Promotion infrastructure supporting targeted advertising having vector links

Abstract

An online sales/automatic rebate and coupon redemption system provides online customers automatic retrieval and redemption of all applicable rebates and coupons during purchase. Purchase orders from customers are selectively fulfilled and products are shipped to the customers either by the system for online sales with automatic rebate and coupon redemption or by other merchant or manufacturer environments. The system purchases from merchants using applicable coupons and rebates and then sells the products to the customers, passing the savings to them. The system makes it possible to automatically retrieve coupons and rebates for items in a shopping cart during the activity of an online purchase at an electronic mall or an online merchant site. The system provides coupons to potential customers via email, based on customer profile, geographical information, etc. Manufacturers and merchants can update coupon value and content based on ongoing sales and volume of customer activity.

1 . An infrastructure that supports electronic searching by a plurality of users for information via a communication network, the infrastructure comprising:
 a server system that receives, via a user interface and the communication network, input from a given user of the plurality of users, the input received in connection with performance by the server system of a first service;   said server system performs a second service comprising identifying an advertisement related to the received input;   said server system delivers via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, the advertisement; and   said advertisement including a link to a website corresponding to the advertisement.   
     
     
         2 . The infrastructure of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface comprises an electronic communication. 
     
     
         3 . The infrastructure of  claim 2 , wherein the user interface comprises one or more web pages. 
     
     
         4 . The infrastructure of  claim 1 , wherein the communication network comprises the Internet. 
     
     
         5 . The infrastructure of  claim 1 , wherein the input from the given user of the plurality of users comprises input creating a user profile for the given user. 
     
     
         6 . The infrastructure of  claim 5 , wherein the server system automatically updates the user profile of the given user based on a history of interaction by the given user with or via the server system. 
     
     
         7 . The infrastructure of  claim 6 , wherein the history of interaction comprises a transaction history. 
     
     
         8 . The infrastructure of  claim 6 , wherein the history of interaction comprises buying habits of the given user. 
     
     
         9 . The infrastructure of  claim 1 , wherein the input from the user is used to create a history of interaction by the given user with or via the server system. 
     
     
         10 . The infrastructure of  claim 9 , wherein the history of interaction comprises a transaction history. 
     
     
         11 . The infrastructure of  claim 9 , wherein the history of interaction comprises buying habits of the given user. 
     
     
         12 . The infrastructure of  claim 1 , wherein the input comprises an identification of goods and/or services. 
     
     
         13 . The infrastructure of  claim 19 , wherein the advertisement is related to a given good and/or service. 
     
     
         14 . A method for use in an infrastructure that supports electronic searching by a plurality of users for information via a communication network, the method comprising:
 performing a first service comprising receiving, via a user interface and the communication network, input from a given user of the plurality of users;   performing a second service comprising identifying an advertisement related to the received input; and   delivering via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, the advertisement;   said advertisement including a link to a website corresponding to the advertisement.   
     
     
         15 . The method  claim 14 , wherein the user interface comprises an electronic communication. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the user interface comprises one or more web pages. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the communication network comprises the Internet. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the input from the given user of the plurality of users comprises input creating a user profile for the given user. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , comprising automatically updating the user profile of the given user based on a history of interaction by the given user with or via the system. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the history of interaction comprises a transaction history. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the history of interaction comprises buying habits of the given user. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 14 , comprising creating a history of interaction by the given user with or via the system. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the history of interaction comprises a transaction history. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the history of interaction comprises buying habits of the given user. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the input comprises an identification of goods and/or services. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the advertisement is related to a given good and/or service. 
     
     
         27 . An infrastructure that supports electronic searching by a plurality of users for information via a communication network, the infrastructure comprising:
 a web server system comprising:   a search engine that enables electronic searching; and   a user interface comprising one or more web pages;   said system receives, via the user interface and the communication network, input from a given user of the plurality of users, the input received in connection with performance by the server system of a first service;   said system performs a second service comprising identifying an advertisement related to the received input;   said system delivers via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, the advertisement; and   said advertisement including a link to a website corresponding to the advertisement.   
     
