Using saved search results for quality feedback

• US 8,423,541 B1
• Filed: 05/19/2005
• Issued: 04/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Baluja, Shumeet, Frumkin, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): REYES, MARIELA D
• Application Number:
  US11/132,362
• Time in Patent Office: 2,889 Days
• Field of Search: 707/732, 707/733, 707/734
• US Class Current: 707/732
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3349 Reuse of stored results of previous queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation

Abstract

A system receives a search query from a user and searches a corpus of documents using the received search query to determine a set of search results. The system provides the set of search results to the user and receives a request from the user to save one or more selected search results of the set of search results. The system saves the selected one or more results in a database in response to the request and uses the saved one or more results as indicators of search result quality for subsequent related searches.

Claims

1. A computer-readable memory device storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-readable memory device comprising:

one or more instructions for receiving, from a user, a first request to perform a search based on a first search query;

one or more instructions for providing a first set of search results to the user based on the first search query;

one or more instructions for receiving a request, from the user, to save one or more selected search results of the first set of search results;

one or more instructions for saving, in a memory and in response to the request, information associated with the selected one or more search results;

one or more instructions for receiving, from the user, a second request to perform a search based on a second search query, where the second request is received subsequent to the first request;

one or more instructions for generating a second set of search results based on the second search query;

one or more instructions for determining that a particular search result, in the second set of search results, is similar to a selected search result of the selected one or more search results based on the saved information, where the one or more instructions for determining includes at least two of;

one or more instructions for determining whether the particular search result and the selected search result have a plurality of outgoing links pointing to the same documents,

one or more instructions for determining whether the particular search result and the selected search result have a plurality of incoming links coming from the same documents,

one or more instructions for determining whether the particular search result and the selected search result have a same format, or

one or more instructions for determining whether the particular search result and the selected search result have a same layout;

one or more instructions for boosting a score of the particular search result to obtain a boosted score when the particular search result is determined to be similar to the selected search result; and

one or more instructions for providing the second set of search results including providing the particular search result based on the boosted score.

2. The computer-readable memory device of claim 1, where the selected one or more search results include multiple search result documents that have been saved as saved search results in a memory;

and

where the computer-readable memory device further comprises;

one or more instructions for receiving a request, from the user, to delete a first result of the saved search results from the memory;

one or more instructions for deleting the first result from the saved search results in response to the request to delete the first result; and

one or more instructions for increasing a quality score associated with other results of the saved search results in response to deleting the first result.

3. The computer-readable memory device of claim 1, where the one or more instructions for boosting the score of the particular search result include one or more instructions for adding a particular value to the score of the particular search result to obtain the boosted score.

4. The computer-readable memory device of claim 1, where the one or more instructions for determining that the particular search result is similar to the selected search result, includes:

one or more instructions for determining that the search result and the selected search result are located on a same web site,

one or more instructions for determining that the search result and the selected search result have a same ratio of images to text,

one or more instructions for determining that a majority of words, in the search result and the selected search result, match,

one or more instructions for determining that a majority of uncommon words, in the search result and the selected search result, match,

one or more instructions for determining that the search result and the selected search result have a plurality of outgoing links pointing to the same documents,

one or more instructions for determining that the search result and the selected search result have a plurality of incoming links coming from the same documents,

one or more instructions for determining that the search result and the selected search result have same meta-data tags,

one or more instructions for determining that the search result and the selected search result have a same format, and

one or more instructions for determining that the search result and the selected search result have a same layout.

5. A method comprising:

receiving, at a device of one or more devices, a search query from a user;

performing, by a device of the one or more devices, a first search of a collection of documents, using the search query, to identify a set of search result documents;

generating, using a device of the one or more devices, a quality score for each of a plurality of search result documents in the set of search result documents;

providing, by a device of the one or more devices, information regarding the plurality of search result documents to the user based on the quality scores for the plurality of search result documents;

receiving, from the user and by a device of the one or more devices, a request to save a selected search result document of the plurality of search result documents;

saving, by a device of the one or more devices, data associated with the selected search result document in response to the request to save the selected search result document;

receiving, at a device of the one or more devices, a second search query from the user;

performing, by a device of the one or more devices, a second search, based on the second search query, to generate a list of search result documents;

determining, by a device of the one or more devices, that a search result document, in the list of search result documents, is similar to the selected search result document based on the saved data and, where determining that the search result document is similar to the selected search result document includes at least two of;

determining whether the search result document and the selected search result document have a plurality of outgoing links pointing to the same documents,

determining whether the search result document and the selected search result document have a plurality of incoming links coming from the same documents,

determining whether the search result document and the selected search result document have a same format, or

determining whether the search result document and the selected search result document have a same layout,

boosting, by a device of the one or more server devices, a quality score of the search result document, to obtain a boosted quality score, when the search result document is determined to be similar to the selected search result document;

ranking, by a device of the one or more devices, the search result document, within the list of search result documents, based on the boosted quality score; and

outputting, by a device of the one or more devices, the list of search result documents, including the ranked search result document, for presentation on a display of a client device.

