Integration of device location into search
View Patent ↗A computer-implemented location determination method is disclosed. The method includes initiating, on computing device, a native application that provides data storage and data synchronization with a remote server; receiving a call to the native application from an application running within a browser on the device; and providing information indicating a location of the device in response to the call.
1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving, by a native search application, a search query from a web browser;
determining, by the native search application, that (i) a location-based term does not occur in the search query and (ii) no explicit location information is available to the web browser;
in response to determining that (i) a location-based term does not occur in the search query and (ii) no explicit location information is available to the web browser, selecting, by the native search application, two or more particular geographic locations, from among multiple, previously-identified geographic locations;
transmitting, to a search engine and by the native search application, both (i) a first search query comprising the search query appended with data identifying one of the two or more particular geographic locations, and (ii) a second search query comprising the search query appended with data identifying another of the two or more particular geographic locations;
receiving, by the native search application, (i) first search results associated with the first search query, and (ii) second search results associated with the second search query; and
transmitting, by the native search application, both (i) one or more of the first search results associated with the first search query, and (ii) one or more of the second search results associated with the second search query.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multiple previously-identified geographic locations comprise a list of recent locations.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting, by the native search application, the two or more particular geographic locations includes selection of a most recent location.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting, by the native search application, two or more particular geographic locations includes selecting a top n number of recent locations, wherein n is greater than 1.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising assigning a first weight to the first search query and assigning a second weight, different from the first weight, to the second search query.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the native search application and the web browser are both installed on a mobile computing device and the native search application transmits both (i) one or more of the first search results associated with the first search query, and (ii) one or more of the second search results associated with the second search query, to the web browser.
7. A system comprising:
one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed by the one or more computers, to cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
receiving, by a native search application, a search query from a web browser;
determining, by the native search application, that (i) a location-based term does not occur in the search query and (ii) no explicit location information is available to the web browser;
in response to determining that (i) a location-based term does not occur in the search query and (ii) no explicit location information is available to the web browser, selecting, by the native search application, two or more particular geographic locations, from among multiple, previously-identified geographic locations;
transmitting, to a search engine and by the native search application, both (i) a first search query comprising the search query appended with data identifying one of the two or more particular geographic locations, and (ii) a second search query comprising the search query appended with data identifying another of the two or more particular geographic locations;
receiving, by the native search application, (i) first search results associated with the first search query, and (ii) second search results associated with the second search query; and
transmitting, by the native search application, both (i) one or more of the first search results associated with the first search query, and (ii) one or more of the second search results associated with the second search query.
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the multiple previously-identified geographic locations comprise a list of recent locations.
9. The system of claim 7 , wherein selecting, by the native search application, the two or more particular geographic locations includes selection of a most recent location.
10. The system of claim 7 , wherein selecting, by the native search application, two or more particular geographic locations includes selecting a top n number of recent locations, wherein n is greater than 1.
11. The system of claim 7 , the operations further comprising assigning a first weight to the first search query and assigning a second weight, different from the first weight, to the second search query.
12. The system of claim 7 , wherein the native search application and the web browser are both installed on a mobile computing device and the native search application transmits both (i) one or more of the first search results associated with the first search query, and (ii) one or more of the second search results associated with the second search query, to the web browser.
13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:
receiving, by a native search application, a search query from a web browser;
determining, by the native search application, that (i) a location-based term does not occur in the search query and (ii) no explicit location information is available to the web browser;
in response to determining that (i) a location-based term does not occur in the search query and (ii) no explicit location information is available to the web browser, selecting, by the native search application, two or more particular geographic locations, from among multiple, previously-identified geographic locations;
transmitting, to a search engine and by the native search application, both (i) a first search query comprising the search query appended with data identifying one of the two or more particular geographic locations, and (ii) a second search query comprising the search query appended with data identifying another of the two or more particular geographic locations;
receiving, by the native search application, (i) first search results associated with the first search query, and (ii) second search results associated with the second search query; and
transmitting, by the native search application, both (i) one or more of the first search results associated with the first search query, and (ii) one or more of the second search results associated with the second search query.
14. The medium of claim 13 , wherein the multiple previously-identified geographic locations comprise a list of recent locations.
15. The medium of claim 13 , wherein selecting, by the native search application, the two or more particular geographic locations includes selection of a most recent location.
16. The medium of claim 13 , wherein selecting, by the native search application, two or more particular geographic locations includes selecting a top n number of recent locations, wherein n is greater than 1.
17. The medium of claim 13 , the operations further comprising assigning a first weight to the first search query and assigning a second weight, different from the first weight, to the second search query.
18. The medium of claim 13 , wherein the native search application and the web browser are both installed on a mobile computing device and the native search application transmits both (i) one or more of the first search results associated with the first search query, and (ii) one or more of the second search results associated with the second search query, to the web browser.
19. The method of claim 1 , comprising:
determining that the search query includes a term that indicates that the search query is for a search across a geographic area,
wherein selecting, by the native search application, two or more particular geographic locations, from among multiple, previously-identified geographic locations, is further in response to determining that the search query includes the term that indicates that the search query is for search across a geographic area.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining, by the native search application, that no explicit location information is indicated as available to the web browser, comprises:
determining, by the native search application, that the search query does not include location information based at least on global positioning satellite data.