US 7,818,399 B1 · Methods of expanding commercial opportunities for internet websites through coordinated offsite marketing

Abstract

An e-commerce outsourcing system and method provides hosts with transparent, context-sensitive e-commerce supported pages. A plurality of visually perceptible elements associated with and identifying a source of a host's web page are stored in the form of data in a computer database for future use. The host includes one or more links within a page on the host website that correlate with a selected commerce object, which may be contextually related to material in the page. The commerce object can be a buying opportunity for a product of a third-party merchant, a product category containing a plurality of products of third-party merchants, or a dynamic selection indicator of a merchant's product. A plurality of hosts may choose to link to the same commerce object. Upon activation of the link displayed by a particular host website, a visitor computer is served with a page displaying the visually perceptible elements associated with that specific host's website and information associated with the commerce object correlated to the link. Where the commerce object is a dynamic selection indicator, the content is selected at the time of activation based upon an analysis of the page containing the activated link.

Claims26

Dependent claims

A method of an outsource provider serving web pages offering commercial opportunities, the method comprising:

(a) automatically at a server of the outsource provider, in response to activation, by a web browser of a computer user, of a link displayed by one of a plurality of first web pages, recognizing as the source page the one of the first web pages on which the link has been activated;
(i) wherein each of the first web pages belongs to one of a plurality of web page owners;
(ii) wherein each of the first web pages displays at least one active link associated with a commerce object associated with a buying opportunity of a selected one of a plurality of merchants;
and
(iii) wherein the selected merchant, the outsource provider, and the owner of the first web page are each third parties with respect to one other;
(b) automatically retrieving from a storage coupled to the server pre-stored data associated with the source page;
and then
(c) automatically with the server computer-generating and transmitting to the web browser a second web page that includes:
(i) information associated with the commerce object associated with the link that has been activated, and
(ii) a plurality of visually perceptible elements derived from the retrieved pre-stored data and visually corresponding to the source page.

7 more elements

A computer-readable memory adapted for use by an outsource provider in serving web pages offering commercial opportunities, the computer-readable memory used to direct a computer of the outsource provider to perform the steps of:

(a) in response to activation, by a web browser of a computer user, of a link displayed by one of a plurality of first web pages, automatically recognizing as the source page the one of the first web pages on which the link has been activated;
(i) wherein each of the first web pages belongs to one of a plurality of web page owners;
(ii) wherein each of the first web pages displays at least one active link associated with a commerce object associated with a buying opportunity of a selected one of a plurality of merchants;
and
(iii) wherein the selected merchant, the outsource provider, and the owner of the first web page are each third parties with respect to one another;
(b) automatically retrieving from a storage coupled to the computer of the outsource provider pre-stored data associated with the source page;
and then
(c) automatically computer-generating and transmitting to the web browser a second web page that includes:
(i) information associated with the commerce object associated with the link that has been activated, and
(ii) a plurality of visually perceptible elements derived from the retrieved pre-stored data and visually corresponding to the source page.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Methods of expanding commercial opportunities for internet websites through coordinated offsite marketing

Life of this patent

Methods of expanding commercial opportunities for internet websites through coordinated offsite marketing

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims26