SlideShare a Scribd company logo
Developing and Testing Search 
Engine Algorithms – 
Counterintuitive observations due to end 
user behavior. Suggestions. 
(This presentation is not representing views of my current employer) 
CHRISTIAN VON REVENTLOW (VONREVENTLOW) 
VONREVENTLOW@YAHOO.COM, +1 201 259 5973
Use a data driven feedback loop to 
evolve and test search engine algorithms 
Search Engine 
Algorithm 
Queries 
Query 
results Tester 
or 
End user 
Search 
End-User 
Interface 
Queries 
Results 
Rate results 
Data Scientists, 
Algorithm- and 
Software 
Developers 
Software 
Compute 
Search 
Result 
Quality 
Statics 
Search Quality Metrics
Measuring search performance 
• Understanding behavior and needs of satisfied and unsatisfied search users is key for improving the 
users search experience [0] 
• Satisfaction/dissatisfaction data is used to evolve and optimize the search algorithms [1]. 
• Traces from end users or a subset thereof 
• Testers creating sample queries. 
• Metrics like MAP (mean average precision) or NDCG (normalized discounted cumulative gain) had 
been used to measure search quality. [2]. A Click-through was used to judge relevance of results. 
• Nowadays metrics use the entire sequence of events in a search. An example is modelling search 
logs in Markov Models to get estimators of user satisfaction or dissatisfaction [1,3]. 
[0] A Dasdan, K Tsioutsiouliklis, E. Velipasaoglu. “Web Search Engine Metrics”, WWW2010 
[1] A Hassan, Y Song, Li-Wei He. “A Task Level Metric for Improving Web Search Satisfaction and its Application on Improving Relevance Estimation”, ACM CIKM’11 Oct 2011 
[2] K. Jaervelin, J. Kekalainen. “Cumulated gain based evaluation of IR techniques”, ACM TOIS 2002 
[3] A. Hassan, R. White. “Personalized Models of Search Satisfaction”, CIKM Nov 2013
Specialization improves end user 
satisfaction in search 
• Economic theory: specialized search engines deliver an 
advantage – specifically when its not only about attracting 
as many searchers but satisfying as many of them [1]. 
• Real data: shows user satisfaction increases when grouping 
users in cohorts with similar topical interests and optimize 
for each relevant cohort [2]. 
• Best by combining search results that are valid for 
everybody (Global) and the specific cohort only (personal). 
• The Counterintuitive: User satisfaction is better when 
optimizing search for the cohort – vs. optimizing for each 
individual. 
Users profit from the larger feedback dataset to the search 
algorithms provided by a cohort of similar people. 
[1] D. Kempe, B. Lucier. “User Satisfaction in Competitive Sponsored Search”. Cornell University. 
arXiv:1310.4098v1 [cs.GT] 
[2] A. Hassan, R. White. “Personalized Models of Search Satisfaction”. CIKM Nov 2013 
6.00% 
5.00% 
4.00% 
3.00% 
2.00% 
1.00% 
0.00% 
Example percentage gain in accuracy 
vs optimizing for single target audience 
Optimize by Topic Optimize by larger 
Cohort 
Optimize by smaller 
Cohort 
Global & Personal combined Personal only
Its not sufficient that “the right result” is 
part of the results list 
• Studies have shown that users are only interested in 
the first few results – thus high accuracy is desirable 
[1] 
• Temporal and geographic relevance, coverage, 
comprehensiveness, rapid discovery of new content, 
content freshness and diversity are vectors relevant 
Result 1- relevant 
for users [2] 
Result 2 - right results 
Result 3 – wrong/irrelevant 
• Users search environment has a major impact – like 
search on a mobile device vs. search from a tablet – 
Result 4 – relevant 
requiring specialization. 
Result 5 - relevant 
• The counterintuitive: Even if the “right result” is part 
of the first few results - having irrelevant/perceived 
wrong results makes the user disbelief in the 
correctness of ALL results. 
Query results 
[1] R.W. White. D. Morris. “Investigating the querying and browsing behavior of advanced search engine users” Proc. SIGIR 
[2] A Dasdan, K Tsioutsiouliklis, E. Velipasaoglu. “Web Search Engine Metrics”, WWW2010
Don’t get fooled if your user satisfaction 
goes up – it might not be all good.. 
• Behavioral differences have been shown between novice 
and expert searchers [1] 
• Optimizing differently for experts and casual users increases 
user satisfaction. [2] 
• The Counterintuitive: User satisfaction goes up over time 
even if you do not modify the algorithms. 
• Why: 
• Users learn how to query best (i.e. become mature users) 
• Learned what not to ask – i.e. intuitively restrict the usage space 
• Or worse: defect to other search engines. 60% of switches to a 
different engine are caused by dissatisfaction [3] 
• So don’t get fooled – understand why your satisfaction went 
up… 
[1] R.W. White. D. Morris. “Investigating the querying and browsing behavior of advanced search engine 
users” Proc. SIGIR 
[2] A. Hassan, R. White. “Personalized Models of Search Satisfaction”. CIKM Nov 2013 
[3] Q. Guo, R.W. White, Y. Zhang, B. Anderson, S Dumais. “Why searchers switch: understanding and 
predicting engine switching rationales”. Proc. SIGIR 2011 
6.00% 
5.00% 
4.00% 
3.00% 
2.00% 
1.00% 
0.00% 
Example percentage gain in accuracy 
vs optimizing for single target audience 
Optimize by Topic Optimize for expert 
vs. casual user 
Optimize by larger 
Cohort 
Global & Personal combined Personal only
Resulting Strategies 
• Specialization/Focus: Get clarify of what your search engine is targeted for – vs. a general 
purpose web search. Examples are places on a map, images, research papers. 
• Cohorts: Segment your user base in cohorts and optimize for each of them. 
• Start with expert and casual user. 
• Interview users, analyze search traces, … to identify other larger cohorts. 
• Usage: Optimize for usage environment & target device. 
• Smartphone, Tablet, PC, Professional multiscreen office setup. 
• Correctness: Carefully evaluate the dissatisfying query results. And minimize them. 
• Fresh end user participants for testing: Regularly recruit new groups of users to optimize your 
algorithms – specifically people who have never used your search before.

