Patent Publication Number: US-2007112622-A1

Title: Web-based incentive system and method

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates generally to a network. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for providing an incentive to network users.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Paid search marketing programs are in wide use across the Internet. In these known marketing programs, Internet vendors selling products, services, or information bid in an open auction environment for positions on a search result list generated by an Internet search engine. For example, Internet vendors agree to pay a certain amount to the search engine provider in exchange for a favorable position on the search result list. Payments are often directly related to the number of “click-thrus” generated by the search result list.  
      The higher an Internet vendor&#39;s position on a search result list, the higher likelihood of a “click-thru.” Thus, these known marketing programs provide incentive for the Internet vendor to select and highly bid on those search keywords or phrases that are most relevant to their website offerings.  
      In addition to a favorable position on the search result list, the likelihood of a “click thru” also depends on the Internet user&#39;s personal incentive to click on the Internet vendor&#39;s hyperlink. One of the more prevalent incentives is the user&#39;s desire to view the vendor&#39;s products, services, or information. Thus, the vendor&#39;s position on the search result list combined with the user&#39;s desire to view the vendor&#39;s products, services, or information combine to determine, in large part, whether the user will actually “click-thru” to the vendor&#39;s website.  
      Known search marketing programs do not provide incentive to “click-thru” beyond the user&#39;s desire to view the vendor&#39;s products, services, or information and strategic positioning of the hyperlink. Current systems provide incentive to Internet vendor&#39;s to bid on favorable positions on search result lists. For example, increased traffic on an Internet vendor&#39;s website results in increased sales revenue. Moreover, current systems also provide incentive to the search engine provider to create a more efficient system. For example, Google AdWords has been visited by millions of Internet users, and has generated billions of dollars in paid search revenue for Google.  
      There is a need to provide additional incentive to Internet users and, thus, even further increase the effectiveness and efficiency of paid searching marketing programs. An exemplary way to provide additional incentive to an Internet user is to direct a benefit to the Internet user in exchange for the Internet user&#39;s “click-thru.” Another exemplary way to provide additional incentive to an Internet user is to direct a benefit to a third-party beneficiary in exchange for the Internet user&#39;s “click-thru.” Additional incentive is provided by enabling the Internet user to designate the third-party beneficiary. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and system capable of concurrently providing incentive to the Internet users and fulfilling the Internet vendors&#39; interest in effectively marketing to Internet users.  
      The present invention fulfills these interests by providing a system and method for enabling an Internet user to direct a benefit to himself or to a third-party beneficiary by interacting with an Internet vendor&#39;s website. For example, the system and method provides a paid search engine marketing system, wherein the Internet vendor donates money to an account owned by the Internet user or to a charity designated by the Internet user—instead of only paying the search engine administrator—upon an a “click-thru” or some other Internet user action. The system and method of the present invention will provide incentive to Internet users to “click-thru” and thereby increase effectiveness and efficiency of the paid searching marketing program.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The foregoing needs are met, to a great extent, by the present invention, wherein in one aspect a system is provided that in some embodiments enables an Internet user to donate to a beneficiary by interacting with an Internet vendor&#39;s website.  
      In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is a system for enabling an Internet user to appropriate a benefit by interacting with a website that is promoted by an Internet vendor, comprising an Internet vendor account for each of a plurality of Internet vendors registered in the system, wherein the Internet vendor account includes a pledge amount; an Internet user account for each of a plurality of Internet users registered in the system; and a smart client configured to present data of the Internet vendor account, monitor a user activity of the Internet user, and provide the user activity to a web server, wherein the web server is configured to allocate the benefit based on the user activity.  
      In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention is a method for enabling an Internet user to appropriate a benefit by interacting with a website that is promoted by an Internet vendor, comprising: maintaining a database having stored thereon: an Internet vendor account for each of a plurality of Internet vendors registered in the system, wherein the Internet vendor account includes a pledge amount; an Internet user account for each of a plurality of Internet users registered in the system; monitoring a user activity of the Internet user; cross-referencing the user activity with data located in the Internet vendor account to identify a common term; presenting data that is located in the Internet vendor account when the common term is identified; monitoring an interaction between the Internet user and the website that is promoted by the Internet vendor; and allocating the benefit.  
      In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention is a method for providing an incentive to an Internet user to interact with a website, comprising: monitoring a user activity of an Internet user; searching a database for an Internet vendor based on the user activity; presenting a hyperlink to a website that is maintained by the Internet vendor; monitoring an interaction between the Internet user and the website; and allocating a benefit.  
      There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof herein may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.  
      In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.  
      As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating the relationship between a large network and an embodiment of the network participants.  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating the relationship between a large network and an embodiment of the system and method for enabling an Internet user to indirectly donate to a beneficiary by interacting with an Internet vendor&#39;s website.  
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process invoked by the system and method for enabling an Internet user to indirectly donate to a beneficiary by interacting with an Internet vendor&#39;s website.  
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating a server and exemplary programs stored therein and executed therefrom according to one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  is a chart of menus, display screens, and input screens used in one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process invoked by the system and method for enabling an Internet user to indirectly donate to a beneficiary by interacting with an Internet vendor&#39;s website  
       FIG. 7  is a chart of menus, display screens, and input screens used in one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 8  is a chart of menus, display screens, and input screens used in one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 9  is a chart of menus, display screens, and input screens used in one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 10  is a chart of menus, display screens, and input screens used in one embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 11  illustrates an example of a search result list generated by one embodiment of the present invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       FIG. 1  represents a network  10  capable of enabling an Internet user  12  to capture and redirect a portion of an Internet vendor&#39;s search marketing and advertising dollars. The network  10  enables the Internet user  12  to redirect said captured dollars to a beneficiary  16 . The beneficiary  16  can be an account owned by the Internet user  12  or an account owned by a third-party. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the network  10  includes Internet users  12 , Internet vendors  14 , beneficiaries  16 , and administrators  18 .  
