System and methods for ranking the relative value of terms in a multi-term search query using deletion prediction

• US 20060129534A1
• Filed: 12/14/2004
• Published: 06/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fain, Daniel C., Jones, Rosemary
• Granted Patent: US 7,406,465 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

The likely relevance of each term of a search-engine query of two or more terms is determined by their deletion probability scores. If the deletion probability scores are significantly different, the deletion probability score can be used to return targeted ads related to the more relevant term or terms along with the search results. Deletion probability scores are determined by first gathering historical records of search queries of two or more terms in which a subsequent query was submitted by the same user after one or more of the terms had been deleted. The deletion probability score for a particular term of a search query is calculated as the ratio of the number of times that particular term was itself deleted prior to a subsequent search by the same user divided by the number of times there were subsequent search queries by the same user in which any term or terms including that given term was deleted by the same user prior to the subsequent search. Terms are not limited to individual alphabetic words.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for identifying a relevant term in a subsequent multi-term search query, the method comprising:

tracking a number of deletions of each particular term in a plurality of multi-term search queries, wherein each of the plurality of multi-term search queries includes each particular term;

tracking a total number of deletions in the plurality of multi-term search queries;

determining deletion probabilities of each particular term from the number of deletions of each particular term and the total number of deletions; and

identifying the relevant term in the subsequent multi-term search query, the relevant term having a deletion probability greater than a threshold over deletion probabilities of remaining terms from the subsequent multi-term search query.

2. A computer-implemented system for identifying a relevant term in a subsequent multi-term search query, the system comprising:

a deletion predictor configured to track a number of deletions of each particular term in a plurality of multi-term search queries, wherein each of the plurality of multi-term search queries includes each particular term, and to track a total number of deletions in the plurality of multi-term search queries, and to determine deletion probabilities of each particular term from the number of deletions of each particular term and the total number of deletions; and

a relevance identifier configured to identify the relevant term in the subsequent multi-term search query, the relevant term having a deletion probability greater than a threshold over deletion probabilities of remaining terms from the subsequent multi-term search query.