For example, a search for "Soprano" would present a user with a set of refinement suggestions such as "Marie-Adele McArther" (a renowned soprano), "Three Sopranos" (the operatic trio), "The Sopranos" (the wildly-popular HBO television show) as well as several other choices. No other technology can dynamically cluster search results into the actual communities as they exist on the Web.
Results
Next, after identifying these communities, Teoma employs a technique called Subject-Specific PopularitySM. Subject-Specific Popularity analyzes the relationship of sites within a community, ranking a site based on the number of same-subject pages that reference it, among hundreds of other criteria. In other words, Teoma determines the best answer for a search by asking experts within a specific subject community about who they believe is the best resource for that subject. By assessing the opinions of a site's peers, Teoma establishes authority for the search result. Relevant search results ranked by Subject-Specific Popularity are presented under the heading "Results" on the Teoma.com results page.
In some instances companies pay to have their Web sites included within Teoma's dataset, otherwise known as the Teoma Index. Like all Web sites, these sites are processed through Teoma's search algorithms and are not guaranteed placement in the results. This ensures that relevancy is the primary driver of results.
Resources
Finally, by dividing the Web into local subject communities, Teoma is able to find and identify expert resources about a particular subject. These sites feature lists of other authoritative sites and links relating to the search topic.
For example, a professor of Middle Eastern history may have created a page devoted to his collection of sites that explain the geography and topography of the Persian Gulf. This site would appear under the heading "Resources" in response to a Persian Gulf-related query. No previous search technology has been able to find and rank these sites.
Sponsored Links
Search results appearing under the heading "Sponsored Links" are provided by GoogleŽ, a third party provider of pay for performance search listings. Google generates highly relevant sponsored results by allowing advertisers to bid for placement in this area based on relevant keywords. These results, which are powered by Google's advanced algorithms, are then distributed across the Internet to some of the world's most popular and well-known Web sites, including Teoma.com and Ask Jeeves.
Other factors
Boolean Searching
Limited Boolean searching is available. Teoma defaults to an AND between search terms and supports the use of - for NOT. Either OR or ORR can be used for an OR operation, but the operator must be in all upper case. Unfortunately, no nesting is vailable.
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