      In an embodiment, beneficiaries  16  are accounts owned by the Internet user  12 . For example, the beneficiary  16  can be the user&#39;s  12  IRA account, membership rewards account, the user&#39;s college saving account, the user&#39;s health saving account, etc. In another embodiment, beneficiaries  16  are accounts owned by third-party organizations, e.g., charitable organizations that generate some portion of their revenue in the form of donations. Internet users  12  are those engaged in Internet activity and interested in supporting beneficiaries  16 . Internet vendors  14  are organizations interested in effectively marketing to Internet users  12  and willing to support the user&#39;s favorite beneficiaries  16  in exchange for said effective marketing. Administrators  18  manage the network  10 .  
      The network  10  is capable of concurrently fulfilling at least four interests: 1) the Internet user&#39;s  12  interest in finding specific products or services 2) the Internet users&#39;  12  interest in supporting at least a beneficiary  16 ; 3) the Internet vendors&#39;  14  interest in effectively marketing to Internet users  12 ; and 4) the beneficiaries&#39;  16  interest in collecting support. It should be appreciated that the beneficiaries&#39;  16  interest and the Internet users&#39;  12  interest are substantially similar when the Internet user  12  has an interest in the beneficiary  16 . For example, the Internet user has an interest in the beneficiary  16  when the beneficiary  16  is an account owned by the Internet user  12 .  
      First, the Internet user&#39;s  12  interest in finding specific products or services is fulfilled because, in an embodiment, the present invention enables the Internet user  12  to conduct a keyword search in a search engine (e.g., GOOGLE, MSN, YAHOO, etc) or on a website having its own search engine. The systems and methods of the present invention automatically detect and monitor the search activity. Based on the detected search activity, the present invention conducts a search of Internet vendors  14  that provide the sought products or services. The present invention presents the uniform resource locators (URLs) of the applicable Internet vendors  14 .  
      It should be appreciated that the aforementioned example is illustrative and there exists multiple embodiments of the present invention capable of fulfilling the Internet user&#39;s interest in finding specific products or services. For example, an Internet vendor can access the present invention and designate the URLs of competitors that offer related products and services. If the Internet user  12  accesses a designated competitor URL, the present invention can present the Internet vendor&#39;s  14  URL to the Internet user  12 . It should also be appreciated that the present invention can scan the context of the web page being viewed by the Internet user  12  for designated keywords and search terms. When an Internet user  12  lands on a web page containing designated keywords and search terms, the present invention can present the Internet vendor&#39;s  14  URL to the Internet user  12 . It should also be appreciated that the Internet user  12  can conduct keyword search exclusively within the present invention. The aforementioned examples are discussed in more detail below.  
      Second, the Internet user&#39;s  12  interest in supporting beneficiaries  16  is fulfilled because the Internet vendor  14  donates to beneficiaries  16  based on the Internet user&#39;s  12  interaction with the Internet vendor&#39;s  14  website. Internet vendors  14  pledge donations to beneficiaries  16  contingent on Internet users&#39;  12  interaction with Internet vendors&#39;  14  respective websites. For example, an Internet vendor  14  can pledge a donation in exchange for Internet users&#39;  12  providing their profile information to the Internet vendor  14  via the vendor&#39;s  14  website. Thus, an Internet user  12  can indirectly generate revenue for a beneficiary  16  by providing profile information to an Internet vendor  14 .  
      Third, the Internet vendors&#39;  14  interest in effectively marketing to the Internet users  12  is accomplished because network  10  provides significant incentive to the Internet user  12  to interact with the Internet vendors&#39;  14  websites. The incentive exists because the amount of Internet user  12  activity with the Internet vendor&#39;s  14  website is directly proportional to the amount of support the Internet vendor  14  pledges to the beneficiary  16 . This incentive will encourage many Internet users  12  to provide personal information to Internet vendor&#39;s  14 , which can be used for effective marketing.  
      Fourth, the beneficiaries&#39;  16  interests are satisfied because they receive revenue from Internet users  12  by-way-of the Internet vendors  14 . It should be appreciated that beneficiaries  16  can be the Internet user&#39;s frequent flyer miles account, loyalty points account, 401k account, etc.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , an example of the preferred architecture used in the network  10 . In an embodiment, the network  10  is a client/server network such as the Internet. Thus, the terms network  10  and Internet are use interchangeably hereinafter. A client is as a requester of services and a server is a provider of services. For example, a client is a computer program running on a computer that accesses resources shared by a server, and the server is another computer running a corresponding server program.  
      As shown in  FIG. 2 , the network  10  includes a smart client  26  configured to request services from network  10  servers such as a web application server  24 , a web server  28 , and a vendor server  30 . The smart client  26 , for example, can run on a computer that accesses the network  10  resources provided by another computer running a corresponding server program. Although the system and method of the present invention is useful for the Internet, it should be understood that the client  26  and the servers  24 ,  28 , and  30  may be connected together through one of a number of different typed of networks. Such networks may include local area networks (LANs), other wide area networks (WANs), and regional networks accessed over telephone lines, such as commercial information services. The client  26  and server  24 ,  28 , and  30  processes may even include different programs executing simultaneously on a single computer.  
      The computers  25  on which the smart client  26  runs can be conventional personal computers (PCs), workstations, or computer systems of any other size. Each computer  25  typically includes one or more processors, memories, input/output devices, and a network interface. The servers  24 ,  28 , and  30  can be similarly configured. However, the servers  24 ,  28 , and  30  may each include many computers connected by a separate private network. In fact, the network  10  may include hundreds of thousands of individual networks of computers.  
      The smart client program  26  can execute within web browser programs, such as the NAVIGATOR, EXPLORER, or MOSAIC browser programs. The browser programs allow the Internet user  12  to enter addresses of specific web pages to be retrieved. These addresses are referred to as Uniform Resource Locators (“URLs”). In addition, once a page has been retrieved, the browser programs can provide access to other pages or records when the Internet user  12  “clicks” on hyperlinks to other web pages. Such hyperlinks are located within the web pages and provide an automated way for the user to enter the URL of another page and to retrieve that page. The pages can be data records including as content plain textual information, or more complex digitally encoded multimedia content, such as software programs, graphics, audio signals, videos, and so forth.  
      In an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the smart client  26  communicates, through the network  10 , with various network information providers, including web application server  24 , web server  28 , and vendor servers  30  using the functionality provided by a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), although other communications protocols, such as FTP, SNMP, TELNET, and a number of other protocols known in the art, may be used. Preferably, the web application server  24 , the web server  28 , and the vendor servers  30  are located on the World Wide Web.  
