Endorsing local search results

• US 9,633,116 B2
• Filed: 06/19/2014
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Korte, Thomas Christopher, Agarwal, Sumit, Saino, Celia Neuhoff
• Primary Examiner(s): Burke, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): VU, THONG H
• Application Number:
  US14/308,974
• Publication Number:
  US 20140304074A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,041 Days
• Field of Search: 705 14, 705 10, 705 731, 705 1443, 705 37
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• 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: G06Q 30/0256 User search

Abstract

Methods and systems for improving user search experience with a search engine by providing a way for associated users to create and share personalized lists of local search results and/or advertisements through endorsements of such local search results and/or ads. Local search endorsements can be used to personalize the search engine'"'"'s ranking of local search results by offering a way for users to re-rank the results for themselves and for those who trust them.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a server comprising one or more computers, first endorsement information characterizing a first member'"'"'s rating of a first local product or service provider, wherein the first member is in a member network and is provided with a financial incentive to endorse the first local product or service provider;

receiving, by the server from a second member in the member network, a local search query comprising information identifying one or more items to be found and a geographic locale to be searched;

identifying, using a member network engine available to the server, that there is an association between the first member and the second member, wherein the association comprises an explicit relationship between the first member and the second member or a common membership of the first member and the second member in a community of the member network, wherein the first member is explicitly related to at least one other member in the member network;

ranking items responsive to the local search query based on a type of the association between the second member and the first member in the member network; and

responding, by the server, to the local search query with information describing a result set responsive to the local search query, the response set including the ranked items.

2. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

receiving the first endorsement information comprises receiving a profile of the first member in the member network; and

profiles of members in the member network include endorsement information characterizing the members'"'"' rating of local product providers.

3. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

receiving the endorsement information comprises receiving a profile of the first member in the member network; and

profiles of members in the member network include endorsement information characterizing the members'"'"' rating of local service providers.

4. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein receiving the local search query comprises determining the geographical locale of to be searched.

5. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first endorsement information comprises:

a category suited for classifying local search queries;

an identifier of the first local product or service provider in the category; and

a rating of the first local product or service provider.

6. The computer storage medium of claim 5, the operations comprising:

determining that the local search query is for items included in the category in the first endorsement information; and

determining the items responsive to the local search query including the first local product or service provider.

7. The computer storage medium of claim 5, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating comprises one or more of:

a binary positive or negative rating,

a scaled grade, and

a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider.

8. The computer storage medium of claim 5, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating comprises one or more of:

a binary positive or negative rating of an advertisement,

a scaled grade of the advertisement, and

a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the advertisement.

9. The computer storage medium of claim 1, the operations comprising:

receiving endorsement information characterizing a third member'"'"'s rating of a second local product or service provider, wherein the third member is associated with the first member in the member network, and the association comprises an explicit relationship between the first member and the third member or a common membership of the first member and the third member in a community of the member network; and

determining the items responsive to the local search query including the second local product or service provider, wherein the information describing the result set responsive to the local search query includes at least one identifier personally identifying the third member and indicating that endorsement information characterizing the third member'"'"'s rating of the second local product or service provider has been received.

10. The computer storage medium of claim 9, wherein the third member is associated with the first member based on the first member'"'"'s member profile indicating that the third member is associated with the first member.

11. The computer storage medium of claim 9, wherein the third member is associated with the first member based on common membership in the community of the member network.

12. The computer storage medium of claim 9, wherein receiving the endorsement information characterizing the third member'"'"'s rating comprises receiving the endorsement information from the third member who is provided with a financial incentive to endorse the second local product or service provider.

13. The computer storage medium of claim 1, the operations comprising:

receiving from the first member information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of an advertisement, and

storing the information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the advertisement in a member network database.

14. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider comprises a scaled grade.

15. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider comprises a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider.

16. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the identifier personally identifying the first member comprises a name of the first member.

17. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein ranking items responsive to the local search query comprises ranking items using a degree of association between the second member and the first member.