More Related Content

Similar to Developing and testing search engine algorithms –

What Is UX Research & How Is It Done.pptx
What Is UX Research & How Is It Done.pptxWhat Is UX Research & How Is It Done.pptx
What Is UX Research & How Is It Done.pptx
TurboAnchor
 
IJCER (www.ijceronline.com) International Journal of computational Engineerin...
IJCER (www.ijceronline.com) International Journal of computational Engineerin...IJCER (www.ijceronline.com) International Journal of computational Engineerin...
IJCER (www.ijceronline.com) International Journal of computational Engineerin...ijceronline
 
Personalization of the Web Search
Personalization of the Web SearchPersonalization of the Web Search
Personalization of the Web Search
IJMER
 
A Systematic Literature Survey On Recommendation System
A Systematic Literature Survey On Recommendation SystemA Systematic Literature Survey On Recommendation System
A Systematic Literature Survey On Recommendation System
Gina Rizzo
 
Personalization of the Web Search
Personalization of the Web SearchPersonalization of the Web Search
Personalization of the Web Search
IJMER
 
IJRET : International Journal of Research in Engineering and TechnologyImprov...
IJRET : International Journal of Research in Engineering and TechnologyImprov...IJRET : International Journal of Research in Engineering and TechnologyImprov...
IJRET : International Journal of Research in Engineering and TechnologyImprov...
eSAT Publishing House
 
Auditing search engines for differential satisfaction across demographics
Auditing search engines for differential satisfaction across demographicsAuditing search engines for differential satisfaction across demographics
Auditing search engines for differential satisfaction across demographics
Amit Sharma
 
Ac02411221125
Ac02411221125Ac02411221125
Ac02411221125
ijceronline
 
User search goal inference and feedback session using fast generalized – fuzz...
User search goal inference and feedback session using fast generalized – fuzz...User search goal inference and feedback session using fast generalized – fuzz...
User search goal inference and feedback session using fast generalized – fuzz...
eSAT Publishing House
 
Personalized mobile search engine
Personalized mobile search enginePersonalized mobile search engine
Personalized mobile search engine
Saurav Kumar
 
Customer Satisfaction about the Product with Special Reference to Rusee’s Food’s
Customer Satisfaction about the Product with Special Reference to Rusee’s Food’sCustomer Satisfaction about the Product with Special Reference to Rusee’s Food’s
Customer Satisfaction about the Product with Special Reference to Rusee’s Food’s
IRJET Journal
 
business analytics unit 1 and 3 notes.pdf
business analytics unit 1 and 3 notes.pdfbusiness analytics unit 1 and 3 notes.pdf
business analytics unit 1 and 3 notes.pdf
tarunprajapati0t
 