6. The method of claim 5, where one or more advertisements are associated with the selected search result document, and

where the method further comprises:

receiving a request, from the user, to save one of the advertisements;

saving the one of the advertisements in response to the request to save the one of the advertisements; and

identifying the search query as commercial in nature based on saving the one of the advertisements.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

providing, to the user, links to product reviews, or to commercial documents or sites, that are related to the one of the advertisements when the search query is identified as commercial in nature.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

adjusting quality scores associated with product reviews, or commercial documents or sites, that are related to the one of the advertisements in response to identifying the search query as commercial in nature.

9. The method of claim 5, where the list of search results includes the selected search result document, and

where the method further includes:

boosting the quality score associated with the selected search result document to obtain a boosted score; and

ranking the selected search result document, within the list of search result documents, based on the boosted score.

10. The method of claim 5, where boosting the quality score includes:

increasing the quality score, associated with the search result document, by adding a particular value to the quality score to obtain the boosted quality score.

11. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

adjusting a quality score associated with an advertisement that is associated with the search result document.

12. The method of claim 5, where the selected search result document is one of multiple search result documents, from the plurality of search result documents, that have been saved as saved search results in a memory;

and

where the method further comprises;

evaluating an order in which the multiple search result documents are selected for saving by the user;

identifying a search result type, of a plurality of search result types, corresponding to each of the multiple search result documents;

determining which of the identified search result types is preferred for the search query based on the order in which the multiple search result documents are selected for saving by the user; and

using a result of the determination of which of the identified search result types is preferred for the search query to influence how search results are presented for subsequent searches performed using the search query.

13. The method of claim 5, where the selected search result document is one of multiple search result documents, from the plurality of search result documents, that have been saved as saved search results in a memory;

and

where the method further comprises;

receiving a request, from the user, to delete a first result, of the saved search results, from the memory;

deleting the first result from the saved search results in response to the request to delete the first result; and

increasing a quality score associated with a second result, of the saved search results, in response to deleting the first result.

14. The method of claim 5, where determining that the search result document is similar to the selected search result document, includes:

determining that the search result document and the selected search result document are located on a same web site,

determining that the search result document and the selected search result document have a same ratio of images to text,

determining that a majority of words, in the search result document and the selected search result document, match,

determining that a majority of uncommon words, in the search result document and the selected search result document, match,

determining that the search result document and the selected search result document have a plurality of outgoing links pointing to the same documents,

determining that the search result document and the selected search result document have a plurality of incoming links coming from the same documents,

determining that the search result document and the selected search result document have same meta-data tags,

determining that the search result document and the selected search result document have a same format, and

determining that the search result document and the selected search result document have a same layout.

15. A system, comprising:

one or more computer devices comprising;

means for receiving, from a user, a first request to perform a search, where the first request includes a first search query;

means for performing a first search of a collection of documents, based on the first search query, to identify a set of search result documents;

means for receiving a request to save a selected search result document of the plurality of search result documents;

means for saving information associated with the selected search result document in response to the request to save the selected search result document;

means for receiving, from the user, a second request to perform a search, where the second request includes a second search query, and where the second request is received after the first request is received;

means for performing a second search, based on the second search query, to generate a list of search result documents;

means for identifying a particular search result document, in the list of search result documents, that is similar to the selected search result document based on the saved information and, where the means for identifying includes at least two of;

means for determining whether the particular search result document and the selected search result document have a plurality of outgoing links that point to the same documents,

means for determining whether the particular search result document and the selected search result document have a plurality of incoming links that come from the same documents,

means for determining whether the particular search result document and the selected search result document have a same format, or

means for determining whether the particular search result document and the selected search result document have a same layout;

means for boosting, based on identifying whether the particular search result document is similar to the selected search result document, a score for the particular search result document to obtain a boosted score; and

means for providing the list of search result documents, where the means for providing includes means for providing the particular search result document based on the boosted score.

16. The system of claim 15, where the means for providing the list of search result documents includes:

means for forming a ranked list of documents based on the list of search result documents, where the particular search result document is included in the ranked list of documents based on the boosted score.

17. The system of claim 15, where the list of search result documents includes the particular search result document and the selected search result document,

where the one or more computer devices further comprise:

means for boosting a score for the selected search result document to obtain a boosted score, and

where the means for providing the list of search result documents further includes means for providing the selected search result document based on the boosted score for the selected search result document.

18. The system of claim 15, where the selected search result document is one of a plurality of search documents that have been saved as saved search results in a data structure;

and

where the one or more computer devices further comprise;

means for receiving a request to delete a first result of the saved search results from the data structure; and

means for increasing a quality score associated with other results of the saved search results in response to deleting the first result.

19. The system of claim 15, where one or more advertisements are associated with the selected search result document, and

where the one or more computer devices further comprise:

means for receiving a request to save one of the advertisements;

means for saving the one of the advertisements in response to the request to save the one of the advertisements; and

means for identifying the received search query as commercial in nature based on saving the one of the advertisements.

20. The system of claim 19, where the one or more computer devices further comprise:

means for providing links to product reviews or to commercial documents or sites that are related to the one of the advertisements when the received search query is identified as commercial in nature.