      The web application server  24  includes a computer storage medium  23  and processing system  25 . The storage medium  23  contains Internet user account information, Internet vendor account information, beneficiary account information, and administrator account information. It should be appreciated that the system and method of the present invention may be implemented in software that is stored as executable instructions on a computer storage medium, such as memories or mass storage devices, on the web application server  24 . Conventional Internet browser programs, running on the client computers  25 , may be used to by the Internet user  12 , the Internet vendor  14 , the beneficiary  16 , and the administrator  18  to access their respective accounts stored on the web application server  24 . Preferably, access to the web application server  24  is accomplished through a firewall, which protects the account information stored thereon from external tampering.  
      In an embodiment, the web server  28  is directly connected to the web application server  24  and the network  10 . The web server  28  includes a computer storage medium  27  and a processing system  29 . The storage medium  27  includes search listing records for generating search results in response to the Internet user  12  queries. It should also be appreciated that the present invention utilizes a natural language interpretation method to generate search results in response to Internet user&#39;s  12  activity. A search engine program operating on the web server  28  enables Internet users  12 , upon submitting queries to the web server  28  through the smart client  26 , to type keyword queries to identify pages of interest among the many webpages promoted by Internet vendors  14 . It should be appreciated at the search engine program also enables Internet users  12  to type keyword queries to identify pages of interest among the many pages available on the World Wide Web that are not promoted by Internet vendors  14 . Further, it should be appreciated that the search engine program enables Internet users  12  to identify only those pages of interest that are promoted by Internet vendors  14  that donate to beneficiaries  16  that are designated by the Internet user.  
      It should be appreciated that other embodiments exist for conducting searches. For example, a search engine that is not included in the present invention, e.g., GOOGLE, YAHOO, etc, can generate the search result. Based on the generated search result, a matching program operating on the web server  28  can search the storage medium  23  to locate relevant Internet vendor&#39;s  14  URLs. The relevant URLs can then be presented to the Internet user  12 .  
      In an embodiment of the present invention, a search engine program is located on web server  28  and the search engine is configured to generate a search result list that includes, among other things, relevant entries obtained from and formatted by the beneficiary  16  designations as stored in the web application server  24 . The web server  28  generates a list of hypertext links to documents that contain information relevant to search terms entered by the Internet user  12  and transmits this list to the Internet user  12  via smart client  26  interface. An example of such transmission via the smart client  26  interface is shown in  FIG. 11 , which will be discussed below in further detail.  
      The web application server  24  and the web server  28  address the different information needs of the Internet users  12 , Internet vendors  14 , and beneficiaries  16 . However, it should be appreciated that the web application server  24  and the web server  28  can be combined into one server capable of serving the Internet users  12 , Internet vendors  14 , and beneficiaries  16 .  
       FIG. 3  is an example process executed by the system. First, as shown in step  31 , the smart client  26  is activated. Upon activation, the smart client  26 , in step  32 , monitors the Internet activity of the Internet user  12 . The smart client  26  transmits Internet user activity data to the web server  28 . As shown in step  33 , the system invokes a process on the web server processor  29 . The invoked process searches the web server database  27  for target webpages. Target webpages are, for example, those webpages that have content relative to the Internet user&#39;s  12  activity and, in addition to relevancy, target webpages are promoted by Internet vendors  14 .  
      Once target webpages are identified, the system presents the corresponding hyperlinks to the Internet user  12 , as indicated by step  34 . If the Internet user  12  does not click on the presented hyperlink, the system returns to step  32 . If the Internet user  12  clicks on the presented hyperlink; this is known as a “click thru,” the system proceeds to step  35 . In step  35 , the system records the click-thru in the web application database  23 . Next the system access the vendor&#39;s pledge amount and, based on the pledge amount, calculates the amount to be donated to the beneficiary  16 , as shown in step  36 .  
      Shown in  FIG. 4  are exemplary programs stored and executed on the web application server  24 . The programs include a Internet vendor secure login  37 , a Internet vendor account manager  38 , an Internet user secure login  40 , an Internet user account manager  42 , a beneficiary secure login  44 , a beneficiary account manager  46 , an administrator secure login  48 , and an administrator account manager  50 .  
      For example, in operation the Internet vendor  14  can access the web application server  24  via the client computer  26 , and the web application  24  presents the Internet vendor secure login  37 . Upon access to the Internet vendor secure login  37 , the Internet vendor  14  inputs a valid username and password.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 5 , an exemplary embodiment of the vendor account manager  38  is shown. Upon a successful login, the web application server  24  provides the vendor account manager  38 . The vendor account manager  38  has a number of options and further services for the Internet vendor  14 . These items, which will be discussed in more detail below, cause routines to be invoked to either implement the Internet vendor&#39;s  14  request or request further information prior to implementing the Internet vendor&#39;s  14  request. In one embodiment of the present invention, the Internet vendor  14  may access several options through manager  38 , such as the vendor information manager  56 , the pledge amount manager  58 , the advertising parameters manager  60 , the community manager  62 , the performance statistics manager  64 , the invoice/billing manager  66 , and policies and agreements viewer  68 . A get help link  70  may also be available at the vendor account interface  34 .  
      The vendor information manager  56  that enables an Internet vendor  14  to, among other things, view and change its contact information. For example, the Internet vendor  14  can view and update its address, phone number, email address, and billing information. The information manager  56  also allows the Internet vendor  14  to view and change its username and password. Further, the vendor  14  can view and change its profile information. For example, profile information includes whether the vendor  14  is a religious owned business, non-for-profit business, for-profit business, or a secular commercial business.  
      The pledge amount manager  58  allows the Internet vendor  14  to view and change its pledge amounts. Pledge amounts are donations given by vendors  14  to beneficiaries  16  in exchange for Internet users  12  interacting with the vendors&#39;  14  websites. The Internet vendor  14  can designate pledge amounts based on the Internet user&#39;s  12  interaction with its website. For example, the Internet vendor  14  can pledge a specific amount for a landing hit page. A landing hit page occurs when an Internet user  12  clicks on the Internet vendor&#39;s  14  hyperlink and is thereby routed to the Internet vendor&#39;s specified landing webpage. Thus, when an Internet user clicks on the vendor&#39;s  14  hyperlink, the vendor  14  donates a designated pledge amount to the beneficiary  16 .  
