Method and system for customizing marketing services on networks communicating with hypertext tagging conventions

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/012,276, filed Jan. 31, 2008, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/782,271, filed Feb. 13, 2001, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/563,352, filed May 3, 2000, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/785,321, filed Jan. 21, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,666 issued Oct. 31, 2000, which claims the benefit of the filing dates of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/017,229, filed May 9, 1996, and of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/010,372, filed Jan. 22, 1996, the texts of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The invention relates generally to computer based client/server communications, and more particularly, to dynamically customizing the content on server Web site pages in response to distinct classes of clients for hypertext tagging based communications on a network.

The NET or Internet, as is commonly referred to, is basically a network of various types of computers, connected over telecommunication lines, communicating with each other through a protocol known as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) for the purpose of exchanging information. Being “connected to the Internet” can mean anything from sending a simple message to a colleague across the state, to logging into another computer halfway around the world to search and retrieve text, graphics, sounds and even movies.

Accessing the Internet requires a computer which has TCP/IP communication capabilities and is physically connected to the Internet with an identifiable Internet address. Many Internet service providers, such as Prodigy, America On Line, and CompuServe, offer access to the Internet through their TCP/IP compatible UNIX computers already connected to the Internet. A subscriber to one of these service providers need only have a personal computer and modem to make a telecommunication connection to the service provider\'s UNIX computer, Various information exchanges on the Internet are available through functions such as electronic message exchange (E-mail) and File Transfer Protocol (FTP or ftp.). Electronic mail is a service that allows two people to send messages to each other in a near real time manner. Messages can be sent to one address or multiple addresses. E-mail can also be used to retrieve documents from other computers on the Internet, FTP refers to moving files from one place to another on the Internet. The files may contain electronic documents, images, sounds, etc. Anything stored on the computer can be moved with FTP.

In recent years, a new mode of navigating through the Internet called the World Wide Web (WWW) has emerged which provides a hypertext interface to information on the Internet. The WWW uses the client-server model of computer interaction, with the server being a computer on the Internet providing information, and the client being a computer retrieving the information. The normal way to navigate through the Internet is by moving through directory trees of information, whereby moving from node to node requires providing an address for each node. Likewise if the nodes are Internet sites, computers on the Internet, movement from one site to another requires providing an address for each site. In contrast, with the hypertext interface information can be stored and retrieved in a non-hierarchical structure. In essence, one can “jump” from one place of information on the Internet to another through a series of “hypertext links” created by someone. A hypertext link can literally allow one to simply select a word, using a mouse or key command, and immediately be transported to another document on the Internet halfway around the world.

In a hypertext interface all the technical aspects of moving from computer to computer are hidden, leaving the client free to explore without interference. Communication through the WWW function is by a HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) which uses a HyperText Markup Language (HTML). The HTML uses Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), which are a way of specifying the location of something on the Internet, to make the hypertext links. A standard form of URL address for accessing a particular word 26 marked by HTML, in a chapter called Web-chapter, in a book stored on a hard drive in a WWW server is: http://dgf21.xpr.cs.wwu/book/Web-chapter.html#word 26. The http connection at the beginning identifies this address to the Internet as a WWW server.

Access to the WWW requires a software tool typically referred to as a client or browser, which is installed on the computer used to access the Internet, or installed on an Internet service provider\'s computer on the Internet that offers access to the WWW browser. Browsers may be text based line browsers or, graphical based browsers such as Mosaic or Netscape.

The Internet is being increasingly used for commerce by companies, with Internet sites or services, providing opportunities to consumers to make purchases. In addition to automated secured transactions, commerce on the Internet requires development of software based marketing tools unique to the Internet structure. Typically, when a client\'s Web browser points to another Web server via a hypertext link, the URL address of the Web server will display the address of the transferee Internet site that the Web browser will jump to if the hypertext link transfer is executed. As a result, consumers may feel a reluctance to conduct transactions through a transferee Internet site they have not directly signed on with, have not had a long standing relationship with, or have not developed a comfort level with the transferee Internet site\'s label, brand and Web site content.

Accordingly, there is a need for customized marketing of consumer services through hypertext based communications wherein the content of the hypertext based communications is dynamically customized to take advantage of a consumer\'s existing familiarity with a specific Internet site marketing partner.

The present invention is a server based communications system operable in a network environment. The system employs a server software tool for presenting HTML tagged information which is customized according to a particular class to which a client, accessing the system, belongs to. The class of the client may be clients referred to the system by a particular network site. The system also includes a database responsive to the server which dynamically retrieves data stored on the system, in accordance with stored requirements which define the customization for the particular class of clients, to provide customized content on HTML documents. Lastly, the system includes a processing subsystem for manipulating the server and database software tools in response to the HTML tagged requests from the client.

Preferably, the server based communications system the server software tool is a Netscape Commerce Server which responds to hypertext protocol and tagging conventions such as HTTP and HTML. Preferably, the database software operating in conjunction with the server software tool is a commercially available database tool, known as RDBMS, which is produced by Oracle software company. It is understood that other commercially available web server and database software tools may be employed as described herein within the scope and intent of the present invention.

In accordance with the present invention the sever based communications system is utilized to market consumer services, such as floral and gift services, via HTML documents presented to a client that has accessed the system by referral from another network site. The referral network site can be a partner participating with the host of the server based communications system or a participant seeking to utilize the server based communications to develop its own marketing position.

The system presents HTML documents which contain hypertext links, presented as single links or image maps, i.e., grouped links, which are anchored to data that is dynamically retrieved by the database means in response to the particular class to which the client belongs to, i.e., based on the identity of the is network site referring the client to the system\'s server. Such a dynamic retrieval of data facilitates dynamic configuration of content on all anchored HTML documents so as to meet specific requirements of a marketing participant.

Customization can be either a co-branded format, whereby content includes both the host\'s brand name and the participant\'s brand name, or a private label format, whereby only the marketing participant\'s brand name is displayed on the HTML documents presented to clients.

The present invention employs a dynamic tokening scheme whereby a token, indicative of the identity of the referring network site, is passed between successive HTML documents so as to track the necessary customization requirements for all HTML documents presented to the client. This dynamic tokening scheme relies on software executables including tokening.cgi and track.cgi, and markup tags such as PORT#, URL, and IMAGEMAP.

The server based communications system provides a participating vendor with the ability to supply the system with HTML documents wherein the vendor has access into the system for control over the HTML documents supplied by the vendor. Moreover, the vendor has the ability to transfer HTML documents pertaining to product data, and receiving from the system encrypted files containing orders.

The server based communications system can be operated in an Internet environment or an Intranet environment where hypertext protocol and tagging conventions are utilized for communications between a client and server. The Intranet environment can be localized to an America Online group of clients designated as Digital City, or a geographic area, or a corporate grouping of employees. In either type of locality, the system can customize the content on HTML documents presented in the Intranet environment in accordance with the specific requirements of the localized Intranet group.