     
         28 . The infrastructure of  claim 27 , wherein the communication network comprises the Internet. 
     
     
         29 . The infrastructure of  claim 28 , wherein the input from the given user of the plurality of users comprises input creating a user profile for the given user. 
     
     
         30 . The infrastructure of  claim 29 , wherein the web server system automatically updates the user profile of the given user based on a history of interaction by the given user with or via the web server system. 
     
     
         31 . The infrastructure of  claim 30 , wherein the history of interaction comprises a transaction history. 
     
     
         32 . The infrastructure of  claim 30 , wherein the history of interaction comprises buying habits of the given user. 
     
     
         33 . The infrastructure of  claim 27 , wherein the input from the user is used to create a history of interaction by the given user with or via the web server system. 
     
     
         34 . The infrastructure of  claim 33 , wherein the history of interaction comprises a transaction history. 
     
     
         35 . The infrastructure of  claim 33 , wherein the history of interaction comprises buying habits of the given user. 
     
     
         36 . The infrastructure of  claim 27 , wherein the input comprises an identification of goods and/or services. 
     
     
         37 . The infrastructure of  claim 36 , wherein the advertisement is related to a given good and/or service. 
     
     
         38 . An infrastructure that supports electronic searching by a plurality of users for information via a communication network, the infrastructure comprising:
 a server system that receives, via a user interface and the communication network, input from a given user of the plurality of users, the input comprising a search request;   said server system identifies an advertisement related to the search request;   said server system delivers via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, search results responsive to the search request;   said server system delivers via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, the advertisement; and   said advertisement including a link to a website corresponding to the advertisement.   
     
     
         39 . The infrastructure of  claim 38 , wherein the search results are obtained from a first database, and the advertisement is obtained from a second database. 
     
     
         40 . The infrastructure of  claim 39 , wherein the advertisement is associated with the search results in the second database. 
     
     
         41 . The infrastructure of  claim 38 , wherein the advertisement is associated with the search results in a database. 
     
     
         42 . The infrastructure of  claim 38 , wherein the user interface comprises an electronic communication. 
     
     
         43 . The infrastructure of  claim 42 , wherein the user interface comprises one or more web pages. 
     
     
         44 . The infrastructure of  claim 38 , wherein the communication network comprises the Internet. 
     
     
         45 . The infrastructure of  claim 38 , wherein the search results comprises an identification of goods and/or services. 
     
     
         46 . The infrastructure of  claim 45 , wherein the advertisement is related to a given good and/or service. 
     
     
         47 . A method for use in an infrastructure that supports electronic searching by a plurality of users for information via a communication network, the method comprising:
 receiving, via a user interface and the communication network, input from a given user of the plurality of users, the input comprising a search request;   identifying an advertisement related to the search request;   delivering via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, search results responsive to the search request;   delivering via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, the advertisement; and   said advertisement including a link to a website corresponding to the advertisement.   
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 47 , comprising obtaining the search results from a first database, and obtaining the advertisement from a second database. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein the advertisement is associated with the search results in the second database. 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the advertisement is associated with the search results in a database. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the user interface comprises an electronic communication. 
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein the user interface comprises one or more web pages. 
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the communication network comprises the Internet. 
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the search results comprises an identification of goods and/or services. 
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 54 , wherein the advertisement is related to a given good and/or service. 
     
     
         56 . An infrastructure that supports electronic searching by a plurality of users for information via a communication network, the infrastructure comprising:
 a web server system comprising:   a search engine that enables electronic searching; and   a user interface comprising one or more web pages;   said system receives, via the user interface and the communication network, input from a given user of the plurality of users, the input comprising a search request;   said system identifies an advertisement related to the search request;   said system delivers via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, search results responsive to the search request;   said system delivers via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, the advertisement; and   said advertisement including a link to a website corresponding to the advertisement.   
     