      In one embodiment, upon registering in the network  10 , the Internet user  12  agrees to provide his/her profile information to Internet vendors  14  upon accessing landing webpages. Internet user  12  profile information, for example, includes the user&#39;s  12  location, age, sex, and income. Thus, each time an Internet user  12  accesses a landing webpage, the corresponding vendor  14  receives that particular user&#39;s  12  profile information, and in return, the vendor  14  donates to a beneficiary  16  as designated by the Internet user  12 . Profile information is considered by many vendors  14  to be valuable information.  
      An advantage of the present invention is Internet vendors  14  are less susceptible to click-fraud. Click-fraud is a problem in the prior art because internet users can repeatedly click hyperlinks and thereby fraudulently deprive vendors of money. An embodiment of the present invention prevents click-fraud because each Internet user  12  agrees to register, and thereby provide his/her personal information, before using the network  10 . Thus, an Internet user  12  cannot repeatedly interact with a Internet vendor&#39;s  14  website, and thereby fraudulent deprive the vendor  14  of money, without revealing his/her identity to the administrator  18 . Because the administrator  18  can monitor all Internet user&#39;s  12  activity, the administrator  18  can either stop the user  12  continuing click fraud and/or reimburse the vendor  14  of fraudulently induced donations. Further, the administrator  18  can implement an algorithm to disable a user&#39;s  12  account if the user&#39;s  12  ratios of click-thrus to leads to qualified leads indicate click-fraud. Leads and qualified leads are discussed in further detail below.  
      The Internet vendor  14  can pledge a different amount in exchange for the Internet user  12  submitting a lead to the Internet vendor  14  by-way-of the Internet vendor&#39;s  14  website. A submit lead occurs when the Internet user  12  agrees to provide the Internet vendor  14  with more detailed information, such as a profile. Detailed profile information, for example, includes but not limited to the Internet user&#39;s  12  name, address, telephone number, and email address. In an alternative embodiment, the Internet vendor  14  can pledge another beneficiary  16  donation amount in exchange for the Internet user  12  submitting a qualified lead to the Internet vendor  14 . A qualified lead occurs when the Internet user  12  agrees to answer qualifying questions as determined by the Internet vendor  14 . Further, the Internet vendor  14  can pledge another amount in exchange for the Internet user  12  submitting a telephone call. This occurs when the Internet user  12 , as a result of interacting with the Internet vendor&#39;s website, calls the Internet vendor  14 .  
      The aforementioned increasing pledge amount system can be understood by reference to  FIG. 6 . When the smart client  26  presents vendor  14  ad information to the user  12 , as shown in step  71 , the smart client  26  monitors the Internet user  12  activity. If the Internet user  12  does not interact with the vendor  14  ad information, the smart client  26  continues to present other vendor  14  ad information to the Internet user  12  and continues to monitor the interaction of the Internet user  12  with the vendor  14  ad information.  
      If the Internet user  12  does interact with the vendor  14  ad information, a function is invoked which receives data identifying the Internet user  12  and retrieves the user&#39;s  12  profile information from web application server  28 . The executing process then submits the user&#39;s  12  profile information to the vendor  14  in step  72 . The executing process invokes a function that retrieves the vendor&#39;s  14  pledge amount information from the web server  28 . The executing process then access the vendor&#39;s account manager  42  and records the donation. Next, the executing process appropriates the donation to the beneficiary  16 , as shown in step  73 . It should be appreciated that donation can be appropriated in a number of ways. For example, the administrator can submit the donation to the beneficiary  16  and later bill the vendor  14 . Also for example, the vendor  14  can donate directly to the beneficiation. It should also be appreciated that the aforementioned payments can be electronic transfers.  
      As shown in step  74 , the smart client  26  next asks the user  12  whether the user  12  agrees to provide additional information to the vendor  14  in exchange for the vendor  14  donating another amount to the beneficiary  16 . If the user  12  does not agree, then the executing process returns to step  71 . If the user  12  agrees to provide additional information, then the process invokes a function that accesses the vendor&#39;s  14  account manager  38  to determine what addition user  12  information the vendor  14  wants and then prompts the user  12  to provide such information. It should be appreciated that the user  12  can submit the additional information via the smart client  26  interface or the executing process can automatically obtain the additional information from the web server  28 . Next, in step  75 , the user&#39;s  12  addition information is submitted to the Internet vendor  14 .  
      Next, the executing process invokes a function that retrieves the vendor&#39;s  14  pledge amount information. The executing process then accesses the vendor&#39;s account manager  42  and records the donation. Next, the executing process appropriates the donation to the beneficiary  16 , as shown in step  76  and then returns to step  71 . It should be appreciated that the executing process of  FIG. 10  can be repeated a number of times. There is not limit to the amount of information the user  12  can provide to the vendor  14  and there is not a limit on the number of times the vendor  14  can donate to the beneficiary  16  in exchange for said information.  
      Referring again to  FIG. 5 , the advertising parameters manager  60  allows the vendor  14  to view and change parameters and affect the user&#39;s  12  attraction to the vendor&#39;s  14  website. For example, the vendor  14  can view and change ad keywords and search phrases. The vendor  14  selects ad keywords and search phrases that are relevant to the content of the vendor&#39;s  14  website. Ideally, the vendor  14  may select ad keywords and search phrases that are targeted keywords and phrases likely to be entered by users  12  while searching the Internet.  
      Internet vendors  14 , via the advertising parameters manager  60 , can designate target Internet user  12  profiles. As discussed in detail below, profile information for each registered Internet user  12  is stored in the database  22 . The Internet vendor  14  can, for example, target users  12  based on their geographic location, age, sex, religious affiliation, etc. The vendor  14  selects user profiles consistent with the content of the vendor&#39;s  14  website and, thus, the targeted users  12  are likely to interact with the vendor&#39;s  14  website.  
      The advertising parameters manager  60  also enables Internet vendors  14  to view and change qualifying lead questions. Qualifying lead questions are questions designed to provide marketing information relative to the vendor&#39;s  14  defined market. For example, qualifying lead questions are designed to give the vendor data usefully for developing more efficient and effective marketing strategies. For example, a health insurance provider may asking the following qualified lead questions to the Internet user  12 : 1) do you currently have insurance; 2) do you have any preexisting conditions; and 3) are you interested in a group or individual policy? 
