Method and system for exposing data used in ranking search results

• US 10,181,141 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2017
• Issued: 01/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Original Assignee: eBay Inc.
• Inventors: Rehman, Muhammad Faisal, Dumon, Olivier G., McDonald, Ryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Pond, Robert M
• Application Number:
  US15/809,589
• Publication Number:
  US 20180068360A1
• Time in Patent Office: 431 Days
• Field of Search: 705 26, 705 27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

Methods and systems for enabling access to listing performance data, used in conjunction with a search engine to order search results, are described. Consistent with some embodiments, a listing performance data engine module processes API commands received from client computing systems. The data engine module processes the API commands to identify and communicate relevant listing performance data that is used by a listing performance algorithm to assign a listing performance score to item listings satisfying a search request. The listing performance data provides sellers who have items listed for sale an insight as to how their item listings are performing in comparison to other item listings.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

generating a specific item listing in an online trading application in response to receiving input from a seller to list an item for sale via the online trading application;

receiving, from a client computing system, a request from the seller for listing performance data, the request specifying a category;

processing the request to retrieve the listing performance data corresponding to the specific item listing;

determining at least one position value that indicates a position at which the specific item listing would appear to a potential buyer in a search results listing having a plurality of item listings based on a search using the category; and

transmitting the listing performance data and the position value to the client computing system for presentation to the seller.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the listing performance data includes data for all item listings for the seller that are assigned to the category.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein, for each item listing assigned to the category, the listing performance data includes one or more items of information selected from:

an impression count, a unique click-through rate, a ratio of the number of sales per the number of impressions.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the listing performance data includes a seller performance rating and an indication of how the seller performance rating affects the at least one position value for the specific item listing.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the request includes one or more keywords, and the listing performance data includes information identifying a number of times the specific item listing has been presented in a search results page as a result of processing a search request containing at least one of the one or more keywords and the category.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the request includes one or more keywords, and the at least one position value is based on the category and the one or more keywords.

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

transmitting, to the client computing system, aggregated listing performance data for one or more other item listings that would appear in a search results page if a user initiated a search query containing the one or more keywords and the category included in the request.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the request includes an item identifier for the specific item listing.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one position value comprises a page number.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one position value comprises a page position value.

11. A processing system, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a machine-readable medium in communication with the at least one processor, the machine readable medium storing a listing performance data engine module that is executable by the at least one processor, the listing performance data engine module being executed by the at least one processor to cause operations to be performed, the operations comprising;

generating a specific item listing in an online trading application in response to receiving input from a seller to list an item for sale via the online trading application;

receiving, from a client computing system, a request from the seller for listing performance data, the request specifying a category;

processing the request to retrieve the listing performance data corresponding to the specific item listing;

determining at least one position value that indicates a position at which the specific item listing would appear to a potential buyer in a search results listing having a plurality of item listings based on a search using the category; and

transmitting the listing performance data and the position value to the client computing system for presentation to the seller.

12. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the listing performance data includes data for all item listings for the seller that are assigned to the category.

13. The processing system of claim 12, wherein, for each item listing assigned to the category, the listing performance data includes one or more items of information selected from:

an impression count, a unique click-through rate, a ratio of the number of sales per the number of impressions.

14. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the listing performance data includes a seller performance rating and an indication of how the seller performance rating affects the at least one position value for the specific item listing.

15. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the request includes one or more keywords, and the listing performance data includes information identifying a number of times the specific item listing has been presented in a search results page as a result of processing a search request containing at least one of the one or more keywords and the category.

16. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the request includes one or more keywords, and the at least one position value is based on the category and the one or more keywords.

17. The processing system of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:

transmitting, to the client computing system, aggregated listing performance data for one or more other item listings that would appear in a search results page if a user initiated a search query containing the one or more keywords and the category included in the request.

18. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the request includes an item identifier for the specific item listing.

19. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the at least one position value comprises a page number and/or a page position value.

20. One or more machine-readable media storing computer-usable instructions that, when used by one or more computing devices, cause the one or more computing devices to perform operations comprising:

generating a specific item listing in an online trading application in response to receiving input from a seller to list an item for sale via the online trading application;

receiving, from a client computing system, a request from the seller for listing performance data, the request specifying a category;

processing the request to retrieve the listing performance data corresponding to the specific item listing;

determining at least one position value that indicates a position at which the specific item listing would appear to a potential buyer in a search results listing having a plurality of item listings based on a search using the category; and

transmitting the listing performance data and the position value to the client computing system for presentation to the seller.