Identifying the items most relevant to a current query based on items selected in connection with similar queries
First Claim
1. A method in a computing system for ranking items in a search result, the method comprising:
- receiving one or more search terms for a user;
identifying a plurality of items that match at least one of the terms;
identifying one or more demographic groups to which the user belongs;
tracking selections of the items by users in multiple predefined demographic groups during one or more periods of time including, for each of multiple search queries that are each from a user;
identifying one or more of the predefined demographic groups to which the user belongs;
providing an indication to the user of a search result that includes items satisfying the query;
for each of the included items that the user selects during the one or more periods of time and for each of the identified predefined demographic groups, increasing a rating value corresponding to a combination of the selected item and the predefined demographic group;
generating a relevance ranking for each of multiple of the identified items based on a number of selections of that item by users in the identified demographic groups during at least one prior period of time; and
providing an indication of the generated relevance rankings for the multiple items.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a software facility for identifying the items most relevant to a current query based on items selected in connection with similar queries. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the facility receives a query specifying one or more query terms. In response, the facility generates a query result identifying a plurality of items that satisfy the query. The facility then produces a ranking value for at least a portion of the items identified in the query result by combining the relative frequencies with which users selected that item from the query results generated from queries specifying each of the terms specified by the query. The facility identifies as most relevant those items having the highest ranking values.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method in a computing system for ranking items in a search result, the method comprising:
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receiving one or more search terms for a user; identifying a plurality of items that match at least one of the terms; identifying one or more demographic groups to which the user belongs; tracking selections of the items by users in multiple predefined demographic groups during one or more periods of time including, for each of multiple search queries that are each from a user; identifying one or more of the predefined demographic groups to which the user belongs; providing an indication to the user of a search result that includes items satisfying the query; for each of the included items that the user selects during the one or more periods of time and for each of the identified predefined demographic groups, increasing a rating value corresponding to a combination of the selected item and the predefined demographic group; generating a relevance ranking for each of multiple of the identified items based on a number of selections of that item by users in the identified demographic groups during at least one prior period of time; and providing an indication of the generated relevance rankings for the multiple items. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer-readable storage medium whose contents cause a computing system to perform a method for ranking items in a search result, the method comprising:
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receiving one or more search terms for a user; identifying a plurality of items that match at least one of the terms; identifying one or more demographic groups to which the user belongs; tracking selections of the items by users in multiple predefined demographic groups during one or more periods of time including, for each of multiple search queries that are each from a user; identifying one or more of the predefined demographic groups to which the user belongs; providing an indication to the user of a search result that includes items satisfying the query; for each of the included items that the user selects during the one or more periods of time and for each of the identified predefined demographic groups, increasing a rating value corresponding to a combination of the selected item and the predefined demographic group; generating a relevance ranking for each of multiple of the identified items based on a number of selections of that item by users in the identified demographic groups during at least one prior period of time; and providing an indication of the generated relevance rankings for the multiple items. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A computing system for ranking items in a search result, comprising:
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an input subsystem that receives one or more search terms for a user; an item identification subsystem that identifies a plurality of items that match at least one of the terms and identifies one or more demographic groups to which the user belongs; a selection tracking subsystem that tracks selections of the items by users in multiple predefined demographic groups during one or more periods of time including, for each of multiple search queries that are each from a user; identifying one or more of the predefined demographic groups to which the user belongs; providing an indication to the user of a search result that includes items satisfying the query; for each of the included items that the user selects during the one or more periods of time and for each of the identified predefined demographic groups, increasing a rating value corresponding to a combination of the selected item and the predefined demographic group; a relevance ranking subsystem that generates a relevance ranking for each of multiple of the identified items based on a number of selections of that item by users in the identified demographic groups during at least one prior period of time; and an output subsystem that provides an indication of the generated relevance rankings for the multiple items.
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Specification