CA2690497A1 - An improved system and method for consumer communications with business and method for business to acquire leads for competing with competitors - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method for consumers to quickly communicate with much business at the same time saving time, money and energy. The present invention also makes it possible for search engines to increase profits by allowing businesses to associate themselves with each other, competing for a consumers business. Through the use of the present invention it is possible for companies without web sites or that is not found in search engine search results, or not found on the first several pages of a search result, to now be found on the first pages of any results, they so desire, through their association with companies they compete against. Users using the present invention will now be able to make 'quick hits', contacting a plurality of companies in any industry with just one email while companies using the present invention will associate themselves with their competitors as to also receive this communication from the user. The present invention may be the fastest and most efficient way for business and consumers to communicate while both save time, energy and money during this process.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an improved system and method for consumers communications with business and in particular to purchases, quotes, estimates, general inquiries of many businesses goods and services, particularly using the Internet as means of communication. Still more particularly the present invention provides a system and method whereas consumers can save time, energy, and money while more accurately, efficiently, and effectively communicating with many businesses at one time with both the consumer and business being afforded a degree of anonymity, through the use of such devices as the Internet, email and texting communication.

The Gross National Product (GNP) of all goods and services sold in Canada and the United States of America alone are somewhere close to $20 trillion annually.
One such part of this GNP is broken into Consumer Spending or Personal Consumption Expenditure, or another way to say this is `Pocket Book' expenses, the things consumers decide if they are going to buy such as food, clothing, appliances or cars, often ranging from small dollar amount purchases to rather large dollar amount purchases.

Although many of these such purchases by consumers are made instantly, like in a convenience store, a restaurant, a grocery store, still others are made with a more time consuming approach, they are planned and well thought out purchases like purchasing a new piece of furniture, appliances, computers or even cars. Still a further segment of

2 this consumer spending may involve the consumer bargain hunting, searching for the best competitive product or service, deal, quote or estimate. All told millions of consumers each day fall into these categories.

One such way a consumer will make a purchase is by searching the phone book, if one can be found, for a business name, address and phone number to inquire about the products or services they are looking for. One such problem with a phone book is the user must be able to find the proper category for the products or services they are looking for. For example a consumer wants to get a quote on four new winter tires for their vehicle, do they search the phone book for automotive, tires, wheels and so forth?
Of course not every business that sells this product or service for that area may be listed in the phone book as there is a cost associated to be in the phone book and additional costs to having additional listings. A further problem with phone books is they don't come out very often because of the costs of the physical book to print as well as delivery costs, not to mention the environmental costs to the environment, so new businesses have to wait sometimes a year or more just to be in the next edition of the local phone book. Even once in the phone book, with each change to a business's location or phone number, the book quickly becomes outdated. All told the phone book might not be the best place to search for a business even though it is used by millions of consumers each day.

Consumers who were able to use the phone book would then have several options once they find a business that may offer the product or service that they are looking for.

3 The consumer may physically go to the business spending time and money doing so.
Time is spent driving or taking some form of transportation such as the city transit, subway or taxi. Money is also spent on this transportation whether it is on gas or some sort of fare. Although there are obvious drawbacks to physically going to the place of business many other drawbacks exist such as hours of operation, proper personnel being there to help you, stress levels of dealing with sales staff, waiting in line to be served or not finding a sales person to help you when things are very busy. If the consumer was only going for a quote or estimate they may have to repeat this process several times going to many competitors and thus spending much time and energy during this process.

Consumers who attend the businesses of many competitors now must deal with the information they have received such as exactly what business offered what product or service for what price and then compare any hidden, extra and different costs and details between each businesses products or services, that is if the consumer was getting a physical quote or just taking notes or trying to remember everything they were told in their head. Obviously this takes much time and effort as well as there is a cost to this process that makes it needing improvement for it just isn't very efficient.

Another option for consumers using the phone book is to make a phone call to the business for their inquiry. Although there may be many advantages to making a phone call over actually going to each and every competitor individually, there are numerous disadvantages to making phone calls. Firstly, a business might have costs associated

4 with their phone services including such things as toll free 800 numbers, not to mention the phones must be manned for maximum affect. Having employees answer phone calls is a full time job in itself for many businesses. Businesses will often have to spend time on the phone answering calls that don't involve their business or sometimes simply are too busy to take on additional business at a certain time because they are booked or sold out, yet the phones keep ringing. There is a physical amount of time spent returning calls to consumers that often leads to phone tag as calls go unanswered at either end and calls are returned back and forth while people try to get each other on the phone. For businesses receiving phone calls it isn't always a perfect solution for them as a method of doing business.

An argument can be made many people just don't like talking on the phone as they get stressed out talking to people who are trying to pressure them into purchasing something. People often fear that just by speaking they will show their lack of knowledge of what they are talking about or just frustration in general because they simply don't know what it is they exactly want, or exactly what or how to ask for what they want. Even for those that decide to make phone calls they have frustrations that include things such as busy signals or being placed on hold. Calls that go unanswered often turn consumers off of a business as many people don't feel comfortable leaving phone messages. Calls to a business can only usually be made during hours of operation and consumers are often annoyed with phone directories that lead them through a sequence of choices, "Press one for English, two for French".
Consumers who use their cell phones have their minutes used up while talking, leading to further frustrations making phone calls.

Whether it is the consumer making the call, the business receiving or returning a call, calls can often be missed while speaking to others on the phone already, leading to a consumer calling a competitor and a business now missing a potential sale.
Phone messages often miss information and information to record the information may be mishandled or lost even if left correctly. Often with retrieving messages, phone numbers or names are inaccurately recorded or misspelled. Even when the call is connected and communication takes place, proper note taking on the consumers part is essential, such as prices, rates, quotes, and names of whom a person spoke with in case information changes. All this takes considerable amount of time, money and energy calling and speaking with several companies in order to make the best and most accurate decisions when it comes to consumer spending. The present invention deals with all these phone call and phone book problems in a more logical and efficient method.

Of course there are other methods consumers use to contact businesses. One such method is the World Wide Web, better known as the Internet which is a globally accessed network or computers whereas large amounts of information may be accessed by users. Search engines such as GoogleT"", Yahoo, MSN and many others have made it possible to search millions of pages on the Internet by using search words or phrases. The search engines try to determine the most accurate results for a users query and return such results in the form of hyperlinks, basically a list of links that in turn are clickable and usually go to websites stored on servers across the world.

Consumers use sites such as GoogleTM instead of the phone book to find local business in much the same way they do a phone book. Consumers can find local business with the search engines, allowing the consumer to access the businesses website as well as contact information such as email, phone number, location and so forth. There is an unlimited amount of information posted on the Internet, much more than any one phone book. It goes without saying the Internet has changed people's lives as more of the world comes online and as the online world organizes itself to meet the demands of its users and in our case, consumers. The Internet however is not without its faults.

