U.S. patent application number 15/149723 was filed with the patent office on 2016-09-01 for ranked navigation element.
The applicant listed for this patent is Amazon Technologies, Inc.. Invention is credited to Anoop Balakrishnan, Catherine Lewis Beaudoin, Mark Chien, Stacy Colasurdo, James Michael Healey, III, Christopher Philip Jordan, Chi Ming Kan, Jerome Paul.
Application Number | 20160253332 15/149723 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53540155 |
Filed Date | 2016-09-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160253332 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Balakrishnan; Anoop ; et
al. |
September 1, 2016 |
RANKED NAVIGATION ELEMENT
Abstract
Disclosed are various embodiments for a navigation element
generation application. A navigation element comprising a plurality
of navigation aids is generated responsive to a search query and
other data. A relevance score is calculated for the navigation
element. The navigation element is inserted into a ranked list of
search result items as a function of the relevance score and
communicated to a client.
Inventors: |
Balakrishnan; Anoop;
(Seattle, WA) ; Chien; Mark; (Bellevue, WA)
; Jordan; Christopher Philip; (Bellevue, WA) ;
Paul; Jerome; (Seattle, WA) ; Healey, III; James
Michael; (Seattle, WA) ; Kan; Chi Ming;
(Seattle, WA) ; Beaudoin; Catherine Lewis;
(Seattle, WA) ; Colasurdo; Stacy; (Kirkland,
WA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Amazon Technologies, Inc. |
Seattle |
WA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
53540155 |
Appl. No.: |
15/149723 |
Filed: |
May 9, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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14802211 |
Jul 17, 2015 |
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15149723 |
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13710944 |
Dec 11, 2012 |
9087097 |
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14802211 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
707/728 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/9535 20190101;
G06Q 30/0625 20130101; G06F 16/29 20190101; G06F 16/245 20190101;
G06F 16/24578 20190101; G06F 16/285 20190101 |
International
Class: |
G06F 17/30 20060101
G06F017/30; G06Q 30/06 20060101 G06Q030/06 |
Claims
1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying a program
executable in at least one computing device, the program, when
executed by the at least one computing device, causing the at least
one computing device to at least: generate, from a plurality of
items, a plurality of search results responsive to a search query,
each of the plurality of search results having a corresponding one
of a plurality of relevance scores; generate a navigation element
as a function of the search query, the navigation element
comprising a plurality of navigation links each directed to a
respective subset of the plurality of items; generate a ranked list
comprising the navigation element as ranked within the plurality of
search results as a function of the plurality of relevance scores
for the plurality of search results and another relevance score for
the navigation element; and communicate at least a subset of the
ranked list to a client.
2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein
the program, when executed, further causes the at least one
computing device to exclude the navigation element from the subset
of the ranked list responsive to a placement of the navigation
element in the ranked list falling below a threshold.
3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein
each of the navigation links corresponds to at least one rule, and
each of the navigation links are directed to the respective subset
of the plurality of items as satisfying the corresponding at least
one rule.
4. A system, comprising: at least one computing device comprising
at least one processor and memory storing instructions executable
by the at least one processor, the instructions, when executed,
causing the at least one computing device to at least: generate,
from a plurality of items, a plurality of search results responsive
to a search query, each of the plurality of search results having a
corresponding one of a plurality of relevance scores; generate a
navigation element as a function of the search query, the
navigation element comprising a plurality of navigation links each
directed to a respective subset of the plurality of items; rank the
navigation element within the plurality of search results as a
function of the plurality of relevance scores for the plurality of
search results and another relevance score for the navigation
element; and communicate at least a subset of the plurality of
search results and the navigation element to a client.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the navigation element is further
generated as a function of a purchased placement of one of the
navigation links in the navigation element.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein the instructions further cause
the at least one computing device to at least select the navigation
links for inclusion in the navigation element from a plurality of
potential navigation links.
7. The system of claim 5, wherein selecting the navigation links
for inclusion in the navigation element from the plurality of
potential navigation links comprises: calculating, for each of the
plurality of potential navigation links, a respective one of a
plurality of confidence scores; and selecting, for inclusion in the
navigation element, at least one of the potential navigation links
having a highest respective one of the plurality of confidence
scores.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the confidence scores are
calculated as a function of a browse history corresponding to the
client.
9. The system of claim 7, wherein the confidence scores are
calculated as a function of a purchase history corresponding to the
client.
10. The system of claim 7, wherein selecting the navigation links
for inclusion in the navigation element from the plurality of
potential navigation links comprises determining an ordering of the
navigation links in the navigation element based at least in part
on the plurality of confidence scores.
11. The system of claim 4, wherein generating the navigation
element comprises generating the navigation element based at least
in part on a previously calculated relevance score for a previously
generated navigation element.
