Rakuten Kobo Inc.

Rogers Communications Inc.

Yingbo Miao

Hyun Chul Lee

Liqin Xu

Jordan Christensen

Joshua Sumali

Systems and methods for automatically generating replacement query terms that offer improved search efficiency. Recommended search query terms are generated based on statistic information derived from empirical data recording prior search sessions with respect to searching on a search engine. A query term entered later in a search session is treated as a possible replacement term for a query term entered earlier in the same session. Upon receiving an initial query term in a new search session, the replacement terms of the initial query term are identified from the empirical data and evaluated as candidates for replacing the initial query term in the new search session. The evaluation is based on the respective occurrence rates that the candidates are used as replacement terms for the initial query term in the empirical data, and based on the respective conversion rates of the candidates.

Empirically determined search query replacement

Profiling systems and methods of creating and using user interest profiles are described. In some example embodiments, the method includes: creating a topic set which includes topics which are organized in a hierarchical structure which includes a plurality of topic levels including an upper topic level and a lower topic level, each topic in the lower topic level being a subtopic of at least one of the topics in the upper topic level; monitoring interest in a plurality of documents for a user to identify one or more documents-of-interest to the user; and based on the monitored interest for the user, creating an interest profile for the user by determining a measure of topical interest for the user for at least one of the topics at the upper topic level and for a subtopic of that topic, the subtopic being at the lower topic level.

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Toronto, Canada

Yingbo Miao