WO2001067313A1 - User-targeted information and advertising - Google Patents

User-targeted information and advertising Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2001067313A1
WO2001067313A1 PCT/AU2001/000231 AU0100231W WO0167313A1 WO 2001067313 A1 WO2001067313 A1 WO 2001067313A1 AU 0100231 W AU0100231 W AU 0100231W WO 0167313 A1 WO0167313 A1 WO 0167313A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
user
computer
information
service provider
internet
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/AU2001/000231
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Michael Gilmour
Original Assignee
Interfusion Net Pty Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Interfusion Net Pty Ltd filed Critical Interfusion Net Pty Ltd
Priority to AU2001237140A priority Critical patent/AU2001237140A1/en
Publication of WO2001067313A1 publication Critical patent/WO2001067313A1/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
    • G06F16/90—Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
    • G06F16/95—Retrieval from the web
    • G06F16/953—Querying, e.g. by the use of web search engines
    • G06F16/9535—Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a method of supplying user-targeted information to a computer user, a method of providing user-targeted advertising services to customers of a plurality of Internet Service Providers, and a computer software application for use by an Internet Service Provider. It relates particularly but not exclusively to user-targeted advertising which is based on monitoring a computer user's Internet-browsing activities.
  • the Internet is a vast source of information for individuals, and a vast source of potential customers for advertisers.
  • the computer user's web surfing experience is often clouded by advertisements for goods which the user does not want and information which does not interest the user.
  • the user is happy to receive advertising material which the user perceives to be relevant to his or her interests, but is irritated by advertising material perceived as irrelevant.
  • One way of doing this is for an individual to install a monitoring program on his or her computer, communicating with an advertising service.
  • the monitoring program sends details of the individual's on-line activities to the advertising service, the advertising service analyses this to locate advertisements which would be of interest to the individual, and the relevant advertisements are sent to the individual.
  • the advertising service receives payment from advertisers based on the number of advertisements placed with individual consumers, and the individual is paid a fee by the advertising service based on the number of advertisements which he or she has received or responded to.
  • this arrangement is administratively very complex for the advertising service, resulting in a practical limitation on the number of individual subscribers. Advertising systems based on this model have not been successful.
  • a cookie is a file sent to the individual's computer when the individual visits a particular web site.
  • the cookie may be a unique identifier devised by the web site operator which enables the web site operator to identify the individual when the individual visits again.
  • the web site operator can compile a user profile for an individual based on the particular parts of the web site visited by the individual, the length of time spent at each part, products purchased or information requested, etc. Further, a number of web site operators can pool their information using the same cookie, so that the person's user profile can be based on visits made to a number of different sites.
  • the type of user profile thus compiled will always be restricted because it covers only the user's activities on the site(s) controlled by the web site operator; information on the rest of the user's Internet activities is not available.
  • a method of supplying user-targeted information to a computer user connected to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider's computer including the steps of:
  • the step of monitoring the Internet Service Provider's computer may be done in any suitable way.
  • the step of monitoring includes the further step of comparing web page requests made by the computer user with a web page subject matter database which contains details of requested web pages classified according to subject matter, in order to determine subject matter preferences of the computer user. This enables easy classification of the computer user's interests. If, for example, the database reveals that several of the web pages requested by the computer user relate to cars, it is easy to conclude that the user is interested in cars.
  • the monitoring activities provided for in the present invention will only be exercised with the computer user's consent.
  • the computer user benefits in that he or she receives information (including advertising material) which is relevant to his or her interests. It is preferred that the invention be exercised in such a way that the user's identity remain confidential to the Internet Service Provider and to an external user profile database provider. It is further preferred that the user's name and address remain confidential to the Internet Service Provider (not being made available to the user profile database provider), and the user's profile remain confidential to the user profile database provider (not being made available to the Internet Service Provider). In this way, no-one obtains information which may be said to amount to an invasion of privacy.
  • the step of monitoring the Internet Service Provider's computer is not necessarily restricted to the recording of the user's Internet browsing activities. It may also include recording other activities of the computer user such as on-line purchase decisions, or document and software downloads.
  • the step of supplying the relevant information to the computer user may be accomplished in any suitable manner.