21. The system of claim 19, where the one or more computer devices further comprise:

means for adjusting quality scores associated with the product reviews, or the commercial documents or sites, that are related to the one of the advertisements when the received search query is identified as commercial in nature.

22. The system of claim 15, where the means for identifying that the particular search result document is similar to the selected search result document, includes:

means for determining that the search result document and the selected search result document are located on a same web site,

means for determining that the search result document and the selected search result document have a same ratio of images to text,

means for determining that a majority of words, in the search result document and the selected search result document, match,

means for determining that a majority of uncommon words, in the search result document and the selected search result document, match,

means for determining that the search result document and the selected search result document have a plurality of outgoing links pointing to the same documents,

means for determining that the search result document and the selected search result document have a plurality of incoming links coming from the same documents,

means for determining that the search result document and the selected search result document have same meta-data tags,

means for determining that the search result document and the selected search result document have a same format, and

means for determining that the search result document and the selected search result document have a same layout.

23. A computer-readable memory device that stores computer-executable instructions, the computer-readable memory device comprising:

one or more instructions to search a collection of documents, based on a search query, to identify a set of search result documents;

one or more instructions to receive a request to save a selected search result document of the plurality of search result documents;

one or more instructions to save information associated with the selected search result document in response to the request to save the selected search result document;

one or more instructions to identify a particular document that is similar to the selected search result document based on the saved information and, where the one or more instructions to identify the particular document that is similar to the selected search result document includes at least two of;

one or more instructions to determine whether the particular document and the selected search result document have a plurality of outgoing links that point to the same documents,

one or more instructions to determine whether the particular document and the selected search result document have a plurality of incoming links that come from the same documents,

one or more instructions to determine whether the particular document and the selected search result document have a same format, or

one or more instructions to determine whether the particular document and the selected search result document have a same layout; and

one or more instructions to boost, based on saving the information associated with the selected search result document and identifying the particular document as similar to the selected search result document, a score for the selected search result document and a score for the particular document for subsequent searches involving the search query.

24. The computer-readable memory device of claim 23, further comprising:

one or more instructions to receive another search query;

one or more instructions to determine a second set of search result documents based on the other search query, where the second set of search result documents includes the selected search result document and the particular document;

one or more instructions to rank the selected search result document and the particular document within the second set of search result documents based on the respective boosted scores for the selected search result and the particular document; and

one or more instructions to present the second set of search result documents, including the ranked selected search result document and the ranked particular document.

25. The computer-readable memory device of claim 23, where the selected search result document is one of a plurality of search result documents that have been saved as saved search results in a data structure, and

where the computer-readable memory device further comprises:

one or more instructions to receive an indication to delete one of the saved search results;

one or more instructions to delete the one of the saved search results in response to the received indication; and

one or more instructions to adjust scores for a remaining one or more of the saved search results other than the deleted one of the saved search results.

26. The computer-readable memory device of claim 23, where the selected search result document is one of a plurality of search result documents that have been saved as saved search results in a data structure, and

where the computer-readable memory device further comprises:

one or more instructions to receive an indication, from a user, that the user has e-mailed one or more of the saved search results to another user; and

one or more instructions to adjust scores associated with the e-mailed one or more of the saved search results in response to the received indication.

27. The computer-readable memory device of claim 23, where the selected search result document is one of a plurality of search result documents that have been saved as saved search results in a data structure, and

where the computer-readable memory device further comprises:

one or more instructions to receive an indication, from a user, to share one or more of the saved search results with another user;

one or more instructions to provide the one or more saved search results to the other user in response to received indication; and

one or more instructions to adjust scores associated with the provided one or more saved search results in response to providing the one or more saved search results to the other user.

28. The computer-readable memory device of claim 23, where the selected search result document is one of a plurality of search result documents that have been saved as saved search results in a data structure, and

where the computer-readable memory device further comprises:

one or more instructions to receive an indication to save a plurality of the saved search results together as a group;

one or more instructions to save, in response to the received indication, the plurality of the saved search results together as a group of saved search results; and

one or more instructions to adjust scores associated with the plurality of the saved search results in the group of saved search results in response to saving the plurality of the saved search results together as the group.

29. The computer-readable memory device of claim 28, further comprising:

one or more instructions to receive a label that labels the group of saved search results; and

one or more instructions to associate the label with the group of saved search results.

30. The computer-readable memory device of claim 23, where the one or more instructions to identify that the particular document is similar to the selected search result document, includes:

one or more instructions to determine that the particular document and the selected search result document are located on a same web site,

one or more instructions to determine that the particular document and the selected search result document have a same ratio of images to text,

one or more instructions to determine that a majority of words, in the particular document and the selected search result document, match,

one or more instructions to determine that a majority of uncommon words, in the particular document and the selected search result document, match,

one or more instructions to determine that the particular document and the selected search result document have a plurality of outgoing links pointing to the same documents,

one or more instructions to determine that the particular document and the selected search result document have a plurality of incoming links coming from the same documents,

one or more instructions to determine that the particular document and the selected search result document have same meta-data tags,

one or more instructions to determine that the particular document and the selected search result document have a same format, and

one or more instructions to determine that the particular document and the selected search result document have a same layout.