DYNAMIC SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS EMPLOYING USER BEHAVIOR

• US 20100106703A1
• Filed: 01/04/2010
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois, Surf Canyon Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mark Cramer
• Inventors: Cramer, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 8,095,582 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0244 Optimization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A method and apparatus for dynamically modifying search results “on the fly” based on the behavior of the user currently conducting a search. In one embodiment, data regarding user behavior is gathered from virtually any activity, including clicks on links, dwell times, downloads, transactions and cursor movements. Subordinate keywords are generated to reflect the intent of the user as inferred from the user'"'"'s behavior. Subordinate keywords, as opposed to traditional primary keywords, are keywords that are identified as important to the search, but are not necessarily essential for a matched document. They are automatically generated by the system from a variety of places, such as documents clicked on by the user as well as documents that are skipped. The system uses the subordinate keywords to dynamically re-rank thatched documents and advertisements to best reflect the inferred intent of the user in order to continuously provide the most relevant results.

Claims

1. A method for dynamically modifying search results comprising:

receiving one or more keywords for use as search terms from a user;

providing a set of search result objects to said user;

monitoring which document said user clicks on in interacting with said first set of search result objects;

monitoring which documents said user skips;

compiling information to infer user intent based on the content of said document the user clicks on and said documents said user skips; and

upon said user clicking to return from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, immediately automatically re-ranking said set of search result objects based on user intent inferred from said analyzing of the content of said document said user clicks on and said documents said user skips, so that a user clicking on a single document from said set of search result objects results in a re-ranking of said set of search result objects, so that upon said user returning from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, without the user resubmitting the search, the re-ranked results will be visible;

doing said re-ranking based on information from searches including said keywords in a same browser session;

wherein said re-ranking is done on the same search containing said documents said user clicks on; and

selecting and displaying advertising based on said user behavior in interacting with said first set of search result objects.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing some title and display text with each of said search result objects in said set of search result objects;

monitoring which of said objects is selected by said user;

using terms from the title and display text corresponding to a selected object as subordinate keywords for generating said re-ranking of said set of search result objects; and

performing said selecting and displaying advertising based on said subordinate keywords.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

selecting subordinate keywords from at least one of links clicked on by the user, other links associated with a document including links pointing to the document, descriptive text associated with each document in the search results, meta-tags connected to viewed documents, prominent words and phrases in viewed documents and a thesaurus.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

using terms from the title and display text corresponding to objects skipped by a user as negative subordinate keywords; and

reducing the ranking of search results objects containing said negative subordinate keywords.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

assigning weights to said subordinate keywords, such that search result objects having higher weighted subordinate keywords are ranked higher.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising monitoring user behavior by at least one of:

subsequent clicks on links within documents;

dwell times;

time spent looking at documents from specific domains;

resources accessed;

transactions conducted;

purchases made;

orders placed;

sessions created;

documents downloaded;

cursors moved;

pages or text scrolled; and

images or other information highlighted.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein said selecting and displaying advertising based on said user behavior further comprises:

dynamically altering sponsored links to reflect the interests of the user.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein said selecting and displaying advertising based on said user behavior further comprises:

providing a plurality of advertisements; and

reordering said advertisements based on said user behavior.

19. The method of claim 2 wherein said performing said selecting and displaying advertising based on said subordinate keywords further comprises:

allocating particular keywords to particular sponsors.

6. A method for dynamically modifying search results comprising:

receiving one or more keywords for use as search terms from a user;

providing a set of search result objects to said user;

monitoring which document said user clicks on in interacting with said set of search result objects;

monitoring which documents said user skips;

compiling information to infer user intent based on the content of said document the user clicks on and said documents said user skips;

upon said user clicking to return from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, immediately automatically re-ranking said set of search result objects based on user intent inferred from said analyzing of the content of said document said user clicks on and said documents said user skips, so that a user clicking on a single document from said set of search result objects results in a re-ranking of said set of search result objects, so that upon said user returning from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, without the user resubmitting the search, the re-ranked results will be visible;

wherein said re-ranking is done on the same search containing said documents said user clicks on;

doing said re-ranking based on information from searches including said keywords in a same browser session;

providing some title and display text with each of said search result objects in said set of search result objects;

monitoring which of said objects is selected by said user;

using terms from the title and display text corresponding to a selected object as subordinate keywords for generating said re-ranking of said set of search result objects in real time during a current search;

providing a user interface allowing a user to promote selected subordinate keywords such that they have a higher weighting or are used as primary keywords to generate new search results.

