System and method for the presentation of advertisements

Abstract

A system and method for the presentation of advertisements is present. According to one embodiment, a number of impressions of an advertisement message are presented over a computer network such as the Internet to a variety of viewer computers. Depending on the actions taken by the viewers (e.g., whether the Viewer selects the advertising message and accesses a web-link to the advertiser's web-site), bonus exposure (e.g., an additional number of impressions provided to the viewers) of the advertising message is given.

1 . A system for the presentation of at least one advertisement message to viewers of at least one website, the system comprising:
 a processor; and   a storage device in communication with the processor, the storage device including instructions that, when executed by the processor, enable the processor to perform a method comprising the steps of:   presenting an advertisement message on the website to one or more viewers browsing the website, the advertisement messages being presented for a fee according to a pricing model that includes a performance-based pricing incentive for an entity,   storing, in the storage device, a record of a viewer's action associated with the advertisement message, and   awarding, based at least in part on the record, the performance-based pricing incentive.   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the performance-based pricing incentive provides further presentation of the advertisement message without requiring a change to the advertising budget authorized by the entity. 
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the performance-based pricing incentive provides a bonus exposure of the advertisement message on the website. 
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the performance-based pricing incentive is provided prior to exceeding an advertising budget authorized by the entity, and 
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein storing the record of a viewer's action comprises storing a record of a click. 
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein storing the record of a viewer's action comprises storing a record of a purchase transaction. 
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein storing the record of a viewer's action comprises storing a record of viewer information. 
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein awarding the performance-based pricing incentive comprises determining a level of interest in the advertisement message by the viewers based at least in part on the stored record. 
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the entity comprises one of an advertiser and a buyer of the advertisement message presentation. 
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein the entity provides at least one of a good and a service, the at least one of a good and a service being a subject of the advertisement message. 
     
     
         11 . A computer-implemented method of populating a web page with at least one advertisement message, the method comprising:
 receiving a request over an electronic network for advertisement messages;   storing information regarding viewer interactions with a particular advertisement message;   determining whether to distribute the particular advertisement message in response to the request based on a pricing model and the stored information regarding the viewer interactions with the particular advertisement message, the determination including a determination of whether to reduce the cost of the particular advertisement message to an entity; and   providing the particular advertisement message based on the determination.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein reducing the cost of the particular advertisement message to an entity comprises reducing the cost per click on the particular advertisement message. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein reducing the cost of the particular advertisement message to an entity comprises reducing the average cost per click on the particular advertisement message. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein reducing the cost of the particular advertisement message to an entity comprises reducing the total cost of an advertising campaign. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein reducing the cost of the particular advertisement message to an entity comprises reducing the effective cost per impression of the particular advertisement message. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the entity comprises one of an advertiser and a buyer of the distribution of the particular advertisement message. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the entity provides at least one of a good and a service, the at least one of a good and a service being a subject of the particular advertisement message. 
     
     
         18 . A computer-implemented method of using a computer system to sell electronic advertising space to an entity, the computer system connected to an electronic network, the method comprising:
 measuring one or more variables associated with a plurality of advertisements, the advertisements of the plurality being displayed in one or more locations accessible over the electronic network by one or more computers, the variables selected from a group of variables comprising: quantity of clicks on a displayed advertisement, quantity of impressions of a displayed advertisement, click-through rate, and average cost per click on a displayed advertisement; and   reducing at least a portion of the cost of a first advertisement of the plurality to the entity if one or more of said measured variables associated with the first advertisement indicates that the first advertisement has performed better than at least one other advertisement of the plurality, the first advertisement being associated with an advertising campaign of the entity,   wherein the reduction in the cost to the entity of the first advertisement comprises reducing the cost per click on the displayed advertisement.   
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 18 , wherein the entity comprises one of an advertiser and a buyer of the advertising space. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 18 , wherein the entity provides at least one of a good and a service, the at least one of a good and a service being a subject of the first advertisement.