Search Result Ranking Adjustment for Device-Specific Utility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing search engines fail to effectively rank resources based on their utility for specific device types, leading to suboptimal search results for users, as they do not account for device-specific utility when processing queries.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines device type identifiers for user queries, assesses the utility of search results for each device type, and adjusts rankings to boost resources with positive utility for the querying device while demoting those with negative utility, ensuring that search results are relevant to the user's device-specific needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If search engines rank resources based on general relevance to queries, then broad applicability is maintained, but device-specific utility is not optimized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by adjusting search result rankings based on the specific device type of the user. Instead of uniform ranking for all users, the system tailors the ranking to local device characteristics (e.g., Android vs. iOS, mobile vs. desktop), ensuring that resources with higher utility for the specific device type are prioritized in the search results.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the ranking parameter dynamically based on device type identification. When a query is received, the system identifies the user's device type and adjusts the ranking scores of search results accordingly, boosting resources that have positive utility for that specific device type while demoting those with negative utility.
2Measurement precision
If search results are adjusted based on device type utility, then resource relevance is improved, but additional processing steps are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-determining the device type of the user before finalizing search result rankings. The device type is identified early in the query processing pipeline, allowing subsequent ranking adjustments to be made efficiently based on this pre-established information, rather than requiring complex real-time analysis during result generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism - a device type identifier and utility signal system - that mediates between the general search query and the final ranked results. This intermediary layer translates device characteristics into adjusted ranking scores, simplifying the overall process by decoupling device-specific logic from the core search algorithm.
3Adaptability or versatility
If all search results are boosted based on device utility signals, then device-specific resources are prioritized, but navigational queries may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies dynamics by making the search result adjustment mechanism conditional rather than static. The patent dynamically determines whether to apply device-specific boosting based on query characteristics, specifically detecting navigational queries and excluding them from adjustment. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt its behavior based on the type of query being processed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the search result adjustment process into different categories based on query type. By identifying and separating navigational queries from informational queries, the system applies device-specific boosting only to appropriate query types, ensuring that navigational queries receive unbiased results while informational queries benefit from device-specific optimization.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for adjusting search results based on device specific utilities. In one aspect, a method includes determining whether a set of search results are ineligible for an adjustment operation based a query being a navigational query. For each query for which the search results are determined to be eligible for an adjustment operation based on a determination that the query is not a navigational query, the search results are adjusted so that the search results referencing resources in a first proper subset are boosted relative to the search results referencing resources in a second proper subset.