United States Patent [19]
`Wexler
`
`[54] THIRD-PARTY ON-LINE ACCOUNTING
`SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREFOR
`
`[76] Inventor: Daniel D. WeXler, 481 Stratford Rd.,
`Brooklyn, NY. 11218
`
`[21] Appl. No.: 08/729,188
`[22]
`Filed:
`Oct. 11, 1996
`
`[51] Int. Cl.6 .......................... .. G06F 13/14; G06F 13/42;
`H04L 12/46; H04L 29/02
`[52] US. Cl. .......................... .. 705/14; 709/224; 709/245;
`709/218; 707/501
`[58] Field of Search ................................ .. 705/14, 26, 27,
`705/30; 395/200.54, 200.57, 200.48, 200.75;
`707/501, 513, 104; 380/23, 24, 25; 379/118,
`127, 142; 709/218, 224, 227, 245
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`6/1993 Tsutsui ............................. .. 395/20054
`5,220,655
`5,359,508 10/1994 Rossides ..
`.... .. 705/30
`
`5,537,314
`
`7/1996 Kanter . . . . . .
`
`. . . . .. 705/14
`
`705/14
`9/1996 Fite et al. ..
`5,557,721
`395/200.48
`5,572,643 11/1996 Judson ....... ..
`.. 395/200.54
`5,712,979
`1/1998 Graber et al. .
`.. 395/200.57
`5,717,860
`2/1998 Graber et al. .
`....... .. 705/14
`5,740,549
`4/1998 Reilly etal. ..
`395/200.33
`5,751,956
`5/1998 Kirsch ........ ..
`5,812,769
`9/1998 Graber et al. ........................... .. 705/14
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Streams Press Release, “Streams Readies Release of Break
`through Internet Media Planning and Assessment”, http://
`streams.com/press release.html, Aug. 31, 1995, pp. 1—2.
`“Research Firms Strive for Web Tracking That Counts”,
`Interactive Marketing News, vol. 2, No. 13, Jun. 23, 1995.
`
`US005960409A
`[11] Patent Number:
`[45] Date of Patent:
`
`5,960,409
`Sep. 28, 1999
`
`W3 Organization, “HTTP Request Fields”, http://
`www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Protocols/HTTP/HTRQ Header
`s.html, May 3, 1994, pp. 1—5.
`Primary Examiner—Eric W. Stamber
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—DeMont & Breyer, L.L.C.;
`Wayne S. Breyer; Jason Paul DeMont
`[57]
`ABSTRACT
`
`A system and method for providing on-line third party
`accounting and statistical information is disclosed. A third
`party accounting service receives a download request signal
`ultimately intended for an advertiser Web site. The down
`load request signal is generated when a user clicks on a
`banner displayed on a Web page of a frequently-visited Web
`site. The banner is published by the frequently-visited Web
`site for the bene?t of the advertiser. The third party receives
`the download request since, rather than pointing to the
`advertiser Web site, the banner is con?gured to point to the
`third party Web site. The third party Web site maintains a
`count of all received download request signals generated by
`clicking on the banner. Since an advertiser banner may be
`displayed at more than one frequently-visited Web site, the
`third party Web site further maintains a log containing the
`address of the frequently-visited Web site that displayed the
`banner that generated the click, as well as other information
`provided by tile user Web browser. The third party sends a
`redirect signal to the user Web browser causing it to send a
`download request to the advertiser Web site. The advertiser
`Web site then downloads the information originally sought
`by the user to his Web browser. The third party accumulates
`and tabulates statistical information including the number of
`clicks on the advertiser banner, and data indicative of the
`effectiveness of the banner-publisher frequently-visited Web
`site as an advertising medium. Such information is provided
`to the advertiser and/or the banner publisher.
`
`11 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets
`
`[17
`
`WEB SITE
`
`190
`S
`
`19b
`
`[3
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`WEB BROWSER r7
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`19
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`I
`
`__________________ ___I
`
`WEB SITE
`
`Google Inc.
`GOOG 1007
`IPR of U.S. Patent No. 6,286,045
`
`Page 1 of 7
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.28, 1999
`
`Sheet 1 of2
`
`5,960,409
`
`FIG. 1
`PRIOR ART
`
`3
`/
`wEB BROWSER
`f7
`WEB PAGE
`BANNER
`9/
`
`19
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`MB BROWSER
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`WEB PAGE
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`BANNER
`9/
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`[17
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`L _______________________ ___I
`
`Page 2 of 7
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Sep.28, 1999
`
`Sheet 2 of2
`
`5,960,409
`
`FIG. 3
`
`POINT BANNER TO
`THIRD PARTY
`
`RECEIVE DOWNLOAD
`REQUEST SIGNAL
`
`INCREMENT COUNT OF
`RECEIVED DOWNLOAD
`REQUEST SIGNALS
`
`REDIRECT DOWNLOAD
`REQUEST SIGNAL TO
`ADVERTISER
`
`Page 3 of 7
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`

`

`5,960,409
`
`1
`THIRD-PARTY ON-LINE ACCOUNTING
`SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREFOR
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to Internet services.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`2
`visited site. While anyone With a Web site can display a
`banner, advertisers Will Want to advertise at frequently
`visited sites, such as Web directories and large service
`providers that offer their oWn information and online
`resources as Well as Internet access such as America Online,
`Compuserve, Prodigy and the like.
`Regardless of the fee basis, both the advertiser and the
`administrator of the banner-publishing site Will typically
`have an interest in knoWing certain statistics pertaining to
`advertising effectiveness. For eXample, if the fee for the
`advertising is based on the number of clicks on the banner,
`then both parties Will Want this statistic. The advertiser can
`obtain this information by interrogating an access log main
`tained by the advertiser Web site. This information,
`hoWever, is not directly available to the banner-publishing
`site. While it can be obtained from the advertiser, the
`publishing-site administrator Would presumably prefer
`receiving the relevant statistics from an unbiased source.
`Further, since advertisers Will often advertise at more than
`one location, both the advertisers and the publishers Will
`typically have an interest in the statistics pertaining to the
`effectiveness of an individual publishing site at generating
`leads for the advertiser. In other Words, they Will be inter
`ested in knoWing the percentage of the total number of
`“clicks” on the banner generated by each publishing site.
`Currently, such information is not readily available. To
`obtain it requires that the appropriate eXpertise is available,
`and that the server at the advertiser Web site is appropriately
`con?gured.
`In vieW of the value of such statistics, and the relative
`inconvenience in obtaining such information, a need pres
`ently eXists for an unbiased, readily available source of
`statistical/accounting information for Internet advertisers
`and advertising publishers.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`A system and method for providing on-line third party
`accounting and statistical information is disclosed. Accord
`ing to the invention, a banner, displayed for the purpose of
`enticing a ?rst party (user) to visit a fourth party’s
`(advertiser) Web site, is served to the user’s Web broWser by
`a second party (banner publisher). The banner is operable to
`doWnload the address of a third-party (accounting and
`statistical service) to the user’s Web broWser and establish a
`link betWeen the user and the third party service. The third
`party service receives a doWnload request signal from the
`user’s Web broWser When the link is established, and main
`tains a count of received request signals and a log entry
`containing the second party’s Web site address and other
`information provided by the user’s Web broWser. The third
`party service redirects the Web broWser’s doWnload request
`signal to the advertiser’s Web site, Which serves a Web page
`to the user’s Web broWser. The method is transparent to the
`user; i.e., as far as the user is aWare, the banner takes him
`directly to the advertiser’s Web site.
`The third party accumulates and tabulates statistical infor
`mation including the number of clicks on the advertiser’s
`banner, and further provides data indicative of the effective
`ness of the banner publisher’s Web page as an advertising
`medium.
`
`Until as recently as ?ve years ago, the Internet Was used
`primarily by the scienti?c and technical community and Was
`relatively unknown outside of such circles. And noW, ?ve
`years hence, knowledge of the Internet, and its use, are
`ubiquitous.
`Businesses have recognized the bene?ts of establishing a
`presence on the Internet, and, more particularly, on the
`World Wide Web (Web). One bene?t is that it is a convenient
`Way for both the buyer and the seller to do business;
`products and services can be ordered on-line. Another ben
`e?t to a business is that for the money spent, its advertising
`can reach a lot of prospective customers.
`One form of Internet advertising is to establish a Web site
`operable to doWnload at least one “Web page” to a user
`“visiting” that Web site. AWeb page contains a single ?le of
`hypertext information, Which may be teXt, graphics and even
`sound. The main Web page of a given Web site is referred
`to as a “Home page.” The Home page is typically the ?rst
`page a user Will see When visiting a site. The Home page
`usually contains hyperteXt “links,” to other subsidiary Web
`pages providing additional information about the business.
`A Web site is ineffective as an advertising tool unless
`someone visits it, And, the only ones visiting the site are
`those that have sought it out. To increase the likelihood of
`such visitations, businesses may list their Web site on one or
`more Web directories. A user interested in particular prod
`ucts or services can use a search engine to search the Web
`directory and identify businesses providing such products or
`services and their Web address. The user can then “broWse”
`the Web sites of the businesses offering the products/services
`of interest.
`A directory listing increases the likelihood of a user
`?nding the Web site of a particular business. Still, an
`advertiser listing Will be found only if the user is looking for
`the goods or services provided by the advertiser. As such,
`many frequently-visited Web sites offer businesses a more
`aggressive alternative to a simple directory listing. In
`particular, a business can choose to have a “banner” dis
`played or “published” by such a frequently-visited site.
`The banner describes an area of a Web page that can be
`used to display logos, etc., that Will hopefully entice the
`reader to obtain further information pertaining to the banner.
`If so enticed, the reader can “clic ” on the banner, assuming
`the banner is a link, and folloW the link to, for eXample, the
`Web site of the business “behind” the banner. The banner
`provides substantially more of an advertising presence to the
`advertiser than a directory listing, since, at least for a
`contracted period of time, the banner is conspicuously
`displayed on the Web page. Thus, regardless of a user
`purpose for visiting such a site, he may see the advertiser
`banner displayed.
`While there is typically no cost for having one Web site
`listed in a directory, advertising With a banner is typically
`provided for a fee. The cost of advertising at such a site may
`be based, for eXample, on the number of times the site
`displays the banner or on the number of times a user clicks
`on the banner linked to the advertiser Web site. And, of
`course, the cost is based on the popularity of the frequently
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
`
`65
`
`Further features of the invention Will become more appar
`ent from the folloWing detailed description of speci?c
`embodiments thereof When read in conjunction With the
`accompanying draWings, in Which:
`
`Page 4 of 7
`
`

`

`3
`FIG. 1 shows a conventional system for advertising With
`a banner;
`FIG. 2 is an exemplary embodiment of an on-line third
`party accounting and statistical system according to the
`present invention; and
`FIG. 3 is a How diagram of an illustrative method for
`implementing the system of FIG. 2.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`
`The present invention can be implemented over a netWork
`such as the Internet. It is understood that such a netWork is
`comprised of many computers linked over telecommunica
`tion lines and communicating using various standard pro
`tocols. Servers, Which are programs that provide Internet
`resources (e.g, a Web page), and clients, Which are programs
`that access those resources on a user’s behalf (e.g., a Web
`broWser), are resident on such computers. Details concern
`ing such computers and softWare, and the process of estab
`lishing communication links are knoWn to those skilled in
`the art and Will not be described herein except as appropriate
`for an understanding of the present invention.
`Moreover, for clarity of explanation, this speci?cation
`contains terminology and conventions familiar to those
`skilled in the art. Such terminology is often more metaphori
`cal than literal in nature. For example, While those skilled in
`the art may refer to “visiting” a particular Web site, it should
`be appreciated that a user does not actually travel to the Web
`site. Rather, a source ?le that is operable, in conjunction With
`the user’s Web broWser, to generate a Web page on a user’s
`computer monitor is doWnloaded to the user’s computer.
`Those skilled in the art are familiar With such metaphorical
`terminology and have an understanding of its literal impli
`cations and implementations.
`FIG. 1 shoWs a prior art on-line system for advertising
`With a banner 9. As shoWn in FIG. 1, a user’s Web broWser
`3 establishes a link or connection 11 With a Web site 5 of an
`entity displaying the banner (“banner publisher”). The ban
`ner publisher is anyone Who presents advertising on behalf
`of an advertiser. The banner publisher Will typically be a
`Web directory or a large service provider such as America
`Online, Compuserve, Prodigy and the like that offers their
`oWn information and online resources, as Well as Internet
`access.
`Once the user is on-line, i.e., connected to the Internet
`through an Internet Service Provider (ISP), the link 11 to the
`Web site 5 is established by “entering” the address, i.e., the
`uniform resource locator (URL), of the Web site 5 into the
`Web broWser 3. Once the link 11 is established, the Web
`broWser 3 sends a doWnload request signal 11a to the Web
`site 5. In response, the Web site 5 doWnloads information,
`indicated by the reference numeral 11b, to the user’s Web
`broWser 3. The doWnloaded information includes a Web
`page 7 having a banner 9. The banner 9 is an area of the Web
`page 7 that can be used to display logos, etc., that Will
`hopefully entice a user reading the banner to obtain further
`information pertaining to the banner.
`As Will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a Web
`page is a hypertext ?le or source located on a speci?c
`computer. The hypertext source includes text as Well as
`instructions for the user’s broWser as to hoW to display such
`text. The instructions are coded using a set of speci?cations
`referred to as Hypertext Markup Language
`The hypertext source contains one or more hypertext
`“links” that “point,” i.e., provide the address, to another
`hypertext ?le. If a user Wishes to “folloW” the link, the user
`
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`5,960,409
`
`4
`can “click” on it, such as by depressing a mouse button. The
`user’s broWser then connects to the, appropriate Web site
`(computer), as dictated by the URL associated With the link,
`and sends a doWnload request signal for a copy of the
`hypertext source associated With the URL. When the copy
`arrives, the broWser displays the ?le in a format dictated by
`the HTML, generating a Web page on the user’s broWser.
`Included in the doWnloaded copy are the speci?cations of
`the banner 9 and associated links.
`If enticed by the banner 9, the user can “click” on it,
`assuming the banner has a link associated With it. In the prior
`art, a banner typically points to the Web site 17 of the
`advertiser. A doWnload request signal 19a is sent from the
`user’s Web broWser 3 to the advertiser’s Web site 17. The
`Web site 17 doWnloads information, indicated by the refer
`ence numeral 19b, to the user’s Web broWser 3. The doWn
`loaded information is a copy of a hypertext source ?le
`operable to generate a Web page of the advertiser.
`FIG. 2 shoWs an exemplary embodiment of an on-line
`third party accounting and statistical system 1 according to
`the present invention. As shoWn in FIG. 2, the system 1
`includes the elements of FIG. 1, as Well as the Web site 13
`of a third party accounting and statistical service, and the
`link created betWeen the user’s Web broWser and the third
`party Web site 13. With the addition of the Web site 13 of the
`third party service, and appropriate programming, the infor
`mation ?oW betWeen the user and the various Web sites
`changes, as described beloW.
`As described above for conventional systems, the link 11
`to the Web site 5 is established by entering the URL of the
`Web site 5 into the Web broWser 3. Once the link 11 is
`established, the Web broWser 3 sends a doWnload request
`signal 11a to the Web site 5. In response, the Web site 5
`doWnloads information, indicated by the reference numeral
`11b, to the user’s Web broWser 3. The doWnloaded infor
`mation includes a copy of the requested hypertext source ?le
`operable to generate a Web page 7 having a banner 9.
