Search Result Previewing with Related Query Hovercards
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current internet search engines do not effectively provide users with a preview of related search results, requiring a full reload of search results and lacking user feedback mechanisms for dismissing uninteresting queries.
Innovation Solution
A search system that displays image search results and related queries with preview images, allowing users to select and dismiss queries, and records user feedback to improve future query suggestions, thereby providing a hovercard feature and new search results without full reloads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the search system provides a full reload of search results when a user selects a related query, then the user can access new search results, but the user experience is degraded due to the need to wait for complete page reloads and lose context of previous results
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the search results interface by introducing collapsible sections for related queries that can be independently expanded or collapsed. This allows users to access related search results within the current page context without requiring a full page reload, effectively dividing the interface into manageable, independently controllable sections that improve accessibility while maintaining overall page state.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-loading and displaying related queries and their associated search results in a collapsed state within the main search results page. When users expand a related query section, the results are already prepared and immediately displayed, eliminating the need to wait for server requests and page reloads, thus reducing access time while maintaining ease of operation.
2Loss of information
If the search system displays multiple related queries with preview images, then users can preview search results before selecting, but the interface complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the preview functionality by displaying thumbnail images and brief descriptions of related search results directly within the collapsed related query sections. This extraction of key information (preview images and snippets) from the full results allows users to assess relevance without expanding the section, reducing the need for complex interface interactions while preserving comprehensive preview information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by making the related query sections collapsible and expandable based on user interaction. The interface dynamically adjusts its state - showing compact previews by default to minimize visual complexity, and expanding to show full results only when users express interest by clicking or hovering. This dynamic behavior maintains simplicity while providing comprehensive information on demand.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the search system records user feedback on dismissed queries, then future query suggestions can be improved, but the system requires additional tracking and processing mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by automatically tracking when users dismiss or interact with related query suggestions and using this information to refine future query recommendations. The system monitors user behavior patterns - such as which related queries are expanded, which are dismissed, and which lead to further searches - and uses this feedback to adaptively improve the relevance and personalization of suggested queries, enhancing adaptability through a relatively simple tracking mechanism integrated into the existing interface.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for previewing search results. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a query from a client device. One or more image search results are provided to the client device, each of the one or more image search results identifying a corresponding image resource and each of the one or more image search results including an image representation of the corresponding image resource. One or more related queries are provided to the client device, the one or more related queries having been determined to be related to the query, wherein each of the one or more related queries includes a preview image to be displayed at the client device, the preview image representing an image search result responsive to the related query.