U.S. patent application number 14/842113 was filed with the patent office on 2015-12-24 for providing advertisements from related search queries.
The applicant listed for this patent is Google Inc.. Invention is credited to Gangjiang Li, Hui Li, Boon-Lock Yeo, Yong Zhang.
Application Number | 20150371264 14/842113 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43448860 |
Filed Date | 2015-12-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150371264 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Li; Hui ; et al. |
December 24, 2015 |
Providing Advertisements from Related Search Queries
Abstract
Methods, systems and apparatus for identifying advertisements
previously presented when processing related search queries related
to a submitted search query, and providing the advertisements
identified from the related search queries for presentation on a
search results page for the submitted search query.
Inventors: |
Li; Hui; (Shanghai, CN)
; Zhang; Yong; (Shanghai, CN) ; Li; Gangjiang;
(Shanghai, CN) ; Yeo; Boon-Lock; (Los Altos,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Google Inc. |
Mountain View |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
43448860 |
Appl. No.: |
14/842113 |
Filed: |
September 1, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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12511752 |
Jul 29, 2009 |
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14842113 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.54 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/248 20190101;
G06Q 30/02 20130101; G06Q 30/0277 20130101; G06Q 30/0256 20130101;
G06F 16/9535 20190101; G06Q 30/0251 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20060101
G06Q030/02; G06F 17/30 20060101 G06F017/30 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 17, 2009 |
CN |
PCT/CN2009/000804 |
Claims
1. (canceled)
2. A computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving at a
computer system a first search query; receiving at the computer
system related search queries, that are each related to, but
different from the first search query; identifying by the computer
system, first advertisements using the first search query;
identifying, by the computer system, second advertisements using
the related search query; and providing, together in a first search
results page that is presented at a user device and includes search
results identified using the first search query, each of (i) at
least some of the second advertisements identified using the
related search queries, (ii) at least some of the first
advertisements identified using the first search query and (iii) at
least some of the related search queries, wherein: the search
results are different from each of the first advertisements and the
second advertisements and each of the first advertisements is
different from each of the second advertisements included in the
search results page; and a given related search query from the
first search results page includes code that initiates a request
for a different search results page that includes different search
results identified using the given related search query in response
to user interaction with the given related search query.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, comprising: ranking
by the computer system the advertisements responsive to the related
search queries; and wherein providing the second advertisements
identified using the related search queries comprises selecting the
second advertisements based on a ranking of the second
advertisements.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein: ranking, by
the computer system, the second advertisements identified using the
related search queries comprises, for each related search query,
ranking the second advertisements identified using the related
search query relative only to other second advertisements
identified using the related search query; and selecting the second
advertisements based on the ranking of the second advertisements
comprises selecting a highest ranked advertisement for each of at
least two of the related search queries.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein: ranking, by
the computer system, the second advertisements identified using the
related search queries comprises ranking each advertisement
identified using the related search queries relative to all other
second advertisements responsive to the related search queries; and
selecting the second advertisements based on the ranking of the
second advertisements comprises selecting a subset of highest
ranked advertisements from all advertisements identified using the
related search queries.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, comprising: for each
related search query and second advertisement identified using the
related search query: ranking the second advertisement based, at
least in part, on: a performance measure of the second
advertisement; and a performance measure of the related search
query specifying performance of the related search query when the
related search query is presented on a search results page for the
first search query; wherein providing second advertisements
identified using the related search queries comprises: selecting a
highest ranked second advertisement according to the ranking; and
providing the highest ranked second advertisement.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the
performance measure of the second advertisement is a click-through
rate of the second advertisement, and the performance measure of
the related search query is a click-through rate of the related
search query when presented on a search results page for a search
query to which the related search query is related.
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein: ranking the
second advertisement based on a performance measure of the second
advertisement and a performance measure of the related search query
comprises multiplying the click-through rate of the second
advertisement by the click-through rate of the related search
query; and providing a subset of the second advertisements
identified using the related search queries comprises selecting a
highest ranked advertisement for each of at least two of the
related search queries, wherein a highest ranked advertisement is
an advertisement having a highest value of the multiplication of
the click-through rate of the advertisement by the click-through
rate of the related search query.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the
performance measure of the second advertisement is a conversion
rate of the second advertisement.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein: the
related search queries are displayed in a first location below the
first search results; the second advertisements are displayed in a
second location below the first search results and the related
search queries; and the first and second locations are not
contiguous.
11. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein: the
advertisements using the first search query are displayed on a
right hand side of a display of the client device; and the second
advertisements are displayed on the right hand side of the display
of the client device.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, comprising:
identifying a selection of a related search query; determining
whether an advertisement identified using the selected related
search query is one of the advertisements in the second
advertisements; and if an advertisement identified using the
selected related search query is determined to be one of the
advertisements in the second advertisements, then precluding
selection of the advertisement for display with subsequent search
results responsive to the selected related search query.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the related
search queries are related to the first search query by keywords
associated with the first search query and the related search
queries, or by subject matter associated with the first search
query and the related search queries.
14. A system, comprising: a search query identification subsystem
comprising one or more processors configured to: receive a first
search query; and receive related search queries, each related
search query being related to the first search query; and an
advertisement selection subsystem comprising one or more processors
configured to: identify first advertisements using the first search
query; identify second advertisements using the related search
query; and provide, together in a first search results page that is
presented at a user device and includes search results identified
using the first search query, each of (i) at least some of the
second advertisements identified using the related search queries,
(ii) at least some of the first advertisements identified using the
first search query and (iii) at least some of the related search
queries, wherein: the search results are different from each of the
first advertisements and the second advertisements and each of the
first advertisements is different from each of the second
advertisements included in the search results page; and a given
related search query from the first search results page includes
code that initiates a request for a different search results page
that includes different search results identified using the given
related search query in response to user interaction with the given
related search query.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the advertisement selection
subsystem is further configured to rank the second advertisements
identified using the related search queries, and select the second
advertisements based on the ranking of the advertisements.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the advertisement selection
subsystem is further configured to rank the second advertisements
identified using the related search query relative only to other
second advertisements identified using the related search query,
and to select a highest ranked advertisement for each of at least
two of the related search queries.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein the advertisement selection
subsystem is further configured to rank each second advertisement
identified using the related search queries relative to all other
advertisements identified using the related search queries, and to
select a subset of highest ranked advertisements from all second
advertisements identified using the related search queries.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein the advertisement selection
subsystem is further configured to for each related search query
and second advertisement identified using the related search query,
rank the second advertisement based on a performance measure of the
second.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the performance measure of the
second advertisement is a click-through rate of the second
advertisement, and the performance measure of the related search
query is a click-through rate of the related search query when
presented on a search results page for a search query to which the
related search query is related.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the advertisement selection
subsystem is further configured to multiply the click-through rate
of the second advertisement by the click-through rate of the
related search query, and to select a highest ranked advertisement
for each of at least two of the related search queries, a highest
ranked advertisement being an advertisement having a highest value
of the multiplication of the click-through rate of the
advertisement by the click-through rate of the related search
query.
21. A computer readable storage medium encoded with a computer
program comprising instructions that when executed operate to cause
one or more data processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving a first search query; receiving related search queries
that are each related to, but different from, the first search
query; identifying by the computer system, first advertisements
using the first search query; identifying, by the computer system,
second advertisements using the related search query; and
providing, together in a first search results page that is
presented at a user device and includes search results identified
using the first search query, each of (i) at least some of the
second advertisements identified using the related search queries,
(ii) at least some of the first advertisements identified using the
first search query and (iii) at least some of the related search
queries, wherein: the search results are different from each of the
first advertisements and the second advertisements and each of the
first advertisements is different from each of the second
advertisements included in the search results page; and a given
related search query from the first search results page includes
code that initiates a request for a different search results page
that includes different search results identified using the given
related search query in response to user interaction with the given
related search query.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation application of, and
claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/511,752,
titled "Providing Advertisements from Related Search Queries,"
filed on Jul. 29, 2009, which is a continuation of International
Application No. PCT/CN2009/000804, titled "Providing Advertisements
from Related Search Queries," filed Jul. 17, 2009. The disclosure
of each of the foregoing applications is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] This disclosure relates to online advertising.
[0003] The Internet provides access to a wide variety of resources
such as video or audio files, web pages for particular subjects,
book articles, or news articles. A search system can identify
resources in response to a search query from a user that includes
one or more search terms or phrases. The search system ranks the
resources based on their relevance to the query and on measures of
quality of the resources and provides search results that identify
the resources (e.g., links to the resources).
[0004] Some search systems also provide search queries related to
the search query submitted by the user to assist the user in
locating desired search results. The related search queries can be
based on, for example, known refinements to the search query (e.g.,
known from past search queries and refinements to those queries
from other users). These related search queries can be presented on
a search results page along with the search results responsive to
the search query submitted by the user.
[0005] In addition to providing search results and/or related
search results, the search system may also be provided
advertisements associated with the search query. For example, an
advertisement system can identify advertisements for the search
query and provide the advertisements to the search system. These
advertisements can be presented on the search results page along
with the search results and the related search queries.
SUMMARY
[0006] In general, the subject matter of this specification relates
to systems and methods for providing advertisements responsive to
related search queries.
[0007] In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in
this specification can be implemented in methods that include
receiving in a computer system a first search query; receiving in
the computer system related search queries, each related search
query being related to the first search query; for each related
search query, identifying by the computer system advertisements
responsive to the related search query; and providing a subset of
the advertisements identified from the related search queries and
providing the related search queries for presentation in a first
search results page with first search results responsive to the
first search query on a client device; wherein selection of a
related search query from the first search results page causes a
second search results page with second search results responsive to
the selected related search query to be requested by the client
device. This and other implementations of this aspect include
corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer program
products.
[0008] Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in
this specification can be implemented so as to realize one or more
of the following advantages. Advertisements identified from related
search queries can be presented to the user without the user having
to first select one or more of the related search queries. As the
related queries are refined queries that are more targeted to
users' interests, the advertisements that are responsive to the
related queries are likewise more targeted to the users' interests.
Thus, the number of relevant advertisements presented to a user in
response to a search query submitted by the user can be increased.
The related advertisements can optionally be presented with the
related queries to indicate that the advertisements are responsive
to queries that are likely more targeted than the user's query.
[0009] Such selection and presentation of advertisements resolves
the problem that some generic keywords do not result in the
identification of a sufficient number of high quality
advertisements for presentation. Additionally, by positioning the
related advertisements at the bottom of the page, underneath the
related queries, the related advertisements are visually
distinguished from the advertisements that are responsive to the
query submitted by the user. Such positioning also takes advantage
of the observed behavior that users tend to glance to the bottom of
a page when they are not satisfied with the search results or
advertisements presented in response to the query submitted by the
user.
[0010] The details of one or more implementations of the subject
matter described in this specification are set forth in the
accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features,
aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent
from the description, the drawings, and the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example environment in which
advertisements identified from related search queries can be
provided.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a screenshot of an example search results page
presenting advertisements identified from related search
queries.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an example process for providing
the advertisements identified from search queries related to a
submitted search query for display on a search results page
responsive to the submitted search query.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an example process for ranking
advertisements identified from a related search query relative only
to other advertisements identified from the related search
query.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an example process for ranking
advertisements identified from a related search query relative to
all other advertisements identified from the related search
queries.
[0016] FIG. 6 is a chart of an example process for ranking
advertisements identified from related search queries based on
performance measures of the advertisements and performance measures
of the related search queries.
[0017] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an example process for providing
advertisements identified from a submitted search query with the
advertisements identified from related search queries.
[0018] FIG. 8 is a flow chart of an example process for precluding
selection of an advertisement for display based on a selected
related search query.
[0019] FIG. 9 is block diagram of an example computer processing
system that can be used to provide advertisements identified from
related search queries for presentation with search results
responsive to a submitted search query.
[0020] Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like
elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] This disclosure relates to identifying advertisements
responsive to search queries related to a submitted search query,
and providing the advertisements from the related search queries
for display on a search results page for the submitted search
query. A submitted search query ("first search query") is a search
query submitted during a current user search session. A related
search query is a search query that is determined to be or
classified as related or similar to the submitted search query. A
related search query can be, for example, determined from past
refinements by users to the submitted search query or similar
search queries to obtain a desired search result.
[0022] Advertisements are identified from the submitted search
query and from the related search queries. In some implementations,
the advertisements identified from the submitted search query are
presented on a first portion of a search results page, e.g., on a
right hand side of the page or on a top section of the page, and
the advertisements identified from the related search queries,
which are referred to as "related advertisements," are presented on
a second portion of the page, e.g., the bottom of the page and/or
adjacent to a list of several related search queries.
.sctn.1.0 Example Advertising Environment
[0023] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example environment 100 in
which advertisements identified from related search queries can be
provided. The example environment 100 includes a network 102, e.g.,
a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the Internet,
or a combination of them, publishers 104, user/client devices 106,
a search system 110, and an advertisement management system 120.
The environment 100 may include many thousands of web sites 104 and
user devices 106.
[0024] One or more advertisers 105 can directly, or indirectly,
enter, maintain, and track advertisement information in the
advertisement management system 120. The advertisements can be in
the form of graphical advertisements, such as banner
advertisements, text only advertisements, image advertisements,
audio advertisements, video advertisements, advertisement gadgets
with or without interactive features, advertisements combining one
or more of any of such components, etc., or any other type of
electronic advertisement document.
[0025] A web site 104 is a one or more web page resources 103
associated with a domain name, and each web site is hosted by one
or more servers. An example web site is a collection of web pages
formatted in hypertext markup language (HTML) that can contain
text, graphic images, multimedia content, and programming elements,
such as scripts. Each web site 104 is maintained by a publisher,
e.g., an entity that manages and/or owns the web site. For brevity,
the term "publisher" will also be used to refer to a web site 104
that is managed and/or owned by the publisher.
[0026] A resource 103 is any data that can be provided by the web
site over the network 102 and that is associated with a resource
address. Resources include HTML pages, word processing documents,
and portable document format (PDF) documents, images, video, and
feed sources, to name just a few. For the purposes herein, the term
"web page resource", or simply "web page", will be used to describe
resources that are accessed through a web browser or similar type
of application for display on a user device. Web pages include
content, e.g., words, phrases, images and sounds and may include
embedded information (e.g., meta information and hyperlinks) and/or
embedded instructions (e.g., JavaScript scripts). The web pages are
stored and retrieved from web servers that host the web page, and
are typically requested and served from the web server using
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
[0027] A user device 106 is an electronic device that is under
control of a user and is capable of requesting and receiving
resources over the network 102. Example user devices 106 include
personal computers, mobile communication devices, and other devices
that can send and receive data over the network 102. A user device
106 typically includes a user application, e.g., a web browser, to
facilitate the sending and receiving of data over the network
102.
