Dynamic facet ordering for faceted search

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9336314-B2
Application number	US-98087110-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 29, 2010
Priority date	Dec 29, 2010
Publication date	May 10, 2016
Grant date	May 10, 2016

Abstract

Methods for dynamically ordering facets for search result presentation are provided. Facets specific to a query are determined and facet orderings are dynamically generated. A number of search result arrangements are generated based upon the facet orderings and, as users input the query, various search results arrangements are presented and user engagement with respect thereto is monitored. To determine which of the arrangements to present to a given user, a number of factors are taken into account, e.g., previous user engagement for each arrangement across a segment or population of users, and whether the user has previously been shown any of the arrangements and, if so, the nature of the user's engagement therewith. Each time an arrangement is presented to a user and the user's behavior with respect thereto is recorded, additional data becomes available for deciding what arrangement to show the next time a user inputs the query.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Computer storage devices having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for dynamically ordering facets for search result presentation, the method comprising:
receiving a first query;
determining a plurality of facets that pertain to the first query;
dynamically generating a first facet ordering, the first facet ordering including at least a first portion of the plurality of facets that pertain to the first query;
providing search results arranged in accordance with the first facet ordering in a first arrangement;
monitoring at least one measure of user behavior with regard to the first arrangement;
storing the first arrangement and a first value of the at least one measure of user behavior with respect thereto in association with one another;
receiving a second query, the second query being the same as the first query;
dynamically generating a second facet ordering, the second facet ordering including at least a second portion of the plurality of facets that pertain to the first query upon identifying that the first arrangement failed as indicated by the first value of the at least one measure of user behavior with respect to the first arrangement;
providing search results arranged in accordance with the second facet ordering in a second arrangement;
monitoring the at least one measure of user behavior with regard to the second arrangement;
storing the second arrangement and a second value of the at least one measure of user behavior with respect thereto in association with one another;
comparing the first value of the at least one measure of user behavior with respect to the first arrangement with the second value of the at least one measure of user behavior with respect to the second arrangement;
determining which of the first and second arrangements yields higher user engagement based upon the comparison of the first and second values of the at least one measure of user behavior with respect to the first and second arrangements; and
categorizing one of the first and second arrangements yielding the higher user engagement based upon the comparison as a successful arrangement that is selected for display in response to a third query being the same as the first query and the second query.

2. The computer storage devices of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
receiving a user identifier associated with the user;
determining that a particular arrangement in accordance with a particular facet ordering has been shown to the user previously in response to at least one of the first and the second queries;
determining that the particular arrangement is a successful arrangement; and
providing the particular arrangement to the user in response to receiving the third query.

3. The computer storage devices of claim 2 , wherein the user identifier is one of an anonymous user identifier and a user-segment identifier.

4. The computer storage devices of claim 2 , wherein prior to determining that the particular arrangement is a successful arrangement, the method further comprises determining that at least one threshold criterion has been met that permits presentation of the particular arrangement at a present time.

5. The computer storage devices of claim 4 , wherein the at least one threshold criterion is one of a user-specific criterion and a time-related criterion.

6. The computer storage devices of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
receiving a user identifier associated with the user;
determining that a particular arrangement in accordance with a particular facet ordering has been shown to the user previously in response to at least one of the first and the second queries;
determining that the particular arrangement is a failed arrangement; and
providing search results in accordance with an arrangement other than the particular arrangement to the user in response to receiving the third query.

7. The computer storage devices of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:
receiving a user identifier associated with the user;
determining that a particular arrangement in accordance with a particular facet ordering has been shown to the user previously in response to at least one of the first and the second queries;
determining that at least one threshold criteria has not been met so that presentation of the particular arrangement at a present time is not permitted; and
providing an arrangement other than the particular arrangement to the user in response to receiving the third query.

8. The computer storage devices of claim 7 , wherein the at least one threshold criterion is one of a user-specific criterion and a time-related criterion.

9. A system for dynamically ordering facets for search result presentation, the system comprising:
a computing device associated with one or more processors and one or more computer storage media;
a data store coupled with the computing device;
a facet ordering component that dynamically generates facet orderings including at least a portion of a plurality of facets, the portion pertaining to a received query; and
an arrangement generation component that presents search results in a particular arrangement based upon the facet orderings, wherein the arrangement generation component permits presentation of the particular arrangement at a present time when at least one threshold criterion corresponding to the particular arrangement is satisfied, the at least one threshold criterion is selected from a length of time since a previous presentation of the particular arrangement to the user or a length of time of a prior user interaction with the particular arrangement if the particular arrangement was previously presented to the user; and
a monitoring component that:
monitors at least one measure of user behavior with regard to a first arrangement and a second arrangement;
compares a first value of the at least one measure of user behavior with respect to the first arrangement with a second value of the at least one measure of user behavior with respect to the second arrangement;
determines which of the first and second arrangements yields higher user engagement based upon the comparison of the first and second values of the at least one measure of user behavior with respect to the first and second arrangements; and
categorizes one of the first and second arrangements as a successful arrangement or a failed arrangement based on the determined higher user engagement, wherein the data store stores one or more of received queries, facets pertaining to received queries, facet orderings, facet arrangements, measures of user behavior: and any values associated therewith, and categories associated with the arrangements,
wherein the facet ordering component further dynamically generates one or more subsequent arrangements when previously generated arrangements are categorized as failed arrangements.

10. The system of claim 9 , further comprising a facet determining component that determines the plurality of facets that pertain to the received query.

11. The system of claim 9 , further comprising a receiving component that receives queries from a user and a user identifier associated with the user.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein; based upon the user identifier associated with the user, the arrangement generation component further:
determines that a particular arrangement in accordance with a particular facet ordering has been shown to the user previously in response to a received query,
determines that the particular arrangement is a successful arrangement, and
presents search results in the particular arrangement

Assignees

• Lam Lawrence
• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Lam Lawrence

Classifications

• G06F17/30648

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F17/30867 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F16/9535 Primary

  Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation · CPC title

• G06F16/9038 Primary

  Presentation of query results · CPC title

• G06F16/3326

  using relevance feedback from the user, e.g. relevance feedback on documents, documents sets, document terms or passages · CPC title