Efficient way of user search location in query processing
Efficient way of user search location in query processingEfficient way of user search location in query processing
Efficient way of user search location in query processing
eSAT Publishing House
 
IRJET- Analysis on Existing Methodologies of User Service Rating Prediction S...
IRJET- Analysis on Existing Methodologies of User Service Rating Prediction S...IRJET- Analysis on Existing Methodologies of User Service Rating Prediction S...
IRJET- Analysis on Existing Methodologies of User Service Rating Prediction S...
IRJET Journal
 
Personalized E-commerce based recommendation systems using deep-learning tech...
Personalized E-commerce based recommendation systems using deep-learning tech...Personalized E-commerce based recommendation systems using deep-learning tech...
Personalized E-commerce based recommendation systems using deep-learning tech...
IAESIJAI
 
A New Algorithm for Inferring User Search Goals with Feedback Sessions
A New Algorithm for Inferring User Search Goals with Feedback SessionsA New Algorithm for Inferring User Search Goals with Feedback Sessions
A New Algorithm for Inferring User Search Goals with Feedback Sessions
IJERA Editor
 
IRJET- A Novel Technique for Inferring User Search using Feedback Sessions
IRJET- A Novel Technique for Inferring User Search using Feedback SessionsIRJET- A Novel Technique for Inferring User Search using Feedback Sessions
IRJET- A Novel Technique for Inferring User Search using Feedback Sessions
IRJET Journal
 
USER PROFILE BASED PERSONALIZED WEB SEARCH
USER PROFILE BASED PERSONALIZED WEB SEARCHUSER PROFILE BASED PERSONALIZED WEB SEARCH
USER PROFILE BASED PERSONALIZED WEB SEARCH
ijmpict
 

Similar to Developing and testing search engine algorithms – (20)

What Is UX Research & How Is It Done.pptx
What Is UX Research & How Is It Done.pptxWhat Is UX Research & How Is It Done.pptx
What Is UX Research & How Is It Done.pptx
 
IJCER (www.ijceronline.com) International Journal of computational Engineerin...
IJCER (www.ijceronline.com) International Journal of computational Engineerin...IJCER (www.ijceronline.com) International Journal of computational Engineerin...
IJCER (www.ijceronline.com) International Journal of computational Engineerin...
 
Personalization of the Web Search
Personalization of the Web SearchPersonalization of the Web Search
Personalization of the Web Search
 
A Systematic Literature Survey On Recommendation System
A Systematic Literature Survey On Recommendation SystemA Systematic Literature Survey On Recommendation System
A Systematic Literature Survey On Recommendation System
 
Personalization of the Web Search
Personalization of the Web SearchPersonalization of the Web Search
Personalization of the Web Search
 
IJRET : International Journal of Research in Engineering and TechnologyImprov...
IJRET : International Journal of Research in Engineering and TechnologyImprov...IJRET : International Journal of Research in Engineering and TechnologyImprov...
IJRET : International Journal of Research in Engineering and TechnologyImprov...
 
Auditing search engines for differential satisfaction across demographics
Auditing search engines for differential satisfaction across demographicsAuditing search engines for differential satisfaction across demographics
Auditing search engines for differential satisfaction across demographics
 
Ac02411221125
Ac02411221125Ac02411221125
Ac02411221125
 
User search goal inference and feedback session using fast generalized – fuzz...
User search goal inference and feedback session using fast generalized – fuzz...User search goal inference and feedback session using fast generalized – fuzz...
User search goal inference and feedback session using fast generalized – fuzz...
 
Web personalization
Web personalizationWeb personalization
Web personalization
 
Personalized mobile search engine
Personalized mobile search enginePersonalized mobile search engine
Personalized mobile search engine
 
Customer Satisfaction about the Product with Special Reference to Rusee’s Food’s
Customer Satisfaction about the Product with Special Reference to Rusee’s Food’sCustomer Satisfaction about the Product with Special Reference to Rusee’s Food’s
Customer Satisfaction about the Product with Special Reference to Rusee’s Food’s
 
business analytics unit 1 and 3 notes.pdf
business analytics unit 1 and 3 notes.pdfbusiness analytics unit 1 and 3 notes.pdf
business analytics unit 1 and 3 notes.pdf
 
Efficient way of user search location in query processing
Efficient way of user search location in query processingEfficient way of user search location in query processing
Efficient way of user search location in query processing
 
50120140506005 2
50120140506005 250120140506005 2
50120140506005 2
 
IRJET- Analysis on Existing Methodologies of User Service Rating Prediction S...
IRJET- Analysis on Existing Methodologies of User Service Rating Prediction S...IRJET- Analysis on Existing Methodologies of User Service Rating Prediction S...
IRJET- Analysis on Existing Methodologies of User Service Rating Prediction S...
 