One such problem with the Internet is companies that do not own websites, a good majority of smaller companies, in some cases cannot be found if they don't have a website. In some cases it costs thousands of dollars even to build a small business website. After having a website built, businesses have costs in maintaining and updating the website as well as monthly hosting charges to keep it online so it may be found by consumers. Even if a business does have a website, that doesn't mean the consumer will be able to find it online. The top search engines are after all just businesses in their own right and sell the first page links or prime areas of their search pages to the companies who want to pay to be there. This is often done through what is known as "Pay Per Click" or "Cost Per Click" where a business will have certain search terms or phrases associated with their listing by the search engines and when that term is searched by the user, the search engine displays this result where the user can see it. This is often referred to as an impression and the more impressions companies get the more likelihood users will click their link. With each click into their website, the company pays the Cost Per Click and the search engine makes money.
One drawback here is just because a user does go into the businesses website, for which the business has now paid, there is no guarantee this will lead to a sale to the company or a phone call or email about the companies goods or services.

So if a business does own a website and they do not pay to be returned through a Pay Per Click or other such program, the business is often at the fate of luck.
Often millions of results are returned for every query and the user must wade through piles of links to find what they are looking for, if they ever can find what they are searching for. Will the business's website be found or not? What page will it be on and will the user search that deep in the pages of results? A further problem lies in the fact that the user might use different search terms than the business uses to describe their website or their products and services, so the business's website isn't even one of the first hundred or million in the returned results. So if everything does go as the business hopes and their website is accessed by a consumer the website link and website must now work properly. Consumers now still must read through the site to find the information they are looking for and be able to find such information as contact information if they wish to contact the business, usually by phone, email or a supplied form to be filled out by the user. Often filling in the required forms on a website is enough to turn off a consumer who often determines the required information being asked for is a bit too personal, such as first name, last name, full address and phone numbers. All this work and the consumer has basically found and replied to one business and the process must start all over if they want to compare prices or get multiple quotes from several businesses.
This simply put is not efficient at all.

Another such place a consumer may find a business is through what is known as Information, such as dialing 411 on ones telephone. Calling in and speaking to an automated computer or a live operator and asking for a business's phone number. The drawbacks here are each call usually only gets one business's phone number which creates time and money as this is usually a paid service per call. Usually with this type of service the user would need to have known specific information about the business and not just vague information of an industry such as a "used car lot".

Advertising by businesses is a way to promote themselves and get consumer awareness and although expensive it is effective if done properly. Even if the consumer finds a business through this method, the previously mentioned problems such as the initial phone call, Internet search, websites and emails all still exist.
Consumers still may want to find competitors to price shop to make the best decisions for their purchase.

Even word of mouth can have its drawbacks if you cannot remember the company name, website or phone number that you were referred to by a friend or colleague.
Therefore, it can be argued there is obviously a need for the present invention as well as it is the goal of the present invention to deal away with many of the drawbacks consumers and business face when in communication about prices, purchases, quotes, estimates, and general inquiries of many goods and services that have previously been associated with using the phone book, making phone calls, using search engines, accessing websites, sending emails and text messages and other forms of communication while saving both the consumer and the business time and money by creating a more time-saving, effective and efficient method of communication between both consumers and business.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides a method that through accessing the Internet, provides the use of search engines or other such websites the ability for consumers and business to communicate while saving both the consumer and the business time and money by creating a more time-saving, effective and efficient method of communication. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention a server receives a request from a consumer (a user or client of the present invention) and returns from the database a plurality of information related to the consumers request, displaying for the consumer a plurality of results for their request, similar to results from an Internet search engine, like GoogleTM, and allowing the consumer to than act based on the results that were returned. The consumer actions will likely be based on the results that best suits their query and may be accomplished by either clicking on a link (hyperlink) or by placing required information in certain required fields and then submitting this information by possibly clicking a submit or other type button. The information from the consumer is then received by the server, tracked, and sent out to one or a plurality of businesses simultaneously based upon the previous actions and result chosen by the consumer as well as the businesses associated with the result the consumer chose.

In accordance to one embodiment of the present invention, provided is a website for a consumer to use to search for businesses. This web site may be operated similar to search engines that have became quite well known on the World Wide Web, such as GoogleTM, where the user enters search words and submits their query and the search engine returns results based on the users search.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention a website may be provided with links or drop down boxes whereas a user can select predetermined text, such as a Country name, State or Province, City or Town, and Category information similar to headings in the yellow pages of a phone book such as Hotels, Automotive, Furniture and so on and these sub headings may further be broken down such as Automotive being broken down to such selections as New Parts, Used Parts, Tires, Auto Body Repair and so forth with these headings and sub headings containing business information relevant for the City, town or area chosen as well as clickable links or forms that allow the users to act upon this information as explained herein.

In still another embodiment of the present invention businesses are afforded the opportunity to add their business information to this search engine type site or this link or drop down boxes type site, whatever is offered through the present invention and businesses who add their information may be required to add in as little information as an email to as much information deemed necessary or required by the operator, such as business name, contact names, addresses, phone numbers, emails and possible billing information for costs associated with doing so such as credit card information or bank accounts and other methods for payment by the business to the operator.
Businesses will also be allowed to choose which package or payment system they wish to attach themselves to, such as a business might pay yearly for the present inventions service, or monthly or per email they receive through the present invention.

In still another embodiment of the present invention these business will be allowed to select where they want to attach their business information, associating themselves with other business or other industry categories, attaching their businesses in one or many locations and in one or many categories and in one or many of their competitor locations.

In still a further embodiment of the present invention when a user acts upon their previous search results they are afforded options for contacting one or many businesses simultaneously by filling in the required areas to do so, which may be as little as adding an email address and a question or comment. The users question or comment may be for things such as pricing information, quotes, estimates or any other business enquiry and then when finished submitting this information and having this information simultaneously being sent to one or to a plurality of business associated with the users actions.

In still a further embodiment of the present invention a plurality of businesses would receive the users email address and question or comment from the user. The operator of the present invention would track how many emails each business received and bill them accordingly based on the cost of the service. It would now by up to the business to act upon the information they have received from the user, if they choose to act at all.
The business may act by answering the users email or other means such as a phone call if the user provided such information as a phone number. In this embodiment the operator, via tracking the number of times each business was contacted could suspend a business from receiving further contacts from users if they are at their quota or over their account limit or budget and it is possible the business could then be contacted by the operator stating as much so the business may than bring their account into a situation where the operator allows them to receive further user contacts.

Still further embodiments of the present invention may provide for the user to have the option of not contacting certain businesses possibly within a group or be afforded the option to single out a single business and only contact that business, while at the same time the user may be afforded the option of possibly having complete anonymity as such the businesses they contact would know no information about the user at all with the exception of the inquiry. Anonymity is also provided to the businesses using the present invention as each business is contacted individually by the operator and as such other business within a same group do not know what other businesses have also received the email from the user and the user may not necessarily know all the businesses they have contacted and as such if a business chooses not to respond to the users inquiry there can be no ill feelings from the user towards the business as they would not even know that said business was contacted via their inquiry.

The above summary of the present invention is not meant to encompass each and every embodiment of the present invention or every aspect of the present invention and further the figures and descriptions will provide many of the further embodiments and aspects of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the attached drawings.

Fig. 1 is a flow chart showing a summary of the process associated with the present invention.

Fig. 2 shows a picture of a search engine that may be associated with the present invention in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 shows an example of an internet search in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 shows a small portion of the results of the search preformed in Fig. 3 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 shows the same results as Fig. 4 but with the additional of a link to the present invention in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 shows a web page that could be accessed from Fig. 5 and a form the user could fill out with additional options for both the user and businesses in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a table showing multiple businesses receiving the user's inquiry and several of those businesses replying to the user in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is shown a table of how business could associate themselves with one another in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention provides a system and method for consumers to quickly communicate with many businesses at the same time saving time, money and energy.
The present invention also makes it possible for search engines to increase profits by allowing businesses to associate themselves with each other, competing for a consumers business. Through the use of the present invention it is possible for companies without web sites or that is not found in search engine search results, or not found on the first several pages of a search result, to now be found on the first pages of any results, they so desire, through their association with companies they compete against. Users using the present invention will now be able to make 'quick hits', contacting a plurality of companies in any industry with just one email while companies using the present invention will associate themselves with their competitors as to also receive this communication from the user. The present invention may be the fastest and most efficient way for business and consumers to communicate while both save time, energy and money during this process.

In FIG. 1 a flow chart of the present invention is shown using the example of how the present invention would work in relationship to a search engine 25 such as GoogleTM
Millions of people use search engines every day, although they may be searching for a wide variety of different information, they all have a common theme among them, hoping to find what they are searching for. Search engines make it possible for users to make sense of millions and millions of websites and web pages found on the World Wide Web and throughout the entire world.

One such type of search users perform is to find businesses, be it online businesses or local business within the area they are living, wanting to do business in or traveling to.
We refer to users as also consumers throughout this patent as a user is often a consumer looking for something they are ultimately going to use, buy, need or want.
Using a search engine 25 to find a business and often a local business is likely the only such way on the Internet to find local businesses when searching online. These online search engines do have many drawbacks that the present invention will overcome as describe herein.

The operator of the present invention, in this example an Internet search engine, is in business to make money. GoogleTM is one of the leading companies in the world focusing around being an Internet search engine and they have competition such as YahooTM, MSNT"", as well as many other search sites such as IconXsTM. These search engines make money in a variety of ways. One such common practice used by search engines to make money is to sell position within their search results 30 to companies who want to be found when users query 25 certain or specific search words or terms.
As an example, if a user using a search engine 25 searches for "Dog Food and Pet Supplies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada" it is likely very evident what they are hoping to find. Through a series of complex algorithms search engines will return results as precisely as possible as to this user's query. This entire process takes fractions of a second. After the user entered their query, in this example, "Dog Food and Pet Supplies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada" and hit a submit type button the query is sent to the search engine's web server. GoogleTM uses a two-fold system where the first stop is the index server which acts like the back of a book and it tells what pages hold the information of the words used in the query. The query than travels to the documents server where the actual information is stored and uses little snippets to describe each returned search result. The results are then returned to the user with the entire process sometimes taking under a second. If all the results returned to this user are related to their search query, the search engine did a good job and the user is quite happy using the service. However, in our example, if the search engines first page of listings was about homes for sale, car dealerships and attractions in Orlando Florida, the user would have completely useless results and likely never return to this particular search engine again.

Assuming the search engine returned quality results (in the form of links, descriptions, maps, phone numbers and the like) for our example query, "Dog Food and Pet Supplies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada", the user will see dog food and pet supply companies, most of which are doing business in the Toronto area, in the results. There may be no fee paid to the search engine by the business that came up in the results of this search, one slight drawback the present invention will try and overcome. However, often search engines will bring back a listing of preferred business that have paid or are paying to be on the first page. These paying business are often found on a side of the first page, or at the top or highlighted on this first page of returned results. A company that has their link returned in the results is usually referred to as an impression as you are now in front of the user on their computer screens and hopefully the user will choose your business over others found within the same results. Often by clicking into these preferred links, now the search engine has made money from the business in something called "Cost Per Click" (CPC). The CPC could be a few cents to several dollars paid by the business to the search engine usually depending on the popularity of these searches and the more impressions usually leads to a higher CPC. Search engines will even go as far as allowing the business to set their own budgets on how much they are willing to spend over a certain time frame, say as an example a one month period. After a company has reached their budget for a time period, the search engine will not return their company's link any more as a preferred customer, however, this company may be somewhere in the returned results.

Knowing how a search engine and a user's query currently work we can slowly start to see the advantages of the present invention take shape. In FIG. 1 businesses would firstly sign up 10 to be part of the present invention. Unlike current search engines the present invention allows businesses who do not have websites to sign up so as the search engines can make money off of every single business in the world and not just those with websites. All a business needs in the present invention is an email address to sign up. If a business does not have an email address the present invention will create them one. By allowing businesses to sign up with as little as an email allows current search engines to expand their business into untapped markets, this being all the business in the world who do not own a web site, who cannot afford to have one built, and who do not want the expenses of hosting and maintenance of a web site.
Many smaller businesses are not able to get dot com addresses they like that suit or relate to their businesses so they just don't have a website.

The search engine may advertise the present invention to their users and customers (businesses) so the businesses who spend money with the search engine now know they have another option, in this case the present invention, to join, making the search engine additional profits. The search engine could have links on their search site where businesses may enter and join the present invention. Joining 10 may be as simple as adding an email and billing information. Business may also set budgets that they are willing to spend over a certain time period as search engines allow now with their CPC services.

In the present invention, once a business has signed up 10 for the services offered with the present invention, the business is now allowed to associate their business 15, anywhere they desire. Businesses may choose any categories of any industry as well as choosing to associate themselves with their very competitors. Businesses that join the present invention may also elect to associate themselves with search words and phrases. A national business such as Ford Motor CompanyTM may want to associate itself with Toyota TM and General MotorsTM, while at the same time ToyotaTM
and General MotorsTM may associate themselves with each other, as well as FordTM.
Any local companies within a town or city may associate themselves with any of their competition in the same area, or anywhere on the Internet, as will be further explained herein. By allowing businesses to be associated with each other for same industries and business categories (IE - All local Hotels together in a group) at each businesses own discretion, search engines will now make millions of dollars in extra revenue as will be further described herein.

Businesses that join 10 are now associating themselves with other businesses 20 at their own discretion and choosing. Currently, businesses are associated to one another, such as all the local hotels in Toronto, Ontario are in the local Toronto phone books and directories. There may be hundreds of businesses associated with one another depending on the size of a city or industry. This is to say there may be hundreds of hotels and motels in Toronto, Ontario. This makes sense as the population of the Greater Toronto Area is several million people. Of course a smaller town might only have a couple hotels and motels, but they are still in business and they still compete with each other and they are still associated with one another through this competitiveness. Businesses are also associated with one another on the Internet, usually for the same reasons, that they share a common geographic area or are competitors with each other for they offer the same products and services.

The present invention uses this competitiveness to the advantage of the present invention. Businesses that have joined 10 the present invention may now associate their business 15 where ever they would like. So as an example, let's say "Motel XYZ"
is a business, say a hotel or motel in Toronto, Ontario, who has joined the present invention 10 offered by the search engine in this example. "Motel XYZ" may now choose what other hotels and motels they want to be associated with. "Motel XYZ"
may associate themselves with all their competitors in the phone book by finding these competitors web site and adding them to a list "Motel XYZ" is associated with.
This list is operated by the operator of the present invention, in this case the search engine.
"Motel XYZ" has now associated themselves with competitors in the local phone books but may not stop there. "Motel XYZ" may perform their own searches of things they think their customers may search for, such as "Hotels and Motels in Toronto, Ontario".
"Motel XYZ" may see the results that are returned by the search engine for this query and decide which of these results to associate themselves with. "Motel XYZ"
may choose the very first result returned as well as any other returned results, as many pages deep as they wish. "Motel XYZ" may also just associate their business with key search words, terms and phrases. "Motel XYZ" may decide they want to associate themselves with the phrases "Hotels, Motels, Toronto" and when these words are now searched in this search engine, "Motel XYZ" will be associated with the returned results of the present invention. Theses search terms and key words haven't anything to do with the rankings within the search engine or the returned results, of a "Motel XYZ" web site if they have one, but as describe later, their association with being contacted for certain search words and terms of other companies that are returned for these words, terms and phrases. "Motel XYZ" may be granted an option to also associate with anyone associating with them, even though they may not be shown who these competitors are and the operator of the present invention will automatically make these associations. "Motel XYZ" may also sign up to associate themselves with new businesses and web sites that have just started doing business or have their web sites now start being ranked in higher positions.

As it becomes clear to one skilled in the art, it is obvious "Motel XYZ" may not even have a web site. "Motel XYZ" may not be in the local Toronto phone book. This may be because "Motel XYZ" is a new business or one that was purchased and went through a name change or many other factors. Possibly "Motel XYZ" is just a very small business that can't afford to have a web site developed, maintained, hosted and so forth. "Motel XYZ" may also be a business with a web site but it is never found because it was poorly build and the search words and phrases associated with this web site do not blend well with the search engines algorithms and as such their web site is not even returned in the search results even if the search result was exactly for their business. Even if "Motel XYZ" web site was returned it is well known that users do not search through hundreds of pages of links very often and as such being returned on page forty of a search result is just not practical. The present invention deals with all these problems and makes it possible for the operator of the present invention, in this case the search engine, to now make additional profits from all these problems mentioned, including not even having a web site to begin with.

After businesses decide where they all want to be associated 15, they are allowed to set their own budgets 20 as to what they are willing to spend for the service provided through the present invention. The operator is not limited to any one such method for charging businesses for using the service but one such method could be what we call "Cost Per Contact" (CPC) and so as not to be confused with "Cost Per Click"
(CPC), we'll call it "Cost Per Email" (CPE). Businesses will be notified of the CPE
when they associate 15 themselves to certain industries, groups or competitors and it is understood that CPE could vary depending on many predetermined factors by the operator of the present invention. Businesses may be afforded many additional options, including but not limited to, such things as being a preferred business for prime placement on particular pages and still participating in such things as Cost Per Click services. One such option afforded businesses is to associate themselves with future businesses that associate back, like a reciprocal association, no matter who came first and who associated most recently. The present invention allows the operator of the present invention the ability to internally connect business together and ultimately charging both businesses for future CPE. In an example Ford TM is signed up and associated with the competitors they selected to be associated with but a new car company starts up called XYZ Cars Company and XYZ Cars Company associates themselves with Ford TM. Ford TM could be contacted by the operator of the present invention and told an additional company has associated itself with Ford TM
and does Ford TM want to associate back? The actual operator of the present invention may help its own sales by advising businesses of advised associations or letting the business choose all associations. Also, the actual competitors associated with each company could be made available to each company and this is up to the operator of the present invention to decide what embodiment they choose to follow. Business would also be allowed to automatically reciprocate all associations to their business.

When setting a business's budget 20 the business may elect to spend any amount they desire over a specific time period, such as a day, week, month and so forth.
If a company wanted to spend $100 per month and they had an average CPE of $1, than this company would get only one hundred emails during the month before they would be taken off all email lists. If the average CPE was $0.10, than this company would receive one thousand emails before their budget was used up for the month. Of course a company might never use their budget or change and alter their budget by signing into their account information 10 and making any desired changes. We look at the present invention whereas the company is a house and their associated competitors and such are rooms within this house and each room has a light switch that is either on or off depending on if the company has turned on or off the light. If the light in a room is on, the association is on and the company would be charged a CPE for this association but if the light is off, the company is not charge a CPE for they have temporarily turned off the association, explain more later herein. Of course when the company's budget has been reached, all such lights in the house go out, like cutting the power.

Now the user who accesses the search engine 25 associated with the present invention will now perform a search 25. In an earlier example a user searched for "Dog Food and Pet Supplies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada". The user of this search was very likely from Toronto, but not necessarily, and might perform this search in a search engine because they own a dog and are possibly searching for a certain type of dog food and as an example, dog agility equipment for their dog. Another option would be for this user to find the local phone book and start calling each pet store in Toronto and asking questions about what they are looking for. For consumers this can obviously be a very time consuming task.

After having determined what the user wants to search for and clicking submit or a search button 25, the search engine in the present invention will return the results associated with this particular search 30. The user now has the task of wading through all this information 30, clicking into business web sites and trying to determine if they have the products that the user is hoping to find. Many times this is a very tidiest job as the user might have to go into numerous web sites to find what they are looking for, if they even can find what they are looking for. One major drawback with this approach is the user can only search returned results, so any missing business, be it they don't own a web site or their web site was not returned in the current search cannot be found and thus doesn't not have a chance to do business with this consumer. Even more disheartening is the search engine that is in business of making money is not making money off this smaller business that does not have a website or who's website is not being returned within the results for this particular search 30. Furthermore, the search engine is not making money off the returned links 30 unless they are Cost Per Click (CPC) or preferred customers and even such the search engine can only return so many results on one page for practicability sakes and businesses who may potentially be interested in spending money with the search engine are far too many pages back in the results. These same businesses might find the CPC options not feasible as many times a CPC doesn't lead to a phone call or email from the consumer, another drawback over came by that of the present invention.

The first such result from a search engine, for our search 25 "Dog Food and Pet Supplies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada" is listed below as an example 30.

Sled Dog Central: Dog Food Links Healthy Paws Bones & Raw Food, Toronto, Ontario, Canada - Raw food found in pet ... Howling Dog Pet & Mushing Supplies, Salcha, Alaska, USA - Zinc Gluconate ...
www.sleddogcentral.com/dogfood.htm This was just the first of the results returned using the web site search engine GoogleTM
not including the Sponsored Links and Preferred Links and was one of the "Results 1 -of about 36,000 for Dog Food and Pet Supplies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada".
When the user clicks into this particular site, by clicking on a link, well known to any person who uses the Internet, (Sled DogCentral.com) they have a list of hundreds of other sites inside this site, from all over North America that then come up which may or may not be practical for the search our user preformed. There are 36,000 results returned and it is not practical for a user to ever go through that many, let alone maybe the first ten pages of results. Even at twenty results per page, the first ten pages have only two hundred results, so 35,800 potential businesses for this search might as well not even be there, they simple have no chance or making money themselves with this search even if they are a direct competitor to any of these first two hundred sites returned. Also by clicking into this site the search engine likely did not make any money from this or another site as this site was not a Preferred Customer of the search engine. The present invention would like to change this by making more profits for the search engine and giving competitors who are not even found in the results an opportunity to compete with those in the results that are found and make profits doing so.

A more practical method for the user is for the user to use the present invention 35 that would be associated with the search engine. In this case and for understanding purposes, we have given this part of the present invention a name, calling it "Easy Replies". Instead of searching through all the 36,000 results that have been returned 30, the user of the present invention may click on the "Easy Replies" option 35 that is found next to some or the entire search results 30 the search engine returned.

Sled Dog Central: Dog Food Links Healthy Paws Bones & Raw Food, Toronto, Ontario, Canada - Raw food found in pet ... Howling Dog Pet & Mushing Supplies, Salcha, Alaska, USA - Zinc Gluconate ...
www.sleddogcentral.com/dogfood.htm Easy Replies From the example above you can see the words "Easy Replies" 35 have been added and associated with this link. A user in this example search could now click on the "Easy Replies" 35 for any such link they desire or they think best suits the result they were hoping to find based on their search 25. Most likely the user would then be brought to another page 40 where they would be asked for certain information, say their email address as well as a question, comment or inquiry. The user could fill it in as shown in the example below and later in FIG. 6:

Email Address - Scott .iconxs.com Question or Comment - I am looking for Large Breed Royal Canin 20 KG bag prices. I
also need Dog Agility supplies such as Jumps, Teeter-Totters and Tunnels.
Thanks, Scott The user would now hit submit 40. The user just potentially saved hours of time and money. If the user would have used the local phone book and called all every pet store they could have been on the phone for hours, often being patched through to different departments or placed on hold or not answered at all if they had to leave a message. If a consumer were to drive to one or more pet store locations and not found what they were looking for they spent time and gas money or transportation fees and still now would have to go elsewhere to find what they are looking for. If the user only did a search engine search and spent time going through site after site, they still had to make contact via phone or email asking questions about what it is they are looking for. For all this there is a cost to both the consumer and the business and potentially no profits to the search engine. Again, the present invention deals away with these drawbacks.
Now that the user has filled in the "Easy Replies" information and hit submit 40, the information is sent out simultaneously to every business 50 who had associated themselves with this particular "Sled Dog Central" web site or link 15 as well as any businesses who associated themselves with these search words, Dog Food and Pet Supplies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 15 even if this business does not have a web site or is even found within the search results 30 for this search. This businesses 10 web site might be the 36,000 one on the list of returned results 30, but they will still be included on this "Easy Replies" 35 list for "Sled Dog Central" if they had previously associated themselves 15 in some of the ways possible ways 15 or directly to "Sled Dog Central" and as long as an association exists this company will receive the information the consumer entered above 40. In theory there is no limit as to the number of businesses who may receive this email 50 inquiry 40 but the operator of the present invention may limit for practicability sakes the number of businesses who do receive this user inquiry. Of course supply and demand takes over and the more demand for certain associations the higher the possible CPE 45.

At this point the operator of the present invention would track and do proper accounting 45 for each business that receives this contact and adjust each accounts accordingly based upon the Cost Per Email (CPE) for this particular contact. A search engine that had a $0.10 CPE for this group and sent this "Easy Replies" email 50 to ten businesses would have made $1.00 from this one transaction. Each of the ten businesses receiving the email 50 would essentially have paid $0.10 for the right to receive this email. As one skilled in the art can see the CPE method can swamp the CPC
method in no time at all as millions of emails sent every day can now be send to tens of millions of businesses 50 with a CPE associated 45 to each and saving both the customer and business time and money as well as increase potential profits for many business who are associated with the present invention.

All businesses that were associated 15 with the "Sled Dog Central" site as well as all businesses that chose to receive communications for the search words 15 "Dog Food and Pet Supplies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada" would have received the "Easy Replies"
email simultaneously 50 when the user hit send 40, as long as their accounts were in good standing 45. Business can easily adjust their accounts 20 on the fly in real time as so they can add and delete certain links or search keywords they are associated with 15 if they find they want more business or are getting too much or find certain keywords are not working for them or being associated with certain competitor sites 15 is not cost effective. Also just because the user selected the "Easy Replies" link 35 associated with "Sled Dog Central" does not necessarily mean "Sled Dog Central" was one of the business that received the "Easy Replies" email 50 as "Sled Dog Central" may not pay for the service offered in the present invention. If "Sled Dog Central" was not a business that used the present invention this would in no way affect their search position 30 or would it affect any user from entering the "Sled Dog Central"
web site or contacting them directly if desired.

In our example if ten businesses 50 all received this "Easy Replies" 40 email it would be up to each of these business to act upon this information 55. The operator of the present invention has many options as to what information is required 40 and what information is supplied 50, but it can be as simple as exactly what the user submitted as to what the business receives as such 50:

Email Address - Scott(cD-iconxs.com Question or Comment - I am looking for Large Breed Royal Canin 20 KG bag prices. I
also need Dog Agility supplies such as Jumps, Teeter-Totters and Tunnels.
Thanks, Scott The business receiving this information may know or may not know exactly how many businesses received this information 50 just as the user who entered the information 40 may not know exactly who is receiving it or exactly how many businesses received the inquiry 50. Seven of the ten businesses 50 may read this email and determine they cannot help this consumer so they may choose to not even respond 55 or may decide to reply 55, saying they cannot help but send off an advertisement of sorts hoping for future business 60. Business acting 55 upon an inquiry from a user 40 contact the user directly 60 through the information the user entered 40. This back and forth communication 60 is strictly up to and between the consumer and the business.
So if seven businesses decided not to respond 55, we are presuming three businesses did 55. One such response could be as follows 60:

RoyalCanin.ca CustomerRelations@RoyalCanin.ca Dear Scott - Thank you for contacting us. We do have the 20 KG bag prices. We have attached our price list. Thanks.

Included here 60 could be a web site address, more detailed information as well as phone numbers, hours of operations, maps, price lists and delivery costs. This is all up to the business how they conduct business and in what way. The present invention is just connecting the consumers with the relative business in an easy, fast, effective and efficient way based upon how the businesses using the service decide to associate themselves.

The user may receive another email as such 60:
AffordableAgility.com Info@ AffordableAgility.com Dear Scott - Attached is all our dog agility price lists. Please check out our website for a location nearest you. We deliver all over North America. Thanks.

Of course not shown would have been a third email response 55 received by the user and sent by a business doing business through the present invention. The user would now decide and act upon any emails they received 60. The user may now visit the web sites of the businesses that communicated with them 55 or visit the actual businesses locations. Any future dealings between the user and the business may have nothing more to do with the present invention as through the help of the present invention a business found a new customer and the connection turned into a lasting relationship.

