Patent Document ID: 9697259
Application ID: 13953162

Base Claim:
1. A computer-implemented method for processing query information, comprising: receiving data representative of a search query from a user located at a geographic location; determining whether multiple countries have a characteristic in common with the geographic location where the user is located; selecting, as a proper subset of the multiple countries, a plurality of countries that are each determined to have the characteristic in common with the geographic location where the user is located; identifying a plurality of search results responsive to the search query, wherein each search result refers to a respective particular document; accessing, for each particular search result of a plurality of the search results, a plurality of different country-specific click measures that correspond to different, single countries and correspond to a single document, wherein each country-specific click measure is a measure of behavior of users associated with a respective particular country in regards to the particular document when the particular document was referred to in a previously provided search result; for each particular search result of the plurality of the search results, generating a combined click measure, wherein each combined click measure is generated by combining the respective country-specific click measures that are (i) correspond to the particular document referred to by the search result and (ii) measures of behavior of users associated with the selected countries that are determined to have the characteristic in common with the geographic location where the user is located, and wherein each combined click measure excludes country-specific click measures for countries that are not determined to have the characteristic in common with the geographic location where the user is located; and ranking the search results based upon, at least, the combined click measures determined from the measures of behavior of users associated with the selected countries that are determined to have a characteristic in common with the geographic location where the user is located.

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Claim 7:
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the multiple countries have the characteristic in common with the geographic location where the user is located comprises determining whether the multiple countries each have a common climate with the geographic location where the user is located; and wherein selecting the plurality of countries comprises selecting countries determined to have a common climate with the geographic location where the user is located.