[0028] The advertisements can include embedded links to landing
pages, i.e., web pages on the advertisers websites that a user is
directed to when the user clicks an advertisement presented on a
website.
[0029] To facilitate searching of resources, the search system 110
identifies the resources by crawling and indexing the resources
provided by the web sites 104. Data about the resources can be
indexed based on the resource to which the data corresponds.
[0030] The user devices 106 submit search queries 109 to the search
system 110. In response, the search system 110 identifies resources
that are relevant to the search query 109. The search system 110
generates search results 111 that identify the relevant resources,
and returns the search results 111 to the user devices 106. The
search results 111 can be presented on a search results page. The
search results page can also include advertisements relevant to the
search query 109. The advertisements can be provided by the
advertisement management system 120. A search result 111 is data
generated by the search system 110 that identifies a resource that
is responsive to a particular search query, and often includes a
link to the resource. An example search result 111 can include a
web page title, a snippet of text or a portion of an image
extracted from the web page, and the URL of the web page.
[0031] The search system 110 also submits a request for
advertisements to the advertisement management system 120. The
request may include the number of advertisements desired. This
number may depend on the search results, the amount of screen or
page space occupied by the search results, the size and shape of
the advertisements, etc. The request for advertisement also
includes the search query (as entered or parsed), and information
based on the search query, including related search queries.
[0032] The advertisement management system 120 processes the
submitted search query and related search queries to identify
advertisements responsive to the submitted search query and the
related search queries, and provides the advertisements to the
search system 110. The search system 110 combines the search
results with the advertisements, as described below, and sends the
combined search results and advertisements to the user device 106
from which the submitted search query was received.
[0033] The user devices 106 receive the search results, e.g., in
the form of one or more web pages, and render the pages for
presentation to users. In response to the user selecting a link in
a search result at a user device 106, the user device 106 requests
the resource identified by the link. The web site hosting the
resource receives the request for the resource from the user device
106 and provides the resource to the requesting user device
106.
[0034] Search queries 109 submitted during user sessions are stored
in a data store such as the historical data store 114. Selection
data specifying actions taken in response to search results
provided are also stored in the historical data store 114. These
actions can include whether a search result was selected, or
whether other content on the search results page was selected
(e.g., advertisements or related search queries).
[0035] Refinement data specifying refinements to search queries are
also stored in the historical data store 114. The refinement data
provide an index of search queries and related search queries.
There are many different ways to determine related search queries
for a search query. For example, query logs can be processed to
determine the order in which users submitted search queries, and
click logs can be processed to determine the click through rate of
the search queries. Related search queries can be, for example,
search queries that are related to a submitted search query by
keywords associated with the queries and/or by the subject matter
or the topic of the queries.
[0036] The advertisement management system 120 includes a search
query identification subsystem 122 that is in data communication
with the search system 110 and receives the submitted search query
and the related search queries from the search system 110. The
search query identification subsystem 122 then identifies the
submitted search query and the related search queries provided from
the search system 110.
[0037] The advertisement management system 120 also includes an
advertisement selection subsystem 124 that identifies
advertisements responsive to the submitted search query and the
related search queries. In some implementations, the selection
subsystem 124 is an auction process that selects advertisements.
Each advertiser is permitted to bid an amount the advertiser is
willing to pay for actions related to an advertisement, e.g., a
cost-per-click amount an advertiser pays when, for example, a user
clicks on an advertisement. The cost-per-click is typically a
maximum cost-per-click, e.g., the maximum amount the advertiser is
willing to pay for each click of an advertisement based on a
keyword.
[0038] The rank of an advertisement that is displayed can be
determined by multiplying the maximum cost-per-click for the
advertisement by a quality score of the advertisement. The quality
score for an advertisement is proportional to one or more
performance metrics, such as click through rate of the
advertisement. Additionally, the quality score can vary with the
particular keywords related to the submitted query. For example, a
keyword that results in a high click through rate for an
advertisement can increase the quality score of the advertisement
for that keyword, while a keyword that results in a low click
through rate for an advertisement can decrease the quality score of
the advertisement for that keyword.
[0039] The advertisements are then placed among other
advertisements in order of increasing or decreasing rank. For
example, suppose the quality score of advertisements A, B, and C
and the maximum cost-per-clicks for advertisements A, B, and C are
"3," "1," and "1," and "$.50," "$.75," and "$1.00," respectively.
The rank of advertisement A, B, and C can be determined as
follows:
A: Rank=quality score.times.maximum
cost-per-click=3.0.times.$.50=1.50
B: Rank=quality score.times.maximum
cost-per-click=1.0.times.$.75=.75
C: Rank=quality score.times.maximum
cost-per-click=1.0.times.$1.00=1.00
[0040] The advertisements can be ranked as follows:
[0041] 1. A
[0042] 2. C
[0043] 3. B
[0044] The advertisement selection subsystem 124 processes the
submitted search query to identify advertisements that are
responsive to the submitted search query, and also processes the
related search queries to identify related advertisements that are
responsive to the related search queries. In some implementations,
the related advertisements are identified as a set of
advertisements that are presented separately from the
advertisements that are responsive to the submitted search
queries.
