Patent ID: 7809731

Claim:
A method for reordering an ordered result set, the method comprising: electronically retrieving content comprising a result set corresponding to a search query; determining, via the computer, an initial ordering for the result set including a plurality of items; determining if any of the items in the result set have a fixed location in the result set, wherein the fixed location is a purchased fixed location; for each of the items having a fixed location in the result set, annotating the item as designated for the fixed location; electronically retrieving a weight associated with the search query; electronically retrieving values associated with one or more content items in the result set; producing, via the computer, a weighted value for the one or more content items in the result set by traversing the result set, selecting the values associated with the one or more content items in the result set and calculating the weighted value using the values associated with the one or more content items in the result set and the weight associated with the search query and accounting for the items designated for fixed locations in the result set; reordering, via the computer, the result set with respect to the weighted values produced including placing each of the annotated items in the fixed locations; and electronically delivering the result set to a client device.