Granted Patent B1

US 8,898,131 · App. 12/031,098 · Granted Nov 25, 2014

Abstract

Claims (118)

1. A method, comprising:

retrieving a set of preliminary search results based on a search query, the set of search results including a plurality of pay-per-click listings;

determining a number n of different positions for each of the pay-per-click listings in which the pay-per-click listing has been provided in sets of final search results;

calculating a click-through rate CTR i for each of the pay-per-click listings for each number i from zero to n;

calculating, in a computer, a normalized click-through rate for each pay-per-click listing in the set of preliminary search results, the normalized click-through rate being based on at least the click-through rate CTR i , average click-through rates of listings at various positions in previous sets of search results, and the number n of different positions; and

ordering the plurality of pay-per-click listings based on the calculated normalized click-through rates.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing at least a portion of the set of preliminary search results and at least some of the plurality of pay-per-click listings for display in a client.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein

calculating a normalized click-through rate for the pay-per-click listings is performed according to the formula:

Norm_CTR

=

(

∑

i

=

0

n

⁢

Avg_CTR

1

*

CTR

i

/

Avg_CTR

i

)

/

n

further wherein Avg_CTR 1 is an average click-through rate for a first control set that includes of a plurality of pay-per-click listings that have been provided in a first position in a set of final search results, and

Avg_CTR i is an average click-through rate for a second control set that includes a plurality of pay-per-click listings that have been provided in an ith position in a set of final search results.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the number n is a location identifier that corresponds to a position in which the pay-per-click listing has been provided in a set of search results.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the number n is a number of positions in which the pay-per-click listing has been provided in a set of search results and also selected.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the click-through rate CTR, for the pay-per-click listing is calculated by the formula:

CTR

i

=

S

u

IMP

i

,

wherein S u is a number corresponding to a click count, and IMP i is a number corresponding to an impression count based on the pay-per-click listing being provided in a particular position i in a set of final search results.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of pay-per-click listings are ordered such that a pay-per-click listing with a higher normalized click-through rate receives a more prominent position than a pay-per-click listing with a lower normalized click-through rate.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising ordering the plurality of pay-per-click listings based on the calculated normalized click-through rates and at least one of a bid amount and a category.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein ordering the plurality of pay-per-click listings further comprises selecting a position in a set of final search results for the pay-per-click listing based on the calculated normalized click-through rate.

10. A system, comprising;

a data store configured to store a plurality of pay-per-click listings and a plurality of search log entries; and

a search engine configured to:

receive a search query from a client,

determine a number n of different positions for each of the pay-per-click listings in which the pay-per-click listing has been provided in sets of final search results;

calculate a click-through rate CTR i for each of the pay-per-click listings for each number i from zero to n;

calculate normalized click-through rate for each of the pay-per-click listings according to click-through rate CTR i , average click-through rates of listings at various positions in previous sets of search results, and the number n of different positions, and wherein the search engine is further configured to

order the plurality of pay-per-click listings based on the calculated normalized click-through rates, and to

provide at least some of the plurality of pay-per-click listings for display in a client.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the search engine is further configured to

calculate the normalized click-through rate for the pay-per-click listing according to the formula:

Norm_CTR

=

(

∑

i

=

0

n

⁢

Avg_CTR

1

*

CTR

i

/

Avg_CTR

i

)

/

n

,

further wherein Avg_CTR 1 is an average click-through rate for a first control set that includes of a plurality of pay-per-click listings that have been provided in a first position in a set of final search results, and

Avg_CTR i is an average click-through rate for a second control set that includes a plurality of pay-per-click listings that have been provided in an ith position in a set of final search results.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the search engine is further configured to order the plurality of pay-per-click listings such that a pay-per-click listing with a higher normalized click-through rate receives a more prominent position than a pay-per-click listing with a lower normalized click-through rate.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the search engine is further configured to order the plurality of pay-per-click listings based on the calculated normalized click-through rates and at least one of a bid amount and a category.

14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the search engine is further configured to order the plurality of pay-per-click listings further comprises selecting a position in a set of final search results for the pay-per-click listing based on the calculated normalized click-through rate.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the search engine is further configured such that the number n is a location identifier that corresponds to a position in which the pay-per-click listing has been provided in a set of final search results.

16. The system of claim 11 , wherein the search engine is further configured such that the number n is a number of positions in which the pay-per-click listing has been provided in a set of search results and also selected.

17. A computer-readable medium tangibly embodying computer-executable instructions for:

retrieving a set of preliminary search results based on a search query, the set of search results including a plurality of pay-per-click listings;

determining a number n of different positions for each of the pay-per-click listings in which the pay-per-click listing has been provided in sets of final search results;

calculating a click-through rate CTR i for each of the pay-per-click listings for each number i from zero to n;

calculating, in a computer, a normalized click-through rate for each pay-per-click listing in the set of preliminary search results, the normalized click-through rate being based on at least the click-through rate CTR i , average click-through rates of listings at various positions in previous sets of search results, and the number n of different positions; and

ordering the plurality of pay-per-click listings based on the calculated normalized click-through rates.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 , further including instructions for providing at least a portion of the set of preliminary search results and at least some of the plurality of pay-per-click listings for display in a client.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein

calculating a normalized click-through rate for the pay-per-click listings is performed according to the formula:

Norm_CTR

=

(

∑

i

=

0

n

⁢

Avg_CTR

1

*

CTR

i

/

Avg_CTR

i

)

/

n

,

further wherein Avg_CTR 1 is an average click-through rate for a first control set that includes of a plurality of pay-per-click listings that have been provided in a first position in a set of final search results, and

Avg_CTR i is an average click-through rate for a second control set that includes a plurality of pay-per-click listings that have been provided in an ith position in a set of final search results.

20. The medium of claim 17 , wherein the plurality of pay-per-click listings are ordered such that a pay-per-click listing with a higher normalized click-through rate receives a more prominent position than a pay-per-click listing with a lower normalized click-through rate.

Assignments (15)