Searching content on web pages

• US 7,558,805 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2006
• Issued: 07/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AOL LLC (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Goel, Surendra
• Primary Examiner(s): MIZRAHI, DIANE D
• Application Number:
  US11/364,084
• Publication Number:
  US 20060242128A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,224 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/2, 707/3, 707/4, 707/5, 707/6, 707/100, 707/101, 707/102, 370/395.52, 340/7.29, 725/112, 715/762, 379/88.17
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9532 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

Performing a search to identify web sites that relate to a search term based on text within the web sites includes receiving at least one search term that then is compared with electronic information within at least one electronic information store to determine whether matches exist. The electronic information within the at least one information store may include text and/or full text displayed by different web pages from different web sites. Results based on the matches that are determined to exist are displayed. The results include at least one website identifier. The search may be performed by a web host having members and may further include automatically scanning and storing the text of a website when the website is accessed by a member of the web host. The stored text may be compared against received search terms.

Claims

1. A method for populating at least one memory store, wherein the method is performed by a web host having members, the method comprising:

monitoring accesses of a web site by members of a web host;

based on the monitoring, identifying a number of times that the web site has been accessed by members of the web host;

comparing, using a processor, the number of times that the web site has been accessed by members of the web host to a threshold number of times;

based on comparison results, determining whether the web site has been accessed by members of the web host at least the threshold number of times; and

conditioned on determining that the web site has been accessed by members of the web host at least the threshold number of times;

automatically scanning text of the web site; and

storing the text of the web site that was automatically scanned for comparison against search terms that are received.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether the text of the web site was previously stored;

wherein the automatically scanning and storing includes automatically scanning and storing the text of the web site only when the text of the web site is determined not to have been previously stored.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein determining whether the text of the web site was previously stored comprises:

identifying a web site address corresponding the web site; and

determining whether text corresponding to the web site address has been previously stored.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein determining whether the text of the web site was previously stored comprises:

scanning the text of the web site;

comparing the scanned text of the web site to text that has been previously stored; and

based on the comparison of the scanned text of the web site to text that has been previously stored, determining whether the text of the web site was previously stored.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the text of the web site previously stored are related to the text of the web sites previously accessed by members of the web host.

6. The method of claim 1 comprising:

identifying web sites provided by a listing service;

determining whether the text of the web sites provided by the listing service were stored previously; and

automatically scanning and storing the text of the web sites that were determined not to have been stored previously.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein identifying web sites provided by a listing service comprises doing so periodically.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically scanning text comprises automatically scanning the full text of a web site when the web site is accessed by a member of the web host.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically scanning text comprises automatically scanning the full text of at least a web site provided by a listing service that has not been accessed by a member of the web host.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein:

identifying the number of times that the web site has been accessed by members of the web host comprises identifying a number of members of the web host that have accessed the web site;

comparing the number of times that the web site has been accessed by members of the web host to a threshold number of times comprises comparing the number of members of the web host that have accessed the web site to a threshold number of members;

determining whether the web site has been accessed by members of the web host at least the threshold number of times comprises determining whether the web site has been accessed by at least the threshold number of members.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a type of classification of the web site; and

based on the determined type of classification, selecting, from among multiple electronic information stores, an electronic information store that stores content of the determined type of classification,

wherein storing the text of the web site comprises storing the text of the web site in the selected electronic information store.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein selecting, from among multiple electronic information stores, the electronic information store that stores content of the determined type of classification comprises selecting from among at least a first electronic information store that is configured to store content of only a first type of classification and a second electronic information store that is configured to store content of only a second type of classification, the second type of classification being different than the first type of classification.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically scanning text of the web site comprises automatically scanning text, other than the web site address, made visually perceivable through rendering of the web site at the time of access.

14. An electronic system comprising:

at least one electronic information store; and

at least one processor configured to perform operations comprising;

monitoring accesses of a web site by members of a web host;

based on the monitoring, identifying a number of times that the web site has been accessed by members of the web host;

comparing, using the at least one processor, the number of times that the web site has been accessed by members of the web host to a threshold number of times;

based on comparison results, determining whether the web site has been accessed by members of the web host at least the threshold number of times; and

conditioned on determining that the web site has been accessed by members of the web host at least the threshold number of times;

automatically scanning text of the web site; and

storing, in the at least one electronic information store, the text of the web site that was automatically scanned for comparison against search terms that are received.

15. A method for populating at least one memory store, wherein the method is performed by a computer, the method comprising:

monitoring web site access activities of multiple users;

identifying a web site of interest based on the monitored web site access activities of the multiple users;

in response to identifying the web site of interest based on the monitored web site access activities of the multiple users;

automatically scanning content included in the web site of interest; and

storing, in an electronic information store, content from the web site of interest that was automatically scanned,

wherein identifying the web site of interest based on the monitored web site access activities of the multiple users comprises;

identifying a number of distinct users that have accessed the web site of Interest;

comparing, using a processor, the number of distinct users that have accessed the web site of interest to a threshold number of users; and

identifying the web site of interest based on comparison results.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein identifying the web site of interest based on the monitored web site access activities of the multiple users comprises:

identifying a number of times that the web site of interest has been accessed by the multiple users;

comparing the number of times that the web site of interest has been accessed by the multiple users to a threshold number of times; and

based on comparison results, determining that the web site of interest has been accessed by the multiple users at least the threshold number of times.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein identifying the web site of interest based on comparison results comprises:

based on comparison results, determining that the number of distinct users that have accessed the web site of interest is at least the threshold number of users.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein automatically scanning content included in the web site of interest comprises automatically scanning content, other than the web site address of the website of interest, made visually perceivable through rendering of the web site of interest at the time of access, further comprising:

subsequent to storing, in the electronic information store, content from the web site of interest, receiving a search query;

comparing the search query against the content from the web site of interest stored in the electronic information store;

based on the comparison of the search query against the content from the web site of interest stored in the electronic information store, determining whether the web site of interest is relevant to the search query; and

in response to determining that the web site of interest is relevant to the search query, causing the web site of interest to be presented as a search result responsive to the search query.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein storing, in the electronic information store, content from the web site of interest that was automatically scanned comprises:

determining a type of classification of the web site of interest;

based on the determined type of classification, selecting, from among multiple electronic information stores, an electronic information store that stores content of the determined type of classification; and

storing content from the web site of interest that was automatically scanned in the selected electronic information store.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein selecting, from among multiple electronic information stores, the electronic information store that stores content of the determined type of classification comprises selecting from among at least a first electronic information store that is configured to store content of only a first type of classification and a second electronic information store that is configured to store content of only a second type of classification, the second type of classification being different than the first type of classification.