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US 8,572,100 B2Granted
Method and system for recording search trails across one or more search engines in a communications network
OwnerNigel Hamiltoninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An automated method for recording sites accessed by a client in a communications network, the method including the steps of: detecting submission of a search query from the client to one or more search engines; and recording a search trail of one or more parameters of sites accessed consecutively following return of search query results to the client.
Claims36
An automated method in a communications network, the method including the steps of:
- detecting submission of a first search query from a client to at least one search engine;
- and
- storing a search trail corresponding to the first search query, said search trail including at least one trail step comprising identifiers representing two consecutively accessed pages that are accessed by the client via a hyperlink between the pages;
- providing a data storage system on a server storing a plurality of search trails resulting from search queries from a same user and other users, wherein in said plurality of search trails, each trail step has a trail weight based on a number of times the trail step is visited by the same or other users;
- and,
- receiving a second search query from a client to a search engine;
- and
- searching the data storage system to match the received second search query to the first search query corresponding to at least one search trail to identify at least one related search trail stored on the data storage system;
- and,
- presenting search results to the client based upon the at least one related search trail and the trail weight of one or more trail steps comprising the at least one related search trail.
7 more elements
A system for in a communications network for presenting search results to a client based upon a search query, the system including:
- a search trail recorder for recording a search trail including at least one trail step comprising identifiers representing two consecutively accessed pages that are accessed by the client via a hyperlink between the pages, each search trail corresponding to a respective search query;
- a data storage system for storing a plurality of search trails, the search trails resulting from search queries from a same user and other users, wherein in said plurality of search trails, each trail step has a trail weight based on a number of times the trail step is visited by the same or other users;
- and,
- a server system programmed to provide a trail searcher for searching the data storage system to match a received search query to a search query corresponding to at least one search trail to identify at least one related search trail stored on the server;
- and to communicate search results to the client based on the at least one related search trail and the trail weight of one or more trail steps comprising the at least one related search trail.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.