to the assigned phone number is associated with. This determines demand partners for reimbursement/credit as a valid reason for a phone call to the assigned phone number.

Figure 20 shows a flowchart presenting the process of determining a demand partner credited for serving an advertisement that generated a phone call. In one embodiment, the determination is based on the temporal proximity between the time the demand partner provided the associated advertisement and the time the call occurred. In process 2002, if a particular demand partner is the only demand partner that provides the associated advertisement within a predetermined period of time before the call occurs, then in step 2004, it is determined that the particular demand partner is in relation to which the call occurred demand partner. For example, if demand partner X is the only demand partner who served the associated advertisement within say the last 30 minutes, then it is determined that demand partner X is the one in which the phone call was made in connection with it.

In one embodiment, if more than one demand partner provided the associated advertisement within a predetermined period of time prior to the call, then in process 2006 the phone call is considered part of the pool of disputed phone calls. In one embodiment, within process 2008, a particular demand partner is credited according to the proportion of uncontested calls attributable to the particular demand partner whose calls are placed within the pool of disputed calls. For example, if 70% of the undisputed calls have been attributed to a particular demand partner X, then 70% of the calls in the disputed pool have also been attributed to that demand partner X.

In another embodiment, the same phone number can be assigned to different demand partners for the same advertiser/advertisement, thereby reducing the number of phone numbers required. Figure 21 shows a flowchart presenting the process of assigning an advertiser/advertisement's phone number to multiple demand partners. In process 2102, if the ad is served by a first demand partner and then served by a second demand partner within a predetermined period of time, i.e., 30 minutes, then in process 2104, a new or different advertisement is assigned to the second demand partner. phone number. However, if the service on the second demand partner occurs outside the predetermined period of time (30 minutes), then within process 1206, the same phone number can be assigned to the second demand partner. In general, the longer no call occurs after the first service, the more feasible it is to use the same phone number assigned to the first demand partner, indicating a (reduced) likelihood of having a disputed phone number.

Exemplary Implementation of Assigning Phone Numbers

An example of one embodiment of a network advertising company nationally promotes ads of local merchants - plumbers, roofers, dentists. It promotes advertising by simultaneously posting advertisements on 1000 different websites. To track call activity resulting from these promotions, the advertising company maintains a pool of 50,000 unique phone numbers.

For example, at a single website, when a user searches for "dentists in Kansas City," the ad company communicates with the website to insert ads for ten dentists that have purchased to advertise in the Kansas City area. These ten dentists have purchased the placements by agreeing to a "pay-per-call," which means that they pay a fee, eg, $5, when they receive a call from a potential customer. Dentists may pay higher rates if desired to show higher than peers. The advertising company displays the dentists in descending order from highest price-per-call to lowest.

When an advertising company displays three advertisements on a website, it dynamically assigns a unique phone number to be displayed in that advertisement. In this way, if a potential customer calls a dentist, the advertising company can determine which website is responsible for the call. It may also determine the time of the call and note for the dentist what the dentist has agreed to pay for each call at that time. Once done, the advertising company sends a call to the dentist's phone number, and the dentist receives the call.

Of the ten unique phone numbers displayed, some are toll-free 1-800 or 1-866 numbers. One of these is the number for the local Kansas City 913 area code because dentists require that their advertisements only be shown as having a unique phone number that appears to be local.

An advertising company simultaneously publishes advertisements for ten dentists on 1000 different websites. As long as the end user happens to search for dentists in Kansas City, those ten dentists are shown in succession on hundreds of different websites throughout the day. In order to track resulting call activity, if the advertising company assigns each dentist at each of the 1000 websites a unique phone number, it must assign 10,000 unique phone numbers. This is a very expensive proposition due to the high cost of providing and maintaining a unique phone number. The advertising company must find a way to have the fewest number of unique phone numbers assigned, and it will never use more than the total of 50000 unique phone numbers it has in its pool.

In order to reduce the number of unique phone numbers they must assign, advertising agencies use the present invention to dynamically assign and reuse unique phone numbers. In the case of the Kansas City Dentist, a total of 10,000 combinations were not allocated initially. Instead, a unique phone number is assigned only when searching for Kansas City dentists on the specific website. This dynamic, "just in time" allocation prevents wasteful allocation of numbers to advertisements that will never be called or displayed.