  • the relevant information is inserted into the data stream flowing from the Internet Service Provider's computer to the user's computer, and the relevant information appears in a separate window on the user's computer display.
  • the steps of monitoring the Internet Service Provider's computer and supplying the relevant information to the computer user are both performed by a "pre-proxy" software application operating on the Internet Service Provider's computer.
  • the method of the invention is then accomplished through the co-operation of the pre-proxy software with an external profile database service provider.
  • pre-proxy is intended to indicate software which sits on the Internet Service Provider's computer as an interface between the customer (computer user) and the proxy server through which the Internet Service Provider typically gives the customer access to the Internet.
  • Relevant information which has recently been supplied to a user may be stored in a cache on the Internet Service Provider's computer so that it is available for supply to another user for a period of time if the information should be determined to be relevant to that other user during that period. This results in faster delivery of information.
  • a method of providing user-targeted advertising services to customers of a plurality of Internet Service Providers including the following steps:
  • the method of this second aspect of the invention may include the further step of maintaining an accounting database which records details of each time an advertisement is supplied to a customer, so that the advertiser can be billed and the Internet Service Provider remunerated appropriately.
  • the invention allows small Internet Service Providers to take advantage of advertising revenue.
  • a single Internet Service Provider with only a few thousand customers may not have a large enough customer base to attract advertisers.
  • an individually customer targeted advertising service based on the consolidated customer lists of a number of Internet Service Providers is likely to be attractive to advertisers, and enables small Internet Service Providers to take advantage of advertising revenue.
  • a computer software application for use by an Internet Service Provider having the following functions: (a) monitoring the Internet browsing activities of individual customers of that Internet Service Provider including web page requests;
  • the computer software application may have the further function of storing in a cache for a period of time advertisements or parts of advertisements which are supplied to individual customers so that an advertisement (or part advertisement) is available for supply to another customer if it should be determined to be relevant to that other customer during that period.
  • Figure 1 shows a screen display illustrating how relevant information may be provided to a computer user in accordance with the invention.
  • Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention.
  • Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 1 The manner in which the inventive method appears to the computer user is illustrated by Figure 1.
  • the computer user first provides his or her consent for a user profile database service provider to create a user profile and supply information to the user relevant to the user's particular preferences.
  • a new window here referred to as an "Active Information" window
  • the particular information or advertisement may be selected using a number of criteria such as time of day, profile, sites visited, etc.
  • the information displayed to the user may be text, static and/or animated graphics, video and/or audio information.
  • the user profile database service provider has detected that the user is currently browsing a bank web site. Accordingly, the Active Information window is showing information or advertising material relating to banking services.
  • the method of the present invention is shown in greater detail in Figure 2.
  • the user is connected to the User's Internet Service Provider (ISP).
  • the User's ISP is connected to the Internet.
  • the user profile database service provider (here shown as Interfusion. Net) is also connected to the Internet.
  • the User's ISP is shown as including three elements: a "Pre-Proxy”, an "ISP Proxy”, and "Advert Graphics”.
  • the user profile database service provider is shown as including a "Profile Database”, an "Advert Database”, and "Accounting Databases”.
  • the Pre-Proxy at the User's ISP monitors the Internet browsing activities of the computer user including web page requests.
  • the information so recorded is sent via the Internet to the Profile Database, where a user profile indicating the user's interests and preferences is accumulated.
  • Each piece of information sent to the Profile Database has a User ID to enabled it to be filed in the correct user profile, although it is preferred for privacy reasons that the User ID does not identify the actual user to anyone other than the User's ISP.
  • the user profile database service provider is also the advertising database service provider, although in practice they may be separate entities.
  • the advertising database may consist of advertising material or a mixture of advertising material and non-advertising information such as weather or news items.
  • a relevant advertisement or piece of information is identified by the user profile database service provider based on the subject matter of the web page which the user is currently visiting or on a relevant subject identified from the user's profile.
  • the relevant advertisement or information is sent together with the User ID back across the Internet to the User's ISP.
  • the Pre-Proxy at the User's ISP uses the User ID to identify the relevant user, and the relevant advertisement or information is inserted into the data stream going to the user's computer before appearing in the Active Information window on the user's computer display.