     
         57 . The infrastructure of  claim 56 , wherein the search results are obtained from a first database, and the advertisement is obtained from a second database. 
     
     
         58 . The infrastructure of  claim 57 , wherein the advertisement is associated with the search results in the second database. 
     
     
         59 . The infrastructure of  claim 56 , wherein the advertisement is associated with the search results in a database. 
     
     
         60 . The infrastructure of  claim 56 , wherein the communication network comprises the Internet. 
     
     
         61 . The infrastructure of  claim 56 , wherein the search results comprises an identification of goods and/or services. 
     
     
         62 . The infrastructure of  claim 61 , wherein the advertisement is related to a given good and/or service. 
     
     
         63 . An infrastructure that supports electronic searching by a plurality of users for information via a communication network, the infrastructure comprising:
 a server system that receives, via the user interface and the communication network, input from a given user of the plurality of users, the input comprising a search request;   said server system identifies search results responsive to the search request;   said server system identifies an advertisement related to at least a portion of the search results;   said server system delivers via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, the search results responsive to the search request;   said server system delivers via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, the advertisement; and   said advertisement including a link to a website corresponding to the advertisement.   
     
     
         64 . The infrastructure of  claim 63 , wherein the search results are obtained from a first database, and the advertisement is obtained from a second database. 
     
     
         65 . The infrastructure of  claim 64 , wherein the advertisement is associated with the at least a portion of the search results in the second database. 
     
     
         66 . The infrastructure of  claim 63 , wherein the advertisement is associated with the at least a portion of the search results in a database. 
     
     
         67 . The infrastructure of  claim 63 , wherein the user interface comprises an electronic communication. 
     
     
         68 . The infrastructure of  claim 67 , wherein the user interface comprises one or more web pages. 
     
     
         69 . The infrastructure of  claim 63 , wherein the communication network comprises the Internet. 
     
     
         70 . The infrastructure of  claim 63 , wherein the at least a portion of the search results comprises an identification of goods and/or services. 
     
     
         71 . The infrastructure of  claim 70 , wherein the advertisement is related to a given good and/or service. 
     
     
         72 . A method for use in an infrastructure that supports electronic searching by a plurality of users for information via a communication network, the method comprising:
 receiving, via a user interface and the communication network, input from a given user of the plurality of users, the input comprising a search request;   identifying search results responsive to the search request;   identifying an advertisement related to at least a portion of the search results;   delivering via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, the search results responsive to the search request; and   delivering via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, the advertisement;   said advertisement including a link to a website corresponding to the advertisement.   
     
     
         73 . The method of  claim 72 , comprising obtaining the search results from a first database, and obtaining the advertisement from a second database. 
     
     
         74 . The method of  claim 73 , wherein the advertisement is associated with the at least a portion of the search results in the second database. 
     
     
         75 . The method of  claim 72 , wherein the advertisement is associated with the at least a portion of the search results in a database. 
     
     
         76 . The method of  claim 72 , wherein the user interface comprises an electronic communication. 
     
     
         77 . The method of  claim 76 , wherein the user interface comprises one or more web pages. 
     
     
         78 . The method of  claim 72 , wherein the communication network comprises the Internet. 
     
     
         79 . The method of  claim 72 , wherein the at least a portion of the search results comprises an identification of goods and/or services. 
     
     
         80 . The method of  claim 79 , wherein the advertisement is related to a given good and/or service. 
     
     
         81 . An infrastructure that supports electronic searching by a plurality of users for information via a communication network, the infrastructure comprising:
 a web server system comprising:   a search engine that enables electronic searching; and   a user interface comprising one or more web pages;   said system receives, via the user interface and the communication network, input from a given user of the plurality of users, the input comprising a search request;   said system identifies search results responsive to the search request;   said system identifies an advertisement related to at least a portion of the search results;   said system delivers via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, the search results responsive to the search request;   said system delivers via the communication network, for display on the given user's computing device, the advertisement; and   said advertisement including a link to a website corresponding to the advertisement.   
     
