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Location-based searching using a search area that corresponds to a geographical location of a computing device

  • US 8,396,888 B2
  • Filed: 11/24/2010
  • Issued: 03/12/2013
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2009
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A computer-implemented method for providing location-based information, the method comprising:

  • receiving, at a server system, a geographical location of a mobile computing device;

    receiving, at the server system and from the mobile computing device, a request for content, wherein the request does not include a query that was generated by a user of the mobile computing device and that is for a search engine system;

    identifying, by the server system, a group of search areas that correspond to the geographical location, at least one of the search areas in the group being geographically nested in at least one other of the search areas;

    scoring, by the server system, particular ones of the search areas in the group, wherein scoring the particular ones of the search areas in the group is based, at least in part, on (i) a speed at which the mobile computing device is traveling, (ii) a direction in which the mobile computing device is traveling, or (iii) an accuracy of one or more determinations of geographical location;

    selecting, by the server system, the search area that is most-relevantly scored among the search areas in the group;

    submitting, by the server system and to the search engine system, information associated with the selected search area;

    receiving, by the server system and from the search engine system, a search result that is most-relevantly ranked for the selected search area; and

    providing, by the server system and for receipt by the mobile computing device, content that represents the received search result.

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