[0045] In some implementations, the advertisement selection
subsystem 124 can provide the advertisements identified from the
related search queries, or a subset thereof, to the search system
110 for presentation with search results 111 responsive to the
submitted search query. The advertisements that are provided can be
accessed from a data store, e.g., the advertisement data store
126.
.sctn.2.0 Example Presentation of Advertisements from Related
Search Queries
[0046] FIG. 2 is a screenshot of an example search results page 200
presenting advertisements identified from related search queries.
Search results page 200, for example, can be provided for display
on a user device 106 in response to a user using the user device
106 to submit a search query 209 for "food" to the search system
110. The search results page 200 includes search results 212 for
the food search query. For example, the search results 212 identify
resources 103 (e.g., web pages) such as the "Example Food
Website.com," and "Food-Example Encyclopedia."
[0047] The search results page 200 can also include advertisements
214 specifically selected based on the search query for "food"
(e.g., advertisements selected based on the keyword "food" or
keywords similar to "food"). For example, the advertisements 214
include advertisements for "Restaurant Delivery," and "Food."
[0048] The search results page 200 also includes search queries 216
related to the submitted search query for "food." For example, the
related search queries 216 include "pictures of food," "recipe,"
"italian food," "types of food," "food names," "food magazine,"
"food history," and "desserts." As described above, such related
search queries can be determined by the search system 110 and
received from the search system 110. For example, using one of
several data mining techniques, the search system 110 can access
search query refinements from other users that submitted the same
or similar search queries to identify related search queries.
[0049] Advertisements 218 identified from the related search
queries can also be presented on the search results page 200. These
advertisements are, for example, identified using the same auction
process that is used to identify the advertisements 214 for the
submitted search query 209. For example, the advertisements 218
include advertisements for "Recipes," which is an advertisement
from the related search query "recipe;" "Italian Restaurant," which
is an advertisement from the related search query "italian food;"
and "Example Food Magazines," which is an advertisement from the
related search query "food magazine." Although the search and
search results page 200 are directed to a search for web pages, the
system and methods disclosed in this specification are applicable
to any vertical search system (e.g., image searches).
[0050] The advertisements 218 identified from the related search
queries 216 are presented to the user without the user having to
first select one or more of the related search queries. As the
related queries are derived from refined queries, the latter being
a signal of targeted user interests, the advertisements that are
responsive to the related queries are likewise more targeted to the
targeted user interests. Thus, the number of relevant
advertisements presented to a user in response to a search query
submitted by the user can be increased.
[0051] Such selection and presentation of advertisements resolves
the problem that some generic keywords do not result in the
identification of a sufficient number of high quality
advertisements for presentation (e.g., by providing additional
advertisements that would not be identified for the submitted
search query). Additionally, by positioning the related
advertisements at the bottom of the page, beneath or adjacent to
the related search queries, the related advertisements are visually
distinguished from the advertisements that are responsive to the
query input by the user. Such positioning also takes advantage of
the observed behavior that users tend to glance to the bottom of a
page when they are not satisfied with the search results or
advertisements presented in response to the search query submitted
by the user.
.sctn.3.0 Example Process for Providing Advertisements from Related
Search Queries
[0052] FIG. 3 is flow chart of an example process 300 for providing
the advertisements identified from search queries related to a
submitted search query for display on a search results page
responsive to the submitted search query. The process 300 can be
implemented, for example, by the advertisement management system
120 or by the advertisement management system 120 and the search
system 110.
[0053] A first search query is received (302). A first search query
is a search query submitted by a user of a user device 106 to the
search system 110. The first search query can be the initial search
query submitted by the user during a user search session or any
subsequent search query submitted by the user during the user
search session. For example, the search query identification
subsystem 122 can receive a first search query submitted to the
search system 110, e.g., by receiving the submitted query from the
search system 110 as part of an advertisement request.
[0054] Related search queries are received (304). Each related
search query is related to the first search query. Related search
queries are, for example, identified by the search system 110 from
past user search session data, and are received by the search query
identification subsystem 122, e.g., by receiving the related
queries from the search system 110 as part of an advertisement
request.
[0055] Advertisements responsive to the first search query are
identified (306). The advertisements can be identified by
conducting an auction for the first search query. The advertisement
selection subsystem 124 can, for example, identify advertisements
responsive to the first search query.
[0056] For each related search query, advertisements responsive to
the related search query are identified (308). As described above,
the advertisements can be identified by conducting an auction for
each related search query in the same manner that the auction is
conducted for the submitted search query. For example, the
advertisement selection subsystem 124 can identify advertisements
responsive to the related search query.
[0057] Advertisements identified from the first search query are
provided for presentation with first search results responsive to
the first search query (310). The advertisement selection subsystem
124 can, for example, identify advertisements from the first search
query to provide for presentation in a first search results page
with first search results responsive to the first search query.
