Triggering and ranking of native applications

• US 9,251,224 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2014
• Issued: 02/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Fujiki, Toshiaki, Jung, Chaesang, Hamada, Reiko, Yeom, Jaehyun, Xu, Hui, Imaizumi, Ryoichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Wilson
• Application Number:
  US14/196,701
• Publication Number:
  US 20150254310A1
• Time in Patent Office: 700 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24565 Triggers; Constraints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for determining when to search a native application corpus for native applications and insert native application search results into a set of general web search results in response to receiving a query.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method performed by data processing apparatus comprising one or more computers in data communication, the method comprising:

receiving queries, each query submitted for a respective first search operation;

for each query;

initiating the first search operation and receiving data indicating first resources identified by the first search operation as being responsive the query, each first resource having a corresponding score by which the first resource can be ranked in responsiveness to the query relative to other first resources;

determining a search probability ratio for the query, the search probability ratio being a measure of a likelihood of the query being submitted for a second search operation, the second search operation being of search operation type that is different from a search operation type of the first search operation;

initiating the second search operation and receiving data indicating second resources identified by the second search operation as being responsive the query, each second resource having a corresponding score by which the second resource can be ranked in responsiveness to the query relative to other second resources;

determining, for a second resource identified by the second search operation, a first resource identified by the first search operation that is descriptive of a second resource;

determining, based on the search probability ratio, the corresponding score of the first resource, and the corresponding score of the second resource, whether to insert a search result identifying the second resource in a set of search results identifying the first resources; and

for each query for which a determination is made to insert a search result identifying the second resource in a set of search results identifying the first resources, inserting the search result identifying the second resource in the set of search results identifying the first resources.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the initiating the second search operation, determining a first resource identified by the first search operation, and the determining the corresponding score for the second resource occurs only when the search probability ratio meets a threshold search probability ratio.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the first resources are web-page resources; and

the second resources are native application resources.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining, based on the search probability ratio of the query, the corresponding score of the first resource, and the corresponding score of the second resource, whether to insert a search result identifying the second resource in a set of search results identifying the first resources comprises:

determining to insert the search result identifying the second resource when the second resource has a corresponding score that that meets a second threshold; and

the first resource identified by the first search operation that is descriptive of the second resource has a corresponding score that meets a first threshold.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein inserting the search result identifying the second resource in the set of search results identifying the first resources comprises:

determining an insertion score based, in part, on the search probability ratio, wherein the insertion score defines an ordinal insertion position at which a second resource search result referencing the second resource is to be inserted into a ranking of first resource search results referencing the first resources; and

generating a search results resource for displaying the first resource search results according to their respective ordinal positions in the ranking and the second resource search results at the ordinal insertion position.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein determining an insertion score based, in part, on the search probability ratio comprises:

determining an insertion score corresponding to a first ordinal position when the search probability ratio meets a first insertion threshold;

determining an insertion score corresponding to a second ordinal position when the search probability ratio meets a second insertion threshold but does not meet the first insertion threshold; and

determining an insertion score corresponding to a third ordinal position when the search probability ratio meets a third insertion threshold but does not meet the second insertion threshold.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein:

the first ordinal position corresponds to a first, top ranked position in the search results identifying the first resources; and

the second ordinal position corresponds to a second position ranked lower than the first, top ranked position in the search results identifying the first resources

the third ordinal position corresponds to a third position ranked lower than the second position in the search results identifying the first resources.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the third ordinal position corresponds to position of the first resource identified by the first search operation that is descriptive of the second resource.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein inserting the search result identifying the second resource in the set of search results identifying the first resources comprises replacing a search result identifying a first resource that is descriptive of a second resource with a search result that identities the second resource.

