Semantic Hierarchical Abstraction of Web Site Structures for Web Searchers

The hierarchical abstraction of a Web site is useful in organising information and reducing the number of alternatives that must be considered at any one time when browsing the site. We present such an abstraction, which is computed from a user’s query and a Web site. A Web site is viewed as a directed graph with Web nodes and Web arcs, where the Web nodes correspond to HTML files (i.e., Web pages) and the Web arcs correspond to hyperlinks. The abstraction is based on computing semantic weights for the hyperlinks within the site. We have developed a pilot system, called Anchor Woman, for displaying a map representing the abstraction of a Web site. This map helps a user to avoid the feeling of being “lost in space’’ and makes it easier for him/her to browse the site effectively and efficiently.