Vertical Search Suggestions for Focused Retrieval

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users face difficulty in locating relevant information on the internet due to the vast amount of content, as they often default to general searches rather than focused vertical searches, leading to time-consuming and complex information retrieval processes.

Innovation Solution

A system and method that suggest relevant search verticals to users by analyzing their queries and presenting them in an organized manner, allowing for more focused searches within specific categories, such as 'video,' 'images,' or 'local,' thereby facilitating the retrieval of responsive content items.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If users conduct general searches across the entire Internet corpus, then they can access a broader range of content items, but the search process becomes time-consuming and complex due to the vast amount of content

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesearch scopeVSAvoidinformation retrieval time

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the large Internet corpus into distinct vertical categories (e.g., news, shopping, local, video). By presenting these segmented verticals to users, the system enables focused searches within specific categories rather than requiring users to search the entire Internet, thus reducing time loss while maintaining access to diverse content types.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary categorization of content items into vertical segments before users conduct searches. This pre-organization allows users to immediately select relevant verticals for their search queries, eliminating the need to manually filter through vast amounts of content and significantly reducing information retrieval time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Adaptability or versatility

If users default to general searches without specifying verticals, then they can discover content across multiple categories, but they fail to locate relevant information efficiently

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent coverageVSAvoidinformation retrieval efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces vertical categories as intermediary layers between users and the Internet corpus. These verticals act as mediators that guide users to relevant content categories based on their search queries, improving retrieval efficiency while maintaining broad content coverage through the organized vertical structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies local quality by tailoring search results to specific vertical categories rather than providing uniform results across all content. Each vertical receives specialized processing and organization, allowing users to efficiently locate relevant information in the appropriate category while maintaining access to diverse content types across different verticals.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Adaptability or versatility

If the search interface presents many vertical options to users, then users can find more specific content categories, but the interface complexity increases making it harder to use

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevertical category optionsVSAvoidinterface usability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic vertical suggestion that adapts to user queries in real-time. Instead of presenting all possible verticals statically, the system dynamically generates and presents only the most relevant verticals for each specific query, reducing interface complexity while maintaining comprehensive category coverage. The vertical suggestions change based on query context, user behavior, and content associations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

4Productivity

If users manually determine which vertical to search, then they can focus searches effectively, but most users lack the technical awareness or time to identify appropriate verticals

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesearch focusVSAvoidvertical selection difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent enables the search system to automatically perform the vertical selection task that would otherwise require user expertise. The system analyzes user queries and autonomously identifies and presents the most relevant verticals, allowing users to benefit from focused search capabilities without needing technical awareness or time to manually determine appropriate vertical categories.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS8010537B2System and method for assisting search requests with vertical suggestions

Publication Date: 2011.08.30 R2 SOLUTIONS LLC

AI summary

Systems, methods and computer program products are disclosed for assisting search request by presenting suggestion of one or more vertical segments to produce a more focused result. A vertical segment may be selected by the user, the selected vertical segment being associated with one or more query terms and a search is performed on an index associated with the vertical segment. A search engine generates a search result and returns a list of search result pages for presentation to a user.