Determining query terms of little significance

• US 8,799,270 B1
• Filed: 09/14/2012
• Issued: 08/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Lamping, John, Bisciglia, Christophe
• Primary Examiner(s): Reyes, Mariela
• Assistant Examiner(s): Liu, Hexing
• Application Number:
  US13/616,768
• Time in Patent Office: 690 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/713
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3334 Selection or weighting of terms from queries, including natural language queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols

Abstract

A system determines whether a term of a search query is a term with little significance based on a context of the search query. The system performs a search based on the search query while considering the term with little significance as optional when the search query includes the term with little significance and presents a list of search results based on the search.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

analyzing, by a processor in a computer system, query logs to identify a pair of queries that are the same except that a first query, in the pair of queries, includes an extra term that is not included in a second query in the pair of queries;

identifying, by a processor in the computer system, whether the pair of queries is associated with a quantity of search results that are common between the pair of queries;

identifying, by a processor in the computer system, the extra term as a term that is not significant when the pair of queries is associated with at least a first threshold quantity of search results that are common between the pair of queries;

processing, by a processor in the computer system, a query that includes the extra term to form a modified query when the extra term is identified as a term that is not significant; and

identifying, by a processor in the computer system, search results based on the modified query when the extra term is identified as a term that is not significant.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, after identifying the extra term as not significant when the pair of queries is associated with at least the first threshold quantity of search results that are common between the pair of the queries, whether a context exists in which the extra term is significant.

3. The method of claim 2, where determining whether the context exists in which the extra term is significant comprises:

checking a data structure for an entry that associates the context with the extra term, the context including one or more terms with which the extra term appears in a query.

4. The method of claim 1, where, when identifying the extra term as a term that is not significant, the method further comprises:

identifying the extra term as an optional term;

associating, based on identifying the extra term as the optional term, a first weight with the extra term;

associating a second weight with one or more other terms in the query, the second weight being different than the first weight; and

processing the query, including the extra term and the one or more other terms, based on the associated first weight and the associated second weight.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

identifying, based on processing the query, one or more documents based on the query; and

determining a respective score for each of the one or more documents, where a first document, of the one or more documents, that includes the optional term is associated with a first score that is greater than a second score of a second document, of the one or more documents, that does not include the optional term.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

analyzing the query logs to identify whether a user provided the first query followed by the second query; and

identifying the extra term as a term that is not significant when the user provided the first query, followed by the second query, a quantity of times that exceeds a threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, based on processing the query, one or more documents based on the query;

scoring the one or more identified documents, where the extra term, when identified as not significant, contributes an amount that is greater than zero and that is less than an amount contributed by another term of the query to a score of one of the one or more identified documents; and

providing a list of search results based on the one or more identified documents and the scoring.

8. One or more devices comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memories including a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;

analyze query logs to identify a pair of queries that are the same except that a first query, in the pair of queries, includes an extra term that is not included in a second query in the pair of queries;

identify whether the pair of queries is associated with a quantity of search results that are common or different between the pair of queries;

identify the extra term as a term that is not significant when the pair of queries is associated with at least a first threshold quantity of search results that are common between the pair of queries;

identify the extra term as a term that is significant when the pair of queries is associated with at least a second threshold quantity of search results that are different between the pair of queries; and

process a query that includes the extra term based on identifying the extra term as a term that is not significant or as a term that is significant,

the query being processed differently based on whether the extra term is identified as a term that is not significant or a term that is significant.

9. The one or more devices of claim 8, where the one or more processors are further to:

determine, after identifying the extra term as not significant when the pair of queries is associated with at least the first threshold quantity of search results that are common between the pair of the queries, whether a context exists in which the extra term is significant.

10. The one or more devices of claim 9, where, when determining whether the context exists in which the extra term is significant, the one or more processors are further to:

check a data structure for an entry that associates the context with the extra term, the context including one or more terms that cause the extra term to be significant when the one or more terms appear with the extra term in a query.

11. The one or more devices of claim 8, where, when identifying the extra term as a term that is not significant, the one or more processors are further to:

identify the extra term as an optional term;

associate, based on identifying the extra term as the optional term, a first weight with the extra term;

associate a second weight with one or more other terms in the query, the second weight being different than the first weight; and

process the query, including the extra term and the one or more other terms, based on the associated first weight and the associated second weight.

12. The one or more devices of claim 11, where the one or more processors are further to:

identify, based on processing the query, one or more documents based on the query; and

determine a respective score for each of the one or more documents, where a first document, of the one or more documents, that includes the optional term is associated with a first score that is greater than a second score of a second document, of the one or more documents, that does not include the optional term.

13. The one or more devices of claim 8, where the one or more processors are further to:

analyze the query logs to identify whether a user provided the first query followed by the second query; and

identify the extra term as a term that is not significant when the user provided the first query, followed by the second query, a quantity of times that exceeds a threshold.

14. The one or more devices of claim 8, where the one or more processors are further to:

identify, based on processing the query, one or more documents based on the query;

score the one or more identified documents, where the extra term, when identified as not significant, contributes an amount that is greater than zero and that is less than an amount contributed by another term of the query to a score of one of the one or more identified documents; and

provide a list of search results based on the one or more identified documents and the scoring.

15. A method comprising:

analyzing, by a processor in a computer system, query logs to identify a pair of queries that are the same except that a first query, in the pair of queries, includes an extra term that is not included in a second query in the pair of queries;

identifying, by a processor in the computer system, whether the pair of queries is associated with a quantity of search results that are different between the pair of queries;

identifying, by a processor in the computer system, the extra term as a term that is significant when the pair of queries is associated with at least a threshold quantity of search results that are different between the pair of queries; and

processing, by a processor in the computer system, a query that includes the extra term based on identifying the extra term as a term that is significant.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

determining, after identifying the extra term as significant when the pair of queries is associated with at least the threshold quantity of search results that are different between the pair of the queries, whether a context exists in which the extra term is not significant.

17. The method of claim 16, where determining whether the context exists in which the extra term is not significant comprises:

checking a data structure for an entry that associates the context with the extra term, the context including one or more terms with which the extra term appears in a query.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

storing the extra term, information indicating that the extra term is identified as a term that is significant, and information indicating that the context exists in which the extra term is not significant.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

analyzing the query logs to identify whether a user provided the first query followed by the second query; and

identifying the extra term as a term that is significant when the user does not provide the first query, followed by the second query, a quantity of times that exceeds a threshold.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

identifying, based on processing the query, one or more documents based on the query;

scoring the one or more identified documents, where the extra term, when identified as significant, contributes an amount that is equal to an amount contributed by another term of the query to a score of one of the one or more identified documents; and

providing a list of search results based on the one or more identified documents and the scoring.