Reuse of assigned phone numbers

In one embodiment, the system records that a particular advertiser's ad was displayed on a particular website at a certain time with a particular unique phone number. As more and more advertisements are displayed on different web sites, the system, in one embodiment, tracks when each assigned phone number was last displayed.

Figure 22 shows a flow diagram presenting one embodiment of repurposing a phone number. In one embodiment, within process 2202, an active "display queue" of phone numbers is maintained. The active display queue lists phone numbers from "youngest (displayed most recently)" to "oldest (displayed a long time ago)" according to their display time.

When, for example, an advertiser's ad is displayed on a particular website and a unique phone number is desired, in process 2204 a phone is selected from the "oldest" end of the display queue, or a phone that has not been displayed recently. Since there may be a finite pool, the phone number picked should be one that has been used before. But since it is the "oldest" number - maybe 5 weeks ago it was shown, this number will not be confused with ads it has shown in the past. This way, the phone number is reused based on the time it was last shown to reduce potential confusion.

In one embodiment, in process 2206, the system determines whether the selected phone number was recently displayed within a predetermined period of time. For example, the system can check whether a phone number has been displayed with a different context, eg within the last 24 hours. If the selected phone number is displayed within a predetermined period of time, then in process 2208, the pool of numbers is in danger of being exceeded for reuse, and the selected phone number is not assigned at that time.

If the system determines that the selected phone number has not been displayed within the predetermined period of time, then in process 2210 the system proceeds to determine whether the selected phone number has been called recently within the predetermined period of time. For example, if a phone number was displayed three months ago on an ad for a dentist, but was called yesterday, it would be confusing if that number were reassigned to a plumber today.

If the system determines that the selected phone number has not been displayed within a predetermined period of time (e.g., 24 hours) and has not been called within a predetermined second time period (e.g., the last 30 days), in process 2212, the system considers the selected phone number is safe, and the selected phone number is assigned to be displayed with the new context.

As previously stated, if the selected number (assuming the "oldest number" displayed) has been displayed most recently within a predetermined period of time, then the selected number fails the minimum threshold. As a result, the pool of numbers is then in danger of exceeding reuse, and the system makes a measure of selectivity to select phone numbers for allocation.

In one embodiment, the system then evaluates the pool of numbers based on how often the numbers are called. In one embodiment, the system maintains an active "call time queue" of phone numbers that have been called, ordered from "youngest" (called most recently) to "oldest" (called a long time ago). ) arranged. In process 2214, the system evaluates, in one embodiment, the "oldest" number in the call time queue if the "oldest" number in the display queue was most recently displayed within a predetermined period of time. If the "oldest" number in the call time queue was called more recently than a second predetermined threshold, then the system selects the "oldest" number assignment.

If neither the "oldest" number in the display queue nor the "oldest" number in call time meets the respective minimum thresholds, then the system makes other measurements. In process 2216, the system evaluates which of the two "oldest" numbers better meets the respective safety thresholds, and chooses to display that phone number to be assigned. By evaluating the number according to the last time it was displayed and when it was last called, the system reuses the number and the likelihood of end user confusion is reduced.

Due to the double queue process, the system will have no problems, it will only become progressively less safe if overloaded. If numbers are displayed and called too frequently, all numbers will fall below the minimum display and call threshold, but the system will still function. In fact, it will yield the most secure number. In the event of an overload, the system will cycle through the numbers faster, making them collectively "dirtier", but will not fail. In this case, in process 2218, the system here automatically sends a warning to the administrator indicating that more "cleaner" numbers need to be added to the number pool. In alternative embodiments, more or less of the process described with reference to FIG. 22 may be used.

In addition to optimizing the cleanliness of the phone number pool, one embodiment of the system may implement a process that increases the efficiency of assigning reused phone numbers. Figure 23 provides a flow diagram presenting an additional process for assigning telephone numbers according to one embodiment. In process 2302, the system determines whether a particular advertisement (or a different advertisement associated with the same advertiser) was called up twice on the same website. If that particular ad (or a different ad associated with the same advertiser) has been called twice on the same website, then at process 2304 the system will reassign the same phone number for both instances. If a particular ad (or a different ad associated with the same advertiser) has not been called twice on the same website, then at process 2306 the system will assign a new phone number.