12. The system of claim 4, wherein the instructions further cause
the at least one computing device to calculate the other relevance
score for the navigation element based at least in part on data
used to generate the navigation element.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the data comprises at least one
of a browse history, a purchase history, or domain knowledge used
to generate the navigation element.
14. A method, comprising: generating, by at least one computing
device, from a plurality of items, a plurality of search results
responsive to a search query, each of the plurality of search
results having a corresponding one of a plurality of relevance
scores; generating, by the at least one computing device, a
navigation element as a function of the search query, the
navigation element comprising a plurality of navigation links each
directed to a respective subset of the plurality of items;
generating, by the at least one computing device, a ranked list
comprising the navigation element as ranked within the plurality of
search results as a function of the plurality of relevance scores
for the plurality of search results and another relevance score for
the navigation element; and communicating, by the at least one
computing device, at least a subset of the ranked list to a
client.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising excluding, by the at
least one computing device, the navigation element from the subset
of the ranked list responsive to a placement of the navigation
element in the ranked list falling below a threshold.
16. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of items are
encoded as a taxonomy comprising a plurality of taxonomy nodes, and
each of the navigation links are directed to a respective one of
the taxonomy nodes.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein each of the navigation links
corresponds to at least one rule, and each of the navigation links
are directed to the respective subset of the plurality of items as
satisfying the corresponding at least one rule.
18. The method of claim 14, further comprising calculating, by the
at least one computing device, the other relevance score for the
navigation element as a function of at least one previously
calculated relevance score.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the at least one previously
calculated relevance score corresponds to at least one previously
generated navigation element.
20. The method of claim 18, wherein generating, by the at least one
computing device, the navigation element comprises generating, by
the at least one computing device, the navigation element as a
function of the at least one previously calculated relevance score.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of and claims priority to
U.S. application Ser. No. 14/802,211 titled "RANKED NAVIGATION
ELEMENT", filed Jul. 17, 2015, which is a continuation of Ser. No.
13/710,944 titled "RANKED NAVIGATION ELEMENT", filed Dec. 11, 2012,
each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Navigation elements can be generated to link to relevant
subsets of a category of items. The content and placement of the
navigation elements should be dynamically generated to maximize
relevance and client interaction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0003] Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better
understood with reference to the following drawings. The components
in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead
being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the
disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals
designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
[0004] FIG. 1 is a drawing of a networked environment according to
various embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0005] FIG. 2 is a drawing of an example of a user interface
rendered by a client in the networked environment of FIG. 1
according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0006] FIG. 3 is a drawing of an example of a user interface
rendered by a client in the networked environment of FIG. 1
according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0007] FIG. 4 is a drawing of an example of a user interface
rendered by a client in the networked environment of FIG. 1
according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0008] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating one example of
functionality implemented as portions of a navigation element
generation application executed in a computing environment in the
networked environment of FIG. 1 according to various embodiments of
the present disclosure.
[0009] FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram that provides one
example illustration of a computing environment employed in the
networked environment of FIG. 1 according to various embodiments of
the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0010] Systems such as electronic commerce systems often maintain a
searchable catalog of items. Search results generated by the
electronic commerce system may contain a list of items ranked
according to generated relevance scores. A navigation element can
also be included amongst the list of items containing links to
relevant subsets of the catalog. For example, a search query may be
entered for "jeans." The list of items may contain those items
responsive to the query "jeans," including clothing items. A
navigation element may be inserted in a position within the ranked
list containing navigation aids such as links to lists jeans
belonging to particular brands, jeans of particular sizes, or other
subsets of jeans.
[0011] The navigation aids which comprise the navigation element
may be generated as a function of the search query. For example,
the search query "jeans" may result in navigation aids linking to
brands or sizes. As another example, the search query "tools" may
result in navigation aids linking to manufacturers of tools or
different types of tools. The navigation aids may also be generated
as a function of browsing history with respect to previously
generated navigation elements. For example, if previously generated
navigation elements had low click or browsing rates, then new
navigation aids may be included to maximize performance and
relevance. Other factors may also be used to generate the
navigation aids, such as domain knowledge of a customer, purchase
history, or other factors.
[0012] After the navigation element has been generated, a relevance
score can be calculated for the navigation element such that it can
be ranked within the list of products responsive to the search
query. Inclusion of the navigation element within network pages
embodying the ranked list may be responsive to a ranking of the
navigation element exceeding a threshold, or as a function of other
data.
[0013] In the following discussion, a general description of the
system and its components is provided, followed by a discussion of
the operation of the same.
[0014] With reference to FIG. 1, shown is a networked environment
100 according to various embodiments. The networked environment 100
includes a computing environment 101, a client 104, which are in
data communication with each other via a network 107. The network
107 includes, for example, the Internet, intranets, extranets, wide
area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wired networks,
wireless networks, or other suitable networks, etc., or any
combination of two or more such networks.
