eBay Inc.
CUSTOMIZED SEARCH RESULT RANKING BASED ON USER GROUPS

Abstract:

A search engine provides customized search results in response to a search query using a group search ranker. The customized search results may be determined for a user based on the user's association with a user group having common preferences. Preferences for users may be learned through historical user information that includes interactions by users with websites on the Internet. Users may be grouped based on these preferences, and the user group may have an associated group search ranker. When the user enters a search query at a search engine, the search engine may identify a user group and retrieve the group search ranker. The group search ranker may be used to rank relevant search results identified based on the search query. The ranked search results may be provided for presentation to a user at a user computing device.