URL RESCUE BY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION RELATED TO AN ITEM REFERENCED IN AN INVALID URL

• US 20130204981A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 08/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brundage, Michael L., Williams, Sarah E.
• Granted Patent: US 9,584,580 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A server system is disclosed that is capable of providing responsive content to a user when a request for an invalid URL is received. In a preferred embodiment, the server system implements multiple rescue strategies for attempting to rescue the invalid URL. One such rescue strategy involves repairing the URL by correcting for encoding errors, such as errors introduced by some web clients. Another rescue strategy involves determining that the URL contains an obsolete or outdated item identifier (e.g., product identifier) that renders the URL invalid, and returning information regarding one or more related items to the user. Another rescue strategy involves mining the invalid URL for one or more text strings reflective of the type of content desired, and then using the one or more text strings to execute a keyword search to identify content to provide to the user. The various rescue strategies may be attempted in sequence according to a hierarchy.

Claims

1. A system capable of rescuing invalid URLs included in URL request messages, the system comprising:

a data repository that stores product relationship data, including data identifying products that are substitutes or replacements for other products; and

a server system comprising one or more computing devices, said server system providing access to an electronic catalog that includes product detail pages for particular products, said server system programmed to respond to a request from a user device for an invalid URL by a process that comprises;

detecting that the invalid URL is for a product detail page for a first product that is not available in the electronic catalog, said detecting comprising extracting an identifier of the first product from the invalid URL;

identifying, based on the data repository of product relationship data, a second product that is a substitute or replacement for the first product; and

sending to the user device a product detail page for the second product, said product detail page for the second product having a URL that includes an identifier of the second product.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the server system, in responding to the request for the invalid URL, is additionally programmed to redirect the user device to the URL of the product detail page for the second product.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the server system, in responding to the request for the invalid URL, is additionally programmed to supplement the product detail page for the second product, for transmission to the user device, with a notification of a relationship between the first product and the second product.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the second product supersedes the first product.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first product is a discontinued product.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the identifier of the first product is included in the invalid URL as a value portion of a name-value pair.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the server system is programmed to implement a plurality of URL rescue methods, and to attempt the URL rescue methods in sequence according to a prioritized order.

8. A computer-implemented method for rescuing invalid URLs included in URL request messages from user devices, the method comprising:

by a computing system that comprises one or more computing devices;

receiving, from a user device, a URL request message that specifies an invalid URL, the invalid URL corresponding in format to a URL of a product page of an electronic catalog but containing an identifier of a first product that is not available in the electronic catalog;

in response to the URL request message, identifying, based on a data repository of product relationship data, a second product that is a replacement or substitute for the first product; and

transmitting a product page for the second product to the user device at least partly in response to the URL request message, said product page for the second product having a URL that includes an identifier of the second product.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising redirecting the user device to the URL of the product page for the second product.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising supplementing the product page for the second product, for transmission to the user device, with a notification of a relationship between the first product and the second product.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the second product supersedes the first product.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the first product is a discontinued product.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the identifier of the first product is included in the invalid URL as a value portion of a name-value pair.

14. Non-transitory computer storage having stored thereon executable program code that directs a server system to perform a process that comprises:

determining that a URL request message received from a user device specifies an invalid URL, the invalid URL corresponding in format to a URL of a product page of an electronic catalog but containing an identifier of an unavailable first product;

in response to the URL request message, identifying, based on the identifier of the first product and product relationship data, a second product that is a replacement or substitute for the first product; and

transmitting a product page for the second product to the user device at least partly in response to the URL request message, said product page for the second product having a URL that includes an identifier of the second product.

15. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 14, wherein the process further comprises redirecting the user device to the URL of the product page for the second product.

16. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 14, wherein the process further comprises supplementing the product page for the second product, for transmission to the user device, with a notification of a relationship between the first product and the second product.

17. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 14, wherein the second product supersedes the first product.

18. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 14, wherein the first product is a discontinued product.

19. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 14, wherein the identifier of the first product is included in the invalid URL as a value portion of a name-value pair.