[0015] The computing environment 101 may comprise, for example, a
server computer or any other system providing computing capability.
Alternatively, the computing environment 101 may employ a plurality
of computing devices that may be employed that are arranged, for
example, in one or more server banks or computer banks or other
arrangements. Such computing devices may be located in a single
installation or may be distributed among many different
geographical locations. For example, the computing environment 101
may include a plurality of computing devices that together may
comprise a cloud computing resource, a grid computing resource,
and/or any other distributed computing arrangement. In some cases,
the computing environment 101 may correspond to an elastic
computing resource where the allotted capacity of processing,
network, storage, or other computing-related resources may vary
over time.
[0016] Various applications and/or other functionality may be
executed in the computing environment 101 according to various
embodiments. Also, various data is stored in a data store 111 that
is accessible to the computing environment 101. The data store 111
may be representative of a plurality of data stores 111 as can be
appreciated. The data stored in the data store 111, for example, is
associated with the operation of the various applications and/or
functional entities described below.
[0017] The components executed on the computing environment 101,
for example, include an electronic commerce system 114 having a
network page server application 115, a search application 117, and
a navigation element generation application 121, and other
applications, services, processes, systems, engines, or
functionality not discussed in detail herein.
[0018] The electronic commerce system 114 is executed in order to
facilitate the online purchase of items 127 over the network 107.
The electronic commerce system 114 also performs various backend
functions associated with the online presence of a merchant in
order to facilitate the online purchase of items 127 as will be
described. For example, the electronic commerce system 114
generates network pages such as web pages or other types of network
content that are provided to clients 104 for the purposes of
selecting items for purchase, rental, download, lease, or other
form of consumption as will be described. Such network pages are
communicated to the client 104 by the network page server
application 115.
[0019] The search application 117 facilitates the application of
search queries 131 communicated by a client 104 to a catalog 134 of
items 127 to generate search results 137 comprising those items 127
responsive to the search query 131. The navigation element
generation application 121 generates a navigation element 141
comprising a plurality of navigation aids 144 for insertion into
network pages comprising embodying search results 137. The
navigation aids 144 comprise links such as hyperlinks to subsets of
the catalog 134 relevant to the search query 131 and generated as a
function of the search query 131 and other data. The subsets of the
catalog 134 may be generated as those items 127 satisfying one or
more predefined rules defined with respect to a navigation aid 144
or satisfying one or more dynamically calculated rules defined with
respect to the navigation aid 144.
[0020] In some embodiments, the catalog 134 may organize the items
127 into a taxonomy model. In such an embodiment, the subsets of
the catalog 134 may be generated as a function of elements of the
taxonomy of items 127. The subsets of the catalog 134 may also be
generated by another approach.
[0021] The navigation element 141 may be generated as a function of
a search query 131. For example, a search query 131 for "jeans" may
generate a navigation element comprising navigation aids 144 each
corresponding to brands of jeans, sizes or jeans, price ranges of
jeans, or other subsets of jeans. A browsing event such as a click
would navigate the client 104 to a subset of the catalog 134
embodying those jeans items 127 belonging to the corresponding
brand, size, or other subset. As another example, a search query
131 for "tools" may generate a navigation element 141 comprising
navigation aids 144 each corresponding to manufacturers of tools,
types of tools such as hammers or wrenches, quality of tools, or
other subsets of tools.
[0022] As another example, a search query 131 may comprise one or
more search terms which correspond to an element in a taxonomy of
items 127. In such an embodiment, the search query 131 may generate
a navigation element 141 comprising navigation aids 144 each
corresponding to a subelement of the taxonomy element embodied in
the search term. For example, a taxonomy element may correspond to
a particular brand of tools, "CheapCo Tools." The taxonomy element
may be linked to subelements "CheapCo Hammers", "CheapCo
Screwdrivers", and "CheapCo Plows." In such an embodiment, a search
query 131 for "CheapCo tools and accessories" may generate a
navigation element 141 comprising navigation aids 144 corresponding
to the different subelements of the "CheapCo Tools" taxonomy
element. Other approaches may also be used to generate the
navigation element 141 as a function of the search query 131.
[0023] The navigation element 141 may also be generated as a
function of browsing activity with respect to previously generated
navigation elements 141. The browsing activity may correspond to
the client 104 or other customers of the electronic commerce system
114. For example, a previously generated navigation element 141
associated with the search query 131 "tools" may have resulted in
low click or browsing rates with respect to the component
navigation aids 144. A subsequently generated navigation element
141 may comprise different component navigation aids 144 or a
different ordering of the navigation aids 144 to entice a greater
click rate. As another example, a previously generated navigation
element 141 associated with the search query 131 "jeans" may have
resulted in a high click rate, and the subsequently generated
navigation element 141 may be similar or a duplicate of the
previously generated navigation element 141 to ensure a high click
rate. Browsing activity with respect to previously generated
navigation elements 141 may be used in another approach to generate
a navigation element 141.
