Location in search queries

• US 8,005,822 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2007
• Issued: 08/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Jenson, Scott, Rechis, Leland, Shacham, Yael
• Primary Examiner(s): Mofiz; Apu M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pyo; Monica M
• Application Number:
  US11/624,184
• Publication Number:
  US 20080172357A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,679 Days
• Field of Search: 707/2, 707/3, 707/10, 707/999.002, 707/999.003, 707/999.01, 707/709, 707/721, 707/768
• US Class Current: 707/721
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

A computer-implemented method includes receiving a search query from a remote device, determining if the search query includes location-related information, and if the search query includes location-related information, generating a first result set based on the search query and the location-related information, and if the search query does not include location-related information, determining whether a location indicator is associated with the remote device, and if a location indicator is associated with the remote device, generating a second result set based on the search query and the location indicator.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a central server system, a search query from a remote device;

determining whether the search query includes location-related information by analyzing the search query using the central server system;

in response to determining that the search query includes location-related information,

generating a first result set based on the search query and the location-related information using the central server system, and

transmitting, from the central server system to the remote device, the first result set; and

in response to determining that the search query does not include location-related information,

determining whether a location indicator is associated with the remote device using the central server system,

in response to determining that the location indicator is associated with the remote device, generating a second result set based on the search query and the location indicator using the central server system,

generating a third result set that is substantially independent of location using the central server system,

determining, using the central server system, a result set order specifying the order in which the second result set and the third result set, rather than the results within these result sets, are to be displayed at the remote device based on a predicted relevance of location to the received search query, and

transmitting, from the central server system to the remote device, information characterizing the second result set, the third result set, and the result set order,

wherein determining the result set order specifying the order in which the second result set and the third result set are to be displayed at the remote device comprises

determining whether the received search query or a substantially similar variation of the received search query is in a list of queries that have been previously determined to be likely to be incorrectly associated with location information, and

in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation of the received search query is stored in the list of queries, formatting the third result set to be displayed before the second result set, and

in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation thereof is not stored in the list of queries, formatting the second result set to be displayed before the third result set.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the search query comprises a plurality of text portions, and determining if the search query includes location-related information comprises determining whether one of the plurality of text portions corresponds to a physical location identifier.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the physical location comprises at least one of a zip code, a municipality name, an area code, a congressional district, a GPS coordinate, a latitude/longitude coordinate, an airport code, or a wireless network-provided location coordinate.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the search query is received from a mobile communication device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining whether a location indicator is associated with the remote device comprises accessing an electronic record associated with the remote device and determining whether the electronic record stores a default location indicator.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining whether a location indicator is associated with the remote device comprises determining whether current location information is available from either location-pinpointing structures in the remote device or location-pinpointing structure in a communication network from which the query from the remote device is received.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating the second result set based on the search query and the location indicator comprises generating a modified search query that includes the location indicator.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein generating the second result further comprises transmitting the modified search query to a search engine and in response, receiving from the search engine the second result set.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising formatting, using the central server system, the first or second result set in a mark-up document to be displayed with a drop-down menu that includes another location, the other location corresponding to a previous search query received from the remote device or a previous information session initiated by the remote device.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving, at the central server system, input from the remote device, the input selecting the other location; and

generating, using the central server system in response to receiving the input, a third result set based on the search query and the other location.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the method further comprises formatting the second result set and the third result set in a mark-up document to be displayed in the remote device; and

transmitting the information comprises transmitting the mark-up document to the remote device.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising triggering, using the central server system, the remote device to generate a prompt which requests location information from the remote device in response to the search query not including location-related information and a location indicator not being not associated with the remote device.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising:

formatting the third result set and the prompt in a mark-up document to be displayed on the remote device, and transmitting the mark-up document to the remote device.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising sequencing, using the central server system, the third result set and the prompt based on the likely relevance of the second result set to the received search query.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14, wherein sequencing the third result set and the prompt comprises:

determining whether the received search query or a substantially similar variation thereof is stored in a list of queries that have been previously determined to be likely to be associated with location information;

in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation thereof is stored in the list of queries, formatting the prompt to be displayed before the third result; and

in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation thereof is not stored in the list of queries, formatting the third result set to be displayed before the prompt.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving, at the central server system, input from the remote device, the input providing location information in response to the prompt; and

generating, using the central server system and in response to receiving the input, a fourth result set based on the search query and the location information.

17. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a search query at a server system, the search query sent from a computing device that is remote from the server system;

determining with the server system whether the search query includes location information;

in response to determining that the search query includes location information,

generating a first result set based on the search query and the included location information using the central server system and

transmitting, from the central server system to the remote device, the first result set; and

in response to determining that the search query does not include location information,

identifying previously used location information associated with a previous session of the remote device using the central server system,

generating a second result set based on the search query and the previously used location information using the central server system,

generating a third result set that is substantially independent of location using the central server system,

determining, using the central server system, a result set order specifying the order in which the second result set and the third result set, rather than the results within these result sets, are to be displayed at the remote device based on a predicted relevance of location to the received search query, and

transmitting, from the central server system to the remote device, information characterizing the second result set, the third result set, and the result set order,

wherein determining the result set order specifying the order in which the second result set and the third result set are to be displayed at the remote device comprises

determining whether the received search query or a substantially similar variation of the received search query is in a list of queries that have been previously determined to be likely to be incorrectly associated with location information, and

in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation of the received search query is stored in the list of queries, formatting the third result set to be displayed before the second result set, and

in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation thereof is not stored in the list of queries, formatting the second result set to be displayed before the third result set.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein identifying previously used location information comprises:

accessing an electronic record associated with the remote device using the central server system; and

identifying stored location information in the electronic record using the central server system.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein identifying stored location information comprises:

identifying a plurality of location values corresponding to a plurality of previous search queries or information sessions; and

selecting one of the plurality of location values.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, further comprising formatting, using the central server system, the first result set or the second result set in a mark-up document to be displayed with a drop-down menu that includes another location, the other location comprising at least one of the plurality of location values.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 20, further comprising:

receiving input from the remote device at the central server system, the input selecting the other location; and

generating, using the central server system in response to receiving the input, a fourth result set based on the search query and the other location.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, further comprising:

triggering, using the central server system, the remote device to generate a prompt which requests location information from the remote device in response to the search query not including location-related information and a location indicator not being not associated with the remote device;

formatting the third result set and the prompt in a mark-up document to be displayed on the remote device, and transmitting the mark-up document to the remote device;

sequencing, using the central server system, the third result set and the prompt based on the likely relevance of the second result set to the received search query, wherein sequencing the third result set and the prompt comprises;

determining whether the received search query or a substantially similar variation thereof is stored in a list of queries that have been previously determined to be likely to be associated with location information ;

in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation thereof is stored in the list of queries, formatting the prompt to be displayed before the third result set; and

in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation thereof is not stored in the list of queries, formatting the third result set to be displayed before the prompt.

23. The computer-implemented method of claim 22, further comprising:

receiving, at the central server system, input from the remote device, the input providing location information in response to the prompt; and

generating, using the central server system and in response to receiving the input, a fourth result set based on the search query and the location information.

24. A computer-implemented system comprising:

a request processor configured to identify location-related information associated with a search query received from a mobile device;

a search engine to receive the search query from the request processor along with a location identifier for the location-related information and to generate local search results;

a data storage system storing a list of queries that have been previously determined to be likely to be incorrectly associated with location information; and

a response formatter to order categories of search results, rather than the results within the categories of search results, received from the search engine for display at the mobile device according to a determined level of relevance between each category of search results and the received search query, the categories including a non-location-based category of results and a location-based category that includes local search results,

wherein the response formatter is to determine whether the received search query or a substantially similar variation of the received search query is in the list, and in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation of the received search query is stored in the list, order the non-location-based category for display at the mobile device above the location-based category and in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation thereof is not stored in the list, order the location-based category for display at the mobile device above the non-location-based category.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the response formatter promotes a local result category for display above other result categories in response to a search query entered by a user including location-related information.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the response formatter promotes a local result category for display above other result categories in response to determining that the received search query is sufficiently related to location-based information.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the search query is determined to be sufficiently related to location-based information in response to determining that one or more terms of the search query appear in a list of location-based terms.

28. A computer-implemented system comprising:

a request processor configured to identify location-related information associated with a search query received from a mobile device;

a search engine to receive the search query from the request processor along with a location identifier for the location-related information; and

to generate local search results;

a data storage system storing a list of queries that have been previously determined to be likely to be incorrectly associated with location information; and

means for ordering categories of search results, rather than the results within the categories of search results, received from the search engine for display at the mobile device according to a determined level of relevance between each category of search results and the received search query, the categories including a non-location-based category of results and a location-based category that includes local search results,

wherein the means for ordering categories is to determine whether the received search query or a substantially similar variation of the received search query is in the list, and in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation of the received search query is stored in the list, order the non-location-based category for display at the mobile device above the location-based category and in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation thereof is not stored in the list, order the location-based category for display at the mobile device above the non-location-based category.

29. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a central server system, a search query from a remote device;

determining whether the search query includes location-related information by analyzing the search query using the central server system;

in response to determining that the search query includes location-related information, generating a first result set based on the search query and the location-related information using the central server system, and

in response to determining that the search query does not include location-related information, determining whether a location indicator is associated with the remote device, and in response to determining that a location indicator is associated with the remote device, generating a second result set based on the search query and the location indicator using the central server system;

generating a third result set having one or more elements that are each substantially independent of location using the central server system;

formatting the second result set and the third result set in a mark-up document to be displayed in the remote device using the central server system;

sequencing the second result set and the third result set based on a predicted relevance of location to the received search query using the central server system, wherein sequencing the second result set and the third result set comprises determining whether the received search query or a substantially similar variation of the received search query is in a list of queries that have been previously determined to be likely to be incorrectly associated with location information, and in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation of the received search query is stored in the list of queries, formatting the third result set to be displayed before the second result set, and in response to determining that the received search query or substantially similar variation thereof is not stored in the list of queries, formatting the second result set to be displayed before the third result set; and

transmitting the mark-up document from the central server system to the remote device.