Personalized E-commerce based recommendation systems using deep-learning tech...
Personalized E-commerce based recommendation systems using deep-learning tech...Personalized E-commerce based recommendation systems using deep-learning tech...
Personalized E-commerce based recommendation systems using deep-learning tech...
 
A New Algorithm for Inferring User Search Goals with Feedback Sessions
A New Algorithm for Inferring User Search Goals with Feedback SessionsA New Algorithm for Inferring User Search Goals with Feedback Sessions
A New Algorithm for Inferring User Search Goals with Feedback Sessions
 
IRJET- A Novel Technique for Inferring User Search using Feedback Sessions
IRJET- A Novel Technique for Inferring User Search using Feedback SessionsIRJET- A Novel Technique for Inferring User Search using Feedback Sessions
IRJET- A Novel Technique for Inferring User Search using Feedback Sessions
 
USER PROFILE BASED PERSONALIZED WEB SEARCH
USER PROFILE BASED PERSONALIZED WEB SEARCHUSER PROFILE BASED PERSONALIZED WEB SEARCH
USER PROFILE BASED PERSONALIZED WEB SEARCH
 

Recently uploaded

Vitthal Shirke Microservices Resume Montevideo
Vitthal Shirke Microservices Resume MontevideoVitthal Shirke Microservices Resume Montevideo
Vitthal Shirke Microservices Resume Montevideo
Vitthal Shirke
 
Using IESVE for Room Loads Analysis - Australia & New Zealand
Using IESVE for Room Loads Analysis - Australia & New ZealandUsing IESVE for Room Loads Analysis - Australia & New Zealand
Using IESVE for Room Loads Analysis - Australia & New Zealand
IES VE
 
Globus Compute wth IRI Workflows - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus Compute wth IRI Workflows - GlobusWorld 2024Globus Compute wth IRI Workflows - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus Compute wth IRI Workflows - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus
 
Understanding Globus Data Transfers with NetSage
Understanding Globus Data Transfers with NetSageUnderstanding Globus Data Transfers with NetSage
Understanding Globus Data Transfers with NetSage
Globus
 
top nidhi software solution freedownload
top nidhi software solution freedownloadtop nidhi software solution freedownload
top nidhi software solution freedownload
vrstrong314
 
Climate Science Flows: Enabling Petabyte-Scale Climate Analysis with the Eart...
Climate Science Flows: Enabling Petabyte-Scale Climate Analysis with the Eart...Climate Science Flows: Enabling Petabyte-Scale Climate Analysis with the Eart...
Climate Science Flows: Enabling Petabyte-Scale Climate Analysis with the Eart...
Globus
 
Quarkus Hidden and Forbidden Extensions
Quarkus Hidden and Forbidden ExtensionsQuarkus Hidden and Forbidden Extensions
Quarkus Hidden and Forbidden Extensions
Max Andersen
 
How to Position Your Globus Data Portal for Success Ten Good Practices
How to Position Your Globus Data Portal for Success Ten Good PracticesHow to Position Your Globus Data Portal for Success Ten Good Practices
How to Position Your Globus Data Portal for Success Ten Good Practices
Globus
 
Innovating Inference - Remote Triggering of Large Language Models on HPC Clus...
Innovating Inference - Remote Triggering of Large Language Models on HPC Clus...Innovating Inference - Remote Triggering of Large Language Models on HPC Clus...
Innovating Inference - Remote Triggering of Large Language Models on HPC Clus...
Globus
 
Globus Connect Server Deep Dive - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus Connect Server Deep Dive - GlobusWorld 2024Globus Connect Server Deep Dive - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus Connect Server Deep Dive - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus
 
May Marketo Masterclass, London MUG May 22 2024.pdf
May Marketo Masterclass, London MUG May 22 2024.pdfMay Marketo Masterclass, London MUG May 22 2024.pdf
May Marketo Masterclass, London MUG May 22 2024.pdf
Adele Miller
 