[0024] Past purchases through the electronic commerce system 114
may also be used to generate the navigation element 141. The past
purchases may be with respect to the client 104. For example, if
the client 104 is associated with many past purchases of tools from
a particular manufacturer, a search query 131 "tools" may generate
a navigation element 141 comprising a navigation aid 144
corresponding to that particular manufacturer. As another example,
a client 104 may have past purchases of clothing belonging to a
particular size. The navigation element 141 may comprise navigation
aids 144 linking to subsets of the catalog 134 having that
previously purchased size. As another example, a client 104 may be
associated with past purchases of clothing from higher-end brands.
The navigation element 141 may comprise navigation elements 144
corresponding to those or other high-end clothing brands. Past
purchases with respect to the client 104 may also be used by
another approach.
[0025] The past purchases may also be with respect to the entirety
of a subset of customers of the electronic commerce system 114. For
example, if particular brands of jeans have a high purchase rate
across all customers, indicating popularity, then the navigation
element 141 may comprise navigation aids 144 corresponding to those
popular brands. Past purchases may be used by another approach to
generate the navigation element 121.
[0026] The navigation element 141 may also be generated as a
function of a purchased insertion of a navigation aid 144 into the
navigation element 141. For example, a manufacturer or brand may
purchase the rights to having a navigation aid 144 inserted into
navigation elements 141 generated in response to one or more search
queries 131, or generated by another approach.
[0027] Domain knowledge with respect to the client 104 may also be
used to generate the navigation element 141. Domain knowledge
comprises knowledge about the environment in which the client 104
operates. Domain knowledge may comprise temporal or location data
associated with operation of the client 104, attributes or
characteristics of customers or users associated with the client
104, or other data. For example, past purchases, known customer
data, or other data may indicate that the client 104 is associated
with a male customer. In such embodiments, the navigation element
141 may comprise navigation aids 144 linking to brands associated
with predominantly male clothing, or to a specifically designated
subset of the catalog 134 corresponding to male clothing. As
another example, the client 104 may be associated with a plurality
of customers comprising various age and gender combinations. In
such an embodiment, the navigation element 141 may comprise subsets
of the catalog 134 marketed towards one or more of the age and
gender combinations.
[0028] In another embodiment, domain knowledge relating to future
events may be used independently or in conjunction with other data
to generate the navigation element 141. For example, a search query
131 for "jackets" may generate a navigation element 141 comprising
navigation aids 144 linking to manufacturers of light jackets if
the search query 131 is communicated during or near the fall
season, and linking to heavy jackets or parkas during or near
winter. As another example, a client 104 may be known to be
associated with a customer having an adolescent daughter. A search
query 131 for "dresses" may generate a navigation element 141
comprising a navigation aid 144 linking to a subset of the catalog
for prom dresses if the search query 131 is communicated in the
spring. Future events may be used to generate the navigation
element 141 by another approach.
[0029] In some embodiments, the navigation element generation
application 121 may determine that a plurality of navigation aids
144 may be relevant to a navigation element 141, and the number of
relevant navigation aids 144 exceeds the number of maximum
navigation aids 144 which can be inserted into a navigation element
141. In such an embodiment, the navigation element generation
application 121 may calculate confidence scores each corresponding
to one of the plurality of navigation aids 144 and then select
those navigation aids 144 having the highest confidence scores for
inclusion into the navigation element 141.
[0030] Confidence scores may be generated as a function of domain
knowledge with respect to the client 104. For example, a navigation
aid 144 linking to plus-sized clothing may have a higher confidence
score for clients 104 known to be associated with a single customer
known to wear plus-sized clothing, but have a lower confidence
score for a client 104 associated with a plurality of customers of
unknown or varying clothing size. Confidence scores may be
generated as a function of past purchases, browsing activity, or
other data. As another example, a navigation aid 144 for
higher-quality expensive tools may have a higher confidence score
for a client 104 having only purchased expensive tools, but have a
lower confidence score for clients 104 having purchased tools from
a variety of price ranges. Confidence scores may also be generated
for navigation aids 144 by another approach.
[0031] After the navigation element 141 has been generated, a
relevance score is calculated for the navigation element 141 for
comparison to the relevance scores of the items 127 in the search
results 137. The relevance score of the navigation element 141 may
be calculated as a function of data used to generate the navigation
element 141 or the component navigation aids 144 such as browsing
activity, past purchases, or other data. Additionally, the
relevance scores of previously generated navigation elements 141
may also be used to generate the navigation element 141. For
example, a generated navigation element 141 may be distinct from a
previously generated navigation element 141 having a low relevance
score as an attempt to increase the relevance score. The relevance
score may be calculated by the navigation element generation
application 121, the search application 117, or other functionality
of the electronic commerce system 114.
