Recommending search terms using collaborative filtering and web spidering
First Claim
1. A method for recommending search terms in a computer network search apparatus for generating a result list of items representing a match with information entered by a user through an input device connected to the computer network, the search apparatus including a computer system operatively connected to the computer network and a plurality of items stored in a database, each item including information to be communicated to a user and having associated with it at least one search term, an information provider and a bid amount, the method comprising:
- (a) obtaining a set of potential search terms for acceptance by a new information provider who is adding items to the database, including;
receiving from the new information provider a website uniform resource locator (URL); and
spidering the website associated with the website URL to obtain search terms for the set of potential search terms;
(b) computing correlations between the potential search terms for the new information provider and search terms of other information providers stored in the database;
(c) computing an estimated rating for the each potential search term for the new information provider;
(d) sorting the potential search terms according to the computed estimated ratings;
(e) presenting to the new information provider on an output device the sorted potential search terms;
(f) receiving from the new information provider at an input device an indication of accepted search terms;
(g) repeating (b) through (e) until a completion indication is received from the new information provider; and
(h) storing the accepted search terms in the database for the new information provider upon receipt of the completion indication.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a pay-for-placement search system, the system makes search term recommendations to advertisers managing their accounts in one or more of two ways. A first technique involves looking for good search terms directly on an advertiser'"'"'s web site. A second technique involves comparing an advertiser to other, similar advertisers and recommending the search terms the other advertisers have chosen. The first technique is called spidering and the second technique is called collaborative filtering. In the preferred embodiment, the output of the spidering step is used as input to the collaborative filtering step. The final output of search terms from both steps is then interleaved in a natural way.
201 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for recommending search terms in a computer network search apparatus for generating a result list of items representing a match with information entered by a user through an input device connected to the computer network, the search apparatus including a computer system operatively connected to the computer network and a plurality of items stored in a database, each item including information to be communicated to a user and having associated with it at least one search term, an information provider and a bid amount, the method comprising:
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(a) obtaining a set of potential search terms for acceptance by a new information provider who is adding items to the database, including; receiving from the new information provider a website uniform resource locator (URL); and spidering the website associated with the website URL to obtain search terms for the set of potential search terms; (b) computing correlations between the potential search terms for the new information provider and search terms of other information providers stored in the database; (c) computing an estimated rating for the each potential search term for the new information provider; (d) sorting the potential search terms according to the computed estimated ratings; (e) presenting to the new information provider on an output device the sorted potential search terms; (f) receiving from the new information provider at an input device an indication of accepted search terms; (g) repeating (b) through (e) until a completion indication is received from the new information provider; and (h) storing the accepted search terms in the database for the new information provider upon receipt of the completion indication. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A computer network search engine apparatus which includes a database having stored therein a plurality of search listings, each search listing being associated with an information provider, at least one keyword, a money amount and a computer network location and a search engine to identify search listings having a keyword matching a keyword entered by a searcher, to order the identified listings using the money amounts for the respective identified listings, and to generate a result list including at least some of the ordered listings, the apparatus comprising:
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an account management server including a processing system which is operative in conjunction with program code to recommend potential search terms to a new information provider adding search listings to the database; collaborative filtering code operable in conjunction with the processing system to compute correlations between potential search terms for the new information provider and search terms of other information providers stored in the database and to compute an estimated rating for the each potential search term for the new information provider; sorting code operable in conjunction with the processing system and configured to sort the potential search terms according to the computed estimated ratings; spidering code overable in conjunction with the processing system to find initially accepted search terms in a web site by spidering the web site and to include the initially accepted search terms among the sorted potential search terms; an output device configured to provide the sorted potential search terms to the new information provider for review; and an input device configured to receive from the new information provider an indication of accepted search terms, the accepted search terms being stored in the database in association with the new information provider upon receipt of the indication from the new information provider. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for making search term recommendations to an advertiser in a pay for placement market system in which search listings of advertisers may be searched by users entering search terms, the method comprising:
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receiving from the advertiser a website uniform resource locator (URL); spidering the website associated with the website URL to obtain an initial list of search terms to form a set of potential search terms for the advertiser; computing correlations between the set of potential search terms for the advertiser and search terms of other advertisers stored in a database of the pay for placement market system; computing an estimated rating for each potential search term for the advertiser; sorting the potential search terms according to the estimated ratings; providing the sorted potential search terms to the advertiser; receiving from the advertiser the advertiser'"'"'s indication of accepted search terms; and storing the accepted search terms in the database for searching by the users. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification