Ranking search results based on the frequency of access on the search results by users of a social-networking system

• US 8,983,986 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2010
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lunt, Christopher, Galbreath, Nicholas, Winner, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly, Cheyne D
• Application Number:
  US12/975,884
• Publication Number:
  US 20110087658A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,546 Days
• Field of Search: 707/722, 707/727, 707/732, 707/758, 707/781, 715/789, 715/751
• US Class Current: 707/758
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/284 Relational databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9024 Graphs; Linked lists G06F16/9027 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9536 Search customisation based on social or collaborative filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles

Abstract

Particular embodiments access a search query submitted by a first user of a social-networking system; identify one or more web pages in response to the search query; for each of the one or more web pages, determine a value indicating a number of user clicks associated with the web page by one or more second users of the social-networking system who are connected to the first user within the social-networking system; and send a set of hyperlinks for the one or more web pages, wherein hyperlinks for web pages where the value is greater than zero are visually emphasized over other hyperlinks.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by one or more computing devices, a search query from a first user of a social-networking system, the social-networking system comprising a graph that comprises a plurality of nodes and edges connecting the nodes, at least one node in the graph corresponding to the first user;

identifying, by the one or more computing devices, one or more web pages responsive to the search query;

for each of the web pages, determining, by the one or more computing devices, a value based at least in part on a number of interactions with the web page by one or more second users of the social-networking system, for each of the second users at least one node in the graph corresponding to the second user, at least one of the nodes corresponding to the first user and at least one of the nodes corresponding to a second user being connected to each other by one or more edges; and

providing, by the one or more computing devices, a search results page responsive to the received search query, the search results page comprising a link for each one of the web pages with a value that is greater than a pre-determined minimum value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, for each of the web pages, the value is based at least in part on a click-through rate of the web page.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, for each of the web pages, the value is based at least in part on a number of times the web page has been clicked by the second users divided by a number of times the web page has been presented to the users.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising ranking the web pages at least in part based on their values.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the web pages comprise sponsored links and algorithmic search results; and

the method further comprises;

ranking the sponsored links based at least in part on bids for the sponsored links; and

ranking the algorithmic search results based at least in part on degrees of relevance of the algorithmic search results with respect to the search query.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating a visual indicator with each of the web pages with a value that satisfies a predetermined threshold.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the visual indicator comprises a clickable button.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the social-networking system comprises an adjacency list for each of the users of the social-networking system, the adjacency list comprising one or more other users of the social-networking system with nodes in the graph directly connected by an edge in the graph to the node corresponding to the user; and

the second users are identified based at least in part on the adjacency lists of the second users or the adjacency list of the first user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the value for each of the web pages is determined based at least in part on information associated with a plurality of search queries, a plurality of web pages identified as being responsive to the search queries, and a plurality of frequencies that the web pages have been accessed by users of the social-networking system.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the links are provided with their respective values for display to the first user.

11. A system comprising:

a memory comprising instructions executable by one or more processors; and

the one or more processors coupled to the memory and operable to execute the instructions, the one or more processors being operable when executing the instructions to;

receive a search query from a first user of a social-networking system, the social-networking system comprising a graph that comprises a plurality of nodes and edges connecting the nodes, at least one node in the graph corresponding to the first user;

identify one or more web pages responsive to the search query;

for each of the web pages, determine a value based at least in part on a number of interactions with the web page by one or more second users of the social-networking system, for each of the second users at least one node in the graph corresponding to the second user, at least one of the nodes corresponding to the first user and at least one of the nodes corresponding to a second user being connected to each other by one or more edges; and

provide a search results page responsive to the received search query, the search results page comprising a link for each one of the web pages with a value that is greater than a pre-determined minimum value.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein, for each of the web pages, the value is based at least in part on a click-through rate of the web page.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein, for each of the web pages, the value is based at least in part on a number of times the web page has been clicked by the second users divided by a number of times the web page has been presented to the users.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further operable when executing the instructions to rank the web pages at least in part based on their values.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein:

the web pages comprise sponsored links and algorithmic search results; and

the one or more processors are further operable when executing the instructions to;

rank the sponsored links based at least in part on bids for the sponsored links; and

rank the algorithmic search results further based at least in part on degrees of relevance of the algorithmic search results with respect to the search query.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further operable when executing the instructions to associate a visual indicator with each of the web pages with a value that satisfies a predetermined threshold.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the visual indicator comprises a clickable button.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the social-networking system comprises an adjacency list for each of the users of the social-networking system, the adjacency list comprising one or more other users of the social-networking system with nodes in the graph directly connected by an edge in the graph to the node corresponding to the user; and

the second users are identified based at least in part on the adjacency lists of the second users or the adjacency list of the first user.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the value for each of the web pages is determined based at least in part on

information associated with a plurality of search queries, a plurality of web pages identified as being responsive to the search queries, and a plurality of frequencies that the web pages have been accessed by users of the social-networking system.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the links are provided with their respective values for display to the first user.