[0032] Additionally, after the navigation element 141 has been
generated, the navigation element 141 is inserted into the search
results 137 as being ranked as a function of the relevance scores
of the navigation element 141 and the responsive items 127. The
insertion may be performed by the navigation element generation
application 121, the search application 117, or other functionality
of the electronic commerce system 114.
[0033] The data stored in the data store 111 includes, for example,
a catalog 134 comprising items 127, and potentially other data. The
catalog 134 comprises a searchable organization of items 127. The
catalog 134 may comprise indices, groupings if items 127 into
categories, logical relations of items 127 or groups of items 127
as a function of a taxonomy, or other data. Items 127 correspond to
data representative of products available for sale or rental
through the electronic commerce system 114. Items 127 may
correspond to physical goods, services, digital content, or other
products.
[0034] The client 104 is representative of a plurality of client
devices that may be coupled to the network 107. The client 104 may
comprise, for example, a processor-based system such as a computer
system. Such a computer system may be embodied in the form of a
desktop computer, a laptop computer, personal digital assistants,
cellular telephones, smartphones, set-top boxes, music players, web
pads, tablet computer systems, game consoles, electronic book
readers, or other devices with like capability.
[0035] The client 104 may be configured to execute various
applications such as a client application 147 and/or other
applications. The client application 147 may be executed in a
client 104, for example, to access network content served up by the
computing environment 101 and/or other servers. To this end, the
client application 147 may comprise, for example, a browser, a
dedicated application, etc. The client 104 may be configured to
execute applications beyond the client application 147 such as, for
example, email applications, social networking applications, word
processors, spreadsheets, and/or other applications.
[0036] Next, a general description of the operation of the various
components of the networked environment 100 is provided. To begin,
the client 104 communicates a search query 131 to the electronic
commerce system 114 via the network 107. Communicating the search
query 131 may be facilitated by a client application 147 or other
functionality executed on the client 104. The search application
117 generates a pool of items 127 from the catalog 134 that are
responsive to the search query 131. Next, the navigation element
generation application 121 generates a navigation element 141
comprising a plurality of navigation elements 144. The navigation
element generation application 121 generates the navigation element
141 as a function of at least the search query 131. The navigation
element generation application 121 may also generate the navigation
element 141 as a function of past purchases, browsing activity with
respect to previously generated navigation elements 141, domain
knowledge, relevance scores of previously generated navigation
elements 141, and potentially other data.
[0037] Generating the navigation element 141 may comprise
generating a plurality of navigation aids 144 for possible
inclusion in the navigation element 141, and then including a
subset of the plurality of the navigation aids 144. In such an
embodiment, the navigation element generation application 121 may
generate confidence values for each of the navigation aids 144 and
include those navigation aids 144 having the highest confidence
values. The confidence values may be generated as a function of
domain knowledge with respect to the client 104, past purchases,
browsing activity, or other data.
[0038] Next, the navigation element generation application 121
calculates a relevance score for the generated navigation element
141. The relevance score for the navigation element 141 may be
generated as a function of data from which the navigation element
141 was generated including past purchases, browsing activity,
domain knowledge, previously calculated relevance scores, or other
data. The relevance score for the navigation element 141 may be
calculated from data distinct from data from which the navigation
element 141 was generated.
[0039] After a relevance score has been calculated for the
navigation element 141, the navigation element 141 is ranked
amongst the pool of items 127 of the search results 137 as a
function of the relevance score of the navigation element 141 and
the relevance scores of the items 127. Next, the ranked list of the
search results 137 including the pool of items 127 and the
navigation element 141 are encoded as a network page by the network
page server application 115 and communicated to the client 104 via
the network 107. The network page is then rendered by a client
application 147 or other functionality executed on the client
104.
[0040] In some embodiments the navigation element 141 is excluded
from the search results 137 responsive to a ranking of the
navigation element 141 falling below a threshold. In other
embodiments in which the search results 137 are encoded into
multiple sequential network pages, the navigation element 141 is
excluded from the search results 137 responsive to a page number of
a network page comprising the navigation element 141 exceeding a
threshold. The threshold may be predefined or determined
[0041] Referring next to FIG. 2, shown is a user interface 201
generated by the electronic commerce system 114 (FIG. 1) embodying
a navigation element 141 (FIG. 1) generated by the navigation
element generation application 121 (FIG. 1) according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure. The user interface 201 may
comprise a network page generated by a network page server
application 115 (FIG. 1) and rendered by a browser client
application 147 (FIG. 1). In the alternative, the user interface
201 may comprise data encoded for rendering by a dedicated client
application 147.