Dominate Social Media with TubeTrivia AI’s Addictive Quiz Videos.pdf
Dominate Social Media with TubeTrivia AI’s Addictive Quiz Videos.pdfDominate Social Media with TubeTrivia AI’s Addictive Quiz Videos.pdf
Dominate Social Media with TubeTrivia AI’s Addictive Quiz Videos.pdf
AMB-Review
 
Beyond Event Sourcing - Embracing CRUD for Wix Platform - Java.IL
Beyond Event Sourcing - Embracing CRUD for Wix Platform - Java.ILBeyond Event Sourcing - Embracing CRUD for Wix Platform - Java.IL
Beyond Event Sourcing - Embracing CRUD for Wix Platform - Java.IL
Natan Silnitsky
 
Cracking the code review at SpringIO 2024
Cracking the code review at SpringIO 2024Cracking the code review at SpringIO 2024
Cracking the code review at SpringIO 2024
Paco van Beckhoven
 
Large Language Models and the End of Programming
Large Language Models and the End of ProgrammingLarge Language Models and the End of Programming
Large Language Models and the End of Programming
Matt Welsh
 
Globus Compute Introduction - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus Compute Introduction - GlobusWorld 2024Globus Compute Introduction - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus Compute Introduction - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus
 
A Sighting of filterA in Typelevel Rite of Passage
A Sighting of filterA in Typelevel Rite of PassageA Sighting of filterA in Typelevel Rite of Passage
A Sighting of filterA in Typelevel Rite of Passage
Philip Schwarz
 
Prosigns: Transforming Business with Tailored Technology Solutions
Prosigns: Transforming Business with Tailored Technology SolutionsProsigns: Transforming Business with Tailored Technology Solutions
Prosigns: Transforming Business with Tailored Technology Solutions
Prosigns
 
Enhancing Project Management Efficiency_ Leveraging AI Tools like ChatGPT.pdf
Enhancing Project Management Efficiency_ Leveraging AI Tools like ChatGPT.pdfEnhancing Project Management Efficiency_ Leveraging AI Tools like ChatGPT.pdf
Enhancing Project Management Efficiency_ Leveraging AI Tools like ChatGPT.pdf
Jay Das
 
Lecture 1 Introduction to games development
Lecture 1 Introduction to games developmentLecture 1 Introduction to games development
Lecture 1 Introduction to games development
abdulrafaychaudhry
 

Recently uploaded (20)

Vitthal Shirke Microservices Resume Montevideo
Vitthal Shirke Microservices Resume MontevideoVitthal Shirke Microservices Resume Montevideo
Vitthal Shirke Microservices Resume Montevideo
 
Using IESVE for Room Loads Analysis - Australia & New Zealand
Using IESVE for Room Loads Analysis - Australia & New ZealandUsing IESVE for Room Loads Analysis - Australia & New Zealand
Using IESVE for Room Loads Analysis - Australia & New Zealand
 
Globus Compute wth IRI Workflows - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus Compute wth IRI Workflows - GlobusWorld 2024Globus Compute wth IRI Workflows - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus Compute wth IRI Workflows - GlobusWorld 2024
 
Understanding Globus Data Transfers with NetSage
Understanding Globus Data Transfers with NetSageUnderstanding Globus Data Transfers with NetSage
Understanding Globus Data Transfers with NetSage
 
top nidhi software solution freedownload
top nidhi software solution freedownloadtop nidhi software solution freedownload
top nidhi software solution freedownload
 
Climate Science Flows: Enabling Petabyte-Scale Climate Analysis with the Eart...
Climate Science Flows: Enabling Petabyte-Scale Climate Analysis with the Eart...Climate Science Flows: Enabling Petabyte-Scale Climate Analysis with the Eart...
Climate Science Flows: Enabling Petabyte-Scale Climate Analysis with the Eart...
 
Quarkus Hidden and Forbidden Extensions
Quarkus Hidden and Forbidden ExtensionsQuarkus Hidden and Forbidden Extensions
Quarkus Hidden and Forbidden Extensions
 
How to Position Your Globus Data Portal for Success Ten Good Practices
How to Position Your Globus Data Portal for Success Ten Good PracticesHow to Position Your Globus Data Portal for Success Ten Good Practices
How to Position Your Globus Data Portal for Success Ten Good Practices
 
Innovating Inference - Remote Triggering of Large Language Models on HPC Clus...
Innovating Inference - Remote Triggering of Large Language Models on HPC Clus...Innovating Inference - Remote Triggering of Large Language Models on HPC Clus...
Innovating Inference - Remote Triggering of Large Language Models on HPC Clus...
 
