Method and system for searching a wide area network

• US 8,775,396 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2011
• Issued: 07/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Shuster, Brian Mark, Shuster, Gary Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Baoquoc N
• Application Number:
  US13/154,251
• Publication Number:
  US 20110238662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,128 Days
• Field of Search: 707/732, 707/733, 707/734, 707/748
• US Class Current: 707/705
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

A method and system for searching a wide area network that enables users to find the information they seek more quickly and more easily than prior art search engines are disclosed. Aspects of this disclosure include a process for making use of a user'"'"'s prior search queries for query definition; a process for similarly making use of prior search queries by other users; a process for expanding and clarifying the meaning of queries; a process for including paid and other preferred results in an overall query result; and a process for using user evaluation data from previous search query results to identify results that should be included or removed from a current result.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a computer system selecting one or more search results responsive to a search query;

the computer system determining a first ranking of the one or more search results based on user feedback evaluating previous selections of search results for the search query;

the computer system determining whether at least one of the one or more search results is associated with a paid placement, wherein the determining includes identifying the at least one search result associated with the paid placement; and

at least partially based on the first ranking and the determining, the computer system providing the one or more search results to a user in a particular order.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more search results are provided to the user via a web page that is renderable by a web browser of the user, wherein the web page includes links to access web pages associated with the one or more search results, wherein the web page further includes one or more fields selectable by the user to send, to the computer system, feedback evaluating a selection of one or more of the provided search results to the computer system, and wherein the one or more selectable fields are distinct from the links.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more selectable fields include a button that is selectable by the user to indicate whether a given search result is relevant to the search query.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more search results are provided to the user via a web page that is renderable by a web browser of the user, wherein the web page includes one or more scoring fields, wherein each scoring field is accessible by the user to input, for a given search result, a numeric value indicative of whether that search result is relevant to the search query.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting includes:

determining an initial set of search results based on terms specified in the search query; and

based on feedback from a plurality of users, selecting a subset of the initial set of search results as the one or more search results to be provided to the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular order is further at least partially based on pricing information for the paid placement.

7. A non-transitory computer readable medium having program instructions stored thereon, wherein the program instructions are executable by a computer system to cause the computer system to perform:

generating a first web page responsive to a search query, wherein the first web page includes search results selected based on the search query and arranged according to a particular order;

wherein the particular order is at least partially dependent on a first determination of a first ranking based on feedback from a plurality of users evaluating previous selections of search results for the search query and a second determination of whether one or more of the search results correspond to paid placements; and

receiving feedback from a user evaluating a selection of one or more of the search results for inclusion in the first web page.

8. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein the first web page includes links to web pages corresponding to the search results, wherein the first web page further includes a feedback field usable to input the feedback from the user, and wherein the feedback field is distinct from the links.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the feedback field includes a button selectable to indicate whether a search result is relevant to the search query.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8, wherein the feedback field includes a scoring field accessible to provide a numeric value indicative a relevance of a search result to the search query.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 7, wherein the program instructions are executable to further perform:

based on the received feedback, generating a second web page responsive the search query, wherein the second web page includes different search results from the search results included on the first web page.

12. A method, comprising:

a client computer system submitting a search query to a server system;

the client computer system receiving search results selected by the server system based on the search query and arranged in a particular order, wherein the particular order is at least partially dependent on a first determination of a first ranking of search results based on user feedback evaluating previous selections of search results for the search query and a second determination of whether one or more of the search results correspond to paid placements; and

the client computer system sending user feedback evaluating the selection of the search results.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the receiving includes receiving a web page including the search results, and wherein the web page includes one or more feedback fields usable to send the user feedback.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more feedback fields include a button selectable to indicate that a search result is not relevant to the search query, and wherein the sending includes conveying an indication that the button has been selected.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the one or more feedback fields include a field that is accessible to input a score indicative of whether one or more search results are relevant to the search query, and wherein the sending includes conveying the score.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the web page includes a feedback field for each search result included in the web page.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein submitting the search query includes:

submitting an initial search query to the server system;

receiving one or more suggested search queries from the server system; and

selecting one of the one or more suggested search queries as the search query to be submitted.