Patent ID: 7603348

Claim:
A method of classifying a search query with a computer having a processor, the method comprising: categorizing, by the processor, a plurality of selected search queries; storing the categorized search queries in a taxonomy database according to category, the taxonomy database being stored in a data storage system coupled with the processor; storing in a query log database query log data derived from the plurality of categorized search queries submitted to one or more search engines and including user click data, wherein the query log database is stored in the data storage system and is coupled with the processor; computing, by the processor, a term vector for each of the plurality of selected search queries as a function of a web search, wherein the data storage system is operable to store the term vectors; creating, by the processor, a classifier function as a function of the computing the term vectors, wherein the data storage system is operable to store the classifier function; regularizing, by the processor, the classifier function based on the query log data comprising: constructing a weighted query graph including nodes that represent the plurality of categorized search queries to model semantic relationships therebetween based on the query log data; and mapping the weighted query graph to a line such that related queries are located close to each other within the weighted query graph; and classifying, by the processor, an un-categorized search query as a function of the regularized classifier function.