Search Result Ranking Using Usage Statistics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for determining the importance of web pages in search results are biased towards term-based manipulation and disadvantage newer pages due to link structure, lacking objective measures for relevance and user interest.
Innovation Solution
Organizing documents based on usage information such as visit frequency and unique user counts, combining these scores with query and link information to provide a more objective ranking system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If term-based matching methods are used to determine document importance, then search results can be generated quickly, but the results are biased towards pages with carefully chosen content and are easily manipulated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces usage information (clicks, visits, time spent) as an intermediary metric to bridge the gap between quick term-based matching and reliable document importance assessment. This intermediary data provides objective evidence of user engagement that is difficult to manipulate, thereby improving reliability while maintaining the speed of automated search engine operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where usage information from user interactions with search results is continuously collected and used to refine document importance scores. This feedback mechanism allows the system to learn from actual user behavior patterns, making the importance assessment more objective and resistant to manipulation over time, while the automated processing maintains high productivity.
2Reliability
If link-based importance scoring is used, then document importance can be objectively determined, but newer pages receive lower scores due to having fewer hyperlinks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameters used for scoring by incorporating usage information metrics (number of clicks, visit frequency, time spent on page) alongside or instead of traditional link-based metrics. This parameter change allows newer pages to achieve high importance scores quickly if they receive substantial user engagement, making the system more adaptable to new content while maintaining objective assessment through measurable user behavior data.
3Reliability
If human-maintained indices are used, then popular topics are covered effectively, but the system is expensive to build and maintain and slow to improve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service system where the search engine automatically collects usage information from user interactions and uses this data to dynamically update document importance scores without human intervention. This automated approach eliminates the need for expensive and time-consuming manual index maintenance while still effectively covering popular topics, as user engagement data naturally highlights what is popular and important.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus consistent with the invention provide improved organization of documents responsive to a search query. In one embodiment, a search query is received and a list of responsive documents is identified. The responsive documents are organized based in whole or in part on usage statistics.