  • a cache of advertisement graphics is maintained at the User's ISP to enable a faster transfer process if the same advertisement or item of information is identified as being relevant to another user.
  • the invention is preferably embodied in an arrangement whereby multiple ISPs are serviced by a single user-profile database service provider.
  • the Accounting Databases keep track of how many times each advertisement has been forwarded to a user, and how many advertisements have been forwarded to each ISP, enabling advertisers to be billed and ISPs to be remunerated accordingly.
  • FIG. 3 A flow chart of the inventive process is given in Figure 3.
  • the user begins browsing the Internet.
  • a request for a web page is detected by the pre-proxy before being forwarded to the ISP's standard proxy server.
  • the proxy server finds the web page in the usual way, while the pre-proxy inserts a Java script into the HTTP data stream returned to the user's computer.
  • the Java script opens the Active Information window on the user's computer. While this is happening, the unique User ID (received from a cookie on the user's computer) and the URL of the requested web page are forwarded to the user-profile database service provider.
  • the user's profile is updated with the new URL information, and an advertisement or information which is of most relevance to the user is selected.
  • the User ID and an identifier of the relevant advertisement are sent to the ISP; otherwise the whole advertisement is sent with the User ID.
  • the pre-proxy at the ISP identifies the user by means of the User ID, and the advertisement or information is forwarded in the HTTP data stream to the Active Information window on the user's computer display. The process is repeated as the user continues to browse. It is to be understood that various alterations additions and/or modifications may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the ambit of the invention.

Abstract

A method of supplying user-targeted information to a computer user connected to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider's computer, includes the steps of: (a) monitoring the Internet Service Provider's computer to record Internet browsing activities of the computer user including web page requests; (b) accumulating the information so recorded into a user profile database which contains a profile of the computer user; (c) selecting information relevant to the computer user from an information database, relevance of the information being determined with regard to the computer user's profile and/or the subject matter of any Internet site which the computer user's profile and/or the subject matter of any Internet site which the computer user is currently browsing; and (d) supplying the relevant information to the computer user.

Description

USER-TARGETED INFORMATION AND ADVERTISING
Field of Invention
This invention relates to a method of supplying user-targeted information to a computer user, a method of providing user-targeted advertising services to customers of a plurality of Internet Service Providers, and a computer software application for use by an Internet Service Provider. It relates particularly but not exclusively to user-targeted advertising which is based on monitoring a computer user's Internet-browsing activities.
Background to Invention
The Internet is a vast source of information for individuals, and a vast source of potential customers for advertisers. However, the very vastness of the Internet often makes it difficult for individuals seeking information or goods to connect with suppliers of that information or those goods. The computer user's web surfing experience is often clouded by advertisements for goods which the user does not want and information which does not interest the user. Usually the user is happy to receive advertising material which the user perceives to be relevant to his or her interests, but is irritated by advertising material perceived as irrelevant. There is a need for new methods of matching advertising for particular products or services to people who are interested in acquiring those products or services.
In order to provide advertising and information communications which are relevant to the interests of a particular individual, it is necessary to build a profile of the interests and preferences of that individual. This can be done by arranging for the person to fill in a form indicating his or her preferences. However, it is in general undesirable to make personal information publicly accessible on the Internet, and many people are wary of filling in such forms. Further, many people would prefer not to go to the trouble of filling in forms because it can be a time-consuming process, and in any event there is a significant probability that items will be filled in incorrectly or incompletely. Nonetheless, it is quite possible to supply user- targeted advertising based on user-supplied information in a standard format. A more sophisticated form of user-targeted advertising involves compiling user- profiles by monitoring the on-line activities of individuals.
One way of doing this is for an individual to install a monitoring program on his or her computer, communicating with an advertising service. The monitoring program sends details of the individual's on-line activities to the advertising service, the advertising service analyses this to locate advertisements which would be of interest to the individual, and the relevant advertisements are sent to the individual. The advertising service receives payment from advertisers based on the number of advertisements placed with individual consumers, and the individual is paid a fee by the advertising service based on the number of advertisements which he or she has received or responded to. However, this arrangement is administratively very complex for the advertising service, resulting in a practical limitation on the number of individual subscribers. Advertising systems based on this model have not been successful.