18. The computer storage medium of claim 17, the operations comprising determining the degree of association between the second member and the first member in the member network.

19. The computer storage medium of claim 1, wherein the information describing the result set includes at least one identifier personally identifying the first member and indicating that endorsement information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider has been received.

20. A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving information characterizing explicit relationships between a first member, a second member, and a third member in a member network;

receiving a first search query submitted by the first member;

responding to the first search query with a) first links to a collection of articles in a result set responsive to the first search query, and b) one or more second links for receiving input characterizing the first member'"'"'s ratings of local product or service providers identified in the result set responsive to the first search query;

receiving the first member'"'"'s selection of one of the second links;

storing first endorsement information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of an article that corresponds with the selected one of the second links;

receiving a third search query submitted by the third member;

responding to the third search query with a) third links to a collection of articles in a result set responsive to the third search query, and b) one or more fourth links for receiving input characterizing the third member'"'"'s ratings of local product or service providers identified in the result set responsive to the third search query;

receiving the third member'"'"'s selection of one of the fourth links;

storing second endorsement information characterizing the third member'"'"'s rating of an article that corresponds with the selected one of the fourth links;

receiving, from a second member in the member network, a local search query comprising information identifying one or more items to be found and for a particular geographic locale;

determining a result set responsive to the local search query;

identifying that there is an association between the first member and the second member, and a second association between the second member and the third member, wherein each of the associations comprises (i) an explicit relationship between the respective two members or (ii) a common membership of the respective two members in a community of the member network;

ranking items responsive to the local search query using a type of the association between the second member and the first member in the member network and on a type of the association between the second member and the third member in the member network; and

responding to the local search query with information describing a result set responsive to the local search query, the response set including the ranked items, the identity of the first member, the availability of the first endorsement information, the identity of the third member, and the availability of the second endorsement information.

21. The computer storage medium of claim 20, wherein:

receiving the first endorsement information comprises receiving a profile of the first member in the member network; and

profiles of members in the member network include endorsement information characterizing the members'"'"' rating of local service providers.

22. The computer storage medium of claim 20, wherein:

receiving the endorsement information comprises receiving a profile of the first member in the member network; and

profiles of members in the member network include endorsement information characterizing the members'"'"' rating of local product providers.

23. The computer storage medium of claim 20, wherein receiving the local search query comprises determining the geographical locale to be searched.

24. The computer storage medium of claim 20, wherein the first endorsement information comprises:

a category suited for classifying local search queries;

an identifier of a first local product or service provider in the category; and

a rating of the first local product or service provider.

25. The computer storage medium of claim 24, wherein:

the local search query is in the category in the first endorsement information; and

the first local product or service provider is in the result set.

26. The computer storage medium of claim 24, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating comprises one or more of:

a binary positive or negative rating,

a scaled grade, and

a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider.

27. The computer storage medium of claim 24, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating comprises one or more of:

a binary positive or negative rating of an advertisement,

a scaled grade of the advertisement, and

a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the advertisement.

28. The computer storage medium of claim 20, wherein receiving the endorsement information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating comprises receiving the endorsement information from the first member who is provided with a financial incentive to endorse a first local product or service provider.

29. The computer storage medium of claim 20, wherein:

the operations further comprise receiving endorsement information characterizing a fourth member'"'"'s rating of a second local product or service provider, wherein the fourth member is associated with the first member in the member network, and the association comprises an explicit relationship between the first member and the fourth member or a common membership of the first member and the fourth member in a community of the member network; and

the information describing the result set includes at least one identifier personally identifying the fourth member and indicating that endorsement information characterizing the fourth member'"'"'s rating of the second local product or service provider has been received.

30. The computer storage medium of claim 29, wherein the fourth member is associated with the first member based on the first member'"'"'s member profile indicating that the fourth member is associated with the first member.

31. The computer storage medium of claim 29, wherein the fourth member is associated with the first member based on common membership in the community of the member network.

32. The computer storage medium of claim 29, wherein receiving the endorsement information characterizing the fourth member'"'"'s rating comprises receiving the endorsement information from the fourth member who is provided with a financial incentive to endorse the second local product or service provider.

33. The computer storage medium of claim 20, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating of a first local product or service provider comprises a scaled grade.

34. The computer storage medium of claim 20, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating of a first local product or service provider comprises a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider.

35. The computer storage medium of claim 20, wherein the identifier personally identifying the first member comprises a name of the first member.

36. The computer storage medium of claim 20, wherein ranking items responsive to the local search query comprises ranking items using a degree of association between the second member and the first member.

37. The computer storage medium of claim 36, the operations comprising determining the degree of association between the second member and the first member in the member network.

38. The computer storage medium of claim 20, wherein the information describing the result set includes at least one identifier personally identifying the first member and indicating that endorsement information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of a first local product or service provider has been received.

39. A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving information characterizing explicit relationships between a first member, a second member, and a third member in a member network;

receiving a first search query submitted by the first member;

responding to the first search query with a) first links to a collection of articles in a result set responsive to the first search query, and b) one or more second links for receiving input characterizing the first member'"'"'s ratings of local product or service providers identified in the result set responsive to the first search query;

receiving the first member'"'"'s selection of one of the second links;

storing the information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of a first local product or service provider that corresponds with the selected one of the second links;

receiving a third search query submitted by the third member;

responding to the third search query with a) third links to a collection of articles in a result set responsive to the third search query, and b) one or more fourth links for receiving input characterizing the third member'"'"'s ratings of local product or service providers identified in the result set responsive to the third search query;

receiving the third member'"'"'s selection of one of the fourth links;

storing the information characterizing the third member'"'"'s rating of a second local product or service provider that corresponds with the selected one of the fourth links;

receiving a local search query submitted by the second member, wherein the local search query comprises information identifying one or more items to be found and a geographic locale to be searched;

determining a result set responsive to the local search query;

ranking items in the result set using a degree of the relationship between the first member and the second member and on a degree of the relationship between the third member and the second member; and

based on the relationship between the first member and the second member and on the relationship between the third member and the second member, providing the second member with information describing the result set, the identity of the first member, the availability of the information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating, the identity of the third member, and the availability of the information characterizing the third member'"'"'s rating.

40. The computer storage medium of claim 39, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider comprises a scaled grade.

41. The computer storage medium of claim 39, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider comprises a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider.

42. The computer storage medium of claim 39, the operations comprising determining at least one of the degrees of the relationships using the information characterizing the explicit relationships.

43. A system comprising:

a server comprising one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising;

receiving, first endorsement information characterizing a first member'"'"'s rating of a first local product or service provider, wherein the first member is in a member network and is provided with a financial incentive to endorse the first local product or service provider;

receiving, from a second member in the member network, a local search query comprising information identifying one or more items to be found and a geographic locale to be searched;

identifying, using a member network engine available to the server, that there is an association between the first member and the second member, wherein the association comprises an explicit relationship between the first member and the second member or a common membership of the first member and the second member in a community of the member network, wherein the first member is explicitly related to at least one other member in the member network;

ranking items responsive to the local search query based on a type of the association between the second member and the first member in the member network; and

responding, to the local search query with information describing a result set responsive to the local search query, the response set including the ranked items.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein:

receiving the first endorsement information comprises receiving a profile of the first member in the member network; and

profiles of members in the member network include endorsement information characterizing the members'"'"' rating of local product providers.

45. The system of claim 43, wherein:

receiving the endorsement information comprises receiving a profile of the first member in the member network; and

profiles of members in the member network include endorsement information characterizing the members'"'"' rating of local service providers.

46. The system of claim 43, wherein receiving the local search query comprises determining the geographical locale of to be searched.

47. The system of claim 43, wherein the first endorsement information comprises:

a category suited for classifying local search queries;

an identifier of the first local product or service provider in the category; and

a rating of the first local product or service provider.

48. The system of claim 47, the operations comprising:

determining that the local search query is for items included in the category in the first endorsement information; and

determining the items responsive to the local search query including the first local product or service provider.

