Ranking search results based on members? posting activity and content

1. A computer-implemented method performed at a social networking system, using at least one computer processor, the method comprising:

receiving a search request for at least one member profile;

retrieving a list of member profiles in response to the search request;

for a particular member profile in the list of member profiles:

identifying at least one submitted content item associated with a member of the social networking system and associated with the particular member profile;

analyzing the at least one submitted content item to determine a list of topics associated with the at least one submitted content item;

generating a topic similarity score for the particular member profile based on a comparison of the list of topics and a topic of interest associated with the search request, wherein generating a topic similarity score for the particular member profile based on a comparison of the list of topics and a topic of interest associated with the search request includes determining a percentage of submitted content items associated with the particular member profile that include the topic of interest associated with the search request;

ranking the list of member profiles based on generated topic similarity scores;

selecting at least one member profile based on the member profile rankings; and

transmitting the selected at least one member profile to a client system for display.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the search request includes member profile criteria and retrieving a list of member profiles includes identifying members whose characteristics match the member profile criteria.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the search request includes the topic of interest.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the search request includes a search query.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

analyzing the received search query to identify a topic of interest associated with the search query.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein retrieving a list of member profiles in response to the search request further comprises:

accessing past interaction data for the member associated with the search request;

identifying, using the past interaction data, members with whom the requesting member has interacted;

identifying at least one member characteristics from the member with whom the requesting member has interacted; and

using the identified at least one member characteristics, identifying a plurality of members who possess those member characteristics.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the past interaction data include sales.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein analyzing the at least one submitted content item to determine a list of topics associated with the at least one submitted content item further comprises:

identifying one or more keywords in the submitted content item; and

matching the identified one or more keywords to at least one associated topic.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein identifying one or more keywords in the submitted content item includes:

using inverse frequency analysis to identify keywords within the content item.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating a topic similarity score for the particular member profile based on a comparison of the list of topics and a topic of interest associated with the search request includes:

generating a weight for each submitted content item that includes the topic of interest associated with the search request based on the number of member interactions with that submitted content item; and

summing the weights for submitted content items that include the topic of interest.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the member interactions include likes, comments, and up votes.

12. A system comprising:

a computer-readable memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more hardware processors, configure the system to perform a plurality of operations, the operations comprising:

receiving a search request for at least one member profile;

retrieving a list of member profiles in response to the search request;

for a particular member profile in the list of member profiles:

identifying at least one submitted content item associated with the particular member profile;

analyzing the at least one submitted content item to determine a list of topics associated with the at least one submitted content item;

generating a topic similarity score for the particular member profile based on a comparison of the list of topics and a topic of interest associated with the search request, wherein generating a topic similarity score for the particular member profile based on a comparison of the list of topics and a topic of interest associated with the search request includes:

determining a total number of submitted content items associated with the particular member profile that include the topic of interest associated with the search request;

ranking the list of member profiles based on generated topic similarity scores;

selecting at least one member profile based on the member profile rankings; and

transmitting the selected member profile(s) to a client system for display.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the search request includes member profile criteria and retrieving a list of member profiles includes identifying members whose characteristics match the member profile criteria.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the search request includes the topic of interest.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the search request includes a search query.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

receiving a search request for at least one member profile;

retrieving a list of member profiles in response to the search request;

for a particular member profile in the list of member profiles:

identifying at least one submitted content item associated with a member of the social networking system and associated with the particular member profile;

analyzing the at least one submitted content item to determine a list of topics associated with the at least one submitted content item;

generating a topic similarity score for the particular member profile based on a comparison of the list of topics and a topic of interest associated with the search request, wherein generating a topic similarity score for the particular member profile based on a comparison of the list of topics and a topic of interest associated with the search request includes determining a percentage of submitted content items associated with the particular member profile that include the topic of interest associated with the search request;

ranking the list of member profiles based on generated topic similarity scores;

selecting at least one member profile based on the member profile rankings; and

transmitting the selected at least one member profile to a client system for display.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the search request includes member profile criteria and retrieving a list of member profiles includes identifying members whose characteristics match the member profile criteria.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the search request includes the topic of interest.