Another way of customising advertising using user-profiles involves the use of cookies and multiple websites. A cookie is a file sent to the individual's computer when the individual visits a particular web site. The cookie may be a unique identifier devised by the web site operator which enables the web site operator to identify the individual when the individual visits again. The web site operator can compile a user profile for an individual based on the particular parts of the web site visited by the individual, the length of time spent at each part, products purchased or information requested, etc. Further, a number of web site operators can pool their information using the same cookie, so that the person's user profile can be based on visits made to a number of different sites. However, the type of user profile thus compiled will always be restricted because it covers only the user's activities on the site(s) controlled by the web site operator; information on the rest of the user's Internet activities is not available.
Summary of Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of supplying user-targeted information to a computer user connected to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider's computer, including the steps of:
(a) monitoring the Internet Service Provider's computers to record Internet browsing activities of the computer user including web page requests;
(b) accumulating the information so recorded into a user profile database which contains a profile of the computer user;
(c) selecting information relevant to the computer user from an information database, relevance of the information being determined with regard to the computer user's profile and/or the subject matter of any Internet site which the computer user is currently browsing; and
(d) supplying the relevant information to the computer user.
The step of monitoring the Internet Service Provider's computer may be done in any suitable way. In a preferred arrangement, the step of monitoring includes the further step of comparing web page requests made by the computer user with a web page subject matter database which contains details of requested web pages classified according to subject matter, in order to determine subject matter preferences of the computer user. This enables easy classification of the computer user's interests. If, for example, the database reveals that several of the web pages requested by the computer user relate to cars, it is easy to conclude that the user is interested in cars.
It is envisaged that the monitoring activities provided for in the present invention will only be exercised with the computer user's consent. The computer user benefits in that he or she receives information (including advertising material) which is relevant to his or her interests. It is preferred that the invention be exercised in such a way that the user's identity remain confidential to the Internet Service Provider and to an external user profile database provider. It is further preferred that the user's name and address remain confidential to the Internet Service Provider (not being made available to the user profile database provider), and the user's profile remain confidential to the user profile database provider (not being made available to the Internet Service Provider). In this way, no-one obtains information which may be said to amount to an invasion of privacy. The step of monitoring the Internet Service Provider's computer is not necessarily restricted to the recording of the user's Internet browsing activities. It may also include recording other activities of the computer user such as on-line purchase decisions, or document and software downloads.
The step of supplying the relevant information to the computer user may be accomplished in any suitable manner. In a preferred arrangement, the relevant information is inserted into the data stream flowing from the Internet Service Provider's computer to the user's computer, and the relevant information appears in a separate window on the user's computer display.
In a preferred arrangement, the steps of monitoring the Internet Service Provider's computer and supplying the relevant information to the computer user are both performed by a "pre-proxy" software application operating on the Internet Service Provider's computer. The method of the invention is then accomplished through the co-operation of the pre-proxy software with an external profile database service provider. The term "pre-proxy" is intended to indicate software which sits on the Internet Service Provider's computer as an interface between the customer (computer user) and the proxy server through which the Internet Service Provider typically gives the customer access to the Internet.
Relevant information which has recently been supplied to a user may be stored in a cache on the Internet Service Provider's computer so that it is available for supply to another user for a period of time if the information should be determined to be relevant to that other user during that period. This results in faster delivery of information.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of providing user-targeted advertising services to customers of a plurality of Internet Service Providers, including the following steps:
(a) providing an advertisement database having a plurality of advertisements classified according to subject matter; (b) monitoring the Internet Service Providers' computers to record Internet browsing activities of individual customers including web page requests;
(c) accumulating the information so recorded into a user profile database which contains profiles of individual customers; (d) selecting advertisements relevant to individual customers from the advertisement database, relevance of each advertisement being determined with regard to each customer's user profile and/or the subject matter of any Internet site which the customer is currently browsing; and (e) supplying the relevant advertisements to the customers. The method of this second aspect of the invention may include the further step of maintaining an accounting database which records details of each time an advertisement is supplied to a customer, so that the advertiser can be billed and the Internet Service Provider remunerated appropriately.
