Propagating Information Among Web Pages

• US 20140052735A1
• Filed: 08/15/2013
• Published: 02/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amitabh K. Singhal, Daniel Egnor, John Ogden Lamping, Kevin D. Lacker, Ke Yang, Paul Haahr
• Inventors: HAAHR, Paul, EGNOR, Daniel, LACKER, Kevin D., LAMPING, John Ogden, SINGHAL, Amitabh K., YANG, Ke
• Granted Patent: US 8,990,210 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/741
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2228 Indexing structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking

Abstract

Web pages of a Website may be processed to improve search results. For example, information likely to pertain to more than just the Web page it is directly associated with may be identified. One or more other, related, Web pages that such information is likely to pertain to is also identified. The identified information is associated with the identified other Web page(s) and this association is saved in a way to affect a search result score of the Web page(s).

Claims

1-18. -18. (canceled)

19. A computer-implemented method comprising:

selecting a product category term from among one or more terms in a first web page of a web site, wherein the first web page is not a home or root web page of the web site, and the product category term is a name of a product category; and

in an index of web pages that identifies terms and, for each term, identifies one or more web pages that are associated with the term, updating an association of the product category term with a home or root web page of the web site to generate an updated index of web pages, including updating a boost value associated with the association of the product category term with the home or root web page in the index of web pages.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the home or root web page is above the first web page in a URL hierarchy of the web site.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the index of web pages has no association between the candidate term and the home or root web page of the web site, and wherein updating an association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the web site comprises adding an association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the web site to generate the updated index of web pages.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein updating the association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the web site comprises increasing a weight of an association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the web site in the index of web pages to generate the updated index of web pages.

23. A system comprising:

one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

selecting a product category term from among one or more terms in a first web page of a web site, wherein the first web page is not a home or root web page of the web site, and the product category term is a name of a product category; and

in an index of web pages that identifies terms and, for each term, identifies one or more web pages that are associated with the term, updating an association of the product category term with a home or root web page of the web site to generate an updated index of web pages, including updating a boost value associated with the association of the product category term with the home or root web page in the index of web pages.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the home or root web page is above the first web page in a URL hierarchy of the web site.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the index of web pages has no association between the candidate term and the home or root web page of the web site, and wherein updating an association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the web site comprises adding an association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the web site to generate the updated index of web pages.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein updating the association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the web site comprises increasing a weight of an association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the web site in the index of web pages to generate the updated index of web pages.

27. A computer-implemented method comprising:

selecting a product category term from among one or more terms in a first web page of a web site, wherein the first web page is not a home or root web page of the web site, and the product category term is a name of a product category;

in an index of web pages that identifies terms and, for each term, identifies one or more web pages that are associated with the term, updating an association of the product category term with a home or root web page of the web site to generate an updated index of web pages,

wherein the index of web pages has no association between the product category term and the home or root web page of the web site, and wherein updating the association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the web site comprises adding an association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the web site to generate the updated index of web pages; and

using the updated index of web pages to identify web pages satisfying search queries.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein using the updated index of web pages to identify web pages satisfying search queries comprises:

receiving a search query including the candidate term; and

determining that the home or root web page satisfies the query based on the added association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the website in the updated index.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the home or root web page is above the first web page in a URL hierarchy of the web site.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein updating the association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the web site comprises updating a boost value associated with the association of the candidate term with the home or root web page in the index of web pages to generate the updated index of web pages.

31-1. The system of claim 31, wherein using the updated index of web pages to identify web pages satisfying search queries comprises:

receiving a search query including the candidate term; and

determining that the home or root web page satisfies the query based on the added association of the candidate term with the home or root web page of the website in the updated index.