The query-flow graph: model and applications

Abstract:

Query logs record the queries and the actions of the users of search engines, and as such they contain valuable information about the interests, the preferences, and the behavior of the users, as well as their implicit feedback to search-engine results. Mining the wealth of information available in the query logs has many important applications including query-log analysis, user profiling and personalization, advertising, query recommendation, and more. The query-flow graph is an outcome of query-log mining and, at the same time, a useful tool for it. We propose a methodology that builds such a graph by mining time and textual information as well as aggregating queries from different users. Using this approach we build a real-world query-flow graph from a large-scale query log, and we demonstrate its utility in concrete applications, namely, finding logical sessions, and query recommendation. We believe, however, that the usefulness of the query-flow graph goes beyond these two applications.