7. A method for dynamically modifying search results comprising:

receiving one or more keywords for use as search terms from a user;

providing a set of search result objects to said user;

monitoring which document said user clicks on in interacting with said set of search result objects;

monitoring which documents said user skips;

compiling information to infer user intent based on the content of said document the user clicks on and said documents said user skips;

upon said user clicking to return from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, immediately automatically re-ranking said set of search result objects based on user intent inferred from said analyzing of the content of said document said user clicks on and said documents said user skips, so that a user clicking on a single document from said set of search result objects results in a re-ranking of said set of search result objects, so that upon said user returning from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, without the user resubmitting the search, the re-ranked results will be visible;

wherein said re-ranking is done on the same search containing said documents said user clicks on;

doing said re-ranking based on information from searches including said keywords in a same browser session;

providing some title and display text with each of said search result objects in said first set;

monitoring which of said objects is selected by said user;

using terms from the title and display text corresponding to a selected object as subordinate keywords for generating said re-ranking of said set of search result objects in real time during a current search;

providing a user interface allowing a user to delete selected subordinate keywords.

8. A method for dynamically modifying search results comprising:

receiving one or more keywords for use as search terms from a user;

providing a set of search result objects;

monitoring which document said user clicks on in interacting with said set of search result objects;

monitoring which documents said user skips;

compiling information to infer user intent based on the content of said document the user clicks on and said documents said user skips;

upon said user clicking to return from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, immediately automatically re-ranking said set of search result objects based on user intent inferred from said analyzing of the content of said document said user clicks on and said documents said user skips, so that a user clicking on a single document from said set of search result objects results in a re-ranking of said set of search result objects, so that upon said user returning from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, without the user resubmitting the search, the re-ranked results will be visible;

wherein said re-ranking is done on the same search containing said documents said user clicks on; and

doing said re-ranking based on information from searches including said keywords in a same browser session;

wherein said providing a first set of search result objects is performed by a separate search engine software program from a user behavior program that performs said monitoring and generating steps.

10. A method for dynamically modifying search results comprising:

receiving one or more keywords for use as search terms from a user;

providing a set of search result objects;

monitoring which document said user clicks on in interacting with said set of search result objects;

monitoring which documents said user skips;

compiling information to infer user intent based on the content of said document the user clicks on and said documents said user skips;

upon said user clicking to return from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, immediately automatically re-ranking said set of search result objects based on user intent inferred from said analyzing of the content of said document said user clicks on and said documents said user skips, so that a user clicking on a single document from said set of search result objects results in a re-ranking of said set of search result objects, so that upon said user returning from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, without the user resubmitting the search, the re-ranked results will be visible;

wherein said re-ranking is done on the same search containing said documents said user clicks on; and

doing said re-ranking based on information from searches including said keywords in a same browser session;

rating the usefulness of at least one of said search result objects in response to a user rating input.

20. The method of claim 10 wherein said rating the usefulness of at least one of said search result objects in response to a user rating input further comprises:

providing a search object rating for an indicated search object;

adjusting the weights of subordinate keywords associated with said indicated search object in accordance with said search object rating.

11. A method for dynamically modifying search results comprising:

receiving one or more keywords for use as search terms from a user;

providing a set of search result objects;

monitoring which document said user clicks on in interacting with said set of search result objects;

monitoring which documents said user skips;

compiling information to infer user intent based on the content of said document the user clicks on and said documents said user skips;

upon said user clicking to return from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, immediately automatically re-ranking said set of search result objects based on user intent inferred from said analyzing of the content of said document said user clicks on and said documents said user skips, so that a user clicking on a single document from said first set of search result objects results in a re-ranking of said set of search result objects, so that upon said user returning from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, without the user resubmitting the search, the re-ranked results will be visible;

wherein said re-ranking is done on the same search containing said documents said user clicks on;

doing said re-ranking based on information from searches including said keywords in a same browser session;

providing a first display indication of search result objects that have been previously selected by said user; and

providing a second display indication of search result objects that have been skipped by said user.

12. A method for dynamically modifying search results comprising:

receiving one or more keywords for use as search terms from a user;

providing a set of search result objects;

monitoring which document said user clicks on in interacting with said set of search result objects;

monitoring which documents said user skips;

compiling information to infer user intent based on the content of said document the user clicks on and said documents said user skips;

upon said user clicking to return from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, immediately automatically re-ranking said set of search result objects based on user intent inferred from said analyzing of the content of said document said user clicks on and said documents said user skips, so that a user clicking on a single document from said first set of search result objects results in a re-ranking of said set of search result objects, so that upon said user returning from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, without the user resubmitting the search, the re-ranked results will be visible;

wherein said re-ranking is done on the same search containing said documents said user clicks on;

doing said re-ranking based on information from searches including said keywords in a same browser session;

providing a display indication of the ranking movement of said search result objects in said re-ranking of said first set of search result objects, said ranking movement indicating an amount of a change in ranking of said search result objects.

