Patent ID: 7603294

Claim:
A notification method performed by a processor in a computer database system for an advertiser desiring automatic notification about conditions of interest to the advertiser in the computer database system, the notification method comprising: receiving at the processor a notification instruction from the advertiser, the advertiser being an owner associated with one or more search listings stored in the computer database system, the notification instruction including information from the owner specifying a condition of the computer database system to be monitored, a time for notification of the owner about the condition, a mode of communication for notification of the owner about the condition, and an action type identifying a type of corrective action to be included in a notification to the owner about the condition; at the processor, monitoring the condition specified by the notification instruction for a search listing of the one or more search listings; and automatically sending the notification from the computer database system to the owner upon detection of a changed condition of the search listing based on content of the notification instruction.