It will be appreciated that the invention allows small Internet Service Providers to take advantage of advertising revenue. A single Internet Service Provider with only a few thousand customers may not have a large enough customer base to attract advertisers. However, an individually customer targeted advertising service based on the consolidated customer lists of a number of Internet Service Providers is likely to be attractive to advertisers, and enables small Internet Service Providers to take advantage of advertising revenue.
According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a computer software application for use by an Internet Service Provider having the following functions: (a) monitoring the Internet browsing activities of individual customers of that Internet Service Provider including web page requests;
(b) forwarding the information so recorded to a user profile database service provider;
(c) receiving from an advertisement database service provider advertisements relevant to the individual customers; and
(d) supplying the relevant advertisements to the individual customers. It is preferred, although not necessary, that the user profile database sen/ice provider and the advertisement database service provider be the same person or organization.
The computer software application may have the further function of storing in a cache for a period of time advertisements or parts of advertisements which are supplied to individual customers so that an advertisement (or part advertisement) is available for supply to another customer if it should be determined to be relevant to that other customer during that period.
Brief Description of Drawings
The invention will hereinafter be described in greater detail by reference to the attached drawings which show an example form of the invention. It is to be understood that the particularity of the drawings does not supersede the generality of the preceding description of the invention.
Figure 1 shows a screen display illustrating how relevant information may be provided to a computer user in accordance with the invention.
Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the invention.
Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the invention.
Detailed Description
The manner in which the inventive method appears to the computer user is illustrated by Figure 1. The computer user first provides his or her consent for a user profile database service provider to create a user profile and supply information to the user relevant to the user's particular preferences. Then, while the computer user is browsing the Internet, a new window (here referred to as an "Active Information" window) appears on the computer user's screen, showing information or advertising material which is relevant to the subject matter of the website currently being visited or relevant to the user's preferences revealed by the user's profile which has been compiled by the user profile database service provider. The particular information or advertisement may be selected using a number of criteria such as time of day, profile, sites visited, etc. The information displayed to the user may be text, static and/or animated graphics, video and/or audio information.
In the example shown, the user profile database service provider has detected that the user is currently browsing a bank web site. Accordingly, the Active Information window is showing information or advertising material relating to banking services.
The method of the present invention is shown in greater detail in Figure 2. The user is connected to the User's Internet Service Provider (ISP). The User's ISP is connected to the Internet. The user profile database service provider (here shown as Interfusion. Net) is also connected to the Internet. The User's ISP is shown as including three elements: a "Pre-Proxy", an "ISP Proxy", and "Advert Graphics". The user profile database service provider is shown as including a "Profile Database", an "Advert Database", and "Accounting Databases".
In practice, the Pre-Proxy at the User's ISP monitors the Internet browsing activities of the computer user including web page requests. The information so recorded is sent via the Internet to the Profile Database, where a user profile indicating the user's interests and preferences is accumulated. Each piece of information sent to the Profile Database has a User ID to enabled it to be filed in the correct user profile, although it is preferred for privacy reasons that the User ID does not identify the actual user to anyone other than the User's ISP.
In the embodiment shown, the user profile database service provider is also the advertising database service provider, although in practice they may be separate entities. The advertising database may consist of advertising material or a mixture of advertising material and non-advertising information such as weather or news items. A relevant advertisement or piece of information is identified by the user profile database service provider based on the subject matter of the web page which the user is currently visiting or on a relevant subject identified from the user's profile. The relevant advertisement or information is sent together with the User ID back across the Internet to the User's ISP. The Pre-Proxy at the User's ISP uses the User ID to identify the relevant user, and the relevant advertisement or information is inserted into the data stream going to the user's computer before appearing in the Active Information window on the user's computer display.
A cache of advertisement graphics is maintained at the User's ISP to enable a faster transfer process if the same advertisement or item of information is identified as being relevant to another user.