`As before, if the user is interested in more information
`about the banner 9, he may click on it. According to the
`present invention, the banner 9 points to the third party Web
`site 13 rather than the advertiser’s Web site 17 as in
`conventional arrangements. As such, in a system according
`to the present invention, clicking on the banner 9 establishes
`a link betWeen the user’s Web broWser 3 and the third party
`Web site 13. This is facilitated by the operation described in
`operation block 101 of the How diagram of FIG. 3, Which is
`an exemplary method according to the present invention.
`According to operation block 101, the hypertext ?le that
`generates the Web page 7 and the banner 9 is edited or
`originally coded so that the banner 9 is operable, in con
`junction With the user’s Web broWser 3, to form a hypertext
`link to the third party Web site 13 When clicked upon. The
`aforementioned coding includes the URL pointing to the
`third party site 13.
`If a user clicks on the banner 9 forming a link to the third
`party, then, as indicated in operation block 103 of FIG. 3, the
`third party accounting and statistical service 13 receives a
`doWnload request signal 15a from the user’s Web broWser 3.
`The third party service 13 accepts the doWnload request
`signal 15a and increments a counter that keeps track of the
`number of received request signals, as indicated in operation
`block 105. Additionally, the third party service 13 logs a
`variety of information available from the user’s Web
`broWser 3. Such information can include the origin of the
`user, the address of the banner publisher, and so forth. In this
`manner, the third party service 13 accumulates statistical
`information useful to the banner publisher and the adver
`tiser.
`
`Page 5 of 7
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`

`5,960,409
`
`5
`The download request received by the third party service
`13 is ultimately intended to obtain information from the
`advertiser. As such, the third party service 13 redirects the
`received doWnload request signal to the advertiser’s Web
`site 17, as indicated in operation block 107. Speci?cally, the
`redirect request 15b is sent to the user’s Web broWser 3 from
`the third party Web site 13, and, from the broWser, a
`doWnload request 19a is sent to the advertiser’s Web site 17.
`Once the doWnload request signal is received by the
`advertiser, the advertiser’s Web page is doWnloaded to the
`user’s Web broWser 3 as indicated by reference numeral 11b.
`The method is transparent from the user’s point of vieW; he
`is not aWare of the “detour” to the third party service 13.
`In one embodiment, operation blocks 105 and 107 can be
`accomplished as folloWs. A Hypertext Transfer Protocol
`(HTTP) server program at the third party’s site 13 is
`con?gured to issue a “302” redirect response When a speci?c
`URL is requested. Such con?guration involves editing a
`con?guration ?le for the HTTP server program. When the
`speci?c URL is requested, the request itself and Web
`broWser 3 information is recorded, and the redirect to the
`intended URL, i.e., the advertiser’s Web site, is issued. In
`this manner, the user is transparently redirected to the
`advertiser’s Web site 17.
`It Will be appreciated that an advertiser may Wish to
`advertise at more than one location, i.e., more than one
`banner-publishing site. If so, the advertiser Will presumably
`Want to knoW, among other statistics, the effectiveness of
`each of the publishing sites, i.e., Which site generates the
`most visits to the advertiser’s Web site 17. LikeWise, a
`banner-publishing site may Wish to display the advertising,
`i.e., banner, of more than one advertiser. In a further
`embodiment, the present invention can tally clicks and
`generate statistics for multiple banner-publishing sites and
`multiple advertisers. This is accomplished by using multiple
`URLS, each pointing to different entry points at the third
`party Web site 13. The third party Web site, more properly
`its server, accepts the incoming URLS, accumulates
`statistics, and redirects each user’s Web broWser 3 to the
`intended (advertiser’s) Web site in the manner previously
`described. Thus, clicks originating from different publishing
`sites, as Well as those intended for different advertisers, are
`each directed to different entry points at the third party Web
`site 13. Assigning multiple URLs for this purpose is illus
`trated by the example beloW.