Globus Connect Server Deep Dive - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus Connect Server Deep Dive - GlobusWorld 2024Globus Connect Server Deep Dive - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus Connect Server Deep Dive - GlobusWorld 2024
 
May Marketo Masterclass, London MUG May 22 2024.pdf
May Marketo Masterclass, London MUG May 22 2024.pdfMay Marketo Masterclass, London MUG May 22 2024.pdf
May Marketo Masterclass, London MUG May 22 2024.pdf
 
Dominate Social Media with TubeTrivia AI’s Addictive Quiz Videos.pdf
Dominate Social Media with TubeTrivia AI’s Addictive Quiz Videos.pdfDominate Social Media with TubeTrivia AI’s Addictive Quiz Videos.pdf
Dominate Social Media with TubeTrivia AI’s Addictive Quiz Videos.pdf
 
Beyond Event Sourcing - Embracing CRUD for Wix Platform - Java.IL
Beyond Event Sourcing - Embracing CRUD for Wix Platform - Java.ILBeyond Event Sourcing - Embracing CRUD for Wix Platform - Java.IL
Beyond Event Sourcing - Embracing CRUD for Wix Platform - Java.IL
 
Cracking the code review at SpringIO 2024
Cracking the code review at SpringIO 2024Cracking the code review at SpringIO 2024
Cracking the code review at SpringIO 2024
 
Large Language Models and the End of Programming
Large Language Models and the End of ProgrammingLarge Language Models and the End of Programming
Large Language Models and the End of Programming
 
Globus Compute Introduction - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus Compute Introduction - GlobusWorld 2024Globus Compute Introduction - GlobusWorld 2024
Globus Compute Introduction - GlobusWorld 2024
 
A Sighting of filterA in Typelevel Rite of Passage
A Sighting of filterA in Typelevel Rite of PassageA Sighting of filterA in Typelevel Rite of Passage
A Sighting of filterA in Typelevel Rite of Passage
 
Prosigns: Transforming Business with Tailored Technology Solutions
Prosigns: Transforming Business with Tailored Technology SolutionsProsigns: Transforming Business with Tailored Technology Solutions
Prosigns: Transforming Business with Tailored Technology Solutions
 
Enhancing Project Management Efficiency_ Leveraging AI Tools like ChatGPT.pdf
Enhancing Project Management Efficiency_ Leveraging AI Tools like ChatGPT.pdfEnhancing Project Management Efficiency_ Leveraging AI Tools like ChatGPT.pdf
Enhancing Project Management Efficiency_ Leveraging AI Tools like ChatGPT.pdf
 
Lecture 1 Introduction to games development
Lecture 1 Introduction to games developmentLecture 1 Introduction to games development
Lecture 1 Introduction to games development
 

