Search Result Augmentation via Intermediary Mediation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Content providers face challenges in making their content searchable, as relevant information may not be indexed, leading to users being directed away from the provider's site, resulting in lost revenue and devaluation of the site's credibility.
Innovation Solution
Augmenting site-specific searches by leveraging information from other content providers or general web search engines, allowing queries to be executed across multiple platforms to retrieve relevant results, even if the information is not indexed on the original site, and returning the site's own content to users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If site-specific search uses only its own indexed content, then search speed and simplicity are maintained, but search completeness and accuracy deteriorate when relevant information is not indexed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system that acts as a mediator between the site-specific search and external search providers. This intermediary receives the original query, determines whether to augment it with external searches based on indexed content analysis, manages the coordination of multiple search providers, and integrates results back to the user. This resolves the contradiction by providing enhanced search accuracy through external sources while maintaining the simplicity of the original site-specific search interface for users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the search process into distinct functional components: the original site-specific search engine, external search providers, and an intermediary coordination system. Each segment handles specific tasks independently - the site search handles indexed content, external providers handle unindexed information, and the intermediary manages the integration. This segmentation allows the system to achieve comprehensive search accuracy without requiring the entire system to be complex, as each segment remains relatively simple in its own right.
2Loss of information
If the site searches multiple external providers, then search completeness improves, but response time and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial action by selectively augmenting queries with external searches only when necessary - specifically when the intermediary determines that the original query cannot be adequately answered using only the site's indexed content. This avoids the time penalty of external searches for queries that can be answered locally, while still achieving information completeness for queries that require external information. The system performs exactly the right amount of external searching needed, neither too much nor too little.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediary performs preliminary analysis of the original query against the site's indexed content before initiating external searches. This preliminary action determines whether external augmentation is necessary, allowing the system to avoid unnecessary external searches and their associated time delays. By evaluating the query first and only proceeding to external providers when truly needed, the system minimizes response time while maintaining information completeness.
3Loss of information
If external search results are used directly, then information availability improves, but user trust and site credibility may deteriorate due to redirecting users away
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies copying by having the intermediary retrieve information from external search results and present it in the format and context of the original site's search interface. Rather than directing users to external sites, the system copies the relevant information from external providers and integrates it into the site's own search results display. This maintains information availability from external sources while preserving the user experience and credibility of the original site, as users remain on the familiar interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediary acts as a mediator that reconciles the conflict between using external information and maintaining site credibility. It selectively incorporates external search results into the site's own search interface, ensuring that external information is presented in a way that complements rather than replaces the site's content. This mediation allows the system to provide comprehensive information while maintaining user trust and site credibility.
Data Source
AI summary
Results of a search on one body of data are enhanced by performing the same search, or a related search, on another body of data. A first body of data is pages (or other content) on a web site, and a second body of data is pages (or other content) on another web site. When a user enters a query to perform a site-specific search on the first web site, that web site performs a related search on the second web site. When results are obtained from the second web site, it is determined whether the first web site has any pages that correspond to the received results. The first web site then uses the corresponding pages in the results that it provides to the user.