JP4557259B2 - Search service provision method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for providing a search service used on the Internet or the like.

First Search Engine Method In recent years, the so-called Internet has been widely used. A so-called search service is widely used as a service for finding a necessary site on the Internet. This search service is often used by accessing a predetermined search site. Various types of search sites are known, but can be roughly divided into the following two types. Both methods are similar in that site information is registered in the database.

(1) Directory type The directory type is a type of search engine in which humans visually check each site, check each site to be registered, and register it in a database. This search engine is often manually registered in the category most appropriate for the site.

  There are generally two ways of using the search engine. The second usage method is a usage method in which a user sequentially follows a tree of each category to search for a desired site. The second step usage method is a usage method in which a site that the user desires is searched from registered sites by keyword search or the like.

  In general, the directory type has been confirmed by humans one by one, and the posting standards are often strict, and it is said that many of them have high quality.

  In a directory-type search engine, a device regarding a data structure in a database is described in, for example, Patent Document 1 below.

(2) Robot type The robot type is a robot (program) called crawler / spider that automatically crawls HTML document links on the Internet one after another and collects site information and registers it in the database. It is a method to do.

  In this patent, a site refers to a device / system in a state where information can be distributed over a network. Generally, this site is identified by a URL or an IP address.

Display of Second Search Result Now, when a user tries to find a desired site using a search engine, the order in which the search result is displayed is very important. Since the user desires to search for a good site efficiently, it is convenient if the good site is displayed at the top.

  In order to realize such a thing, various devices have been conventionally made.

(1) Page rank method A site that is linked to more popular sites is judged to be a “good” site, and is weighted to calculate the level of quality of the site. And it is a system which displays in order with a high quality.

  Various techniques for improving the degree of superiority (often called a score) in the page rank method have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 2 below discloses a technique for improving document ranking.

(2) Keyword Appearance Method It is determined that a document (site) containing more keywords that match the search key / query is more relevant to the keywords. And it is a system which displays a search result in order of a site with high relevance.

(3) Click popularity method In this method, a user who actually performed a search tracks which URL in the search result has accessed and which URL has not been accessed, and reflects it in the subsequent search result.

  A method for acquiring the number of clicks is described in Patent Document 3 below, for example.

(4) Lending window search method In this method, the search engine issues a search window to the registered site. The number of times the search window is used from the registered site is counted, the degree of superiority is calculated by weighting the registered site according to the number of times, and display is performed in the order of the calculated superiority.

  This lending search window method means that if the search window of a certain site is used many times, there are many users who use the site (hereinafter sometimes referred to as users). It is based on mathematical induction that the site is excellent.

  A table describing these is shown in FIG.

The third search engine Internet for portable electronic devices is widely used in portable electronic devices such as mobile phones. However, on sites that distribute so-called mobile content for portable electronic devices, terminals other than portable electronic devices, for example, There are many cases where access / viewing from a personal computer is denied.

  There are various reasons for refusing browsing, but essentially the browsing capability of portable electronic devices is significantly different from personal computers and the like. For this reason, the mobile content is specialized for portable electronic devices, and it may not be desirable to view it on a personal computer or the like. Therefore, as described above, refusal of browsing is relatively common. Here, mobile content refers to content created for the purpose of browsing with a portable electronic device.

  As described above, since many sites that provide mobile content refuse to be viewed from a personal computer or the like, it is practically difficult to perform a robot search for such sites.

  As a result of the circumstances described above, the “directory type” has become the mainstream of mobile content search engines known in the world.

JP 2002-251413 A JP 2005-192881 A JP 2004-295855 A

  Naturally, even users of portable electronic devices such as mobile phones want to efficiently display desired information and data from an excellent site.

  Here, it is desired to use the above-described page rank method or the like, but these methods are based on a robot search, and it is practically difficult to apply to a directory type search engine.

  Therefore, in many cases, search engines for portable electronic devices can only display search results that are less accurate than search engines for personal computers.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and its purpose is to develop a “directory type” search engine having a method different from the existing “directory type” search engine. It is to provide a search engine that can accurately judge the superiority of a site and display the superior site at the top.

  (1) In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention is based on the keyword entered by the user in the search window, the database server searches the database, and information on one or more sites obtained as a result of the search In the search service providing method provided to the user, the database stores records including information on each registered site, and each record includes a lending search window posted on the site. It includes at least counter data indicating the number of times it has been used, and the database server includes one or more information on the site obtained by searching the database based on the keyword in the record of the site. Providing the user in the order of the number of times of the data, and the lending search window provides the search service providing method. A search service providing method characterized in that it is a rental search window for inputting the keyword to utilize.

  With such a configuration, the display order is determined by the number of times the rental search window is used, so that the user can efficiently find a good site.