49. The system of claim 47, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating comprises one or more of:

a binary positive or negative rating,

a scaled grade, and

a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider.

50. The system of claim 47, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating comprises one or more of:

a binary positive or negative rating of an advertisement,

a scaled grade of the advertisement, and

a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the advertisement.

51. The system of claim 43, the operations comprising:

receiving endorsement information characterizing a third member'"'"'s rating of a second local product or service provider, wherein the third member is associated with the first member in the member network, and the association comprises an explicit relationship between the first member and the third member or a common membership of the first member and the third member in a community of the member network; and

determining the items responsive to the local search query including the second local product or service provider, wherein the information describing the result set responsive to the local search query includes at least one identifier personally identifying the third member and indicating that endorsement information characterizing the third member'"'"'s rating of the second local product or service provider has been received.

52. The system of claim 51, wherein the third member is associated with the first member based on the first member'"'"'s member profile indicating that the third member is associated with the first member.

53. The system of claim 51, wherein the third member is associated with the first member based on common membership in the community of the member network.

54. The system of claim 51, wherein receiving the endorsement information characterizing the third member'"'"'s rating comprises receiving the endorsement information from the third member who is provided with a financial incentive to endorse the second local product or service provider.

55. The system of claim 43, the operations comprising:

receiving from the first member information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of an advertisement, and

storing the information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the advertisement in a member network database.

56. The system of claim 43, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider comprises a scaled grade.

57. The system of claim 43, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider comprises a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider.

58. The system of claim 43, wherein the identifier personally identifying the first member comprises a name of the first member.

59. The system of claim 43, wherein ranking items responsive to the local search query comprises ranking items using a degree of association between the second member and the first member.

60. The system of claim 59, the operations comprising determining the degree of association between the second member and the first member in the member network.

61. The system of claim 43, wherein the information describing the result set includes at least one identifier personally identifying the first member and indicating that endorsement information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider has been received.

62. A system comprising:

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

receiving information characterizing explicit relationships between a first member, a second member, and a third member in a member network;

receiving a first search query submitted by the first member;

responding to the first search query with a) first links to a collection of articles in a result set responsive to the first search query, and b) one or more second links for receiving input characterizing the first member'"'"'s ratings of local product or service providers identified in the result set responsive to the first search query;

receiving the first member'"'"'s selection of one of the second links;

storing first endorsement information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of an article that corresponds with the selected one of the second links;

receiving a third search query submitted by the third member;

responding to the third search query with a) third links to a collection of articles in a result set responsive to the third search query, and b) one or more fourth links for receiving input characterizing the third member'"'"'s ratings of local product or service providers identified in the result set responsive to the third search query;

receiving the third member'"'"'s selection of one of the fourth links;

storing second endorsement information characterizing the third member'"'"'s rating of an article that corresponds with the selected one of the fourth links;

receiving, from a second member in the member network, a local search query comprising information identifying one or more items to be found and for a particular geographic locale;

determining a result set responsive to the local search query;

identifying that there is an association between the first member and the second member, and a second association between the second member and the third member, wherein each of the associations comprises (i) an explicit relationship between the respective two members or (ii) a common membership of the respective two members in a community of the member network;

ranking items responsive to the local search query using a type of the association between the second member and the first member in the member network and on a type of the association between the second member and the third member in the member network; and

responding to the local search query with information describing a result set responsive to the local search query, the response set including the ranked items, the identity of the first member, the availability of the first endorsement information, the identity of the third member, and the availability of the second endorsement information.

63. The system of claim 62, wherein:

receiving the first endorsement information comprises receiving a profile of the first member in the member network; and

profiles of members in the member network include endorsement information characterizing the members'"'"' rating of local service providers.

64. The system of claim 62, wherein:

receiving the endorsement information comprises receiving a profile of the first member in the member network; and

profiles of members in the member network include endorsement information characterizing the members'"'"' rating of local product providers.

65. The system of claim 62, wherein receiving the local search query comprises determining the geographical locale to be searched.

66. The system of claim 62, wherein the first endorsement information comprises:

a category suited for classifying local search queries;

an identifier of a first local product or service provider in the category; and

a rating of the first local product or service provider.

67. The system of claim 66, wherein:

the local search query is in the category in the first endorsement information; and

the first local product or service provider is in the result set.

68. The system of claim 66, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating comprises one or more of:

a binary positive or negative rating,

a scaled grade, and

a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider.

69. The system of claim 66, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating comprises one or more of:

a binary positive or negative rating of an advertisement,

a scaled grade of the advertisement, and

a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the advertisement.

70. The system of claim 62, wherein receiving the endorsement information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating comprises receiving the endorsement information from the first member who is provided with a financial incentive to endorse a first local product or service provider.

71. The system of claim 62, wherein:

the operations further comprise receiving endorsement information characterizing a fourth member'"'"'s rating of a second local product or service provider, wherein the fourth member is associated with the first member in the member network, and the association comprises an explicit relationship between the first member and the fourth member or a common membership of the first member and the fourth member in a community of the member network; and

the information describing the result set includes at least one identifier personally identifying the fourth member and indicating that endorsement information characterizing the fourth member'"'"'s rating of the second local product or service provider has been received.

72. The system of claim 71, wherein the fourth member is associated with the first member based on the first member'"'"'s member profile indicating that the fourth member is associated with the first member.

73. The system of claim 71, wherein the fourth member is associated with the first member based on common membership in the community of the member network.

74. The system of claim 71, wherein receiving the endorsement information characterizing the fourth member'"'"'s rating comprises receiving the endorsement information from the fourth member who is provided with a financial incentive to endorse the second local product or service provider.

75. The system of claim 62, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating of a first local product or service provider comprises a scaled grade.

76. The system of claim 62, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating of a first local product or service provider comprises a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider.

77. The system of claim 62, wherein the identifier personally identifying the first member comprises a name of the first member.

78. The system of claim 62, wherein ranking items responsive to the local search query comprises ranking items using a degree of association between the second member and the first member.

79. The system of claim 78, the operations comprising determining the degree of association between the second member and the first member in the member network.

80. The system of claim 62, wherein the information describing the result set includes at least one identifier personally identifying the first member and indicating that endorsement information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of a first local product or service provider has been received.

81. A system comprising:

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

receiving information characterizing explicit relationships between a first member, a second member, and a third member in a member network;

receiving a first search query submitted by the first member;

responding to the first search query with a) first links to a collection of articles in a result set responsive to the first search query, and b) one or more second links for receiving input characterizing the first member'"'"'s ratings of local product or service providers identified in the result set responsive to the first search query;

receiving the first member'"'"'s selection of one of the second links;

storing the information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of a first local product or service provider that corresponds with the selected one of the second links;

receiving a third search query submitted by the third member;

responding to the third search query with a) third links to a collection of articles in a result set responsive to the third search query, and b) one or more fourth links for receiving input characterizing the third member'"'"'s ratings of local product or service providers identified in the result set responsive to the third search query;

receiving the third member'"'"'s selection of one of the fourth links;

storing the information characterizing the third member'"'"'s rating of a second local product or service provider that corresponds with the selected one of the fourth links;

receiving a local search query submitted by the second member, wherein the local search query comprises information identifying one or more items to be found and a geographic locale to be searched;

determining a result set responsive to the local search query;

ranking items in the result set using a degree of the relationship between the first member and the second member and on a degree of the relationship between the third member and the second member; and

based on the relationship between the first member and the second member and on the relationship between the third member and the second member, providing the second member with information describing the result set, the identity of the first member, the availability of the information characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating, the identity of the third member, and the availability of the information characterizing the third member'"'"'s rating.

82. The system of claim 81, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider comprises a scaled grade.

83. The system of claim 81, wherein the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider comprises a comment characterizing the first member'"'"'s rating of the first local product or service provider.

84. The system of claim 81, the operations comprising determining at least one of the degrees of the relationships using the information characterizing the explicit relationships.