Automated detection of associations between search criteria and item categories based on collective analysis of user activity data

摘要

A web site or other database access system provides access to a database in which items are arranged within item categories, such as browse categories of a hierarchical browse tree. Actions of users of the system are monitored and recorded to generate user activity data reflective of searches, item selection actions, and possibly other types of actions. A correlation analysis component collectively analyses the user activity to automatically identify associations between specific search criteria, such as specific search strings, and specific item categories. The results of the analysis are stored in a mapping table that is used to suggest specific item categories on search results pages.