`For the present example, there are tWo banner publishers,
`“Pub A” and “Pub B” and three advertisers “Ban 1,” “Ban
`2” and “Ban 3.” Advertisers Ban 1 and Ban 2 have their
`banners displayed at both publishers’ Web sites. Advertiser
`Ban 3 displays its banner only With Pub A. Exemplary URLs
`for the ?ve banners are as folloWs.
`
`Banner
`Publisher
`
`Pub A
`Pub A
`Pub A
`Pub B
`Pub B
`
`Advertiser
`
`URL
`
`Ban 1
`Ban 2
`Ban 3
`Ban 1
`Ban 2
`
`http://WWW.genesis.com/puba/ban1
`http://WWW.genesiscom/puba/banZ
`http://WWW.genesiscom/puba/ban3
`http://WWW.genesiscom/pubb/banl
`http://WWW.genesiscom/pubb/banZ
`
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`Thus, While advertiser Ban l’s banner at publisher A points
`to entry point “puba/banl” at the third party Web site 13,
`Ban l’s banner at publisher B points to entry point “pubb/
`banl.” In this manner, the present invention can handle
`multiple banner publishers and multiple advertisers.
`As appropriate, the third party accounting and statistical
`service 13 can provide a report to the advertiser and/or the
`
`65
`
`6
`banner publisher. The report may include statistic such as,
`for example, the number of clicks on the banner 5, the
`percentage of clicks that result from the banner 5 being
`displayed on a particular banner publisher’s Web page if the
`total number of impressions is knoWn, the number of clicks
`on the banner per day, the date and time of each click, the
`origin of the user and so forth. Additionally, the report may
`include correlations developed from such statistics and
`illustrative charts and graphs. Typically, such a report Would
`be provided on a regular basis.
`While the present invention ?nds particular utility for use
`in conjunction With the Internet, and, more speci?cally, the
`World Wide Web (WWW), it can be applicable to other
`suitably-con?gured netWorks, as Well. Thus, in a more
`generally applicable embodiment, the present invention pro
`vides a system and a method for third party accounting on,
`a netWork consisting of a plurality of nodes, Wherein a user
`at a ?rst node vieWs a ?rst quantity of information provided
`by a second node (publisher) for the bene?t of a fourth node
`(advertiser).
`Although speci?c embodiments of this invention have
`been shoWn and described herein, it is to be understood that
`these embodiments are merely illustrative of the many
`possible speci?c arrangements and methods that can be
`devised in application of the principles of the invention.
`Numerous and varied other arrangements and methods can
`be devised in accordance With these principles by those of
`ordinary skill in the art Without departing from the scope and
`spirit of the invention.
`I claim:
`1. A method for accounting, Wherein a ?rst publisher
`having a ?rst Web site and a second publisher having a
`second Web site each publish advertising for an advertiser
`having a third Web site, the method comprising:
`receiving, at a fourth Web site, a ?rst uniform resource
`locator from a ?rst user’s Web broWser, Wherein the
`?rst uniform resource locator is obtained by the ?rst
`user’s Web broWser from the ?rst Web site and Wherein
`the ?rst uniform resource locator is associated With
`advertising for the advertiser;
`logging, at the fourth Web site, the receipt of the ?rst
`uniform resource locator, in response to the receipt of
`the ?rst uniform resource locator;
`redirecting, at the fourth Web site, the ?rst user’s Web
`broWser to the third Web site in response to the receipt
`of the ?rst uniform resource locator;
`receiving, at the fourth Web site, a second uniform
`resource locator from a second user’s Web broWser,
`Wherein the second uniform resource locator is
`obtained by the second user’s Web broWser from the
`second Web site and Wherein the second uniform
`resource locator is associated With advertising for the
`advertiser;
`logging, at the fourth Web site, the receipt of the second
`uniform resource locator, in response to receiving the
`second uniform resource locator; and
`redirecting, at the fourth Web site, the second user’s Web
`broWser to the third Web site in response to the receipt
`of the second uniform resource locator.