[0042] Item 204 is a uniform resource locator (URL) input to
facilitate communication between the client 104 and the electronic
commerce system 114. Item 207 is a text string embodying a
previously communicated search query 131 (FIG. 1). Item 211 is a
list of items 127 (FIG. 1) from a catalog 134 (FIG. 1) responsive
to the previously communicated search query 131. Item 214 is a
navigation element 141 ranked amongst the list of items 127
according to relevance scores. Item 217 is one of a plurality of
navigation aids 144 (FIG. 1) of the navigation element 141
corresponding to a manufacturer of tools. Item 221 is a group of
hyperlinks for navigation amongst a plurality of network pages
embodying the search results 137.
[0043] Moving on to FIG. 3, shown is a user interface 301 generated
by the electronic commerce system 114 (FIG. 1) embodying a
navigation element 141 (FIG. 1) generated by the navigation element
generation application 121 (FIG. 1) according to an embodiment of
the present disclosure. The user interface 301 may comprise a
network page generated by a network page server application 115
(FIG. 1) and rendered by a browser client application 147 (FIG. 1)
as a function of a taxonomy of the catalog 134 (FIG. 1). In the
alternative, the user interface 301 may comprise data encoded for
rendering by a dedicated client application 147.
[0044] Item 304 is a uniform resource locator (URL) input to
facilitate communication between the client 104 and the electronic
commerce system 114. Item 307 is a text string embodying a
previously communicated search query 131 (FIG. 1) for "CheapCo
hammers". In the present embodiment, the search term "CheapCo"
corresponds to a taxonomy element comprising the "CheapCo" brand of
tools. Item 311 is a list of items 127 (FIG. 1) from the catalog
134 responsive to the previously communicated search query. In the
present example, item 311 corresponds to a list of CheapCo
hammers.
[0045] Item 314 is a navigation element 141 ranked amongst the list
of items 127 according to relevance scores. Item 317 is one of a
plurality of navigation aids 144 (FIG. 1) of the navigation element
141. Each of the navigation aids 144 of item 317 are representative
of a taxonomy subelement related to the "CheapCo" taxonomy element
corresponding to the "CheapCo" search term. In this example, the
taxonomy subelements are representative of product lines or product
series under the "CheapCo" manufacturer brand. Item 321 is a group
of hyperlinks for navigation amongst a plurality of network pages
embodying the search results 137.
[0046] Turning next to FIG. 4, shown is a user interface 401
generated by the electronic commerce system 114 (FIG. 1) embodying
a navigation element 141 (FIG. 1) generated by the navigation
element generation application 121 (FIG. 1) according to an
embodiment of the present disclosure. The user interface 401 may
comprise a network page generated by a network page server
application 115 (FIG. 1) and rendered by a browser client
application 147 (FIG. 1). In the alternative, the user interface
401 may comprise data encoded for rendering by a dedicated client
application 147.
[0047] Item 401 is a uniform resource locator (URL) input to
facilitate communication between the client 104 and the electronic
commerce system 114. Item 407 is a text string embodying a
previously communicated search query 131 (FIG. 1). Item 411 is a
list of items 127 (FIG. 1) from a catalog 134 (FIG. 1) responsive
to the previously communicated search query 131. Item 414 is a
navigation element 141 ranked amongst the list of items 127
according to relevance scores. Item 417 is one of a plurality of
navigation aids 144 (FIG. 1) of the navigation element 141. Each of
the navigation aids 144 is representative of a curated subset of
the catalog 134 relevant to the search query 131.
[0048] Additionally, domain knowledge associated with the client
104 may be used to generate the navigation aids 144. For example,
the "Winter Essentials" navigation aid 144 may be generated as a
function of domain knowledge indicating that a customer associated
with the client 104 lives in a snowy geographical area or in that
the client 104 submitted the search query 131 during or near
winter. As another example, the "Unbreak My House" may correspond
to a curated subset of tools specializing in home repairs. In such
an example, the navigation aid 144 may be generated as a function
of domain knowledge indicating that a customer associated with the
client 104 owns or lives in a house. Item 421 is a group of
hyperlinks for navigation amongst a plurality of network pages
embodying the search results 137.
[0049] Referring next to FIG. 5, shown is a flowchart that provides
one example of the operation of a portion of the navigation element
generation application 121 (FIG. 1) implemented in the electronic
commerce system 114 (FIG. 1) according to various embodiments. It
is understood that the flowchart of FIG. 5 provides merely an
example of the many different types of functional arrangements that
may be employed to implement the operation of the portion of the
electronic commerce system 114 as described herein. As an
alternative, the flowchart of FIG. 5 may be viewed as depicting an
example of steps of a method implemented in the computing
environment 101 (FIG. 1) according to one or more embodiments.