A search engine is shown in FIG 2. that of GoogleTM Canada. This is a web site that is found on the World Wide Web or Internet and is one of the most popular web sites on the Internet. Although the present invention may be attached to any such search engine, it could also clearly be its own search engine or its own web site that could use links and drop boxes to find what a user is search for. We have only shown an example in one search engine but one skilled in the art would understand the present invention is not limited to just search engines but any web site people may use to help locate what they are searching for, including localized web directories, Chamber of Commerce web sites and the like.

Search engines are quite well known to those skilled in the art and although the inner workers of each search engine may vary, the reasons for using them remain, to find what you are looking for. With a search engine like GoogleTM a user would type into the search space provided 65 what they are looking for. GoogleTM is the most popular search engine in the world and people may find absolutely anything they desire through using such sites. Once a person has typed in the search word or phrase they are searching for, they would submit their query by simply clicking a button 70.
Other information is often found on the search engines pages, in this example the "I'm feeling Lucky" link but not all this information is necessarily relevant to the present invention.

In FIG. 3 we have shown what a search might look like. A user here, again using GoogleTM Canada as an example has typed in they what to search for "Hotels in Toronto Ontario" 75. The words "Hotels in Toronto Ontario" were typed into search space provided 65. A submit or search button 70 is usually on the page so a user would now simply click this button 70 when they are ready for the results of their search.
After clicking search button 70, results are usually displayed within a fraction of a second.

In FIG. 4 the user has hit the search button 70 from FIG. 3 for their desired search 75 and displayed in FIG. 4 are an example of just a small portion of results returned for this search 75. Not shown here are sponsored links and sites that often appear highlighted or first in the results and or on different parts of the page, like the left or right hand sides. Also not shown here is the entire set of returned results from search 75. On this date and time in GoogleTM Canada (Google.ca) there were 16,500,000 or 16.5 million returned results for search 75. It would be understood to one skilled in the art that these results are constantly changing and another search query 75 preformed later in the same day or weeks or months may return a different set of results for the exact same search 75. Also using different search engines, other than GoogleTM, may result in a totally different set of results. What the results actually are is also ever changing.
Common knowledge tells us there are not 16.5 million Hotels in Toronto, Ontario.
Knowing this to be fact, we can positively assume that certain results returned in our search 75 are for information one could argue is irrelevant to our search.
With this simple search 75 returning 16.5 million results if a person tried to view all the results and if they spent just 5 seconds looking at each and every one of the results from search 75 it would take one person 190 straight days, 24 hours a day to search these results. It can be argued that some relevant results of some local hotels might be found on pages that the user will never get to, never being found under this current method. The present invention deals away with this problem of not being able to find results.

In FIG. 4 of our sample results, search engines bring back a variety of information.
Here we can see a Heading of the web site or the link 80, whereas 80 is a hyperlink that clicks into a web site and a description 85 of a sentence or two describing the web site 80 in more detail as to give the user some insight about this web site 80 and where this link is going to take them so they can better determine in advance if they want to click into this web site 80 or not. Also shown in this example, is a web site address 95 that is usually a clickable hyperlink and will take you to that web site and even that location inside that web site as many web sites have many pages. Many times such things as map links are return and information such as addresses 85, phone numbers 90 are included, but not always. Other information is also shown and returned here 100. It is understood that not every web site or search engine, even if they offer the same products and services are identical. Other search engines may return different looking results, different information and laid out in different manners. One skilled in the art understands the present invention may be attached to a search engine and the formats they use, looks and appearance, nor how accurate their results are effect the scope of the present invention. The present invention may be laid out in a variety of different manners when associated with different sites and not just any one particular way, although we may only have shown one or a couple herein.

In FIG. 5 we have shown the same results that were searched for in FIG. 3, and then displayed in FIG. 4 only now in FIG. 5 we have added one new example link to the present invention 105 for example purposes. Of course this link could have been place anywhere and the placement does not deter from the present invention as there are literally hundreds of different places and layouts and styles that all could be used when programming in the present invention 105 and no particular one is more right than another and they all can provide the same service with the same results as the present invention.

For example purposes in FIG. 5 we have added in another link that we named "Easy Replies" 105. It is understood that the name may be anything the operator chooses and the name does not deter from the scope of the present invention. As the present invention is an additional feature the present invention has not changed the current features that users have when using the search engine. The present invention does not change the results returned by the search engine. The user may still enter into the web site just as before and contact just that business just as before.
However, now a user has an additional option 105 that can save them much time when searching for a plurality of things on the Internet. In this example we have chosen "Hotels in Toronto Ontario" which may be substituted for any search terms or phrases and any town or city, in any country, in the entire world. In our example, one such result returned was for a place called "The Sutton Place" 80 and we can see a phone number 90 and fax number 90. We could choose to enter into the web site for Sutton Place 80 and 95 or call them 90 without entering into their site. We may also visit their location 85. A
user may choose to now use the service offered through the present invention and may decide to use the "Easy Replies" 105 service which in this example would be a hyperlink.
By clicking on the "Easy Replies" link 105 the user is now afforded the option of possibly replying to not only the Sutton Place, if they are even a part of their own "Easy Replies", but numerous hotels instantly.

As an example, let's say seven other hotels have associated themselves with Sutton Place 105 (We'll call them A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) and Sutton Place is also paying for the service in the present invention to also receive their own "Easy Replies"
and the user goes into the "Easy Replies" for Sutton Place 105 and fills in the required information and submits their inquiry (shown in FIG 6). Instantly hotels A, B, C, D, E, F, and G as well as Sutton Place will all receive this user's email. The operator of the present invention, in this case a search engine, would now have made money off hotels A, B, C, D, E, F, and G and Sutton Place for the associated CPE that each of these eight businesses are paying for the service in the present invention, even though;

Hotel A and B could be found ahead of Sutton Place in the return results and the user chose not click into their websites and; Hotel C was on page 50 of the returned results and the user never went past page one of the results and; Hotel D does not have a web site and is not anywhere within the 16.5 million returned results so the user could not have found them in this search and; Hotel E is one of the sponsored links on the first page of the results that the user chose not click and as such made the search engine no money in this search and; Hotel F is not even a hotel in Toronto but rather an online Internet company that books hotel reservations worldwide and; Hotel G is not actually a hotel at all, but rather a restaurant that is physically near Sutton Place that is interested in people staying at Sutton Place or other local hotels around their restaurant so they can send Sutton Place customers, discounts, so to attract business to their restaurant and; As such all these eight businesses now made a profit for the search engine whereas none of them would have had made the search engine money it not been for that of the present invention. Of course it is now up to each of the eight businesses receiving the user's inquiry to determine if they want to reply to the user or not.

Staying with this same example, the user may have stated in the "Easy Replies"
inquiry for Sutton Place, that they were looking for "The best rate on a hotel with a swimming pool, two double beds, non smoking, within walking distance from the Air Canada Center for the nights of both October 1st and 2nd".