Developing and testing search engine algorithms –

  • 1. Developing and Testing Search Engine Algorithms – Counterintuitive observations due to end user behavior. Suggestions. (This presentation is not representing views of my current employer) CHRISTIAN VON REVENTLOW (VONREVENTLOW) VONREVENTLOW@YAHOO.COM, +1 201 259 5973
  • 2. Use a data driven feedback loop to evolve and test search engine algorithms Search Engine Algorithm Queries Query results Tester or End user Search End-User Interface Queries Results Rate results Data Scientists, Algorithm- and Software Developers Software Compute Search Result Quality Statics Search Quality Metrics
  • 3. Measuring search performance • Understanding behavior and needs of satisfied and unsatisfied search users is key for improving the users search experience [0] • Satisfaction/dissatisfaction data is used to evolve and optimize the search algorithms [1]. • Traces from end users or a subset thereof • Testers creating sample queries. • Metrics like MAP (mean average precision) or NDCG (normalized discounted cumulative gain) had been used to measure search quality. [2]. A Click-through was used to judge relevance of results. • Nowadays metrics use the entire sequence of events in a search. An example is modelling search logs in Markov Models to get estimators of user satisfaction or dissatisfaction [1,3]. [0] A Dasdan, K Tsioutsiouliklis, E. Velipasaoglu. “Web Search Engine Metrics”, WWW2010 [1] A Hassan, Y Song, Li-Wei He. “A Task Level Metric for Improving Web Search Satisfaction and its Application on Improving Relevance Estimation”, ACM CIKM’11 Oct 2011 [2] K. Jaervelin, J. Kekalainen. “Cumulated gain based evaluation of IR techniques”, ACM TOIS 2002 [3] A. Hassan, R. White. “Personalized Models of Search Satisfaction”, CIKM Nov 2013
  • 4. Specialization improves end user satisfaction in search • Economic theory: specialized search engines deliver an advantage – specifically when its not only about attracting as many searchers but satisfying as many of them [1]. • Real data: shows user satisfaction increases when grouping users in cohorts with similar topical interests and optimize for each relevant cohort [2]. • Best by combining search results that are valid for everybody (Global) and the specific cohort only (personal). • The Counterintuitive: User satisfaction is better when optimizing search for the cohort – vs. optimizing for each individual. Users profit from the larger feedback dataset to the search algorithms provided by a cohort of similar people. [1] D. Kempe, B. Lucier. “User Satisfaction in Competitive Sponsored Search”. Cornell University. arXiv:1310.4098v1 [cs.GT] [2] A. Hassan, R. White. “Personalized Models of Search Satisfaction”. CIKM Nov 2013 6.00% 5.00% 4.00% 3.00% 2.00% 1.00% 0.00% Example percentage gain in accuracy vs optimizing for single target audience Optimize by Topic Optimize by larger Cohort Optimize by smaller Cohort Global & Personal combined Personal only
  • 5. Its not sufficient that “the right result” is part of the results list • Studies have shown that users are only interested in the first few results – thus high accuracy is desirable [1] • Temporal and geographic relevance, coverage, comprehensiveness, rapid discovery of new content, content freshness and diversity are vectors relevant Result 1- relevant for users [2] Result 2 - right results Result 3 – wrong/irrelevant • Users search environment has a major impact – like search on a mobile device vs. search from a tablet – Result 4 – relevant requiring specialization. Result 5 - relevant • The counterintuitive: Even if the “right result” is part of the first few results - having irrelevant/perceived wrong results makes the user disbelief in the correctness of ALL results. Query results [1] R.W. White. D. Morris. “Investigating the querying and browsing behavior of advanced search engine users” Proc. SIGIR [2] A Dasdan, K Tsioutsiouliklis, E. Velipasaoglu. “Web Search Engine Metrics”, WWW2010
  • 6. Don’t get fooled if your user satisfaction goes up – it might not be all good.. • Behavioral differences have been shown between novice and expert searchers [1] • Optimizing differently for experts and casual users increases user satisfaction. [2] • The Counterintuitive: User satisfaction goes up over time even if you do not modify the algorithms. • Why: • Users learn how to query best (i.e. become mature users) • Learned what not to ask – i.e. intuitively restrict the usage space • Or worse: defect to other search engines. 60% of switches to a different engine are caused by dissatisfaction [3] • So don’t get fooled – understand why your satisfaction went up… [1] R.W. White. D. Morris. “Investigating the querying and browsing behavior of advanced search engine users” Proc. SIGIR [2] A. Hassan, R. White. “Personalized Models of Search Satisfaction”. CIKM Nov 2013 [3] Q. Guo, R.W. White, Y. Zhang, B. Anderson, S Dumais. “Why searchers switch: understanding and predicting engine switching rationales”. Proc. SIGIR 2011 6.00% 5.00% 4.00% 3.00% 2.00% 1.00% 0.00% Example percentage gain in accuracy vs optimizing for single target audience Optimize by Topic Optimize for expert vs. casual user Optimize by larger Cohort Global & Personal combined Personal only
  • 7. Resulting Strategies • Specialization/Focus: Get clarify of what your search engine is targeted for – vs. a general purpose web search. Examples are places on a map, images, research papers. • Cohorts: Segment your user base in cohorts and optimize for each of them. • Start with expert and casual user. • Interview users, analyze search traces, … to identify other larger cohorts. • Usage: Optimize for usage environment & target device. • Smartphone, Tablet, PC, Professional multiscreen office setup. • Correctness: Carefully evaluate the dissatisfying query results. And minimize them. • Fresh end user participants for testing: Regularly recruit new groups of users to optimize your algorithms – specifically people who have never used your search before.