Responding to retrieval: A proposal to use retrieval information for better presentation of website content

Abstract

Retrieval and content management are assumed to be mutually exclusive. In this paper we suggest that they need not be so. In the usual information retrieval scenario, some information about queries leading to a website (due to ‘hits’ or ‘visits’) is available to the server administrator of the concerned website. This information can be used to better present the content on the website. Further, we suggest that some more information can be shared by the retrieval system with the content provider. This will enable the content provider (any website) to have a more dynamic presentation of the content that is in tune with the query trends, without violating the privacy of the querying user. The result will be a better synchronization between retrieval systems and content providers, with the purpose of improving the user’s web search experience. This will also give the content provider a say in this process, given that the content provider is the one who knows much more about the content than the retrieval system. It also means that the content presentation may change in response to a query. In the end, the user will be able to find the relevant content more easily and quickly. All this can be made subject to the condition that user’s consent is available.