[0050] Beginning with box 501 the search application 117 (FIG. 1)
of the electronic commerce system 114 generates a ranked pool of
items 127 (FIG. 1) from a catalog 134 (FIG. 1) responsive to a
search query 131 (FIG. 1). The search query 131 may be obtained
from a client 104 via the network 107, or by another approach. The
items 127 are ranked according to relevance scores calculated by
the search application 117 corresponding to each of the items
127.
[0051] Next, in box 504, the navigation element generation
application 121 generates navigation aids 144 (FIG. 1) as a
function of at least the search query 137. For example, navigation
aids 144 corresponding to brands or sizes of jeans may be generated
for a search query 131 "jeans." The navigation aids 144 may also be
generated with respect to past purchases consummated by customers
of the electronic commerce system 114. For example, a search query
131 "tools" may generate navigation aids 144 corresponding to the
most frequently purchased or least returned brands of tools. The
navigation aids 144 may also be generated as a function of browsing
activity with respect to previously generated navigation elements
141. For example, the generated navigation aids 144 may comprise
those navigation aids 144 which resulted in the most clicks when
presented with respect to the search query 131. Navigation aids 144
may also be generated by another approach.
[0052] In some embodiments, generating navigation aids 144 further
comprises calculating confidence scores corresponding to each of
the navigation aids 144. Confidence scores may be calculated as a
function of domain knowledge with respect to the client 104, as a
function of data used to generate the navigation aids 144, or other
data.
[0053] Next, in box 507 the navigation element generation
application 121 generates a navigation element 141 comprising the
generated navigation aids 144. In some embodiments this comprises
generating a navigation element 141 comprising the entirety of the
generated navigation aids 144. In other embodiments, this may
comprise generating a navigation element 141 comprising a subset of
the generated navigation aids 144. The subset of navigation aids
144 may be determined as a function of the confidence scores
associated with the navigation aids, or by another approach.
Additionally, the ordering of the navigation aids 144 may be
determined as a function of browsing activity with respect to
previously generated navigation elements 141 or other data.
[0054] In box 511 the navigation element 141 is ranked within the
ranked pool of items 127 generated responsive to the search query
137. This may comprise calculating a relevance score for the
navigation element 141 and ranking the navigation element 141 with
respect to the relevance scores of the items 127. Ranking the
navigation element 141 may within the items 127 also be performed
by another approach. Ranking the navigation element 141 within the
list of items 127 generates search results 137 (FIG. 1).
[0055] In box 514, the navigation element generation application
121 determines if the rank of the navigation element 141 is above a
threshold. This may comprise determining if a numerical rank of the
navigation element 141 with respect to the other items is above a
threshold. This may also comprise determining if the navigation
element 141, when the search results 137 are encoded into multiple
network pages, appears on a network page having a page number above
a threshold.
[0056] If the navigation element 141 is ranked above the threshold
then the network page server application 115 (FIG. 1) generates a
network page embodying the search results 137 which include the
navigation element 141 in box 517. Otherwise, in box 521, the
network page server application 115 generates a network page
embodying the search results 137 excluding the navigation element
141.
[0057] With reference to FIG. 6, shown is a schematic block diagram
of the computing environment 103 according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure. The computing environment 103 includes one or
more computing devices 601. Each computing device 601 includes at
least one processor circuit, for example, having a processor 602
and a memory 604, both of which are coupled to a local interface
607. To this end, each computing device 601 may comprise, for
example, at least one server computer or like device. The local
interface 607 may comprise, for example, a data bus with an
accompanying address/control bus or other bus structure as can be
appreciated.
[0058] Stored in the memory 604 are both data and several
components that are executable by the processor 602. In particular,
stored in the memory 604 and executable by the processor 602 are an
electronic commerce system 114 (FIG. 1) having a network page
server application 115 (FIG. 1), a search application 117 (FIG. 1),
and a navigation element generation application 121 (FIG. 1), and
potentially other applications. Also stored in the memory 604 may
be a data store 111 (FIG. 1) storing a catalog 134 (FIG. 1) and
other data. In addition, an operating system may be stored in the
memory 604 and executable by the processor 602.
[0059] It is understood that there may be other applications that
are stored in the memory 604 and are executable by the processor
602 as can be appreciated. Where any component discussed herein is
implemented in the form of software, any one of a number of
programming languages may be employed such as, for example, C, C++,
C#, Objective C, Java.RTM., JavaScript.RTM., Perl, PHP, Visual
Basic.RTM., Python.RTM., Ruby, Flash.RTM., or other programming
languages.
[0060] A number of software components are stored in the memory 604
and are executable by the processor 602. In this respect, the term
"executable" means a program file that is in a form that can
ultimately be run by the processor 602. Examples of executable
programs may be, for example, a compiled program that can be
translated into machine code in a format that can be loaded into a
random access portion of the memory 604 and run by the processor
602, source code that may be expressed in proper format such as
object code that is capable of being loaded into a random access
portion of the memory 604 and executed by the processor 602, or
source code that may be interpreted by another executable program
to generate instructions in a random access portion of the memory
604 to be executed by the processor 602, etc. An executable program
may be stored in any portion or component of the memory 604
including, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only
memory (ROM), hard drive, solid-state drive, USB flash drive,
memory card, optical disc such as compact disc (CD) or digital
versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, magnetic tape, or other memory
components.
[0061] The memory 604 is defined herein as including both volatile
and nonvolatile memory and data storage components. Volatile
components are those that do not retain data values upon loss of
power. Nonvolatile components are those that retain data upon a
loss of power. Thus, the memory 604 may comprise, for example,
random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disk
drives, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, memory cards accessed
via a memory card reader, floppy disks accessed via an associated
floppy disk drive, optical discs accessed via an optical disc
drive, magnetic tapes accessed via an appropriate tape drive,
and/or other memory components, or a combination of any two or more
of these memory components. In addition, the RAM may comprise, for
example, static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access
memory (DRAM), or magnetic random access memory (MRAM) and other
such devices. The ROM may comprise, for example, a programmable
read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory
(EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory
(EEPROM), or other like memory device.
[0062] Also, the processor 602 may represent multiple processors
602 and/or multiple processor cores and the memory 604 may
represent multiple memories 604 that operate in parallel processing
circuits, respectively. In such a case, the local interface 607 may
be an appropriate network that facilitates communication between
any two of the multiple processors 602, between any processor 602
and any of the memories 604, or between any two of the memories
604, etc. The local interface 607 may comprise additional systems
designed to coordinate this communication, including, for example,
performing load balancing. The processor 602 may be of electrical
or of some other available construction.
[0063] Although the navigation element generation application 121
(FIG. 1), and other various systems described herein may be
embodied in software or code executed by general purpose hardware
as discussed above, as an alternative the same may also be embodied
in dedicated hardware or a combination of software/general purpose
hardware and dedicated hardware. If embodied in dedicated hardware,
each can be implemented as a circuit or state machine that employs
any one of or a combination of a number of technologies. These
technologies may include, but are not limited to, discrete logic
circuits having logic gates for implementing various logic
functions upon an application of one or more data signals,
application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) having appropriate
logic gates, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other
components, etc. Such technologies are generally well known by
those skilled in the art and, consequently, are not described in
detail herein.
[0064] The flowchart of FIG. 5 shows the functionality and
operation of an implementation of portions of the navigation
element generation application 121. If embodied in software, each
block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that
comprises program instructions to implement the specified logical
function(s). The program instructions may be embodied in the form
of source code that comprises human-readable statements written in
a programming language or machine code that comprises numerical
instructions recognizable by a suitable execution system such as a
processor 602 in a computer system or other system. The machine
code may be converted from the source code, etc. If embodied in
hardware, each block may represent a circuit or a number of
interconnected circuits to implement the specified logical
function(s).
[0065] Although the flowchart of FIG. 5 shows a specific order of
execution, it is understood that the order of execution may differ
from that which is depicted. For example, the order of execution of
two or more blocks may be scrambled relative to the order shown.
Also, two or more blocks shown in succession in FIG. 5 may be
executed concurrently or with partial concurrence. Further, in some
embodiments, one or more of the blocks shown in FIG. 5 may be
skipped or omitted. In addition, any number of counters, state
variables, warning semaphores, or messages might be added to the
logical flow described herein, for purposes of enhanced utility,
accounting, performance measurement, or providing troubleshooting
aids, etc. It is understood that all such variations are within the
scope of the present disclosure.
[0066] Also, any logic or application described herein, including
the navigation page server application 115, that comprises software
or code can be embodied in any non-transitory computer-readable
medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution
system such as, for example, a processor 602 in a computer system
or other system. In this sense, the logic may comprise, for
example, statements including instructions and declarations that
can be fetched from the computer-readable medium and executed by
the instruction execution system. In the context of the present
disclosure, a "computer-readable medium" can be any medium that can
contain, store, or maintain the logic or application described
herein for use by or in connection with the instruction execution
system.
[0067] The computer-readable medium can comprise any one of many
physical media such as, for example, magnetic, optical, or
semiconductor media. More specific examples of a suitable
computer-readable medium would include, but are not limited to,
magnetic tapes, magnetic floppy diskettes, magnetic hard drives,
memory cards, solid-state drives, USB flash drives, or optical
discs. Also, the computer-readable medium may be a random access
memory (RAM) including, for example, static random access memory
(SRAM) and dynamic random access memory (DRAM), or magnetic random
access memory (MRAM). In addition, the computer-readable medium may
be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory
(PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an
electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or
other type of memory device.
[0068] It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments
of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of
implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the
principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may
be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing
substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All
such modifications and variations are intended to be included
herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the
following claims.
* * * * *