Patent ID: 8190496

Claim:
A method for transmitting directed advertising to a client machine for display in connection with shipment tracking status information, the method comprising: receiving, by a processor running at a server, a tracking status request from a client machine via an electronic communications network, the tracking status request specifying a tracking number for a shipping order, the shipping order being associated with a shipper and a shipping carrier; retrieving, by the processor running at the server, from a tracking database stored on a data storage device, tracking status information for the shipping order identified by the tracking number; retrieving, by the processor running at the server, from at least one database stored on a data storage device, additional data associated with the shipping order identified by the tracking number; selecting, by the processor running at the server, from an advertisement database stored on a data storage device, at least one advertisement based on the additional data associated with the shipping order; and transmitting, to the client machine, the retrieved tracking status information for the shipping order and the at least one selected advertisement for display on the client machine.