The invention is preferably embodied in an arrangement whereby multiple ISPs are serviced by a single user-profile database service provider. The Accounting Databases keep track of how many times each advertisement has been forwarded to a user, and how many advertisements have been forwarded to each ISP, enabling advertisers to be billed and ISPs to be remunerated accordingly.
A flow chart of the inventive process is given in Figure 3. In this arrangement, the user begins browsing the Internet. A request for a web page is detected by the pre-proxy before being forwarded to the ISP's standard proxy server. The proxy server finds the web page in the usual way, while the pre-proxy inserts a Java script into the HTTP data stream returned to the user's computer. The Java script opens the Active Information window on the user's computer. While this is happening, the unique User ID (received from a cookie on the user's computer) and the URL of the requested web page are forwarded to the user-profile database service provider. The user's profile is updated with the new URL information, and an advertisement or information which is of most relevance to the user is selected. If the pre-proxy has the relevant graphic in cache, the User ID and an identifier of the relevant advertisement are sent to the ISP; otherwise the whole advertisement is sent with the User ID. The pre-proxy at the ISP identifies the user by means of the User ID, and the advertisement or information is forwarded in the HTTP data stream to the Active Information window on the user's computer display. The process is repeated as the user continues to browse. It is to be understood that various alterations additions and/or modifications may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the ambit of the invention.

Claims

Claims
1. A method of supplying user-targeted information to a computer user connected to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider's computer, including the steps of:
(a) monitoring the Internet Service Provider's computer to record Internet browsing activities of the computer user including web page requests;
(b) accumulating the information so recorded into a user profile database which contains a profile of the computer user; (c) selecting information relevant to the computer user from an information database, relevance of the information being determined with regard to the computer user's profile and/or the subject matter of any Internet site which the computer user is currently browsing; and (d) supplying the relevant information to the computer user.
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of monitoring the Internet Service Provider's computer includes the further step of comparing web page requests made by the computer user with a web page subject matter database which contains details of commonly requested web pages classified according to subject matter, in order to determine subject matter preferences of the computer user.
3. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the step of monitoring the Internet Service Provider's computer includes recording other activities of the computer user such as on-line purchase decisions, or document and software downloads.
4. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the relevant information is inserted into the data stream flowing from the Internet Service Provider's computer to the user's computer, and the relevant information appears in a separate window on the user's computer display.
5. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the steps of monitoring the Internet Service Provider's computer and supplying the relevant information to the computer user are both performed by a "pre-proxy" software application operating on the Internet Service Provider's computer.
6. A method according to any preceding claim wherein relevant information which has recently been supplied to a user is stored in a cache on the Internet Service Provider's computer and is available for supply to another user for a period of time if the information should be determined to be relevant to that other user during that period.
7. A method of providing user-targeted advertising services to customers of a plurality of Internet Service Providers, including the following steps:
(a) providing an advertisement database having a plurality of advertisements classified according to subject matter;
(b) monitoring the Internet Service Providers' computers to record Internet browsing activities of individual customers including web page requests;
(c) accumulating the information so recorded into a user profile database which contains profiles of individual customers;
(d) selecting advertisements relevant to individual customers from the advertisement database, relevance of each advertisement being determined with regard to each customer's user profile and/or the subject matter of any Internet site which the customer is currently browsing; and
(e) supplying the relevant advertisements to the customers.
8. A method according to claim 7 including the further step of maintaining an accounting database which records details of each time an advertisement is supplied to a customer, so that the advertiser can be billed and the Internet Service Provider remunerated appropriately.
9. A computer software application for use by an Internet Service Provider having the following functions:
(a) monitoring the Internet browsing activities of individual customers of that Internet Service Provider including web page requests;
(b) forwarding the information so recorded to a user profile database service provider; (c) receiving from an advertisement database service provider advertisements relevant to the individual customers; and
(d) supplying the relevant advertisements to the individual customers.
10. A computer software application according to claim 9 having the further function of storing in a cache for a period of time advertisements or parts of advertisements which are supplied to individual customers so that an advertisement (or part advertisement) is available for supply to another customer if it should be determined to be relevant to that other customer during that period.
PCT/AU2001/000231 2000-03-06 2001-03-06 User-targeted information and advertising WO2001067313A1 (en)

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