David Ku

Computer systems and methods incorporate user annotations (metadata) regarding various pages or sites, including annotations by a querying user and by members of a trust network defined for the querying user into search and browsing of a corpus such as the World Wide Web. A trust network is defined for each user, and annotations by any member of a first user's trust network are made visible to the first user during search and/or browsing of the corpus. Users can also limit searches to content… Show more

Computer systems and methods incorporate user annotations (metadata) regarding various pages or sites, including annotations by a querying user and by members of a trust network defined for the querying user into search and browsing of a corpus such as the World Wide Web. A trust network is defined for each user, and annotations by any member of a first user's trust network are made visible to the first user during search and/or browsing of the corpus. Users can also limit searches to content annotated by members of their trust networks or by members of a community selected by the user. Show less

Computer systems and methods allow users to annotate content items found in a corpus such as the World Wide Web Annotations, which can include any descriptive and/or evaluative metadata related to a document, are collected from a user and stored in association with that user. Users are able to annotate and view their annotations for any document they encounter while interacting with the corpus, including hits returned in a search of the corpus. Users are also able to search their annotations or… Show more

Computer systems and methods allow users to annotate content items found in a corpus such as the World Wide Web Annotations, which can include any descriptive and/or evaluative metadata related to a document, are collected from a user and stored in association with that user. Users are able to annotate and view their annotations for any document they encounter while interacting with the corpus, including hits returned in a search of the corpus. Users are also able to search their annotations or to limit searches to documents they have annotated. Metadata from annotations can also be aggregated across users and aggregated metadata applied in generating search results. Show less

A search query is received. Personal information for a user is then determined. A search is performed in a general subdomain of general content using the search query. For example, the general subdomain of general content may be a WWW search. Then, a vertical subdomain is determined based on the personal information. A search is then performed in the vertical subdomain of specialized content using the search query. The search performed in the general subdomain and the search performed in the… Show more

A search query is received. Personal information for a user is then determined. A search is performed in a general subdomain of general content using the search query. For example, the general subdomain of general content may be a WWW search. Then, a vertical subdomain is determined based on the personal information. A search is then performed in the vertical subdomain of specialized content using the search query. The search performed in the general subdomain and the search performed in the vertical subdomain generate general search results and vertical search results. The results may be combined and outputted to a client. Show less

Inverse search systems and methods operate on identifiers of content items in a corpus such as the World Wide Web In an inverse search, the user submits a query that includes an identifier of a target content item in the corpus and receives information (metadata) about the target content item being returned to the user. Many types of metadata can be returned, including ratings or other metadata related to the target content item obtained from users, popularity data specific to the target… Show more

Inverse search systems and methods operate on identifiers of content items in a corpus such as the World Wide Web In an inverse search, the user submits a query that includes an identifier of a target content item in the corpus and receives information (metadata) about the target content item being returned to the user. Many types of metadata can be returned, including ratings or other metadata related to the target content item obtained from users, popularity data specific to the target content item, information about previously submitted forward search queries that led to the target content item being identified as a hit, and metadata extracted from the target content item. Show less

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for ranking a result set. The method according to one embodiment comprises selecting an item from the result set, selecting a user profile from one or more user profiles and selecting one or more items of personalized information from the selected user profile. A rank is calculated for the item on the basis of the selected one or more items of personalized information and the selected item in the result set is ranked in accordance… Show more

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods for ranking a result set. The method according to one embodiment comprises selecting an item from the result set, selecting a user profile from one or more user profiles and selecting one or more items of personalized information from the selected user profile. A rank is calculated for the item on the basis of the selected one or more items of personalized information and the selected item in the result set is ranked in accordance with the calculated rank. Show less

In various embodiments, systems and methods are provided for facilitating enhanced advertisement display. In embodiments, an indication of an entity preference and a corresponding entity bid in association with an advertisement are received. Thereafter, the entity preference and the corresponding entity bid associated with the advertisement are provided for use in an advertisement auction when at least one search result for a query is associated with the entity preference. In such a case, the… Show more

In various embodiments, systems and methods are provided for facilitating enhanced advertisement display. In embodiments, an indication of an entity preference and a corresponding entity bid in association with an advertisement are received. Thereafter, the entity preference and the corresponding entity bid associated with the advertisement are provided for use in an advertisement auction when at least one search result for a query is associated with the entity preference. In such a case, the entity bid is used to participate in the advertisement auction. Show less

A method and apparatus for generating search results including searching by subdomain and providing sponsored results by subdomain is provided. A search system according to embodiments of the present invention analyzes search queries to determine if they are to be routed to subdomains and presents results include sponsored hits sponsored on a subdomain by subdomain basis.