Additionally, in one embodiment, when a caller dials a unique phone number that has been assigned a display by the system, in process 2308 the system checks to see if the caller (uniquely identified by their ID) has dialed the unique phone number before. phone number. If so, then in process 2310, the system can connect the caller to the advertiser originally with the unique phone number even though the phone number has been reassigned to a second advertiser. The caller is most likely to repeat calls to the original advertiser. It is less likely that the same caller calls two different merchants who have been assigned the same unique phone number by the system. Therefore, to increase the likelihood of success, the system connects the caller to an advertiser that the caller has previously called, even if the phone number has been reassigned.

In one embodiment, the system can also maintain a different pool of unique numbers based on a variety of factors. Figure 24 shows a flow diagram presenting a process for maintaining a pool of distinct unique phone numbers, according to one embodiment. In process 2402, the system maintains different pools of phone numbers corresponding to different partner enterprise federations. For example, a large consortium may require that none of its members be reused to publish mixes concurrently with competition. In process 2404, the system maintains different pools of phone numbers corresponding to different categories of advertisers. For example, the system maintains separate pools of phone numbers for democratic and republican reasons, to reduce the likelihood that callers will be connected to other parties by mistake.

In process 2406, in one embodiment, the system causes the selected advertiser or group of advertisers to have a fixed number that is not reused. Some advertisers, for example, do not want their numbers to change or be reused, the system will omit these advertisers from the reuse process so that they have constant phone numbers.

Similarly, in process 2408, in one embodiment, the system causes the selected advertiser or group of advertisers to have a particular phone number for a specified duration. Thereafter, the phone number can be reused. For example, a daily newspaper might publish the trackable phone numbers of five travel agencies that have a dedicated "deal of the day." In this case, the phone number may not change for a duration of at least one day, after which the phone number may enter the reuse process.

In general, the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented as part of an operating system or as a specialized application, element, program, object, module or sequence of instructions referred to as a "computer program". A computer program usually includes one or more sets of instructions stored in various memories and storage devices of the computer at different times. When the set of instructions is read and executed by one or more processors in the computer, the computer can realize Operations necessary to perform the elements comprising the various aspects of the invention. Furthermore, although the present invention has been presented within the context of fully functioning computers and computer systems, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various embodiments of the present invention can be distributed as various forms of program products and be used regardless of The invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of machine or computer readable medium that actually implements the distribution. Examples of computer readable media include, but are not limited to, recordable types of media such as volatile and nonvolatile memory devices, floppy disks and other removable disks, hard drives, optical disks such as compact disk read only memories (CD ROMs), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), etc.), and transmission type media such as digital and analog communication links.

While the invention has been described with reference to particular exemplary embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit of the invention as set forth in the claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

Claims (37)

1. A method comprising: Assign a phone number to the advertisement; and If the telephone number has not been called for a predetermined period of time, the telephone number is de-assigned to make the telephone number available for assignment to the second advertisement. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning a telephone number comprises assigning the telephone number to a second demand partner for inclusion in an associated advertisement provided by the second demand partner. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein dynamically assigning the telephone number includes assigning the telephone number to a plurality of different advertisements. 4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the method further comprises if a call is made to the assigned telephone number, identifying an advertisement of the plurality of advertisements corresponding to the call; assign the telephone number to the corresponding advertisement for future calls; The phone number is not assigned to the remaining ads of the multiple ads. 5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: If the assigned telephone number is called, identifying a demand partner corresponding to the call; Assign the telephone number to the corresponding Demand Partner for future calls; and This phone number is not assigned to the remaining demand partners. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein identifying the demand partner corresponding to the call comprises identifying the demand partner based on a temporal proximity between the time the demand partner provided the associated advertisement and the time the call occurred. 7. A method according to claim 6, characterized in that the call is attributed to a particular demand partner if that demand partner is the only demand partner to have provided the associated advertisement within a predetermined period of time before the call. 8. A method according to claim 7, characterized in that if more than one demand partner provides the associated advertisement within the predetermined period of time, then the call is attributed to providing the associated advertisement within the predetermined period of time. Various demand partners for affiliated advertisements. 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising compensating each demand partner individually based on the proportion of calls attributed to each demand partner that served the associated advertisement within the predetermined period of time. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising billing the advertiser for the advertisement in response to the telephone connection to the assigned telephone number. 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising, when the advertisement corresponding to the advertiser is displayed at the first of the at least two positions, according to a first comparison of the at least two rates The high rate bills the advertiser. 12. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that each demand partner has a separate website corresponding to the respective demand partner. 13. The method of claim 10, further comprising identifying the time of the telephone connection to the assigned telephone number and billing the advertiser at a rate corresponding to the time of the telephone connection. 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning a telephone number in response to a request submitted by an end user to a demand partner. 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising recording when the assigned telephone number is displayed in the advertisement. 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising recording an advertisement in which the assigned telephone number is displayed. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising recording demand partners who provided advertisements containing the assigned telephone number. 18. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining a display queue of assigned telephone numbers that have been displayed. 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising maintaining the display queue in order relative to the corresponding time at which each assigned telephone number was displayed. 20. A method according to claim 18, further comprising selecting a first telephone number to be assigned from a group of telephone numbers, the first telephone number being the earliest of the group which has been displayed in the advertisement telephone number. 21. The method of claim 18, further comprising selecting from a set of telephone numbers a first telephone number to be assigned, the first telephone number being displayed in the advertisement but within a predetermined period The oldest phone number in the group that is not shown within the time period. 22. The method of claim 18, further comprising selecting from a set of telephone numbers a first telephone number to be assigned, the first telephone number being displayed in an advertisement but within a predetermined period of time The oldest phone number in the group that did not call. 23. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining a call time queue of assigned telephone numbers that have been called. 24. The method of claim 23, further comprising maintaining the call time queue in order relative to the corresponding time when each assigned telephone number was last called. 25. A method according to claim 24, characterized in that the method further comprises selecting from a group of telephone numbers a first telephone number to be assigned, the first telephone number being the earliest telephone number in the group which has been called . 26. A method according to claim 24, characterized in that the method further comprises selecting from a set of telephone numbers a first telephone number to be assigned, the first telephone number being called but within a predetermined period of time The oldest phone number in the group is not displayed. 27. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining a display queue of assigned telephone numbers that have been displayed, and maintaining a call time queue of assigned telephone numbers that have been called, selecting a first telephone number to be assigned from the telephone number display queue, the first telephone number being the earliest telephone number in the group that has been displayed in the advertisement but not displayed within a first predetermined period of time; and A second telephone number to be assigned is selected from the call time queue of telephone numbers, the second telephone number being the earliest telephone number in the group that has been called but not displayed within a second predetermined time period. 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising responding to the first telephone number having been displayed within a first predetermined period of time and the second telephone number being called within a second predetermined period of time number, selecting one of the first telephone number and the second telephone number to assign, the selection being based on the relativeity of the first telephone number to a first predetermined time period and the second telephone number to a second predetermined time period. 29. A method according to claim 28, characterized in that the method further comprises informing of additional telephone numbers required for distribution. 30. The method of claim 1, further comprising reassigning the first telephone number to the first advertisement to be served at least a second time by the first demand partner. 31. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to the caller initiating a connection with the first telephone number, identifying the source of the caller and determining whether the caller has previously initiated a connection with the first telephone number , the first telephone number was previously assigned to the first advertisement and is currently reassigned to the second advertisement; and In response to determining that the caller has previously initiated a connection with the first telephone number, a connection is established between the caller and an advertiser associated with the first advertisement. 32. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining a first pool of telephone numbers to be assigned to a first demand partner, and maintaining a second pool of telephone numbers to be assigned to a second demand partner. 33. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining a pool of first telephone numbers to be assigned to advertisements associated with a first topic, and maintaining a pool of telephone numbers to be assigned to advertisements associated with a second topic. A second phone number pool. 34. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning the second telephone number to the second advertiser and not allowing reassignment of the second telephone number to other advertisers. 35. The method of claim 34, further comprising assigning the second telephone number to the second advertiser after a predetermined period of time has elapsed. 36. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method comprising: Dynamically assign phone numbers to advertisements on a just-in-time basis; and If the telephone number has not been called for a predetermined period of time, the telephone number is released from assignment. 37. A system comprising: processor; A memory connected to the processor, the memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the system to perform a method comprising the steps of: Dynamically assign phone numbers to advertisements on a just-in-time basis; and If the telephone number has not been called for a predetermined period of time, the telephone number is released from assignment.

Images