Patent ID: 8848696

Claim:
A system, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to at least the processor, the memory having instructions stored thereon which when executed by the processor are configured to: assign a communication reference to an advisor for distribution by the advisor in a document, the communication reference usable to request connections to the advisor for real time communications with the advisor; associate a keyword with the communication reference; receive from the advisor a bid price on the keyword associated with the communication reference; select, based at least in part on the bid price, the communication reference for presentation in response to a search related to the keyword, wherein the communication reference includes a price specified by the advisor for charging for real time communications with the advisor; responsive to a request from a customer using the communication reference, the request being for a communication connection to the advisor, determine contact information of the advisor based on the communication reference; connect the customer to the advisor for the real time communications with the advisor using the contact information determined based on the communication reference; determine whether the request from the customer is received via a presentation of the communication reference as a result of the search; and charge the advisor a fee based on the bid price per connecting, based at least in part on the communication reference, the customer to the advisor for the real time communications, in response to a determination that the request is received as a result of the search.