Personal portal pages for individual users are integrated with web content syndication. For example, when a search query is received from the user, a list of hits is generated. For each hit, it is determined whether there is an associated syndication feed, such as an RSS feed. The list of hits is displayed for the user, and a syndication option is included for each hit that has an associated syndication feed. The user can select the syndication option and thereby subscribe their personal portal… Show more

Personal portal pages for individual users are integrated with web content syndication. For example, when a search query is received from the user, a list of hits is generated. For each hit, it is determined whether there is an associated syndication feed, such as an RSS feed. The list of hits is displayed for the user, and a syndication option is included for each hit that has an associated syndication feed. The user can select the syndication option and thereby subscribe their personal portal page to that syndication feed. In some embodiments, the user may also be able to select syndication feeds for subscription via an alternative interface. Show less

The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for using community annotations to content items as anchortext for search and index purposes. The method according to one embodiment comprises generating one or more items of personalized information by a user for storage in a user profile, the one or more items of personalized information associated with one or more content items, the one or more content items and the one or more items of personalized information comprising one or… Show more

The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for using community annotations to content items as anchortext for search and index purposes. The method according to one embodiment comprises generating one or more items of personalized information by a user for storage in a user profile, the one or more items of personalized information associated with one or more content items, the one or more content items and the one or more items of personalized information comprising one or more words. One or more items of personalized information is selected from a given user profile. The method further comprises indexing the one or more words in the one or more content items and the one or more words in the selected personalized information into an index, identifying one or more content items responsive to on or more query words in a query of the index and returning the identified content items as a result set to the user. Show less

The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for predicting a frequency with which an advertisement displayed in response to a query will be selected. The method of the present invention comprises receiving analytics data associated with a display of one or more advertisements in response to one or more queries. One or more features associated with the one or more advertisements displayed in response to the one or more queries are identified. One or more functions are generated… Show more

The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for predicting a frequency with which an advertisement displayed in response to a query will be selected. The method of the present invention comprises receiving analytics data associated with a display of one or more advertisements in response to one or more queries. One or more features associated with the one or more advertisements displayed in response to the one or more queries are identified. One or more functions are generated for predicting a frequency with which a given advertisement displayed in response to a query will be selected using the analytics data and features associated with the one or more advertisements displayed in response to the one or more queries. Show less

Computer systems and methods allow users to annotate content items found in a corpus such as the World Wide Web. Annotations, which can include any descriptive and/or evaluative metadata related to a document, are collected from a user and stored in association with that user. Users are able to annotate and view their annotations for any document they encounter while interacting with the corpus, including hits returned in a search of the corpus. Users are also able to search their annotations… Show more

Computer systems and methods allow users to annotate content items found in a corpus such as the World Wide Web. Annotations, which can include any descriptive and/or evaluative metadata related to a document, are collected from a user and stored in association with that user. Users are able to annotate and view their annotations for any document they encounter while interacting with the corpus, including hits returned in a search of the corpus. Users are also able to search their annotations or to limit searches to documents they have annotated. Metadata from annotations can also be aggregated across users and aggregated metadata applied in generating search results. Show less

The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for determining one or more positions for one or more advertisements. The method of the present invention comprises receiving a result set comprising one or more advertisements ordered by expected revenue. A document is divided into one or more locations for displaying one or more advertisements. A first set of advertisements is selected from the result set to position at a primary location in the document, the selection based upon… Show more

The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for determining one or more positions for one or more advertisements. The method of the present invention comprises receiving a result set comprising one or more advertisements ordered by expected revenue. A document is divided into one or more locations for displaying one or more advertisements. A first set of advertisements is selected from the result set to position at a primary location in the document, the selection based upon the expected revenue associated with the one or more advertisements. A second set of advertisement is selected from the result set to position at one or more additional locations of the given document. Show less

The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for ranking one or more advertisements. The method of the present invention comprises retrieving a result set comprising one or more advertisements responsive to a request. A clickability score is calculated for the one or more advertisements comprising the result set. An expected revenue value is calculated for the one or more advertisements using the clickability scores of the one or more advertisements as well as an indication of… Show more

The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for ranking one or more advertisements. The method of the present invention comprises retrieving a result set comprising one or more advertisements responsive to a request. A clickability score is calculated for the one or more advertisements comprising the result set. An expected revenue value is calculated for the one or more advertisements using the clickability scores of the one or more advertisements as well as an indication of revenue associated with the one or more advertisements. The one or more advertisements are ordered according to the expected revenue of the one or more advertisements. Show less

The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for determining the performance of a plurality of versions of a given advertisement. The method of the present invention comprises retrieving a first version of an advertisement and associated click through data, and retrieving a second version of the advertisement and associated click through data. A clickability score is calculated for the first version of the advertisement using the click through data associated with the first… Show more

The present invention is directed towards systems and methods for determining the performance of a plurality of versions of a given advertisement. The method of the present invention comprises retrieving a first version of an advertisement and associated click through data, and retrieving a second version of the advertisement and associated click through data. A clickability score is calculated for the first version of the advertisement using the click through data associated with the first version, and a clickability score is calculated for the second version of the advertisement using the click through data associated with the second version. A difference in clickability scores is determined between the first and second advertisement. The clickability score associated with the first version of the advertisement is modified based upon the difference in clickability scores. Show less