Inline search results from user-created search verticals

• US 7,487,144 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2006
• Issued: 02/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Naam, Ramez, Shakib, Darren A., Flake, Gary William
• Primary Examiner(s): Mofiz; Apu M
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THU N
• Application Number:
  US11/420,108
• Publication Number:
  US 20070276803A1
• Time in Patent Office: 986 Days
• Field of Search: 707/3, 707/6, 707/7
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting

Abstract

A method and system is provided for automatically presenting search results from user-created search verticals or search macros in response to general web-search queries. A general web-search query is received and a set of user-created search verticals is initially identified using keywords contained in the query. A subset of target user-created search verticals is identified using factors such as whether the user has installed a tab for a particular vertical in a customized user interface, whether the search query has been used in a particular search vertical with a high frequency, and an overall or query-specific customer satisfaction rating for a particular search vertical. The search results can be presented as inline answers or inline suggestions on a common display with general search results obtained for the general search query.

Claims

1. A method for automatically presenting inline answers or suggestions from user-created web-search verticals in response to a general web-search query, the method comprising:

receiving a general web-search query from a user in a web-search user interface that has been customized by the user selecting to install one or more user-created web-search vertical tabs in the web-search user interface, wherein the user-created web-search verticals have been created by one or more search-engine consumers rather than a search-engine provider;

obtaining general web-search results from the World Wide Web based on the query;

accessing the user-created web-search verticals that have been installed in the customized user-interface by the user;

determining whether answers or suggestions relevant to the query are available from the installed user-created web-search verticals by first accessing a user-created definition for each of the installed user-created web-search verticals to determine whether return of answers or suggestions are supported by each of the installed user-created web-search verticals, and, second, determining whether any keywords from the query are present in a programmed keyword list in each of the installed user-created web-search verticals; and

if return of answers or suggestions are supported and if any keywords from the query are present, then, presenting, on a common display with the general web-search results, at least one answer or suggestion from an installed user-created web-search vertical that supports answers or suggestions and that has at least one keyword from the query in its programmed keyword list.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing revenue-sharing data for one of the installed user-created web-search verticals if at least one answer is presented from the installed user-created web-search vertical and the answer is selected by the user.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing revenue-sharing data for one of the installed user-created web-search verticals if at least one answer or suggestion is presented from the installed user-created search vertical.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing revenue-sharing data for one of the installed user-created web-search verticals if the user selects at least one advertisement associated with the installed user-created search vertical.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the query satisfies a query-frequency threshold for an installed user-created web-search vertical that supports answers or suggestions and that has at least one keyword from the query in its programmed keyword list, and

if so, presenting, on the common display, at least one answer from the installed user-created web-search vertical that satisfies the query-frequency threshold.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the query satisfies a customer satisfaction rating threshold for an installed user-created web-search vertical that supports answers or suggestions and that has at least one keyword from the query in its programmed keyword list, and

if so, presenting, on the common display, at least one answer from the installed user-created web-search vertical that satisfies the customer satisfaction rating threshold.

7. A computer-storage medium having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for performing the steps recited in claim 1.

8. A system for presenting search answers or suggestions from user-created web-search verticals in response to search queries entered into a general web-search utility, the system comprising:

a data store comprising stored information elements and a plurality of user-created web-search verticals that have been installed into a web-search user interface that has been customized by a user selecting to install one or more user-created web-search vertical tabs in the web-search user interface, wherein the user-created web-search verticals have been created by one or more search-engine consumers rather than a search-engine provider;

a search-engine component operative to obtain general web-search results from the data store and further operative to obtain search answers or suggestions from one or more of the plurality of user-created web-search verticals;

a vertical determiner operative to determine whether to obtain inline search answers or suggestions from one or more of the plurality of user-created web-search verticals by first accessing a user-created definition for each of the user-created web-search verticals to determine whether return of answers or suggestions are supported by each of the user-created web-search verticals, and, second, determining whether any keywords from the query are present in a programmed keyword list in each of the user-created web-search verticals; and

an interface component operative to receive general web-search queries and present inline search answers or suggestions obtained from the plurality of user-created web-search verticals on a common display with the general web-search results in response to the vertical determiner making a determination to obtain inline search answers or suggestions from the one or more user-created web-search verticals.

9. the system of claim 8, further comprising:

a user computer running web-browser software, wherein the user computer is logically coupled to the interface component, search engine component, vertical determiner, and data store via the internet.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of user-created web-search verticals comprise a programmed keyword list.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the vertical determiner comprises code for determining whether a web-search query performed using a particular user-created web-search vertical satisfies a query-frequency threshold and a customer satisfaction rating threshold, and further wherein the vertical determiner is operative to determine to obtain inline search answers or suggestions from the particular user-created web-search vertical if the query-frequency threshold and the customer satisfaction rating threshold are satisfied.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the data store further comprises a plurality of revenue-sharing elements corresponding to the plurality of user-created web-search verticals, wherein each revenue sharing element stores revenue sharing data based on usage of each user-created web-search vertical to which the revenue sharing element corresponds.