Hotel A decides they are not in this general area and decides not to reply to the users email while; Hotel B does not reply to the users email for hotel B does not have a swimming pool and; Hotel C replies to the request for they can accommodate the user in every way and sends them a nice room rate, their web site and other pertinent information that the user would have not found for hotel C was on page 50 of the returned results and; Hotel D replies even though they are booked solid those nights, but wants the user to think of them in the future and; Hotel E replies with a discounted package and; Hotel F replies with a variety of hotel rates in that area as well as their web site for Hotel F books hotel reservations for numerous hotels in that area, including hotels A, B, C, D and E, and; Hotel G, which is not actually a hotel but a restaurant replies with a discount for their restaurant and; Sutton Place replies that although they do not have two double beds available on those nights, they do have suites with two king size beds and will offer this room at the same price.

With just one quick reply the user was able to get replies from hotels C, D, E, F and Sutton Place as well as restaurant G, even though G is not a hotel and D is booked solid and cannot help them on these dates, the user still has hotels C, E and Sutton Place as well as F the online Hotel Reservation company to choose from.

If the user had not used the "Easy Replies" service 105 offer by this search engine in the present invention the user would have had to contact each one of these places individually, assuming they could have found them all, and we know that wasn't the case in this example as Hotel C was on page 50 of the search. The user has saved much time, energy, and possibly money for they know they have options and competition competing for their business as well as a discounted package for a restaurant that they hadn't even searched for or knew existed. The present invention clearly saves time and money for the users and creates time and money for the businesses that use the service as well as a new revenue source for operators such as search engines which feature the present invention. If the search engine using the present invention and this example charged $0.25 per email (CPE) than in this one example, one user who sent just one email made the search engine $2.00.

FIG. 6 is an example page that shows where the "Easy Replies" link 105 from FIG. 5 may go when clicked on, as it is a hyperlink. Although not necessarily found on this page in FIG. 6 and possible found on other pages, you can see there is a link where businesses can join here 135, associating themselves with this particular company.
The advantages to this business model are obviously. Under the present invention any business that is not happy where they are found in search engine search results can simply go into the "Easy Replies" of the businesses found on page one of the returned results for their desired search words and phrases and attach themselves, associating themselves with these top companies and thus being able to compete for that company's business. Thousands of web sites and businesses who are not found in results or found many pages back in returned results, say page ten, fifty, two hundred or two thousand may not just associate themselves with the very first companies within the results, but now are competing with these companies for business. Search engines can now make millions of extra dollars in revenue from companies that are currently off their radar as far as money making potential including all companies with poor web sites and web site rankings as well as all companies currently without web sites at all.

So when a user clicks on 105 for Sutton Place in FIG. 5, they are brought to a page similar to FIG. 6 where the user now may place required information such as an email address 115 and a message 125 and submit this information 130 that would now go to all businesses that have associated themselves with Sutton Place or this link or these search words or phrases used to find Sutton Place. Other information may be asked for by the operator of the present invention such as a phone number 120 or a name of the person sending the information. At the top we can see a title, Toronto Hotels: The Sutton Place Hotel Toronto 110 and this information would be different for each and every link that may be entered from the results of the search in the search engine.

FIG. 7 shows an example of how a plurality of businesses attached to the "Easy Replies" in FIG 6; all receives communication, in this example, emails at one time 140.
It is up to these businesses as shown to communicate back 150 with the user.
These communications could go back and forth 165 and may also go from emails to texting, phone conversations, faxes and other forms of communication such as a live online operator or just visiting the business or their web site.

In FIG. 7 the user email inquiry is sent to ten different companies 140 at one time.
These ten companies may not know who else receives the email inquiry and the user who sent the email may not know who will receive it as this information does not have to be shown by the operators of the present invention. The companies that received this inquiry 140 are companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J shown by 145. Of all these companies to receive this inquiry, 150 shows us only companies C, G, H and I
replied 160 but the other six 155 did not. The user would now receive the replies from C, G, H
and 1 160 and the user themselves now 165 decides if they want to act upon the four responses they received whereas 170 the user did not receive responses from six businesses that did receive the email and the user holds no ill regard 170 towards the companies not responding for the user 140 does not know what companies actually even received their inquiry 140 that did not respond back 155 and 170. The user may decide not to act upon a response 160 from a company as shown in 175 whereas in 180 the user acts upon the email sent by company G. This action 180 may be back and forth and may also go from emails to texting, phone conversations, faxes and other forms of communication such as a live online operator or just visiting the business or their web site.

FIG. 8 is showing an association made by different businesses 185 and how the association of many businesses can work. Let's say Business A 190 was the first returned result for an online search in an online search engine. Businesses B, C, D, E, and F have decided to associate their companies 190 with that of Business A
and have opened accounts and done such. Businesses B, C, D, E, and F could be direct competitors of Business A, companies found before or after Business A in the search results, companies not found at all, companies without websites or even not within the same town or city or industry. Whatever their reasons were, they wanted to be associated with Business A, and have opened accounts and are now paying for the right to be associated with Business A.

Here is an example of how companies may associate themselves to one another as shown in FIG. 8 and whereas "Easy Replies" to Business A is also received by BCDEF
and B to none and C to ADF and D to ABCEF and E to A and F to ACD whereas each company is contacted on their own "Easy Replies".

So as shown in 185 an "Easy Replies" contact to;

Business A 190 would also be received by 195 Businesses B, C, D, E, and F 200 (Search engine paid x 6);

Business B 190 would be received by 195 no other Businesses 200 (Search engine paid x 1);

Business C 190 would be received by 195 Businesses A, D and F 200 (Search engine paid x 4);

Business D 190 would be received by 195 Businesses A, B, C, E, F 200 (Search engine paid x 6);

Business E 190 would be received by 195 Business A 200 (Search engine paid x 2);
Business F 190 would be received by 195 Businesses A, C, D (Search engine paid x 4);
Of note with the above is contacting Businesses A and D were going to all Businesses whereas contacting Business B was going to none of the other Businesses 215.
What is also possible is that the company for which the "Easy Replies" is does not receive their own inquiries, but only their competitors get them for this company is not a member of the service. However, Business B is a member of the service of the present invention and are contacted when Businesses A or D are contacted as well as when their own "Easy Replies" is contacted through the present invention.

It is clear to one skilled in the art that the term email throughout the present invention is interchangeable with other forms of communication such as text messaging and the like. Associated with every "Easy Replies" could be a Text Messaging Number, like "Easy Reply Text #900873" whereas instead of every business associated with this "Easy Replies" could now instead of receiving an email, receive a text mail.
The two and others can be associated with each other interchangeably.

Claims (18)

Claims We Claim,

1. A service of the present invention providing a method for a business to associate with other businesses for the purposes of creating new customers, making new business leads, creating more sales, saving time and money, making more profits, ensuring customers can find them easier, and competing with their competitors, comprising the steps of: (a) Allowing the business to join the service provided by the present invention; (b) Allowing the business to select and choose to associate themselves with other businesses and competitors as well with their own business; (c) Advising the business of the costs involved for each association; (d) Allowing the business to create a personalized budget to spend on the service provided by that of the present invention based on their selected associations; (e) Allowing a user to use the service provided by the present invention; (f) Allowing the user using the service of the present invention to make a contact through the service provided to businesses associated with the present invention; (g) Charging the user a fee for using the present invention if such fee exists; (h) Forwarding the users inquiry to all businesses in good standing who have associated themselves with the business the user wants to contact; (i) Adjusting and updating business accounts based on the cost of the service of the present invention for this users inquiry; (j) Providing the businesses associated with this users request the information from the users inquiry such as contact information, email addresses, phone numbers and the users inquiry; (k) Advising businesses of account status changes when they occur, such as further payments required to continue with the service of the present invention; (l) Allowing businesses to contact the users directly using information provided by the service of the present invention.

