Inverse search systems and methods
View Patent ↗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.
1. A method comprising:
receiving, at a server system, from a client system, a forward query, wherein the forward query is associated with a querying user;
in response to the forward query, the server system performing:
identifying items relevant to the forward query;
generating a forward search report for the forward query, the forward search report identifying the items as search results for the forward query;
sending the forward search report to the client system;
identifying data that was submitted by one or more users, including at least one user other than the querying user, responsive to previous interactions, with the one or more users, involving a particular item of the items that are relevant to the forward query;
generating an inverse search report, the inverse search report identifying a physical location associated with the particular item, the inverse search report further comprising information included in or derived from the data that was submitted by the one or more users, including the at least one user other than the querying user, responsive to the previous interactions, with the one or more users, involving the particular item, wherein the information includes one or more ratings of the particular item;
sending the inverse search report to the client system;
causing the client system to display the inverse search report in association with the particular item;
wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.
2. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the forward search report includes one or more instructions configured to cause the client system to submit an inverse query to the server system, the inverse query comprising a particular identifier for the particular item;
wherein causing the client system to display the inverse search report in association with the particular item comprises:
receiving, at the server system, from the client system, the inverse query with the particular identifier;
in response to the inverse query, the server system performing:
identifying the particular item based on the particular identifier; and
said sending the inverse search report to the client system.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the client system to display the inverse search report in association with the particular item comprises causing at least a portion of the inverse search report to be displayed in the forward search report.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein causing the client system to display the inverse search report in association with the particular item comprises causing the inverse search report to be displayed upon the client system receiving user input selecting a user interface element associated with the particular item in the forward search report.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inverse search report further includes a popularity score for the particular item based on the data that was submitted by the one or more users.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inverse search report further includes a plurality of annotations associated with the particular item, wherein the plurality of annotations were submitted by the one or more users in the previous interactions.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the previous interactions occurred in response to the one or more users receiving one or more previous search results in which the particular item was identified.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the physical location is of an owner or of a provider of the particular item.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the items are links.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the items are documents.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inverse search report further includes one or more of: an e-mail address associated with the particular item, or a phone number associated with the particular item.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting whether the querying user is currently logged in to the server system;
when the querying user is currently logged in to the server system, including in the search report at least personalized information that is derived specifically from a first set of the previous interactions involving a first plurality of the one or more users, the first plurality being selected from a network defined for the querying user.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the client system includes a phone.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the server system is at least partially resident on the client system.
15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more computing devices, cause:
receiving, at a server system, from a client system, a forward query, wherein the forward query is associated with a querying user;
in response to the forward query, the server system performing:
identifying items relevant to the forward query;
generating a forward search report for the forward query, the forward search report identifying the items as search results for the forward query;
sending the forward search report to the client system;
identifying data that was submitted by one or more users, including at least one user other than the querying user, responsive to previous interactions, with the one or more users, involving a particular item of the items that are relevant to the forward query;
generating an inverse search report, the inverse search report identifying a physical location associated with the particular item, the inverse search report further comprising information included in or derived from the data that was submitted by the one or more users, including the at least one user other than the querying user, responsive to the previous interactions, with the one or more users, involving the particular item, wherein the information includes one or more ratings of the particular item;
sending the inverse search report to the client system;
causing the client system to display the inverse search report in association with the particular item.
16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 ,
wherein the forward search report includes one or more instructions configured to cause the client system to submit an inverse query to the server system, the inverse query comprising a particular identifier for the particular item;
wherein causing the client system to display the inverse search report in association with the particular item comprises:
receiving, at the server system, from the client system, the inverse query with the particular identifier;
in response to the inverse query, the server system performing:
identifying the particular item based on the particular identifier; and
said sending the inverse search report to the client system.
17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein causing the client system to display the inverse search report in association with the particular item comprises causing at least a portion of the inverse search report to be displayed in the forward search report.
18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein causing the client system to display the inverse search report in association with the particular item comprises causing the inverse search report to be displayed upon the client system receiving user input selecting a user interface element associated with the particular item in the forward search report.
19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the inverse search report further includes a popularity score for the particular item based on the data that was submitted by the one or more users.
20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the inverse search report further includes a plurality of annotations associated with the particular item, wherein the plurality of annotations were submitted by the one or more users in the previous interactions.
21. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the previous interactions occurred in response to the one or more users receiving one or more previous search results in which the particular item was identified.
22. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the physical location is of an owner or of a provider of the particular item.
23. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the items are links.
24. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the items are documents.
25. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the inverse search report further includes one or more of: an e-mail address associated with the particular item, or a phone number associated with the particular item.
26. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more computing devices, further cause:
detecting whether the querying user is currently logged in to the server system;
when the querying user is currently logged in to the server system, including in the search report at least personalized information that is derived specifically from a first set of the previous interactions involving a first plurality of the one or more users, the first plurality being selected from a network defined for the querying user.
27. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the client system includes a phone.
28. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the server system is at least partially resident on the client system.