Systems and methods for aggregating search results

• US 8,407,229 B2
• Filed: 09/19/2006
• Issued: 03/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: IAC Search & Media Incorporated (Match Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: IAC Search & Media Incorporated (Match Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Yang, Tao, Wang, Wei
• Primary Examiner(s): Shmatov, Alexey
• Application Number:
  US11/524,011
• Publication Number:
  US 20080071742A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,380 Days
• Field of Search: 707/999.003, 707/999.107, 707/999.101, 707/748
• US Class Current: 707/748
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques

Abstract

Systems and methods for aggregating search results are disclosed herein. The systems and methods include receiving a user search query, analyzing the user search query to identify a plurality of properties of the user search query, identifying a plurality of search results that match the user search query, each search result being based on a different scheme, and aggregating the search results to produce a search results list. The search results list may be a combined and selected results list. Feedback-based optimization is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for generating and providing a search results list to a user in response to a search query issued by the user, the method comprising:

receiving, by a search engine, a signal including the search query issued by the user;

analyzing, by a server, the search query to identify a plurality of properties of the search query;

identifying, by the server, a separate ranking scheme for ranking a set of search results stored in a plurality of databases resident in the server, wherein each ranking scheme indicates a different methodology for ranking the set of search results and the set of search results and the ranking scheme is different for each database;

determining a relevance factor of each scheme based on a relevance of each ranking scheme to each property of the search query;

ranking, by the server, the set of search results stored in each database of the plurality of databases using a ranking scheme identified for each respective database;

storing, by the server, the ranking scheme and the set of ranked search results in each respective database;

identifying, by the server, a plurality of search results that match one or more properties of the search query such that each search result is identified from a different stored set of ranked search results;

sorting, by the server, the plurality of search results according to the relevance factor of a scheme associated with each respective search result included in the plurality of search results;

generating, by the server, a search results list using the sorted plurality of search results; and

providing, by the server, the generated search results list to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the search query to identify a plurality of properties comprises:

identifying concepts that differentiate attributes of the query.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the search query to identify a plurality of properties comprises:

matching the search query to keywords of the databases.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the search query to identify a plurality of properties comprises:

identifying search results in a plurality of databases that match the search query, wherein each database of the plurality of databases is associated with a different ranking scheme;

generating a content hit ratio by comparing the total number of search results in the database with the number of search results that match the search query identified in the database; and

determining that the search query includes a property of the database when the content hit ratio exceeds a threshold.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the properties are selected from the group consisting of location, time, commerce, news, language and homepage.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the properties are determined through a query and log analysis.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the search query is a natural language query.

8. The method of claim 1, aggregating the search results to produce a search results list comprises:

sorting each of the search results from each scheme into one of a plurality of zones;

combining all of the search results sorted into a zone; and

combining the plurality of zones into a list of search results.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

selecting a portion of the search results to present to the user, wherein the portion presented corresponds to search results sorted into one of the plurality of zones.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

ranking the zones; and

selecting a portion of search results that corresponds to the highest ranked zone.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving feedback from a user regarding the relevance of the provided search results; and

optimizing the relevance factor determination and sorting for future determination of relevance factors for each scheme based on the received user feedback.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the optimization comprises:

assessing a user'"'"'s satisfaction with each scheme based on the received feedback.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the optimization comprises:

assessing a user'"'"'s satisfaction with a search result in the search results list based on the received feedback.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein each scheme has a database associated therewith.

15. A search system comprising:

a search engine, wherein the search engine receives a signal including a search query;

a plurality of databases, wherein each database stores a set of ranked search results and a ranking scheme used to rank the set of search results, wherein each ranking scheme indicates a different methodology for ranking the set of search results and the ranking scheme is different for each database included in the plurality; and

a server to analyze the search query to identify a plurality of properties of the search query, identify the a separate ranking scheme for ranking a set of search results stored in a plurality of databases resident in the server, wherein the set of search results and the ranking scheme is different for each database, determine a relevance factor of each scheme based a relevance of each ranking scheme to each property of the search query rank the set search results stored in each database of the plurality of databases using a ranking scheme identified for each respective database, identify, by the server, a plurality of search results that match one or more properties of the search query such that each search result is identified from a different stored set of ranked search results, sort the plurality of search results according to the relevance factor of a scheme associated with each respective search result included in the plurality of search results, and generate a search results list using the sorted plurality of search results.

16. The search system of claim 15, wherein the search engine provides the search results list to a user.

17. The search system of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of databases are associated with one of the plurality of properties associated therewith.

18. The search system of claim 15, wherein the server divides each of the search results from each database into a plurality of zones, combines each of the search results from each database in each zone, and combines the search results from each zone.