System and method for modulating search relevancy using pointer activity monitoring
First Claim
1. A method of providing search results, comprising:
- at a client;
presenting, in response to a search query, a plurality of search results received from a remotely located search engine, each search result occupying a respective region on a display;
determining a hover period comprising a length of time that a user hovers a user-controlled pointer over the display region occupied by a respective search result of the plurality of search results without user selection of the respective search result; and
transmitting, to a server, information about the length of the hover period and the respective search result over which the user-controlled pointer was hovering;
at a server;
updating a relevancy value of the respective search result at least partially in accordance with the received user hover periods; and
in response to a second search query after the update of the relevancy value, identifying a set of search results for the second search query in accordance with their relevancy values, the set of search results including the respective search result whose relevancy value has been updated.
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Abstract
A method and system of modulating search result relevancy use various types of user browsing activities. In particular, a client assistant residing in a client computer monitors movements of a user controlled pointer in a web browser, e.g., when the pointer moves into a predefined region and when it moves out of the predefined region. A server then determines a relevancy value between an informational item associated with the predefined region and a search query according to the pointer hover period. When preparing a new search result responsive to a search query, the server re-orders identified informational items in accordance with their respective relevancy values such that more relevant items appear before less relevant ones. The server also uses the relevancy values to determine and/or adjust the content of an one-box result associated with a search query.
86 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method of providing search results, comprising:
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at a client; presenting, in response to a search query, a plurality of search results received from a remotely located search engine, each search result occupying a respective region on a display; determining a hover period comprising a length of time that a user hovers a user-controlled pointer over the display region occupied by a respective search result of the plurality of search results without user selection of the respective search result; and transmitting, to a server, information about the length of the hover period and the respective search result over which the user-controlled pointer was hovering; at a server; updating a relevancy value of the respective search result at least partially in accordance with the received user hover periods; and in response to a second search query after the update of the relevancy value, identifying a set of search results for the second search query in accordance with their relevancy values, the set of search results including the respective search result whose relevancy value has been updated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of providing search results responsive to search queries, comprising:
at a server system; receiving from client devices user hover periods associated with a search result that corresponds to a first search query, a respective user hover period comprising information about a length of time that a user hovers a user-controlled pointer over a display region occupied by the search result without user selection of the search result; updating a relevancy value of the search result at least partially in accordance with the received user hover periods; and in response to a second search query after the update of the relevancy value, identifying a set of search results for the second search query in accordance with their relevancy values, the set of search results including the search result whose respective relevancy value has been updated.
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8. A method of providing search results responsive to search queries, comprising:
at a server system; receiving from client devices user hover periods associated with a plurality of search results which correspond to multiple search queries, a respective user hover period comprising information about a length of time that a user hovers a user-controlled pointer over a display region occupied by a respective search result of the plurality of search results without user selection of the respective search result; updating relevancy values of the search results at least partially in accordance with their respective user hover periods; and in response to a search query after the update of the relevancy values, identifying a set of search results for the search query in accordance with their relevancy values, the set of search results including at least one search result whose respective relevancy value has been updated. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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11. A server system for providing search results responsive to search queries, comprising:
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a memory; one or more processors; and a program, wherein the program is stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the program comprising; instructions for receiving from client devices user hover periods associated with a plurality of search results which correspond to multiple search queries, a respective user hover period comprising information about a length of time that a user hovers a user-controlled pointer over a display region occupied by a respective search result of the plurality of search results without user selection of the respective search result; instructions for updating relevancy values of the search results at least partially in accordance with their respective user hover periods; and instructions for responding to a search query after the update of the relevancy values by identifying a set of search results for the search query in accordance with their relevancy values, the set of search results including at least one search result whose respective relevancy value has been updated. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs for execution by a computer system, the one or more programs comprising:
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instructions for receiving at a server from client devices user hover periods associated with a plurality of search results which correspond to multiple search queries, a respective user hover period comprising information about a length of time that a user hovers a user-controlled pointer over a display region occupied by a respective search result of the plurality of search results without user selection of the respective search result; instructions for at a server updating relevancy values of the search results at least partially in accordance with their respective user hover periods; and instructions for at a server responding to a search query after the update of the relevancy values by identifying a set of search results for the search query in accordance with their relevancy values, the set of search results including at least one search result whose respective relevancy value has been updated. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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Specification