SEARCH CUSTOMIZATION BY GEO-LOCATED PROXY OF USER SEGMENT

• US 20090271371A1
• Filed: 04/28/2008
• Published: 10/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: IAC Search & Media Incorporated (Match Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: IAC Search & Media Incorporated (Match Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Co, Min San, Levin, Alan
• Application Number:
  US12/111,065
• Publication Number:
  US 20090271371A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases

Abstract

A system and method of data processing receives a query at a server computer system. The system and method utilizes the query to extract a search result from a data source. The system and method associates the search result with a geographically distributed population. The system and method associates a demographic criteria with the geographically distributed population and processes the search result to create an output data set based on the demographic criteria. The system and method transmits the output data set from the server computer system to the client computer system.

Claims

1. A method of data processing comprising:

receiving a query from a client computer system over a network at a server computer system;

utilizing the query to extract at least one search result from a data source;

associating the at least one search result with a geographically distributed population;

associating at least one demographic criteria with the geographically distributed population;

processing the at least one search result to create at least one biased search result based on the at least one demographic criteria; and

transmitting the at least one biased search result from the server computer system to the client computer system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing of the at least one search result is accomplished by a geo-bias process.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the geo-bias process includes determining demographic hits for at least one URL by summing a product of a percentage of a population in at least one geographic location that fits the demographic criteria and a number of hits for the at least one URL.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the geo-bias process further includes determining a bias ratio for a URL based on expected hits and the demographic hits to determine whether a URL is uniquely relevant to a demographic segment fitting the demographic criteria.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the geo-bias process considers the volume of user clicks by providing at least one adjustment factor.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the geo-bias process includes a dampening factor.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the bias ratio is applied to at least one raw log score to create the at least one biased search result wherein the at least one raw log score is adjusted based on the at least one demographic criteria.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the geographically distributed population is determined by an Internet Protocol address.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one demographic criteria is political party affiliation.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one demographic criteria is related to at least one of Asian-Americans, Latin-Americans, and African-Americans.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one search result is ranked differently depending on the at least one demographic criteria.

12. A method of data processing comprising:

receiving a first query from a first group of client computer systems at a server computer system;

receiving a second query from a second group of client computer systems at the server computer system;

utilizing the first and second query to extract at least one search result from a data source;

associating the at least one search result with a geographically distributed population;

associating at least one demographic criteria with the geographically distributed population;

processing the at least one search result to create a first output data set and second output data set based on the at least one demographic criteria;

transmitting a first output data set from the server computer system to the first group of client computer systems; and

transmitting a second output data set from the server computer system to the second group of client computer systems, wherein the first output data set and second output data set are the same because the first group of client computer systems and second group of client computer systems have the same geographically distributed user population.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first and second group of client computer systems are located in different geographic locations.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first and second group of client computer systems are located in the same geographic location.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the associating at least one demographic criteria with the geographically distributed population is accomplished by a geo-bias process.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the geo-bias process includes determining demographic hits for at least one URL by summing a product of a percentage of a population in at least one geographic location that fits the demographic criteria and a number of hits for the at least one URL

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the first and second query are the same.

18. A machine-readable storage medium that provides executable instructions which, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method comprising:

receiving a query from a client computer system over a network at a server computer system;

utilizing the query to extract at least one search result from a data source;

associating the at least one search result with a geographically distributed population;

associating at least one demographic criteria with the geographically distributed population;

processing the at least one search result to create at least one biased search result based on the at least one demographic criteria; and

transmitting the at least one biased search result from the server computer system to the client computer system.

19. A machine-readable storage medium that provides executable instructions which, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method comprising:

receiving a first query from a first group of client computer systems at a server computer system;

receiving a second query from a second group of client computer systems at the server computer system;

utilizing the first and second query to extract at least one search result from a data source;

associating the at least one search result with a geographically distributed population;

associating at least one demographic criteria with the geographically distributed population;

processing the at least one search result to create a first output data set and second output data set based on the at least one demographic criteria;

transmitting a first output data set from the server computer system to the first group of client computer systems; and

transmitting a second output data set from the server computer system to the second group of client computer systems, wherein the first output data set and second output data set are the same because the first group of client computer systems and second group of client computer systems have the same geographically distributed user population.

20. A system for processing data comprising:

a server computer system;

a receiving module stored on the server computer system for receiving a query;

a search engine that utilizes the query to extract at least one search result from a data source;

a geographic module for associating the at least one search result with a geographically distributed population and associating at least one demographic criteria with the geographically distributed population;

a processing module for processing the at least one search result to create at least one ranked output data set based on the at least one demographic data; and

a transmission module to transmit the at least one ranked output data set, based on the at least one demographic criteria from the server computer system to the client computer system.