# How Google Uses User Feedback to Rank Websites by Quality > A method for Google to judge a website's quality by looking at how users interact with its search results across different categories of search queries. - **Patent:** US 8615514 - **Original title:** Evaluating website properties by partitioning user feedback - **Owner:** Google LLC - **Granted:** 2013 - **Status:** Active - **Times cited:** 26 - **Field:** software, ai_ml, ecommerce ## What it does This patent describes a way to measure the quality of a website by grouping search data into specific buckets. It takes pairs of documents and the queries that led people to them, then sorts these pairs into partitions based on how well the document matched the query. By looking at how users click on results within these different buckets, the system calculates a 'skew' or statistical distribution of feedback. If a website performs unexpectedly across these partitions, it indicates a specific level of quality, which is then used as a signal to rank that website higher or lower in future search results. ## What it does NOT cover - Does not cover ranking websites based on simple, non-partitioned metrics like total click count alone. - Does not cover manual human review of websites for quality assessment. - Does not cover ranking methods that ignore the relationship between the query and the specific document retrieved. - Does not cover systems that do not use statistical skew as a primary indicator of quality. ## The clever bit The innovation is using 'skew'—a measure of how lopsided a data distribution is—to detect quality. By comparing how a site performs on high-relevance vs. low-relevance queries, the system can identify if a site is genuinely useful or just gaming the system. ## Real-world examples 1. Google Search ranking algorithms 2. Automated website quality scoring systems 3. Search engine result page (SERP) relevance tuning ## Why it matters This patent is part of the technical foundation for modern search engine optimization (SEO) and ranking algorithms. It helps search engines distinguish between high-quality content and 'spammy' sites that might get clicks but don't actually satisfy user intent. It is a core component of how Google maintains the relevance of its search results at scale. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does How Google Uses User Feedback to Rank Websites by Quality cover? A method for Google to judge a website's quality by looking at how users interact with its search results across different categories of search queries. ### Who owns patent US 8615514? Google LLC owns this patent, granted in 2013. ### When does this patent expire? This patent is expected to expire on February 3, 2030, when the invention enters the public domain. ### What is patent US 8615514 cited by? This patent has been cited by 26 later patents that build on its ideas. ### What problem does this patent solve? This patent is part of the technical foundation for modern search engine optimization (SEO) and ranking algorithms. It helps search engines distinguish between high-quality content and 'spammy' sites that might get clicks but don't actually satisfy user intent. It is a core component of how Google maintains the relevance of its search results at scale. ### What does this patent NOT cover? Does not cover ranking websites based on simple, non-partitioned metrics like total click count alone. **Full plain-English explainer:** https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8615514/evaluating-website-properties-by-partitioning-user-feedback **Original patent:** https://patents.google.com/patent/US8615514 --- _Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Patent facts are from public records; the plain-English explanation is PatentBrief's._ ## Related patents Semantically similar inventions in the PatentBrief corpus: - [How Search Engines Rank Images Using User Ratings](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7836050/bing-search-ranking) — A system that improves image search results by combining how well an image matches a search term with how highly users have rated that image elsewhere. - [How Websites Get Ranked by Importance](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/6285999/google-pagerank) — This patent describes a computer method for scoring documents in a linked database, like the internet, by considering the importance of other documents that link to them, helping search engines find better results. - [How Facebook Uses User Feedback to Improve Search Results](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9398104/facebook-ads-manager) — A method for improving search engine accuracy by letting users manually rate search results, then using those ratings to automatically adjust how the search algorithm ranks future results. - [How Search Engines Personalize Results Based on Your Browsing History](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7296016/bing-msn-search) — Google's patent for narrowing down search results by prioritizing websites that match your personal interests and past browsing habits. - [Smart Ranking of Emails and Files Based on How You Click](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/6370526/google-adwords-pay-per-click) — IBM's 1999 patent on automatically sorting lists of items, like emails, by watching which ones you click first and updating a mathematical model of your preferences in the background.