In the past, advertising was about noise to get noticed because the advertiser and the owner of the medium never knew what those within range were interested in. The search engines changed all that and they continue to change that. Follow this link to a list compiled by ResourceShelf of advertising and search related patent activity for Tuesday March 7. Beyond this one day the list is huge. Knowing what people want or are interested in is the big thing in online advertising. Those who do it right should achieve higher sales for a lower spend. This is why we’re seeing some companies shift considerable chunks of their advertising spend online and away from mainstream media.