      The advertising parameters manager  60  also enables Internet vendors  14  to view and change Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) that link users  12  to its designated landing pages. Also, vendors  14  can input a list of its competitors URLs. Thus, when a user  12  lands on a competitor&#39;s website, the smart client  26  will present the vendor&#39;s  14  URL to the user  12 . The user  12  has incentive to click on the vendor&#39;s  14  hyperlink because, in exchange for the user&#39;s click, the vendor  14  will donate to the user&#39;s  12  designated beneficiary  16 .  
      In an embodiment the community manager  62  enables the vendor  14  to select communities with which the vendor  14  wishes to associate. Communities, for example, consist of Internet vendors  14 , Internet users  12 , and beneficiaries  16  that belong to and/or support common religious, educational, ethnic, political communities, etc. Thus, for example, an Internet user&#39;s  12  search may be limited to those vendors  14  that associate with the Internet user&#39;s  12  designated communities. This community structure provides a granular way for Internet users  12 , Internet vendors  14 , and beneficiaries  16  to utilize the network  10  because it enables them to locate and support one another.  
      For example, the Internet vendor  14  is a small life insurance provider and, because of its limited size and available resources, it pledges a small amount relative to other life insurance providers. Further, the small life insurance provider, via the advertising parameters manager  60 , designates “life insurance” as a search phrase and, via the community manager  62 , designates “a local church” as a community with which it would like to associate. Because of its small pledge amount, the small life insurance provider may not appear on a search result list generated by the network  10  for an Internet user  12  searching the network  10  for “life insurance.” 
      The present invention addresses this concern by providing an option by which the small life insurance provider would appear on the Internet user&#39;s  12  search result list. For example, the small life insurance provider would appear on the search result list of an Internet user  12  that designates “the local church” as a community with which he or she would like to associate with and, further, the Internet user  12  utilizes a community search methodology. The local insurance provider appears because both it and the Internet user  12  associate with “the local church.” It should also be appreciated that the small life insurance provider would appear on the search result list of an Internet user  12  that designates “the local church” as a beneficiary  16  to which he or she would like to support.  
      The community search methodology provides a granular way for the Internet user  12  to find an Internet vendor  14  that is associated with one of his or her communities, e.g., “the local church.” The community search methodology is discussed in further detail below.  
      In an embodiment, the community manager  62  displays a list of all communities and the Internet users  12 , Internet vendors  14 , and beneficiaries  16  associated with the respective communities. Upon the Internet vendor&#39;s  14  request, the community manager  62  displays specific information about a particular community. For example, the vendor  14  can select a community, and the community manager  62  can display the community&#39;s mission statement, financial need, etc. The community manager  62  also contains a list of the most popular communities. The most popular communities, for example, are those communities comprising the largest number of Internet users  12 , Internet vendors  14 , and beneficiaries  16 .  
      The vendor  14  can select communities by at least one of two ways. First, for example, the vendor  14  can manually select any number of registered communities. Second, for example, the vendor  14  can select ten registered communities and the community manager  62  will automatically associate with the most popular communities.  
      It should also be appreciated that within a particular community, a single entity can be an Internet user  12 , an Internet vendor  14 , and a beneficiary  16 . For example, a community can comprise supporters of Campus Crusade, a Christian organization. Campus Crusade is an entity that consists of approximately one hundred ministries and ten thousand missionaries. Campus Crusade is supported, in part, by its donor base of approximately one million donors. The one million donors include, among others, Internet user&#39;s  12  and Internet vendor&#39;s  14 , e.g., small businesses.  
      In one example, Campus Crusade is both an Internet user  12  and a beneficiary  16  when its agent accesses the network  10  to locate a product or service, e.g., a lawyer. In this example, it is in Campus Crusade&#39;s interest to locate a lawyer that is a member of the Campus Crusade community. Thus, Campus Crusade&#39;s agent accesses the network  10 , as an Internet user  12 , and searches for a lawyer. If the agent employees the community methodology, lawyers that associate with the Campus Crusade community will appear on the search result list. Thus, in this example, Campus Crusade is an Internet user  12  and a beneficiary  16 . This is an example of the network  10  enabling a member to identify and utilize its constituency for its own benefit. It should also be appreciated that the lawyers in the Campus Crusade community can appear in the search result list in descending order based on their respective pledge amounts.  
      In another example, Campus Crusade is an Internet vendor  14 . For example, Campus Crusade has an interested in spreading its Christian philosophy. To advance this interest, Campus Crusade can register in the network as an Internet vendor  14 . Thus, providing incentive for Internet users  12  that are interested in generating support for their designated beneficiaries  16  to interact with Campus Crusades website. This is an example of the network  10  fulfilling Campus Crusade&#39;s interested in spreading Christianity and concurrently providing incentive to Internet users  12  to access the Campus Crusade website by supporting the internet user&#39;s  12  designated beneficiaries  16 .  
      The performance statistics manager  64  can be accessed by the vendor  14  to obtain information relative to the vendor&#39;s  14  website traffic resulting from the network  10 . For example, the performance statistics manager  64  provides the number of user  12  searches returning the vendor&#39;s  14  advertisements and/or hyperlinks. Also, the performance statistics manager  64  provides the number of “click thrus” to the vendor&#39;s  14  landing page, the number of submitted leads, the number of submitted qualified leads, and the number of user  12  calls made as a result of the vendor&#39;s  14  advertisements. It should be appreciated that the performance statistics manager  64  can be configured to provide other types of data compilations helpful to the vendor  14  in assessing its marketing success.  
      The billing manager  66  may be invoked from the vendor account manager  38 . The billing manager  66  presents several choices to the vendor  14  for managing billing. For example, the vendor  14  can view a statement that details the amount the vendor  14  owes, in the form of donations, to each beneficiary  16 . Also, the vendor  14  can make electronic payment directly to the beneficiaries  16  or the administrator  18 . In one embodiment the vendor  14  donates directly to the beneficiary  16 . In another embodiment, the vendor  14  transfers the donation to the administrator  18 , and the administrator transfers the donation to the beneficiary  16 . The billing manager  66  also provides a statement of service fees owned to the administrator  18  and the option off making electronic payments to the administrator  18 .  