  (2) Also, in the search service providing method according to (1), when the registration to the database is requested from a predetermined site, the present invention stores a record including information on the site in the database. And a issuing step of issuing a rental search window to be posted on the predetermined site to the site.

  With such a configuration, since the lending search window is issued to the registered site, it is possible to efficiently know the number of times the lending search window is used on the site.

  (3) In the search service providing method according to (1) or (2), the present invention further provides the lending search when the database server receives a search query through the lending search window. A method for providing a search service, comprising: incrementing the counter data in a record including information on a site on which a window is posted.

  With such a configuration, the database server can count the number of times the rental search window is used at the site.

  As described above, according to the present invention, an excellent site can be efficiently presented to the user, so that a search service with improved convenience can be provided to the user.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall explanatory diagram showing a state in which the database server 10 proposed in the present embodiment is used on the Internet 12. This figure shows the flow from site registration to search result display. FIG. 2 shows a time chart showing a flow from site registration to search result display. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing how the registered contents of the database in the database server change depending on the operation from site registration to search result display.

A. Registration and Issuance and Pasting of a Lending Search Window First, in FIG. 1, (1) (indicated by a circle 1 in the figure, this is represented as (1) for convenience. Similarly, the circle 2 and the circle 3 are also described as (2) and (3)).

  The database server 10 in the present embodiment is a directory type search engine. In many cases of the directory type, URL registration is performed by an administrator (human) managing the database server 10. However, in the present embodiment, the computer (machine) may of course perform an operation of receiving a registration request and registering the contents in the database. Such a case is also included in the present invention.

  The operation of receiving the registration request and registering the contents in the database may be performed by an administrator (human) managing the site to be registered.

  When the registration operation is performed by the computer, it is desirable that the registration request be made in a form that can be easily processed by the computer, such as e-mail.

Now, this operation is a database update, as shown in (2) of FIG. FIG. 3 (2) conceptually shows this database update operation. As shown in FIG. 3 (2), the database in the database server 10 is recorded for each record.
1 Information about registered sites 2 Categories 3 Keywords 4 There are 4 types of counter items. As shown in FIG. 3, when a new site is registered, a new record is added to this database. FIG. 3 shows a state where site A and site B are registered. “Category” indicates a field to be included in display, and “keyword” means that the URL is included in the search result when a search is performed using the keyword.

  What is characteristic in the present embodiment is that a “counter” is included in the database items. This counter has an initial value of 0, but is incremented (+1) each time a search using a lending search window posted on the site is executed. The order of display in the search result is determined by the value of this counter. Detailed operation will be described later.

  After the registration process, the database server 10 issues a rental search window to the registration site. This operation is shown by (3) in FIG. Also shown in (3) of the time chart of FIG. Since the issuance of the lending search window is conventionally known, its details are omitted. In accordance with this issuance, the registration site side pastes the lending search window. This search window pasting operation is shown in FIG. FIG. 1 schematically shows how the site is displayed before and after pasting. Reference is also made to the pasting operation in (4) of the time chart of FIG.

  FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of the display state of the site as a result of issuing this lending search window. FIG. 4A shows a state where a search site provided by the database server 10 is browsed with a portable electronic device. The user inputs a predetermined keyword in the search window 20 of this site and clicks the adjacent site search button 22. Then, the database (see FIG. 3) in the database server 10 is inspected based on the keyword, and the site corresponding to the keyword is displayed. Such an operation is a general operation of a search site.

  The search window 22 can be lent out to other sites. Such a search window is called a lending search window 24 as described above. FIG. 4B shows a state in which the lending search window 24 is lent (issued) to a predetermined registration site and displayed on the registration site. The user can perform a search similar to the search site by inputting a predetermined keyword in the lending search window 24 on the registration site and clicking the new seek button 26. Such a lending search window 24 is widely used on the Internet. The new seek button 26 is a button that operates in substantially the same manner as the site search button 22.

  Thus, one of the characteristic features of this embodiment is that the rental search window 24 is issued to the site registered in the search engine database. Then, it is determined whether or not the registered site is excellent depending on how much the lending search window 24 is used in the registered site. A specific example of determination will be described later.

B. Search and display Next, the user executes a search using the above-described rental search window at the site A or the site B. This operation is represented by (5) in FIG. It is also represented in (5) of FIG.

  Another explanatory diagram showing how the user uses the lending search window 24 is shown in FIG. FIG. 5A shows a state in which the lending search window 24 is displayed on a predetermined registration site. This figure is an explanatory view schematically showing a state of being displayed on a display screen of a mobile electronic device such as a mobile phone.

  The user inputs a predetermined keyword in the lending search window 24 and clicks the new seek button 26. Then, the screen of the search site is displayed, and the search result is displayed on the screen of the mobile electronic device. An explanatory view schematically showing this state is shown in FIG. The example shown in FIG. 5B is a search result when the keyword “Chaku-Uta” is entered in the lending search window 24. As shown in this figure, the search results are displayed in the order of “Chaku-Uta Channel” and “Ringing Song”.

