Method and system for collecting data from advertising campaigns including phone number placement techniques

Abstract

A system for tracking telephone calls made in response to advertising campaigns in electronic or other media is provided. The system permits an advertiser to associate specific and distinct telephone numbers with associated advertising campaigns. The system further modifies advertiser-provided information in response to the advertising campaign to which a potential customer responds, and includes the associated telephone number in the modified advertiser information. The system processes telephone calls made to the selected telephone numbers, and provides reports to advertisers of call data associated with the respective advertising campaigns.

1 . A method for enabling data collection for a plurality of advertising campaigns, comprising:
 assigning at least one phone number to at least one advertising campaign;   receiving data associated with at least one request, made in response to the at least one advertising campaign, to display at least one webpage;   analyzing the data associated with the at least one request to determine the advertising campaign associated with the at least one request; and   generating at least one new webpage, wherein:
 the at least one new webpage includes the at least one phone number; and 
 generating the at least one new webpage comprises modifying the at least one webpage using at least one proxy server and/or modifying the at least one webpage using at least one embedded element included in the webpage. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one new webpage is substantially a copy of the at least one webpage with the at least one phone number added to the at least one new webpage. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating the at least one new webpage comprises:
 modifying the at least one webpage by inserting at least one phone number in place of at least one pre-existing phone number.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one pre-existing phone number on the at least one webpage and the at least one phone number on the at least one new webpage are displayed as text. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one pre-existing phone number on the at least one webpage and the at least one phone number on the at least one new webpage are displayed as graphics. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting at least one cookie to facilitate future requests. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one phone number is assigned to the at least one advertising campaign based on a bid received from an owner of the at least one advertising campaign. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising associating a revenue with the at least one advertising campaign associated with the at least one request. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 accepting at least one phone call placed to the at least one phone number;   identifying the advertising campaign associated with the at least one phone number; and   recording phone call data associated with the at least one phone call.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising playing at least one ring tone on the at least one phone call. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 determining a time at which the at least one phone call is accepted;   determining whether the time is within business hours; and   playing a first message on the at least one phone call if the time is within business hours and playing a second message on the at least one phone call if the time is not within business hours.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising generating at least one report using the phone call data. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising transferring the at least one report to at least one advertiser. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising transferring the at least one phone call to at least one advertiser. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising terminating the at least one phone call after recording the phone call data. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising terminating the at least one phone call after playing the first message or the second message. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 identifying at least one phone number as a blacklisted number associated with an inactive campaign;   determining whether the at least one phone number is blacklisted after accepting the at least one phone call; and   terminating the at least one phone call if the at least one phone number is blacklisted.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising running an answer application on the at least one phone call. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising running a call wrap-up application on the at least one phone call. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one embedded element comprises at least one javascript element. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein modifying the at least one webpage using at least one proxy server comprises:
 retrieving the at least one webpage;   applying at least one modification rule to the at least one webpage to generate the at least one new webpage; and   assigning a uniform resource locator (URL) to the at least one new webpage.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting the at least one new webpage. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one phone number is assigned to the at least one advertising campaign based on a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) associated with the at least one request, a search engine associated with the at least one request, a search term associated with the at least one request, and/or a keyword associated with the at least one request. 
     
     
         24 . A system for enabling data collection for at least one advertising campaign, the system comprising:
 at least one server;   at least one telephony interface coupled to the at least one server; and   at least one database coupled to the at least one server and at least one telephony interface;   wherein the at least one server comprises at least one server application, and   the at least one telephony interface comprises at least one telephony application configured to assign at least one phone number to the at least one advertising campaign; and   storing configuration data including the at least one advertising campaign and at least one phone number in the at least one database;   wherein the at least one server application is configured to:
 receive data associated with at least one request, made in response to the at least one advertising campaign, to display at least one webpage; 
 analyze the data associated with the at least one request to determine the advertising campaign associated with the at least one request; and 
 generate at least one new webpage, wherein:
 the at least one new webpage includes the at least one phone number; and 
 generating the at least one new webpage comprises modifying the at least one webpage using at least one proxy server and/or modifying the at least one webpage using at least one javascript element included in the webpage. 
 
   
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the at least one new webpage is substantially a copy of the at least one webpage with the at least one phone number added to the at least one new webpage. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 25 , wherein generating the at least one new webpage comprises:
 modifying the at least one webpage by inserting at least one phone number in place of at least one pre-existing phone number.   
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the at least one pre-existing phone number on the at least one webpage and the at least one phone number on the at least one new webpage are displayed as text. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the at least one pre-existing phone number on the at least one webpage and the at least one phone number on the at least one new webpage are displayed as graphics. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein:
 the at least one server further comprises at least one proxy server; and   modifying the at least one webpage using at least one proxy server comprises:
 retrieving the at least one webpage; 
 applying at least one modification rule to the at least one webpage to generate the at least one new webpage; and 
 assigning a uniform resource locator (URL) to the at least one new webpage. 
   
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the server application is further configured to transmit at least one cookie to facilitate future requests. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the at least one telephony application is further configured to assign the at least one phone number to the at least one advertising campaign based on a bid received from an owner of the at least one advertising campaign. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the at least one server application is further configured to associate a revenue with the at least one advertising campaign associated with the at least one request. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 24 , further comprising:
 at least one recording server comprising at least one recording application;   at least one telephonic connector coupled to at least one telephone network; wherein:   the at least one telephonic connector is configured to accept at least one phone call placed to the at least one phone number,   the at least one server application is further configured to determine whether the at least one phone number to which the at least one phone call is placed is associated with an advertising campaign and identify the advertising campaign associated with the at least one phone number to which the at least one phone call is placed, and   the at least one recording application is configured to record phone call data associated with the at least one phone call.   
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the at least one telephony application is further configured to:
 identify at least one phone number as a blacklisted number associated with an inactive campaign;   determine whether the at least one phone number is blacklisted after accepting the at least one phone call; and   terminate the at least one phone call if the at least one phone number is blacklisted.   
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the at least one telephonic connector is configured to play at least one ring tone on the at least one phone call. 
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein:
 the at least one telephony application is further configured to determine a time at which the phone call is accepted and determine whether the time is within business hours, and   the at least one telephonic connector is further configured to play a first message on the at least one phone call if the time is within business hours and play a second message on the at least one phone call if the time is not within business hours.   
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the at least one server application is further configured to generate at least one report using the phone call data. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 37 , wherein the at least one server application is further configured to transfer the report to at least one advertiser. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the at least one telephonic connector is further configured to transfer the phone call to at least one advertiser. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the telephonic connector is further configured to terminate the phone call after the phone call data is recorded. 
     
     
         41 . The system of  claim 36 , wherein the telephonic connector is further configured to terminate the phone call after playing the first message or the second message. 
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the at least one telephonic connector is further configured to run an answer application on the at least one phone call. 
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 33 , wherein the at least one telephonic connector is further configured to run a call wrap-up application on the at least one phone call. 
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the at least one embedded element comprises at least one javascript element. 
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the at least one server application is further configured to transmit the at least one new webpage. 
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 24 , wherein the at least one telephony application is further configured to assign the at least one phone number to the at least one advertising campaign based on a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) associated with the at least one request, a search engine associated with the at least one request, a search term associated with the at least one request, and/or a keyword associated with the at least one request.