[0058] A subset of the advertisements identified from the related
search queries and the related search queries are provided for
presentation in the first search results page with the first search
results responsive to the first search query (312). For example,
the advertisement selection subsystem 124 can identify a subset of
the advertisements from the related search queries to provide for
presentation in the first search results page. Selection of a
related search query from the first search results page can cause a
second search results page with second search results responsive to
the selected related search query to be requested by the client
device. For example, selecting a related search query 216 results
in the client device 106 requesting a second search results page
with search results responsive to the related search query 216.
[0059] The subset of advertisements may include all of the
identified advertisements or a proper subset of all of the
identified advertisements. A proper subset of the advertisements
may be selected based on numerous criteria. For example, the
advertisements identified from the related search queries can be
ranked, and the subset of the advertisements can be selected based
on the ranking of the advertisements, as described below with
reference to FIGS. 4-6. The rankings described with reference to
FIGS. 4-6 are used for selecting which advertisements identified
from the related search queries are to be presented on the first
search results page, and are generally distinct from the rankings
of the auction process used to initially identify the
advertisements.
[0060] In some scenarios, depending on the first search query,
advertisements responsive to the first search query may not always
be available. If the first search query is, for example, too
generic or focused, the query may not trigger any advertisements.
For example, a submitted search query for "stuff" may be too
generic to trigger an advertisement. However, advertisements
identified from the related search queries can still be provided
for display with the search results (e.g., on search results page
200) even if no advertisements are identified from the first search
query.
[0061] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an example process 400 for ranking
advertisements identified from a related search query relative only
to other advertisements identified from the related search query.
The process 400 can be implemented in the advertisement selection
subsystem 124.
[0062] For each related search query, the advertisements identified
from the related search query are ranked relative only to other
advertisements identified from the related search query (402). In
other words, a group of advertisements identified from a related
search query are ranked independently of other groups of
advertisements identified from other related search queries. For
example, for a particular submitted search query advertisements A,
B and C may be identified from related search query 1,
advertisements D, E, F and G may be identified from related search
query 2, and advertisements H and I may be identified from related
search query 3, as shown in Table 1 below:
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Query Ads Query 1 (Related) A, B, C Query 2
(Related) D, E, F, G Query 3 (Related) H, I
[0063] Advertisements A, B and C are ranked relative to only each
other, i.e., the rankings of advertisements D, E, F and G and H and
I do not affect the rankings of advertisements A, B and C and
vice-versa. The advertisement selection subsystem 124 can, for
example, rank advertisements identified from a related search query
relative only to other advertisements identified from the related
search query.
[0064] A highest ranked advertisement for each of at least two of
the related search queries is selected (404). Thus a first
advertisement is selected from the advertisements identified from a
first related search query (i.e., advertisement A from related
search query 1, the highest ranked advertisement from the first
related search query) and a second advertisement is selected from
the advertisements identified from a second related search query
(i.e., advertisement D from related search query 2, the highest
ranked advertisement from the second related search query). Other
highest ranked advertisements can also be selected from other
related search queries. These highest ranked advertisements form
the subset of the advertisements identified from the related search
queries that are provided for presentation with the search results.
The advertisement selection subsystem 124 can, for example, select
a highest ranked advertisement for each of at least two of the
related search queries. The ranking of an advertisement is
explained below with reference to FIG. 6.
[0065] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an example process 500 for ranking
advertisements identified from a related search query relative to
all other advertisements identified from the related search
queries. The process 500 can be implemented in the advertisement
selection subsystem 124, and can be used as an alternative to the
process 400 of FIG. 4.
[0066] Each advertisement identified from the related search
queries is ranked relative to all other advertisements identified
from the related search queries (502). Thus every advertisement
identified from a related search query is ranked in light of all
advertisements identified from all other related search queries.
For example, with reference to Table 1 above, each of the
advertisement A-I would be ranked relative to all other
advertisements A-I. The advertisement selection subsystem 124 can,
for example, rank each advertisement identified from the related
search queries relative to all other advertisements identified from
the related search queries.
[0067] A subset of highest ranked advertisements is selected from
all advertisements identified from the related search queries
(504). For example, if the advertisements for the related search
queries of Table 1 are ranked (from highest to lowest) as A, E, B,
D, H, I, F, C and G, the subset of highest ranked advertisements
can include A, E, B, D, and H. The advertisement selection
subsystem 124 can, for example, select a subset of highest ranked
advertisement from all advertisements identified from the related
search queries.
[0068] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an example process 600 for ranking
advertisements identified from related search queries based on
performance measures of the advertisements and performance measures
of the related search queries. The process 600 can be implemented
in the advertisement selection subsystem 124.
[0069] For each related search query and advertisement identified
from the related search query, receive a performance measure of the
advertisement and a performance measure of the related search query
(602). The performance measure of the advertisement can be, for
example, a click-through-rate of the advertisement, a conversion
rate of the advertisement, or the like. The performance measure of
the related search query can be, for example, a click-through rate
of the related search query when presented on a search results page
for a search query to which the related search query is related.
The advertisement selection subsystem 124 can, for example, receive
the performance measures.
[0070] A rank score for the advertisement based on the performance
measure of the advertisement and the performance measure of the
related search query is generated (604). The rank score of the
advertisement can, for example, be based on the click-through rates
(CTR) of the advertisement and related search query. For example,
the rank score RS for the advertisements from related search
queries 2 and 3 of Table 1 can be determined by the following
equations:
RS(A2.sub.i)=(CTR(Query 2)*CTR(Ad.sub.i),i=1 . . . 4
RS(A3.sub.j)=(CTR(Query 3)*CTR(Ad.sub.j),j=1, 2
Where Ad.sub.i for i=1 . . . 4 correspond to advertisements D, E, F
and G, respectively, and Ad.sub.j for j=1 and 2 correspond to
advertisements H and I, respectively. The advertisement selection
subsystem 124 can, for example, generate the rank scores.
[0071] The ranking of the advertisements can be based on the rank
scores of the advertisements. A highest ranked advertisement is an
advertisement having a highest value of the multiplication of the
click-through rate of the advertisement by the click-through rate
of the related search query. If the process 400 is used, then, for
example, at least one highest ranked advertisement based on the
rank scores of A2.sub.i will be selected, and at least one highest
ranked advertisement based on the rank scores of A3.sub.j will be
selected, ensuring that at least one advertisement for each of the
related queries 2 and 3 are selected. Conversely, if the process
500 is used, then, for example, the highest ranked advertisements
based on all the rank scores of A2.sub.i and A3.sub.j will be
selected. This latter ranking process does not ensure that an
advertisement from each of the related search queries is selected;
instead, the advertisements are selected based solely on their rank
scores.
[0072] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an example process 700 for
providing advertisements identified from a submitted search query
with the advertisements identified from related search queries. The
process 700 can be implemented in the advertisement selection
subsystem 124.
[0073] Advertisements responsive to the first search query are
identified (702). The identified advertisements are advertisements
that are to be presented for display on a user device based on the
first search query (e.g., submitted search query).
[0074] The advertisements identified from the first search query
are provided for concurrent display with the subset of the
advertisements (704). Thus both the advertisements identified from
the first search query and the advertisements identified from the
related search queries (or a subset thereof) are provided for
concurrent (simultaneous) display on a user device. For example
advertisements 218 (i.e., advertisements identified from the
related search queries) and advertisements 214 (i.e.,
advertisements identified from the first search query) of FIG. 2
are concurrently displayed on the search results page 200.
[0075] In some implementations, the related search queries are
displayed below the search results from the first search query and
the subset of the advertisements are provided for display below the
search results and the related search queries. For example, with
reference to FIG. 2, the related search queries 216 are displayed
below the search results 212 and the advertisements identified from
the related search queries 218 are displayed below both the search
results 212 and related search queries 216. The search system 110
and/or the advertisement management system 120, for example, can
cause the display of related search queries below the search
results from the first search query and the display of the subset
of the advertisements 218 below the search results and the related
search queries. The subset of advertisements 218 can also, or
alternatively, be displayed proximate (e.g., below, above, or
among) the advertisements 214. For example, the advertisements 218
can be displayed on the right hand side of the search results page
with the advertisements 214.
[0076] FIG. 8 is a flow chart of an example process 800 for
precluding selection of an advertisement for display based on a
selected related search query. The process 800 is used to select
advertisements for display on a subsequent search results page when
a user selects a related search query presented on a first search
results page.
[0077] A selection of a related search query is identified (802).
After a search results page responsive to a submitted search query
is presented to a user, the user may select a related search query
(e.g., if the user is not satisfied with the search results from
the first search query). The selection of this related search query
can be identified, for example, by the advertisement management
system 120, as it is in data communication with the search system
110.
[0078] The advertisement management system 120 determines whether
an advertisement identified from the selected related search query
is one of the advertisements in the subset of the advertisements
presented on the search results page (804). As described above,
advertisements 218 on search results page 200 are only from three
of the eight related search queries (i.e., "recipe," "italian
food," and "food magazine"). If the selected related search query
is one of three related search queries with a corresponding
advertisement displayed, then the advertisement management system
determines that an advertisement identified from the selected
related search query is one of the advertisements in the
subset.
[0079] If an advertisement identified from the selected related
search query is determined to be one of the advertisements in the
subset, then selection of the advertisement for display with
subsequent search results responsive to the selected related search
query is precluded (806). Failure of the user to select an
advertisement over the advertisement's related search query can be
interpreted as a signal that the user would not select the
advertisement on a search results page generated in response to the
related search query. Thus, the advertisement is not shown on the
search results page resulting from the selection of the related
search query. For example, with reference to FIG. 2, if the related
search query for "italian food" is selected then the advertisement
for "Italian Restaurant" is precluded from being provided for
display on the search results page having search results for the
search query "italian food."
[0080] Selection of the advertisement can be precluded by reducing
the rank of the advertisement, removing the advertisement from the
list of possible advertisements to be provided, or the like. The
advertisement management system 120 can, for example, preclude the
selection of the advertisement for display with subsequent search
results responsive to the selected related search query if the
advertisement identified from the selected related search query is
determined to be one of the advertisements in the subset of the
advertisements.
.sctn.4.0 Example Processing System
[0081] FIG. 9 is block diagram of an example computer processing
system 900 that can be used to provide advertisements identified
from related search queries for presentation with search results
responsive to a submitted search query. The system 900 can be used
to realize a variety of different types of computer devices, such
as the user devices 106 or server and computer devices on which the
advertisement management system 120 and the search system 110 are
implemented.
[0082] The system 900 includes a processor 910, a memory 920, a
storage device 930, and an input/output device 940. Each of the
components 910, 920, 930, and 940 can, for example, be
interconnected using a system bus 980. The processor 910 is capable
of processing instructions for execution within the system 900. In
one implementation, the processor 910 is a single-threaded
processor. In another implementation, the processor 910 is a
multi-threaded processor. The processor 910 is capable of
processing instructions stored in the memory 920 or on the storage
device 930.
[0083] The memory 920 stores information within the system 900. In
one implementation, the memory 920 is a computer-readable medium.
In one implementation, the memory 920 is a volatile memory unit. In
another implementation, the memory 920 is a non-volatile memory
unit.
[0084] The storage device 930 is capable of providing mass storage
for the system 900. In one implementation, the storage device 930
is a computer-readable medium. In various different
implementations, the storage device 930 can, for example, include a
hard disk device, an optical disk device, or some other large
capacity storage device.
[0085] The input/output device 940 provides input/output operations
for the system 900. In one implementation, the input/output device
940 can include one or more of a network interface devices, e.g.,
an Ethernet card, a serial communication device, e.g., and RS-232
port, and/or a wireless interface device, e.g., an 802.11 card. In
another implementation, the input/output device can include driver
devices configured to receive input data and send output data to
other input/output devices, e.g., keyboard, printer and display
devices 960. Other implementations, however, can also be used, such
as mobile computing devices, mobile communication devices, etc.
[0086] Although an example processing system has been described in
FIG. 9, embodiments of the subject matter and the functional
operations described in this specification can be implemented in
other digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software,
firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this
specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations
of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matter described
in this specification can be implemented as one or more computer
program products, i.e., one or more modules of computer program
instructions encoded on a computer readable medium for execution
by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. The
computer readable medium can be a machine readable storage device,
a machine readable storage substrate, a memory device, or a
combination of one or more of them.
[0087] A computer program (also known as a program, software,
software application, script, or code) can be written in any form
of programming language, including compiled or interpreted
languages, or declarative or procedural languages, and it can be
deployed in any form, including as a stand alone program or as a
module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a
computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily
correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a
portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or
more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single
file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple
coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub
programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed
to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are
located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and
interconnected by a communication network.
[0088] Additionally, the logic flows and structure block diagrams
described in this patent document, which describe particular
methods and/or corresponding acts in support of steps and
corresponding functions in support of disclosed structural means,
may also be utilized to implement corresponding software structures
and algorithms, and equivalents thereof. The processes and logic
flows described in this specification can be performed by one or
more programmable processors executing one or more computer
programs to perform functions by operating on input data and
generating output.
[0089] Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program
include, by way of example, both general and special purpose
microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of
digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions
and data from a read only memory or a random access memory or both.
The essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing
instructions and one or more memory devices for storing
instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or
be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or
both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g.,
magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. However, a
computer need not have such devices.
[0090] Computer readable media suitable for storing computer
program instructions and data include all forms of non volatile
memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example
semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory
devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable
disks; magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD ROM disks. The
processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated
in, special purpose logic circuitry.
[0091] The computing system can include clients and servers. A
client and server are generally remote from each other and
typically interact through a communication network. The
relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer
programs running on the respective computers and having a client
server relationship to each other.
[0092] While this specification contains many specific
implementation details, these should not be construed as
limitations on the scope of any invention or of what may be
claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be
specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions.
Certain features that are described in this specification in the
context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in
combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features
that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also
be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any
suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be
described above as acting in certain combinations and even
initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed
combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and
the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or
variation of a subcombination.
[0093] Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in
a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that
such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in
sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed,
to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances,
multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover,
the separation of various system components in the embodiments
described above should not be understood as requiring such
separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the
described program components and systems can generally be
integrated together in a single software product or packaged into
multiple software products.
[0094] Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in
this specification have been described. Other embodiments are
within the scope of the following claims. For example, the actions
recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and
still achieve desirable results. As one example, the processes
depicted in the accompanying Figures do not necessarily require the
particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable
results. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallel
processing may be advantageous.
[0095] This written description sets forth the best mode of the
invention and provides examples to describe the invention and to
enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the
invention. This written description does not limit the invention to
the precise terms set forth. Thus, while the invention has been
described in detail with reference to the examples set forth above,
those of ordinary skill in the art may effect alterations,
modifications and variations to the examples without departing from
the scope of the invention.
* * * * *