  What is characteristic in this embodiment is that the display order of the search results is determined by the number of times that the lending search window is used at the registration site. In other words, the “Chaku-Uta Channel” site uses more rental search windows 24 than the “Ring-Ring Song” site. The number of uses is recorded in a “counter” in the database.

  The operation of counting the number of times used will be described below.

  First, as described above, when a user enters a predetermined keyword in the rental search window 24 on a predetermined site and clicks on the new seek button 26 in FIG. (Search inquiry) is transmitted to the database server 10. This transmission is performed by the server of the predetermined registration site. This transmission is indicated by (6) in FIG. This is also shown in (6) of FIG.

  Upon receiving this search query, the database server 10 searches the database based on the content of the search query and transmits the search result to the user. This transmission operation is indicated by (7) in FIG. Similarly, (7) in FIG. 2 describes the transmission operation.

  A characteristic feature of the present embodiment is that when the search result is transmitted, the search result is transmitted in accordance with the order of the counter values in the records of the found sites. As a result, the display is performed in this order on the mobile electronic device on the user side. That is, the display order is determined by the order of the counter values.

  As described above, in this embodiment, since the display order is determined by the counter value, the display can be performed in the order of the quality of the site, and more convenient search results can be provided to the user. It is.

Relationship between the value of the counter and goodness in this manner, in the present embodiment, the number of uses of rental search window, counting every site that the loan search window is posted, the "counter" (Figure in the database 3). When the site found by the search is transmitted to the user (portable electronic device), the transmission is performed so that the display is performed in the order of the counter values.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the counter value is used as a barometer indicating the level of excellence of the site.

  A large counter value is generally considered to be a large number of people using the site. In other words, it is reasonable to judge that the site is an “excellent” site. In the present embodiment, based on such an idea, the display order of the search results is determined based on the counter value.

  Next, the database server 10 transmits the search result to the user's portable electronic device ((7) in FIG. 1) and posts the site that has transmitted the search query, that is, the rental search window used. Increment (+1) the value of the “counter” in the record of the existing site. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, the value of the counter in the record represents the number of times the rental search window posted on the site is used. Note that search queries generally include information about the site that issued the query, so it is possible to use this information to determine which site used the lending search window. 10 can know.

  Such an increment operation of the counter is also shown in (8) of FIG. 2, and the same description is given in (8) of FIG. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the increment target is the site B. As shown in FIG. 3, it is described that the value of the counter increases from 0 to 1 in the record of the site B. This means that a search request using the rental search window in the site B has been transmitted to the database server 10.

  In FIG. 3, the state of the database is represented as a table, and each row of this table represents a so-called record of the database. That is, site information is recorded for each row.

Summary As described above, according to the present embodiment, a search service for searching for and providing a desired site from registered sites, which can display sites in descending order of quality. The method was explained.

  In the present embodiment, a mechanism for issuing a lending search window for a site registered in a database has been described based on the idea that if there are many users of the site, the level of excellence is high. Then, when a search request using the lending search window posted on the site is sent to the database server, a mechanism is adopted in which the “counter” value of the site is incremented.

  As a result, it was possible to grasp the number of times the rental search window was used at each site, and to determine the level of superiority of the site based on the number of times used. Then, by determining the display order based on this superiority, it is possible to provide information that is more convenient for the user.

It is a whole explanatory view which shows a mode that the database server proposed in this Embodiment is utilized on the internet. It is a time chart which shows the flow from registration of a site to display of a search result. It is explanatory drawing which shows how the registration content of the database in a database server changes with operation | movement from site registration to display of a search result. It is a schematic diagram of the state of the display of the site which is a result of issuing this rental search window. It is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that the result searched using the rental search window in this Embodiment is displayed. It is the figure which showed the display method of the search result by the table | surface.

Explanation of symbols

10 Database server 12 Internet 20 Search window 22 Site search button 24 Lending search window 26 New seek button

Claims (3)

In a search service providing method in which a database server searches a database based on a keyword input by a user in a search window and provides information on one or more sites obtained as a result of the search to the user.
In the database, a record including information on each registered site is stored, and each record includes a keyword used for a search through a lending search window that is a search window posted on the site. Contains at least counter data indicating the number of times the input was received ,
The database server provides the user with information on one or more sites obtained by searching the database based on the keyword in the order of the number of times of data included in the record of the site. ,
A search service providing method comprising: The search service providing method according to claim 1,
When registration to the database is requested from a predetermined site, storing a record including information about the site in the database;
An issuance step of issuing a lending search window to be posted on the predetermined site to the site;
A search service providing method comprising: The search service providing method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising:
When the database server receives a search query through the lending search window, incrementing the counter data in a record including information on a site on which the lending search window is posted;
A search service providing method comprising: