Interleaving search results

• US 8,738,597 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2011
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Bailey, David R., Effrat, Jonathan J., Singhal, Amit
• Primary Examiner(s): Woo, Isaac M
• Application Number:
  US13/327,708
• Publication Number:
  US 20120089601A1
• Time in Patent Office: 894 Days
• Field of Search: 707600-899
• US Class Current: 707/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for interleaving search results. A method includes presenting multiple first search results received from a first search engine. The first search results satisfy a search query directed to the first search engine and are presented in an order. A second search result from a second search engine is inserted at a position between two otherwise adjacent first search results. The second search result is received from a second search engine in response to the search query.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a plurality of first search results, wherein the first search results are associated with respective first scores;

receiving a plurality of second search results, wherein the second search results are associated with respective second scores;

modifying one or more of the first scores including modifying a scoring contribution of a scoring feature used for determining the first scores for the first search results and distinct from scoring features for determining the second scores for the second search results; and

generating a presentation of a plurality of the first search results and at least one second search result in an order, wherein the at least one second search result occurs among the first search results in the presentation at a position in the order based on the modified first scores, and wherein the second search result is in a different format than the one or more first search results in the presentation; and

providing the presentation to a client device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first search results is in a web page results format in the presentation.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one second search result is in a news result format in the presentation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one second search result is in an image result format in the presentation.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one second search result is in a video result format in the presentation.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each respective second score for the second search results is based on a publication date of a resource corresponding to the second search result.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the presentation of the plurality of first search results and the at least one second search result comprises generating a presentation including two or more of the second search results in a group.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein generating a presentation including two or more of the second search results in a group comprises providing an image in the presentation adjacent to the group of two or more second search results.

9. A system comprising:

one or more data processing apparatus and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more data processing apparatus, to cause the one or more data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising;

receiving a plurality of first search results, wherein the first search results are associated with respective first scores;

receiving a plurality of second search results, wherein the second search results are associated with respective second scores;

modifying one or more of the first scores including modifying a scoring contribution of a scoring feature used for determining the first scores for the first search results and distinct from scoring features for determining the second scores for the second search results; and

generating a presentation of a plurality of the first search results and at least one second search result in an order, wherein the at least one second search result occurs among the first search results in the presentation at a position in the order based on the modified first scores, and wherein the second search result is in a different format than the one or more first search results in the presentation; and

providing the presentation to a client device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of first search results is in a web page results format in the presentation.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one second search result is in a news result format in the presentation.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one second search result is in an image result format in the presentation.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one second search result is in a video result format in the presentation.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein each respective second score for the second search results is based on a publication date of a resource corresponding to the second search result.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein generating the presentation of the plurality of first search results and the at least one second search result comprises generating a presentation including two or more of the second search results in a group.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein generating a presentation including two or more of the second search results in a group comprises providing an image in the presentation adjacent to the group of two or more second search results.

17. A computer program product, encoded on one or more non-transitory computer storage media, comprising instructions that when executed by one or more data processing apparatus cause the one or more data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving a plurality of first search results, wherein the first search results are associated with respective first scores;

receiving a plurality of second search results, wherein the second search results are associated with respective second scores;

modifying one or more of the first scores including modifying a scoring contribution of a scoring feature used for determining the first scores for the first search results and distinct from scoring features for determining the second scores for the second search results; and

generating a presentation of a plurality of the first search results and at least one second search result in an order, wherein the at least one second search result occurs among the first search results in the presentation at a position in the order based on the modified first scores, and wherein the second search result is in a different format than the one or more first search results in the presentation; and

providing the presentation to a client device.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the plurality of first search results is in a web page results format in the presentation.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the at least one second search result is in a news result format in the presentation.

20. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the at least one second search result is in an image result format in the presentation.

21. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the at least one second search result is in a video result format in the presentation.

22. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein each respective second score for the second search results is based on a publication date of a resource corresponding to the second search result.

23. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein generating the presentation of the plurality of first search results and the at least one second search result comprises generating a presentation including two or more of the second search results in a group.

24. The computer program product of claim 23, wherein generating a presentation including two or more of the second search results in a group comprises providing an image in the presentation adjacent to the group of two or more second search results.