Method and system for web resource location classification and detection

• US 20060206624A1
• Filed: 03/10/2005
• Published: 09/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Ma, Wei-Ying, Xie, Xing, Wang, Chuang
• Granted Patent: US 7,574,530 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/245
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information

Abstract

A method and system for identifying locations associated with a web resource is provided. The location system identifies three different types of geographic locations: a provider location, a content location, and a serving location. A provider location identifies the geographic location of the entity that provides the web resource. A content location identifies the geographic location that is the subject of the web resource. A serving location identifies the geographic scope that the web page reaches. An application can select to use the type of location that is of particular interest.

Claims

1. A computer system for identifying locations associated with a web resource, comprising:

a component for identifying a provider location associated with the web resource;

a component for identifying a content location associated with the web resource; and

a component for identifying a serving location associated with the web resource.

2. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the provider location is the geographic location of the entity that provides the web resource.

3. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the component for identifying a provider location includes a classifier that has been trained to classify locations of the web resource as being or not being provider locations.

4. The computer system of claim 3 wherein the classifier is a support vector machine.

5. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the content location is the geographic location that is a subject of content of the web resource.

6. The computer system of claim 5 wherein the content location is identified based on power and spread of weights of a location to the subject.

7. The computer system of claim 6 wherein the power of a location factors in the weight of ancestor and descendant locations.

8. The computer system of claim 5 wherein the content location is identified based on an alias associated with the content location.

9. The computer system of claim 1 wherein the serving location is the geographic scope that the web resource reaches.

10. The computer system of claim 9 wherein the serving location is identified based on serving locations of web resources that have inbound links to the web resource.

11. The computer system of claim 10 wherein the serving location is identified based on power and spread of weights associated with locations.

12. A method in a computer system for identifying a location associated with a web resource, the method comprising:

calculating a weight for each location that provides an indication that the web resource is related to the location;

calculating a power for each location that factors in the weight of ancestor and descendant locations;

calculating a spread for each location based on the calculated powers; and

determining that a location that has a power that meets a power threshold and a spread that meets a spread threshold is an identified location.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the identified location is a content location.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the calculating of a weight is based on the weights for aliases of the location.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein an alias for a location is selected from a group consisting of a zip code and telephone number.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein the power is calculated based on weights of ancestor and descendant locations.

17. The method of claim 12 including pruning locations and their descendant locations that do not meet the power threshold or spread threshold.

18. A method in a computer system for identifying a location associated with a target web resource, the method comprising:

providing locations associated with other web resources that include links to the target web resource; and

determining whether a location associated with the target resource is an identified location based on the provided locations associated with the other target resources.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the location is a serving location and including:

calculating a power for each location that factors in the weight of ancestor and descendant locations; and

calculating a spread for each location based on the calculated powers wherein the determining factors in the calculated powers and spreads.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the determining factors in locations of users who access the web resource.