      The vendor  14  account manager  38  also includes a policy and agreement presenter  68 . Upon initiation by the vendor  14 , the policy and agreement present  68  displays current network  10  policies and agreements applicable to the vendor&#39;s  14  use of the network  10 . These policies and agreements are defined by the administrator  18  and are agreed to by the vendor  14  during registration.  
      Referring again to  FIG. 4 , an exemplary embodiment of the web application server  24  comprising the Internet user secure login  40  and the Internet user main page  42 . For example in operation, the Internet user  12  accesses the web application server  24  via a web browser operating in the client computer  25 , and the web application server  24  presents the Internet user secure login  40 . Upon access to the Internet user secure login  40 , the Internet user  12  inputs a valid username and password.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 7 , an exemplary embodiment of the Internet user account manager  42  is shown. Upon a successful login, the web application  24  provides the Internet user account manager  42 . The Internet user account manager  42  has a number of options and further services for the Internet user  12 . These items, which will be discussed in more detail below, cause routines to be invoked to either implement the Internet user&#39;s  12  request or request further information prior to implementing the Internet user&#39;s  12  request. In one embodiment of the present invention, the Internet user  12  may access several options through the Internet user account manager  42 , such as the user information manager  77 , the beneficiary manager  78 , the community manager  79 , the donation statistics presenter  80 , the Internet vendor manager  82 , the update messenger  84 , and policies and agreements viewer  86 . A get help link  70  may also be available at the user account interface  42 .  
      The user information manager  77  enables an Internet user  12  to, among other things, view and change his/her contact information. For example, the Internet user  12  can view and update his/her address, phone number, email address, and billing information. The information manager  86  also allows the Internet user  12  to view and change his/her username and password. Further, the user  12  can view and change his/her profile information. For example, profile information includes the user&#39;s  12  age, sex, religious affiliation, location, etc.  
      The beneficiary manager  78  enables the user  12  to select beneficiaries  16  that best suit his/her preferences. The selected beneficiaries  16  will receive donations from an Internet vendor  14  upon the user&#39;s  12  interaction with the vendor&#39;s  14  website. In one embodiment, the beneficiary  16  receives a donation only when both the user  12  and the vendor  14  have designated that beneficiary  16 . In another embodiment, the beneficiary  16  receives a donation if one of the user  12  and the vendor has designated that beneficiary  16 . In the preferred embodiment, the beneficiary  16  receives a donation if the user  12  designates that beneficiary  16 , and the Internet vendor  14  does not have an option of selecting beneficiaries  16 . Instead, the Internet vendor  14  pledges to support the user&#39;s  12  designated beneficiaries  16 .  
      The beneficiary manager  78  displays a list of all registered beneficiaries  16 . Upon the user&#39;s  12  request, the beneficiary manager  78  displays specific information about a particular beneficiary  16 . For example, the user  12  can select a beneficiary  16 , and the beneficiary manager  78  can display the beneficiary&#39;s  16  information such as but not limited to a mission statement, financial need, location, URL, etc. The beneficiary manager  78  also contains a list of the most popular beneficiaries  16 . The most popular beneficiaries  16 , for example, are those beneficiaries  16  selected by the largest number of Internet users  12 .  
      The user  12  can manually select any number of register beneficiaries  16 . It should be appreciated that the user  12  can select all beneficiaries  16 . It should also be appreciated that instead of affirmatively selecting beneficiaries  16 , the user  12  can negatively select beneficiaries  16 . For example, the user  12  can select beneficiaries  16  for which he/she does not want to generate donations. Thus, the user  12  can generate donations for all unselected registered beneficiaries  16 .  
      In an embodiment, the community manager  79  enables the Internet user  12  to select communities with which he or she wishes to associate. Communities, for example, consist of Internet vendors  14 , Internet users  12 , and beneficiaries  16  that belong to and/or support common religious, educational, ethnic, political communities, etc.  
      In an embodiment, the community manager  79  displays a list of all communities and the Internet users  12 , Internet vendors  14 , and beneficiaries  16  associated therewith. Upon the Internet user&#39;s  12  request, the community manager  79  displays specific information about a particular community. For example, the Internet user  12  can select a community, and the community manager  79  can display the community&#39;s mission statement, financial need, etc. The community manager  79  also contains a list of the most popular communities. The most popular communities, for example, are those communities comprising the largest number of Internet users  12 , Internet vendors  14 , and beneficiaries  16 .  
      The Internet user  12  can select communities by at least one of two ways. First, for example, the Internet user  12  can manually select any number of registered communities. Second, for example, the Internet user  12  can select ten registered communities and the community manager  79  will automatically associate with the most popular communities.  
      The performance statistics manager  80  can be accessed by the Internet user  12  to, among other things, obtain information relative to donations for which the user  12  is responsible. For example, the performance statistics manager  80  provides the number of “click thrus” the user  12  has made to register vendors&#39;  14  landing pages and the donations generated therefrom. Also, the performance statistics manager  80  provides the number leads and qualified leads the user  12  submitted to registered vendors&#39; webpages. The performance statistics manager  80  can display the total donations from a particular Internet vendor  14  and the applicable beneficiaries  16 . The performance statistics manager  80  can also display the total donations from all participating Internet vendors  14  to a particular beneficiary  16 . It should be appreciated that the performance statistics manager  80  can be configured to provide other types of data to help users  12  select Internet vendors  14 .  
      The user account manager  42  also includes a Internet vendor manager  82 . The Internet vendor manager  82  provides a list of all registered vendors  14  and the corresponding beneficiaries  16  to which they donate. The Internet vendor manager  82  also provides information to the Internet user  12  about each registered Internet vendor  14 . Information provided by the Internet vendor manager  82  includes profile information, for example, whether the vendor  14  is a religious owned business, non-for-profit business, for-profit business, or a secular commercial business.  
      Further, the user account manager  42  includes an update messenger  84 . The update messenger  84  provides the user  12  updates when new beneficiaries  16  register with the network  10 . The messenger  84  includes the newly added beneficiaries&#39;  16  respective profile information. The update messenger  84  also provides the user  12  updates when new Internet vendors  14  register with the network  10 , and the messenger  84  provides profile information about each newly register Internet vendor  14 . Further, the update messenger provides a hyperlink to the latest version of the smart client  26 .  
      The user  12  account manager  42  also includes a policy and agreement presenter  86 . Upon initiation by the user  12 , the policy and agreement present  86  displays current network  10  policies and agreements applicable to the user&#39;s  12  use of the network  10 . These policies and agreements are defined by the administrator  18  and are agreed to by the user  12  during registration.  
      Referring again to  FIG. 4 , an exemplary embodiment of the web application server  24  comprising the beneficiary secure login  44  and the beneficiary main page  46 . For example, in operation the beneficiary  16  accesses the web application server  24  via a web browser operating in the client computer  25 , and the web application server  24  presents the beneficiary secure login  44 . Upon access to the beneficiary secure login  44 , the beneficiary  16  inputs a valid username and password.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 8 , an exemplary embodiment of the beneficiary account manager  46  is shown. Upon a successful login, the web application server  24  provides the beneficiary account manager  46 . The beneficiary account manager  46  has a number of options and further services for the beneficiary  16 . These items, which will be discussed in more detail below, cause routines to be invoked to either implement the beneficiary&#39;s  16  request or request further information prior to implementing the beneficiary&#39;s  16  request. In one embodiment of the present invention, the beneficiary  16  may access several options through the beneficiary account manager  46 , such as the beneficiary information manager  96 , the beneficiary statistics presenter  98 , the Internet vendor manager  100 , the community manager  101 , the donations received presenter  102 , and policies and agreements presenter  104 . A get help link  106  may also be available at the beneficiary account interface  46 .  
      The beneficiary information manager  96  enables a beneficiary  16  to, among other things, view and change its contact and demographic information. For example, the beneficiary  16  can view and update its address, phone number, and email address. The beneficiary information manager  96  also enable the beneficiary  16  to view and change it bank account routing information. Further, the beneficiary information manager  96  allows the beneficiary to view and change its username and password. The beneficiary  16  can view and change its mission statement via the beneficiary information manager  96 . For example, the mission statement provides Internet vendors  14  and Internet users  12  with information about services provided by the beneficiary  16 . Further the mission statement indicates whether the beneficiary is a religious or secular organization.  
      The beneficiary  16  can access the statistics presenter  98  to, among other things, view the number of registered users  12  and vendors  14  that have designated the beneficiary  16 . The beneficiary account manager  46  also includes an Internet vendor manager  100 . The Internet vendor manager  100  provides a list of all registered vendors  14  and the corresponding beneficiaries  16  to which they donate. The Internet vendor manager  100  also provides information to the beneficiary  16  about each registered Internet vendor  14 . Information provided by the Internet vendor manager  100  includes profile information, for example, whether the vendor  14  is a religious owned business, non-for-profit business, for-profit business, or a secular commercial business. Information obtained from the Internet vendor manager  100  enables beneficiaries  16  to efficiently and effectively solicit Internet vendor  14  and thereby encourage the Internet vendor  14  to donate to the beneficiary  16 .  
      In an embodiment the community manager  101  enables the beneficiary  16  to select communities with which it wishes to associate. Communities, for example, consist of Internet vendors  14 , Internet users  12 , and beneficiaries  16  that belong to and/or support common religious, educational, ethnic, political communities, etc.  
      In an embodiment, the community manager  101  displays a list of all communities and the Internet users  12 , Internet vendors  14 , and beneficiaries  16  associated therewith. Upon the beneficiary&#39;s  16  request, the community manager  101  displays specific information about a particular community. For example, the beneficiary  16  can select a community, and the community manager  101  can display the community&#39;s mission statement, financial need, etc. The community manager  101  also contains a list of the most popular communities. The most popular communities, for example, are those communities comprising the largest number of Internet users  12 , Internet vendors  14 , and beneficiaries  16 .  
      The beneficiary  16  can select communities by at least one of two ways. First, for example, the beneficiary  16  can manually select any number of registered communities. Second, for example, the beneficiary  16  can select ten registered communities and the community manager  101  will automatically associate with the most popular communities.  
      The beneficiary can access the donations received presenter  102  to view a statement of the total donations received and a statement of the total donations received per vendor  14 . The beneficiary account manager  46  also includes a policy and agreement presenter  104 . Upon initiation by the beneficiary  16 , the policy and agreement present  104  displays current network  10  policies and agreements applicable to the beneficiary&#39;s  16  use of the network  10 . These policies and agreements are defined by the administrator  18  and are agreed to by the beneficiary  16  during registration.  
      Referring again to  FIG. 4 , an exemplary embodiment of the web application server  24  comprising the administrator secure login  48  and the administrator account manager  50 . For example, in operation the administrator  18  accesses the web application server  24 , and the web application server  24  presents the administrator secure login  48 . Upon access to the administrator secure login  48 , the administrator  18  inputs a valid username and password.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 9 , an exemplary embodiment of the administrator account manager  50  is shown. Upon a successful login, the web application server  24  provides the administrator account manager  50 . The administrator account manager  50  has a number of options and further services for the administrator  18 . These items, which will be discussed in more detail below, cause routines to be invoked to either implement the administrator&#39;s  18  request or request further information prior to implementing the administrator  18  request. In one embodiment of the present invention, the administrator  18  may access several options through the administrator account manager  50 , such as the network accounts manager  112 , gift distribution manager  114 , and the vendor billing manager  116 . A get help link  118  may also be available at the administrator account interface  50 .  
      The network accounts manager  112  enables the administrator  18  to access and utilize the respective account managers of all registered Internet users  12 , Internet vendors  14 , and beneficiaries  16 . The administrator  18  has access to all of the tools provided by the respective account managers. This access enables the administrator  18  to monitor network  10  activity from the prospective of all participants.  
      The network accounts manager  112  enables the administrator  18  to view and edit, among other things, posted mission statements, listed URLs, need statements, advertisements, etc. If a network  10  participant is not in compliance with network  10  policies, the administrator  18 , by-way-of the network accounts manager  112 , can deactivate the non-compliant account. Further, the network accounts manager  112  enables the administrator  18  to review and authorize each account upon registration of a new Internet user  12 , Internet vendor  14 , or beneficiary  16 .  