`2. The method of claim 1 Wherein the advertising pub
`lished by the ?rst publisher is a ?rst banner that is associated
`With the ?rst uniform resource locator and the advertising
`published by the second publisher is a second banner that is
`associated With the second uniform resource locator.
`3. The method of claim 1 further comprising logging at
`least one of an indicium of the identity of the ?rst user and
`an indicium of the identity of the ?rst publisher.
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`4. The method of claim 1, further comprising preparing a
`report for one or both of the advertiser and the ?rst publisher,
`the report comprising each receipt of the ?rst uniform
`resource locator by the fourth Web site.
`5. The method of claim 1 further comprising con?guring
`a Hypertext Transfer Protocol server program at the fourth
`Web site to issue a 302 redirect response When the ?rst
`uniform resource locator is received.
`6. The method of claim 5 further comprising editing a
`con?guration ?le for the Hypertext Transfer Protocol server
`program.
`7. A method for third party accounting on a netWork that
`comprises a plurality of nodes, Wherein a ?rst node and a
`second node each publish advertising for a third node, the
`method comprising:
`receiving, at a fourth node, a ?rst doWnload request signal
`from a ?fth node, Which ?rst doWnload request signal
`is received by the ?fth node from the ?rst node;
`logging, at the fourth node, the receipt of the ?rst doWn
`load request signal;
`transmitting from the fourth node a second doWnload
`request signal to the ?fth node, Which second doWnload
`request signal directs the ?fth node toWards the third
`node;
`receiving, at the fourth node, a third doWnload request
`signal from a sixth node, Which third doWnload request
`signal is received by the sixth node from the second
`node;
`logging, at the fourth node, the receipt of the third
`doWnload request signal; and
`transmitting from the fourth node a fourth doWnload
`request signal to the sixth node, Which fourth doWnload
`request signal directs the sixth node to the third node.
`8. The method of claim 7 Wherein the advertising pub
`lished by the ?rst node for the third node is a ?rst banner that
`is associated With the ?rst doWnload request signal and the
`advertising published by the second node for the third node
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`is a second banner that is associated With the second
`doWnload request signal.
`9. A method comprising:
`receiving a ?rst uniform resource locator from a ?rst
`broWser, Wherein the ?rst uniform resource locator is
`obtained by the ?rst broWser from a ?rst Web site that
`publishes advertising for an advertiser;
`logging, in response to the receipt of the ?rst uniform
`resource locator, the receipt of the ?rst uniform
`resource locator;
`transmitting, in response to the receipt of the ?rst uniform
`resource locator, a second uniform resource locator to
`the ?rst broWser, Wherein the second uniform resource
`locator is associated With a second Web site that is
`associated With the advertiser;
`receiving a third uniform resource locator from a second
`broWser, Wherein the third uniform resource locator is
`obtained by the second broWser from a third Web site
`that publishes advertising for the advertiser;
`logging, in response to the receipt of the third uniform
`resource locator, the receipt of third uniform resource
`locator; and
`transmitting a fourth uniform resource locator to the
`second broWser, Wherein the fourth uniform resource
`locator is associated With the second Web site.
`10. The method of claim 9 Wherein the ?rst uniform
`resource locator is uniquely associated With the ?rst Web site
`and the second Web site, and Wherein the third uniform
`resource locator is uniquely associated With the second Web
`site and the third Web site.
`11. The method of claim 9 Wherein the ?rst uniform
`resource locator is associated With a ?rst banner that is
`published by the ?rst Web site and that is advertising for the
`advertiser and Wherein the third uniform resource locator is
`associated With a second banner that is published by the third
`Web site and that is also advertising for the advertiser.
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