When using a search engine, or even a link directory, from a user point of view it almost seems that simplistic systematic method is being employed.

This methods appears to be: a web page is presented to the user with a search box, we type a keyword (or more) into the search box then click the search button and the relevant matching results are returned.

However, whilst it may seem that the process is pure information retrieval there is far more going on behind the scenes and what is going on behind the scene is information collection.

Information collection is a valuable part of any search engine project. Simply returning results based on a keyword pattern match is only half (or maybe even less) of the story and is unlikely to contribute to the success of a search engine project which is why we are looking at it as an important factor of the Eggnchips project.

With information collection, results can be more intelligently returned based on a number of factors including popularity, occurrence, relevance, perhaps even context and user profile information such as geographical region and browser/computer information.

With the application of information collection the search engine can generate its own information based on user habits which provides a more dynamic and usable platform.

The primary elements of the Search Manager include:

Match keyword

Begin the process with a simple keyword match as before

Results Profiling

Modify the results based on previous results returned, and user actions based on those results, such as click-through rate, number of back links to results, and peer grading information.

User Profiling

Modify the results, as appropriate, based on information detected from the user such as previous search history, browser information, geographic information. This area can be made an opt-out depending on user preferences.

Update Manager

Update the User Profiling and Results profiling stores based on this information. The Update Manager also collects popular search terms and results and also watches for new added content that matches these terms.