Method, system and computer code for content based web advertising

Abstract

According to the present invention, an internet target marketing system, method and computer program for distributing online advertising to viewers based upon the viewers' interests is provided. Specific embodiments according to the present invention can use an n-way matching of user's concepts of interest, advertiser's concepts and a currently viewed document to target advertising to the view of the current document. Some embodiments can generate a contextually sensitive advertisement for each page viewed in a browser, thereby associating an advertisement with every page in a document. Specific embodiments can associate advertising with documents that are substantially free of embedded advertisements, for example. Alternative embodiments can include embedded advertising, however.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 identifying, by a computer system, an interest of a user within content displayed by a web browser;   identifying, by the computer system, at least one keyword displayed within the content, wherein each keyword corresponds to an advertisement;   determining, by the computer system, a relevance between an interest of the user and the at least one keyword; and   displaying, by the computer system, the advertisement to the user based on the relevance.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining the relevance further comprises:
 measuring a similarity between the interest of the user and the at least one keyword. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein identifying the interest further comprises:
 identifying a phrase within the content displayed by the web browser that is related to the interest of the user. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the interest of the user is stored in a user profile. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 annotating, by the computer system, portions of the content displayed by the web browser based on the interest of the user. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 indicating, by the computer system, a relevance of the content to the user based on the interest of the user and the content displayed within the web browser. 
 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the interest of the user is pre-configured by the user. 
 
     
     
         8 . A system comprising:
 a display device operable to display a web browser to a user; and   a processor operable to identify an interest of the user within content displayed by the web browser, to identify at least one keyword displayed within the content, wherein each keyword corresponds to an advertisement, and to determine a relevance between an interest of the user and the at least one keyword;   the display device further operable to display the advertisement to the user based on the relevance.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8  wherein:
 the processor is further operable to measure a similarity between the interest of the user and the at least one keyword to determine the relevance. 
 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 8  wherein:
 the processor is further operable to identify a phrase within the content displayed by the web browser that is related to the interest of the user to identify the interest of the user. 
 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8  wherein:
 the interest of the user is stored in a user profile. 
 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8  wherein:
 the processor is further operable to annotate portions of the content displayed by the web browser based on the interest of the user. 
 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 8  wherein:
 the processor is further operable to utilize the display device to indicate a relevance of the content to the user based on the interest of the user and the content displayed within the web browser. 
 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 8  wherein:
 the interest of the user is pre-configured by the user. 
 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer readable medium tangibly embodying programmed instructions which, when executed by a processor, direct the processor to:
 identify an interest of a user within content displayed by a web browser;   identify at least one keyword displayed within the content, wherein each keyword corresponds to an advertisement;   determine a relevance between an interest of the user and the at least one keyword; and   display the advertisement to the user based on the relevance.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15  wherein the instructions further direct the processor to:
 measure a similarity between the interest of the user and the at least one keyword. 
 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15  wherein instructions to identify the interest further comprise instructions that direct the processor to:
 identify a phrase within the content displayed by the web browser that is related to the interest of the user. 
 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15  wherein:
 the interest of the user is stored in a user profile. 
 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15  wherein the instructions further direct the processor to:
 annotate portions of the content displayed by the web browser based on the interest of the user. 
 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15  wherein the instructions further direct the processor to:
 indicate a relevance of the content to the user based on the interest of the user and the content displayed within the web browser.