13. A system for dynamically modifying search results comprising:

a user interface on a first computer configured to receive one or more keywords for use as search terms from a user;

a search engine on a server in communication with said first computer over a network, said search engine being configured to provide a set of search result objects in response to said keywords;

a monitoring program in communication with said network, said monitoring program being configured to monitor user behavior in interacting with said search result objects;

a re-ranking program configured to

monitor which document said user clicks on in interacting with said first set of search result objects;

monitor which documents said user skips;

compile information to infer user intent based on the content of said document the user clicks on and said documents said user skips;

upon said user clicking to return from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, immediately automatically re-rank said set of search result objects based on user intent inferred from said analyzing of the content of said document said user clicks on and said documents said user skips, so that a user clicking on a single document from said set of search result objects results in a re-ranking of said set of search result objects, so that upon said user returning from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, without the user resubmitting the search, the re-ranked results will be visible; and

wherein said re-ranking is done on the same search containing said documents said user clicks on;

do said re-ranking based on information from searches including said keywords in a same browser session; and

an advertising program configured to select and display advertising based on said user behavior.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said search engine is on a first server, and said monitoring and re-ranking programs are on a second server.

15. A memory storing computer readable media having computer readable code thereon for dynamically modifying search results, comprising code for:

receiving one or more keywords for use as search terms from a user;

providing a set of search result objects;

monitoring which document said user clicks on in interacting with said set of search result objects;

monitoring which documents said user skips;

compiling information to infer user intent based on the content of said document the user clicks on and said documents said user skips;

upon said user clicking to return from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, immediately automatically re-ranking said first set of search result objects based on user intent inferred from said analyzing of the content of said document said user clicks on and said documents said user skips, so that a user clicking on a single document from said set of search result objects results in a re-ranking of said set of search result objects, so that upon said user returning from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, without the user resubmitting the search, the re-ranked results will be visible;

wherein said re-ranking is done on the same search containing said documents said user clicks on;

doing said re-ranking based on information from searches including said keywords in a same browser session;

selecting and displaying advertising based on said user behavior.

16. A method for ranking a set of search results having an initial ranking, comprising:

determining one or more selected objects in said set of search results which corresponds to user interest based on user behavior;

monitoring which document said user clicks on in interacting with said set of search result objects;

monitoring which documents said user skips;

compiling information to infer user intent based on the content of said document the user clicks on and said documents said user skips;

upon said user clicking to return from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, immediately automatically re-ranking said set of search result objects based on user intent inferred from said analyzing of the content of said document said user clicks on and said documents said user skips, so that a user clicking on a single document from said first set of search result objects results in a re-ranking of said set of search result objects, so that upon said user returning from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, without the user resubmitting the search, the re-ranked results will be visible;

wherein said re-ranking is done on the same search containing said documents said user clicks on;

doing said re-ranking based on information from searches including said keywords in a same browser session;

selecting at least one subordinate keyword corresponding to said selected objects;

re-ranking said set of search results based on said set of search result objects and said at least one subordinate keyword; and

selecting and displaying advertising based on said at least one subordinate keyword.

21. A method for dynamically modifying search results comprising:

receiving one or more keywords for use as search terms from a user;

providing a set of search result objects;

monitoring which document said user clicks on in interacting with said set of search result objects;

monitoring which documents said user skips;

compiling information to infer user intent based on the content of said document the user clicks on and said documents said user skips;

upon said user clicking to return from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, immediately automatically re-ranking said set of search result objects based on user intent inferred from said analyzing of the content of said document said user clicks on and said documents said user skips, so that a user clicking on a single document from said set of search result objects results in a re-ranking of said set of search result objects, so that upon said user returning from said document to said set of search result objects including said document, without the user resubmitting the search, the re-ranked results will be visible;

wherein said re-ranking is done on the same search containing said documents said user clicks on;

doing said re-ranking based on information from searches including said keywords in a same browser session;

providing some title and display text with each of said search result objects in said first set;

monitoring which of said objects is selected by said user;

using terms from the title and display text corresponding to a selected object as subordinate keywords for generating said re-ranking of said set of search result objects in real time during a current search;

wherein said second set of search results are generated by using a separate search engine to perform a second search in the background, comparing the results of said second search to said set of search result objects, and re-ranking said set of search results based on said results of said second search.