System And Method For Creation, Distribution And Tracking Of Advertising Via Electronic Networks

What is this patent about?

’482 is related to the field of online advertising, specifically addressing the challenges of creating, distributing, and tracking advertisements across electronic networks. The background involves advertisers struggling with the costs of ad creation and the complexities of effective ad placement, while publishers aim to maximize ad revenue and minimize the effort required to manage advertising. Existing methods often involve upfront fees for content licensing and inefficient ad placement strategies, leading to suboptimal return on investment for both advertisers and content licensors.

The underlying idea behind ’482 is to selectively render advertisement content only when a designated portion of the ad display area is visible within a user's browser window. This is achieved by using a correlator code that monitors the browser's viewport and triggers the serving of ad content from a dispatcher server only when the designated area is in view. This approach optimizes bandwidth usage and ensures that ads are only loaded when they are likely to be seen by the user.

The claims of ’482 focus on a method and system for rendering advertisement content on a webpage. Specifically, the independent claims cover determining if a predefined portion of an ad display area is within the visible area of a browser window. If it is, a communication is sent to a dispatcher server, which then serves the advertisement content to the remote computing device. The advertisement content only appears in the predefined area after the dispatcher server serves the content and the browser renders it.

In practice, the invention uses a "billboard module" embedded in a webpage. When a user scrolls the page so that the designated area is visible, the correlator code triggers the module. This initiates a real-time auction on the dispatcher server to select an ad. The winning ad's content is then retrieved and rendered within the billboard module. This selective rendering approach contrasts with traditional methods where all ad content is loaded regardless of visibility.

This system differentiates itself by using file server direct connection (FSDC) technology for tracking ad viewer activity, which allows for efficient and accurate tracking of impressions and click-through rates. Furthermore, the invention enables advertisers to create ads using licensed digital content on a cost-per-use basis and participate in barter-based advertising exchanges. By separating the advertising auction process from the search engine process, the system allows for second-generation relevancy in ad targeting, displaying ads that may not be directly related to the initial search query but are still relevant to the user's interests.