Patent ID: 8223936
Filing Date: 2012-07-17
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method of connecting consumers and merchants, comprising the steps of: (a) providing data on a plurality of merchants and one or more telephone numbers associated with each of the plurality of merchants; (b) receiving from a search system search data relating to an online search performed by a consumer directed at identifying a desired merchant, the search data identifying one or more merchants of the plurality of merchants matching the online search and a search association identifier associated with the consumer; (c) receiving the search association identifier from the consumer and facilitating communication between the consumer and a selected merchant of the one or more merchants; (d) associating the communication between the consumer and the selected merchant to the online search by matching the search association identifier received from the consumer and the search association identifier of the search data; and (e) charging the selected merchant a fee for connecting the consumer to the selected merchant when the communication between the consumer and the selected merchant is associated with the online search and the communication occurs within a predetermined period of time after the online search is performed by the consumer.