Patent ID: 8626823

Claim:
A system for producing web content keyword search results comprising: a web server on which is operating a web content keyword search engine; a reference counter for maintaining a count of a number of social references made to an item of content; a user interface to said web content keyword search engine for receiving a web keyword search request; and a processor programmed to: receive said web keyword search request, and in response access said web server to execute said web keyword search request by said web count keyword search engine; in response to said web keyword search request, receive an identification of one or more items of content, at least one of said items of content being a subject of a count of a number of views of said item of content of said items of content and a count of a number of social references to said item of content of said items of content as maintained by said reference counter, a social reference comprising at least one of a sharing of said item of content and a sharing of a source of said item of content; determine, for each said item of content which is the subject of a count of a number of social references, an associated social reference ranking factor that is a ratio of the count of the number of social references to said item of content to the number of views of said item of content; provide said items of content for display as results of said web content keyword search, the results ordered in a first ranking provided by the web content keyword search engine; and provide, for each item of content of the results that are ordered by the first ranking, a graphical representation of the associated social reference ranking factor for display adjacent the item of content in the results that are ordered by the first ranking.