      The gift distribution manager  114  distributes donations to beneficiaries  16 . For example, the gift distribution manager  114  can either prepare a check or electronically route donations to beneficiaries  16 . The billing manager  116  prepares billing invoices for submission to Internet vendors  14 .  
      Referring now to  FIGS. 10 and 11 , embodiments of the smart client main page  140  are shown. Upon activation of the smart client  26 , the smart client main page  140  is presented to the Internet user  12 . The smart client main page  140  provides the option of browsing the network  10  via a search tool  142 , a favorites tool  144 , a purchases tool  146 , and a discounts tool  148 .  
      The search tool  142  facilitates the Internet user&#39;s  12  remote access to the web server  28  and executes a search request according to the procedure described previously. The web server  28  preferably generates and displays, via the smart client  26 , a search result list in the ad display window  154 . The previous search tool  143  stores resent searches conducted by the smart client  26 . The Internet user  12  can access the previous search tool  143 , select a previous search, and rerun the search.  
      The favorites tool  144  enables the Internet user  12  to save a search. This feature is distinct from the previous search tool  143  at least because the search can be saved and because the search can be assign a name. The discounts tool  148  enables Internet user  12  to designate products and services for which they are currently interested in buying. Internet vendors  14  can host, by category, discounts to Internet users  12 . The discounts tool presents the discount information to the Internet users  12  by cross-referencing information in the Internet user account manager  42  and information in the Internet vendor account manager  38 . The purchases tool  146  enables the Internet user  12  designate products and services that she/he plans to purchase. This information is provided to Internet vendors  14  and based on the information, the vendors  14  can directly advertise to the Internet user  12 .  
      Also provided to the Internet user  12  is a my preferences button  150 . The my preferences button  150  links the Internet user  12  to the Internet user account manager  42  where the user  12  can change his/her account settings. It should also be appreciated that the my preferences button  150  provides the internet user  12  with a menu of options applicable to the smart client  26 . Further, a help button  152  is provided, which present a context specific help menu or connects the user to help webpage maintained by the administrator  18 .  
      An Internet user  12  may invoke the smart client  26  to employ a pledge amount methodology to refine certain search results by indicating the pledge radio button  172 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 11 , a search for “life insurance” may generate a list of life insurance providers  14  in descending order from the highest pledging company  14 . The smart client  26  generates this list by referencing pledge amount information in the Internet vendor account manager  38 .  
      Localization methodologies may also be employed to refine certain searches by indicating the local radio button  174 . For example, a search for “life insurance” may be limited to those insurance providers  14  within a selected city, zip code, or telephone area code. It should also be appreciated that a search for “life insurance” may generate a list of life insurance providers  14  in descending order from the provider  14  closest to the Internet user  12 . The smart client  26  generates this list by cross-referencing information in the Internet user account manager  42  and information in the Internet vendor account manager  38 .  
      Also, a community methodology may be employed to refine searches by indicating the community radio button  174 . For example, a search for “life insurance” may be limited to those vendors  14  within a selected religious, educational, ethnic, or political community. It should also be appreciated that a search for “life insurance” may generate a list of life insurance providers  14  in descending order from the provider  14  that shares a least a community with the Internet user  12 . It should also be appreciated that a search for “life insurance” may generate a list of life insurance providers  14  in descending order from the provider  14  that donates to at least a community in which the Internet user  12  is a member. The smart client  26  generates this list by cross-referencing information in the Internet user account manager  42  and information in the Internet vendor account manager  38 .  
      Moreover, an overall ranking methodology may be employed to refine searches by indicating the stars radio button  178 . For example, the smart client  26  simultaneously applies the pledge amount methodology, the localization methodology, and the community methodology. Upon application of the pledge amount methodology, the localization methodology, and the community methodology, the smart client  26 , in the preferred embodiment, ranks the vendors  14  in descending order from the vendor  14  having the highest average rank among all of the tests. Thus, a search for “life insurance” may generate a list of life insurance providers  14  in descending order from the provider  14  having the highest average rank among all of the tests. It should be appreciated that the smart client  26  can assign at least a star thumbnail  180  to each vendor&#39;s  14  hyperlink  182 , and the number of star thumbnails  180  is directly proportional to the vendor&#39;s  14  average rank in the pledge amount methodology test, the localization methodology test, and the community methodology test. The smart client  26  generates this list and assigns the star thumbnails  180  by cross-referencing information in the Internet user account manager  42  and information in the Internet vendor account manager  38 .  
      In an embodiment, the smart client  26  includes an auto-activation tool that either launches the smart client main page  140  or causes the browser toolbar button  186  to blink. If the user  12  clicks on the browser toolbar button  186 , the smart client main page  140  will launch. For example, the auto-activation tool and activate the main page  140  when the smart client  26 , based on the Internet user&#39;s  14  activity, finds a match when it cross-references information in the Internet user account manager  42  and information in the Internet vendor account manager  38 . An example of the auto-activation tool is used by SideStep, Inc. in their toolbar application, which can be downloaded at www.sidestep.com.  
      In an embodiment, the smart client  26  can initiate a search in response to at least one of at least four stimuli. First, the smart client main page  140  can be activated by a contextual search activation. The smart client  26  automatically detects that a search activity is being employed at a search engine (e.g., GOOGLE, MSN, YAHOO, etc) or on a website having its own search engine and determines the search terms. Based on the detected search terms, the smart client  26  conducts its own search of the web server  28 . Second, the smart client  26  cross-references the URLs on which the Internet user  12  lands with designated competitor URLs listed in the advertising parameters manager  60  of the vendor account manager  38 . When an Internet user  12  lands on a designated URL, the smart client  26  presents the Internet vendor&#39;s  14  advertisement to the Internet user  12 . Third, the smart client  26  scans the context of the web page being viewed by the Internet user  12  for keywords and search terms listed in the advertising parameters manager  60  of the vendor account manager  38 . When an Internet user  12  lands on a web page containing designated keywords and search terms, the smart client  26  presents the Internet vendor&#39;s  14  advertisement to the Internet user  12 . Fourth, the Internet user  12  manually inputs keywords and search terms into the search tool  142  and clicks on the go button  145 .  
      The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.