World wide web link referral system and method for generating and providing related links for links identified in web pages

Abstract

A link referral system includes a classification arrangement for classifying Web pages that the system retrieves over the World Wide Web. In assigning a link in a Web page to a particular classification, the classification arrangement originally establishes the classification using the name for the particular section of the Web page in which the link is located. Using statistical analysis of the occurrence of related links within sections of a number of diverse Web pages, some of which are named sections, the system creates classifications of links under both named classifications as well as anonymous classifications of links that co-occur with a high degree of probability. To minimize errors in the statistical analysis, the classification arrangement determines whether different World Wide Web addresses (so-called "URL's) which are used to access the Web pages in fact identify the same Web page. The classification information is used to supplement Web pages retrieved by a client through the link referral system to indicate the availability of related link information from the link referral system. In addition, the link referral system can provide related link information to the client in response to requests, identifying particular links or classifications, from the client.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.