System and method for integrating on-line user ratings of businesses with search engines
First Claim
1. A system for use with a search engine to rank search results, comprising:
- an on-line ranking system for receiving rating data compiled from an on-line source based on interactive criteria, and for indexing the rating data;
an on-line ranking repository for storing the rating data indexed by the on-line ranking system; and
a result sorter for sorting query results generated by the search engine, based on the rating data from the on-line ranking repository, and for generating ranked matches.
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Abstract
A computer program product is provided as a business rating system to rank business that are relevant to a given Internet search topic. Business ratings are stored in a ranking repository that can be optionally searched by the user along with a user-defined search engine query. The business ratings are compiled from on-line questionnaires attached to the search engine results and/or on-line surveys obtained through other web based rating services. The business ratings assess the quality of the businesses in terms of “interactive” criteria such as customer satisfaction, professionalism, and cost and ease of use of the businesses'"'"' products or services. The business rating system is comprised of an on-line indexing engine, a query transformer, a search results transformer, a ranking based result sorter, an on-line ranking system, a metadata repository, and an on-line ranking repository. The business rating system integrates the ratings with the search results, and ranks the search results based on such business ratings. In this manner, the user of a search engine receives feedback from other users about businesses of interest. Eventually, businesses with higher ratings will be ranked at the top of the search list, while business with lower ratings will be ranked lower.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for use with a search engine to rank search results, comprising:
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an on-line ranking system for receiving rating data compiled from an on-line source based on interactive criteria, and for indexing the rating data;
an on-line ranking repository for storing the rating data indexed by the on-line ranking system; and
a result sorter for sorting query results generated by the search engine, based on the rating data from the on-line ranking repository, and for generating ranked matches. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer program product for use with a search engine to rank search results, comprising:
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an on-line ranking system for receiving rating data compiled from an on-line source based on interactive criteria, and for indexing the rating data;
an on-line ranking repository for storing the rating data indexed by the on-line ranking system; and
a result sorter for sorting query results generated by the search engine, based on the rating data from the on-line ranking repository, and for generating ranked matches. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for use with a search engine to rank search results, comprising:
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receiving rating data compiled from an on-line source based on interactive criteria, and indexing the rating data by means of an on-line ranking system;
storing the rating data indexed by the on-line ranking system, in an on-line ranking repository; and
sorting query results generated by the search engine, based on the rating data from the on-line ranking repository, and for generating ranked matches. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification