Systems and methods for determining document freshness

• US 8,515,952 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2011
• Issued: 08/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Henzinger, Monika
• Primary Examiner(s): THAI, HANH B
• Application Number:
  US13/329,938
• Publication Number:
  US 20120089619A1
• Time in Patent Office: 610 Days
• Field of Search: 707723-726, 707/748
• US Class Current: 707/723
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

A system determines a freshness of a first document. The system determines whether a freshness attribute is associated with the first document. The system identifies, based on the determination, a set of second documents that each contain a link to the first document. The system assigns a freshness score to the first document based on a freshness attribute associated with each document of the set of second documents or the freshness attribute associated with the first document.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying, by one or more processors, a set of second documents,

each second document, in the set of second documents, including a link to a first document;

determining, by one or more processors and for each second document in the set of second documents, a time at which the link to the first document existed;

assigning, by one or more processors, a freshness score to the first document based on the times at which the links to the first document existed; and

ranking, by one or more processors, the first document, with respect to at least one other document, based on the freshness score assigned to the first document.

2. The method of claim 1, where determining the time at which the link to the first document existed includes:

determining a time at which the link to the first document was created.

3. The method of claim 2, where determining the time at which the link to the first document existed includes:

identifying a first set of second documents, of the set of second documents, where the link to the first document, for each second document in the first set of second documents, was created after a particular time; and

identifying a second set of second documents, of the set of second documents, where the link to the first document, for each second document in the second set of second documents, was created before the particular time.

4. The method of claim 3, where assigning the freshness score to the first document includes:

determining a first number of documents in the first set of second documents;

determining a second number of documents in the second set of second documents;

assigning a first freshness score to the first document when a ratio of the first number to the second number is larger than a particular value; and

assigning a second freshness score to the first document when the ratio of the first number to the second number is smaller than the particular value,

where the first freshness score is lower than the second freshness score.

5. The method of claim 1, where identifying the set of second documents includes:

identifying, as the set of second documents, second documents that include, or previously included, a link to the first document.

6. The method of claim 5, where determining a time at which the link to the first document existed includes:

determining, for each second document, in the set of second documents, that includes a link to the first document, a time at which the link to the first document was created; and

determining, for each second document, in the set of second documents, that previously included a link to the first document, the time at which the link to the first document was created and a time at which the link to the first document was removed.

7. The method of claim 5, where identifying, as the set of second documents, the set of second documents that include, or previously included, links to the first document includes:

determining a first number of second documents, of the set of second documents, that include links to the first document; and

determining a second number of second documents, of the set of second documents, that previously included links to the first document.

8. The method of claim 7, where assigning the freshness score to the first document includes:

assigning a first freshness score to the first document when the first number is smaller than the second number; and

assigning a second freshness score to the first document when the first number is larger than the second number,

where the first freshness score is lower than the second freshness score.

9. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing executable instructions for execution by processing logic, the executable instructions comprising:

one or more instructions, which, when executed by the processing logic, cause the processing logic to;

identify, as a set of second documents, second documents that include a link to a first document;

determine times at which the links to the first document existed;

assign a freshness score to the first document based on the times at which the links to the first document existed; and

rank the first document, with respect to at least one other document, based on the freshness score assigned to the first document.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, where the one or more instructions to cause the processing logic to determine the times at which the respective links to the first document existed include:

one or more instructions to determine the times at which the links to the first document were created.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 10, where the one or more instructions to cause the processing logic to determine the times at which the respective links to the first document existed include:

one or more instructions to identify a first set of second documents, of the set of second documents, where the link to the first document, for each second document in the first set of second documents, was created after a particular time; and

one or more instructions to identify a second set of second documents, of the set of second documents, where the link to the first document, for each second document in the second set of second documents, was created before the particular time.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 11, where the one or more instructions to cause the processing logic to assign the freshness score to the first document include:

one or more instructions to determine a first number of documents in the first set of second documents;

one or more instructions to determine a second number of documents in the second set of second documents;

one or more instructions to assign a first freshness score to the first document when a ratio of the first number to the second number is larger than a particular value; and

one or more instructions to assign a second freshness score to the first document when the ratio of the first number to the second number is smaller than the particular value,

where the first freshness score is lower than the second freshness score.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, where the one or more instructions to cause the processing logic to identify the set of second documents include:

one or more instructions to identify, as the set of second documents, second documents that include, or previously included, links to the first document.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 13, where the one or more instructions to cause the processing logic to determine the times at which the respective links to the first document existed include:

one or more instructions to determine, for the second documents that include the links to the first document, a time at which the link to the first document was created; and

one or more instructions to determine, for the second documents that previously included the link to the first document, the time at which the link to the first document was created and a time at which the link to the first document was removed.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 13, where the one or more instructions to cause the processing logic to identify, as the set of second documents, second documents that include, or previously included, links to the first document include:

one or more instructions to determine a first number of second documents, of the set of second documents, that include the link to the first document; and

one or more instructions to determine a second number of second documents, of the set of second documents, that previously included the link to the first document.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, where the one or more instructions to cause the processing logic to assign the freshness score to the first document include:

one or more instructions to assign a first freshness score to the first document when the first number is smaller than the second number; and

one or more instructions to assign a second freshness score to the first document when the first number is larger than the second number,

where the first freshness score is lower than the second freshness score.

17. A system comprising:

one or more server devices to;

identify, as a set of second documents, second documents that include, or previously included, links to a first document;

determine times at which the links to the first document were created;

assign a freshness score to the first document based on the times at which the links to the first document were created; and

rank the first document, with respect to at least one other document, based on the freshness score assigned to the first document.

18. The system of claim 17, where, when identifying, as the set of second documents, second documents that include, or previously included, links to the first document, the one or more server devices are further to:

determine a first number of second documents, of the set of second documents, that include the link to the first document; and

determine a second number of second documents, of the set of second documents, that previously included the link to the first document.

19. The system of claim 18, where, when assigning the freshness score to the first document, the one or more server devices are further to:

assign a first freshness score to the first document when the first number is smaller than the second number; and

assign a second freshness score to the first document when the first number is larger than the second number,

where the first freshness score is lower than the second freshness score.

20. The system of claim 17, where, when determining the times at which the links to the first document were created, the one or more server devices are further to:

identify a first set of second documents, of the set of second documents, where the link to the first document, for each second document in the first set of second documents, was created after a particular time; and

identify a second set of second documents, of the set of second documents, where the link to the first document, for each second document in the second set of second documents, was created before the particular time.

21. The system of claim 20, where, when assigning the freshness score to the first document, the one or more server devices are further to:

determine a first number of documents in the first set of second documents;

determine a second number of documents in the second set of second documents;

assign a first freshness score to the first document when a ratio of the first number to the second number is larger than a particular value; and

assign a second freshness score to the first document when the ratio of the first number to the second number is smaller than the particular value, where the first freshness score is lower than the second freshness score.