2. A method of claim 1, wherein: The service of the present invention providing a method for a business to associate with other businesses for the purposes of creating new customers, making new business leads, creating more sales, saving time and money, making more profits, ensuring customers can find them easier, and competing with their competitors, is an Internet web site accessible over the Internet and by such devices like a computer, further comprising the steps of: (a) Allowing the business to join the service and use the services provided by the Internet web site provided by the present invention; (b) Allowing the business to select and choose to associate themselves within categories and locations as well as with other businesses and competitors besides themselves;

(c) Advising the business of the costs involved for each association; (d) Allowing the business to create a personalized budget to spend on the service provided by the Internet web site based on their selected associations; (e) Allowing a user to use the Internet web site; (f) Allowing the user using the Internet web site to make a contact to businesses through the service provided associated with the present invention; (g) Charging the user a fee for using the Internet web site if such fee exists; (h) Forwarding the users inquiry to all businesses in good standing who have associated themselves with the business the user wants to contact; (i) Adjusting and updating business accounts based on the cost of the service of the present invention for this users inquiry; (j) Providing the businesses associated with this users request the information from the users inquiry such as contact information, email address, phone numbers and the users inquiry; (k) Advising businesses of account status changes when they occur, such as further payments required to continue with the services provided by the Internet web site; (l) Allowing businesses to contact the users directly using information provided by the Internet web site of the present invention.

3. A method of claim 1, wherein: The service of the present invention providing a method for a business to associate with other businesses for the purposes of creating new customers, making new business leads, creating more sales, saving time and money, making more profits, ensuring customers can find them easier, and competing with their competitors, is an Internet search engine accessible over the Internet and by such devices like a computer, further comprising the steps of: (a) Allowing the business to join for participation in the services provided by the Internet search engine provided by the present invention; (b) Allowing the business to select and choose to associate themselves with other businesses and competitors; (c) Allowing the business to select and choose to associate themselves with other Internet web sites and hyperlinks appearing in search results; (d) Allowing the business to select and choose to associate themselves with certain search teams, keywords, phrases and such that Internet users of the search engine may use when using the Internet search engine to perform searches; (e) Advising the business of all current and future associations to them by other businesses using the service of the present invention; (f) Allowing the business to reciprocate an association with other competitors who have associated back; (g) Advising the business of the costs involved for each association; (h) Allowing the business to create a personalized budget to spend on the service provided by the Internet search engine based on their selected associations; (i) Allowing the business to change, adjust and alter their associations and budgets accordingly; (j) Allowing the business the ability to add new associations and/or temporarily or permanently delete or suspend associations; (k) Attaching the present invention to results of some or all of the Internet search engines results through links, hyperlinks or other forms; (l) Attaching the businesses associations to the Internet search engines results based on the previous association requests of the business;
(m) Allowing a user to use the Internet search engine to perform searches using search words, keywords, phrases and the like; (n) Returning results to the user based on their query when using the Internet search engine; (o) Allowing the user using the Internet search engine the ability to use the present invention, through the previous attachment of the present invention to the returned results using the links, hyperlinks and the other forms the present invention may be displayed in; (p) Allowing the user of the Internet search engine to make a contact or inquiry through the service provided and from their search results and to contact businesses associated with the present invention; (q) Charging the user a fee for using the Internet search engine service provided by the present invention if such fee exists; (r) Forwarding the users inquiry to all businesses in good standing who have associated themselves with the business, keywords or phrases or hyperlinks the user wants to contact through using the service provided by the search engine of the present invention; (s) Adjusting and updating business accounts based on the cost of the service of the present invention for this users inquiry; (t) Providing the businesses associated with this users request the information from the users inquiry such as contact information, email address, phone numbers and the users inquiry; (u) Advising businesses of account status changes when they occur, such as further payments required to continue with the services provided by the Internet search engine; (v) Allowing businesses to contact the users directly using information provided by the Internet search engine of the present invention.

4. A method of claim 1, wherein: The service is provided by through a phone book or phone service.

5. A method of claims 1 thru 4, wherein: A plurality of business may be contacted simultaneous by the service provided by the present invention.

6. A method of claim 5, wherein: Communication to businesses by the service may be made in a plurality of ways such as emails, phone calls, text messages, faxes, voice mail, in person or other forms of communication using a plurality of devices such as computers, phones, fax machines, cell phones, lap tops, hand held devices, television and other such devices used in communication.

7. A method of claims 1 thru 6, wherein: Consumers save time, money and energy by quickly and efficiently communicating with a plurality of businesses in competition with each other simultaneously.

8. A method of claims 1 thru 6, wherein: Businesses save time, money and energy by generating new customers, business leads and may now better compete with their competition by using the present invention.

9. A method of claims 1 thru 3, wherein: Businesses without web sites may now do business on the Internet and compete with their competitors through associations.

10.A method of claims 1 and 3, wherein: Businesses may piggy-back on their competitors and now be found on higher pages in search engine results such as page one of the Internet search engines results whereas previously this business's web site might not have been found in searches or may have been many pages back in returned results.

11.A method of claims 1, 3 and 5, wherein: Through a Cost Per Contact or like charge, such as a Cost Per Email, search engines can further increase profitability by offering the service of the present invention and potentially charging a plurality of businesses at one time a fee associated with the service of the present invention.

12.A method of claims 1, 3 and 5, wherein: Search engines may make additional profits from businesses without Internet web sites.

13.A method of claims 1, 3 and 5, wherein: Search engines may make additional profits from businesses who's web sites are not found in search results or from businesses who's web sites are not the first returned link or that is found many pages back in the returned search results, thus in essence condensing all search results.

14.A method of claims 1 thru 6, wherein: A business model is disclosed allowing businesses in like industries to further compete with one another whereas through competitiveness consumers will benefit through such competitiveness.

15.A method of claims 1 thru 6, wherein: A business model is disclosed allowing consumers to do one stop shopping for discounts, quotes, general inquiries, product and services prices/pricing, estimates and the like.

16.A method of claims 1 thru 6, wherein: A customer does not necessarily know what businesses are being contacted through the present invention and as such will hold no ill regard to businesses who do not respond with the best quote, price, estimate and so forth, for the customer does not know what businesses did not respond.

17.A method of claims 1 thru 6, wherein: A business who cannot or does not want to respond to a customer's inquiry saves time and money by simply not responding and is not pressured into feeling to ensure a good reputation amongst customers that they must spend time and energy communicating with a customer they know they will not do business with for any number of reasons.

18.A method of claims 1 thru 3, wherein: Small businesses need not spend money on web sites, saving costs in building a site, operating and maintaining a web site, hosting a web site as well as potentially saving money manning the phones through association of the present invention