10. A system, comprising:

a data processing apparatus; and

software stored in non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions executable by the data processing apparatus and that upon such execution cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising;

receiving queries, each query submitted for a respective first search operation;

for each query;

initiating the first search operation and receiving data indicating first resources identified by the first search operation as being responsive the query, each first resource having a corresponding score by which the first resource can be ranked in responsiveness to the query relative to other first resources;

determining a search probability ratio for the query, the search probability ratio being a measure of a likelihood of the query being submitted for a second search operation, the second search operation being of search operation type that is different from a search operation type of the first search operation;

initiating the second search operation and receiving data indicating second resources identified by the second search operation as being responsive the query, each second resource having a corresponding score by which the second resource can be ranked in responsiveness to the query relative to other second resources;

determining, for a second resource identified by the second search operation, a first resource identified by the first search operation that is descriptive of a second resource;

determining, based on the search probability ratio, the corresponding score of the first resource, and the corresponding score of the second resource, whether to insert a search result identifying the second resource in a set of search results identifying the first resources; and

for each query for which a determination is made to insert a search result identifying the second resource in a set of search results identifying the first resources, inserting the search result identifying the second resource in the set of search results identifying the first resources.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the initiating the second search operation, determining a first resource identified by the first search operation, and the determining the corresponding score for the second resource occurs only when the search probability ratio meets a threshold search probability ratio.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein:

the first resources are web-page resources; and

the second resources are native application resources.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein determining, based on the search probability ratio of the query, the corresponding score of the first resource, and the corresponding score of the second resource, whether to insert a search result identifying the second resource in a set of search results identifying the first resources comprises:

determining to insert the search result identifying the second resource when the second resource has a corresponding score that that meets a second threshold; and

the first resource identified by the first search operation that is descriptive of the second resource has a corresponding score that meets a first threshold.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein inserting the search result identifying the second resource in the set of search results identifying the first resources comprises:

determining an insertion score based, in part, on the search probability ratio, wherein the insertion score defines an ordinal insertion position at which a second resource search result referencing the second resource is to be inserted into a ranking of first resource search results referencing the first resources; and

generating a search results resource for displaying the first resource search results according to their respective ordinal positions in the ranking and the second resource search results at the ordinal insertion position.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein determining an insertion score based, in part, on the search probability ratio comprises:

determining an insertion score corresponding to a first ordinal position when the search probability ratio meets a first insertion threshold;

determining an insertion score corresponding to a second ordinal position when the search probability ratio meets a second insertion threshold but does not meet the first insertion threshold; and

determining an insertion score corresponding to a third ordinal position when the search probability ratio meets a third insertion threshold but does not meet the second insertion threshold.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein:

the first ordinal position corresponds to a first, top ranked position in the search results identifying the first resources; and

the second ordinal position corresponds to a second position ranked lower than the first, top ranked position in the search results identifying the first resources

the third ordinal position corresponds to a third position ranked lower than the second position in the search results identifying the first resources.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the third ordinal position corresponds to position of the first resource identified by the first search operation that is descriptive of the second resource.

18. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions executable by a data processing apparatus and that upon such execution cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

receiving queries, each query submitted for a respective first search operation;

for each query;

initiating the first search operation and receiving data indicating first resources identified by the first search operation as being responsive the query, each first resource having a corresponding score by which the first resource can be ranked in responsiveness to the query relative to other first resources; and

determining a search probability ratio for the query, the search probability ratio being a measure of a likelihood of the query being submitted for a second search operation, the second search operation being of search operation type that is different from a search operation type of the first search operation;

initiating the second search operation and receiving data indicating second resources identified by the second search operation as being responsive the query, each second resource having a corresponding score by which the second resource can be ranked in responsiveness to the query relative to other second resources;

determining, for a second resource identified by the second search operation, a first resource identified by the first search operation that is descriptive of a second resource;

determining, based on the search probability ratio, the corresponding score of the first resource, and the corresponding score of the second resource, whether to insert a search result identifying the second resource in a set of search results identifying the first resources; and

for each query for which a determination is made to insert a search result identifying the second resource in a set of search results identifying the first resources, inserting the search result identifying the second resource in the set of search results identifying the first resources.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the initiating the second search operation, determining a first resource identified by the first search operation, and the determining the corresponding score for the second resource occurs only when the search probability ratio meets a threshold search probability ratio.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein:

the first resources are web-page resources; and

the second resources are native application resources.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium 18, wherein determining, based on the search probability ratio of the query, the corresponding score of the first resource, and the corresponding score of the second resource, whether to insert a search result identifying the second resource in a set of search results identifying the first resources comprises:

determining to insert the search result identifying the second resource when the second resource has a corresponding score that that meets a second threshold; and

the first resource identified by the first search operation that is descriptive of the second resource has a corresponding score that meets a first threshold.