     
         82 . The infrastructure of  claim 81 , wherein the search results are obtained from a first database, and the advertisement is obtained from a second database. 
     
     
         83 . The infrastructure of  claim 82 , wherein the advertisement is associated with the at least a portion of the search results in the second database. 
     
     
         84 . The infrastructure of  claim 81 , wherein the advertisement is associated with the at least a portion of the search results in a database. 
     
     
         85 . The infrastructure of  claim 81 , wherein the communication network comprises the Internet. 
     
     
         86 . The infrastructure of  claim 81 , wherein the at least a portion of the search results comprises an identification of goods and/or services. 
     
     
         87 . The infrastructure of  claim 86 , wherein the advertisement is related to a given good and/or service. 
     
     
         88 . A server infrastructure that supports a plurality of client devices via a communication network, the server infrastructure comprising:
 a search system that supports electronic searching of a first database to identify search results data, the searching being based at least in part on a first search term received from a first device of the plurality of client devices via a communication network, and the search system also performing a related search of a second database to identify advertising data, the advertising data including a link to a web page associated with the advertising data; and   a user interfacing system, coupled via the communication network to the plurality of client devices, that delivers both the search results data and the advertising data to the first device of the plurality of client devices.   
     
     
         89 . The infrastructure of  claim 88 , wherein the communication network comprises the Internet. 
     
     
         90 . A server infrastructure that supports a plurality of client devices via a communication network, the server infrastructure comprising:
 a search system that performs a first electronic search to identify search results data, the first electronic search being based at least in part on a first search term received from a first device of the plurality of client devices via the communication network, the search system also performing a second electronic search to identify advertising data, the second electronic search being related at least in part to the first search term and the advertising data including a link to a web page associated with the advertising data; and   a user interfacing system, coupled via the communication network to the plurality of client devices, that delivers both the search results data and the advertising data to the first device of the plurality of client devices.   
     
     
         91 . The infrastructure of  claim 90 , wherein the communication network comprises the Internet. 
     
     
         92 . A server infrastructure that supports a plurality of client devices via a communication network, the server infrastructure comprising:
 a search system that performs a first electronic search to identify search results data, the first electronic search being based at least in part on a first search term received from a first device of the plurality of client devices via the communication network, the search system also performing a second electronic search to identify advertising data, the second electronic search being related at least in part to the search results data and the advertising data including a link to a web page associated with the advertising data; and   a user interfacing system, coupled via the communication network to the plurality of client devices, that delivers both the search results data and the advertising data to the first device of the plurality of client devices.   
     
     
         93 . The infrastructure of  claim 92 , wherein the communication network comprises the Internet. 
     
     
         94 . A server infrastructure that supports a plurality of client devices and a plurality of promoters via a plurality of promoter systems, the server infrastructure comprising:
 a search system that performs a first electronic search of information to identify search results data, the first electronic search being based at least in part on a first search term received from a first device of the plurality of client devices;   a promoter interfacing system that collects advertising information from the plurality of promoters via the plurality of promoter systems, a first portion of the advertising information being collected from a first of the plurality of promoters, the first portion of the advertising information including first advertising data and first link data;   the search system performs a second electronic search of the advertising information collected using the first search term to identify the first portion of the advertising information; and   a user interfacing system that delivers the search results data, the first advertising data and the first link data to the first device of the plurality of client devices, the first advertising data being used in constructing a visual advertisement on the first device and the first link data being used to support a vector link to a first web page.   
     
     
         95 . The infrastructure of  claim 94 , wherein at least a portion of the first electronic search and/or of the second electronic search is performed via the Internet. 
     
     
         96 . The infrastructure of  claim 94 , wherein the visual advertisement comprises a banner ad.