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Google/Froogle: Is This Any Place To Sell Books? - By Michael Stillman A Google search for "History of Bill Yopp" finds just four matches, including one copy offered for sale. By Mike Stillman Antbo is looking for listing booksellers. According to their figures, they are already doing quite well. They claim to now have 5.9 million books listed by 529 booksellers. That is a lot of books and booksellers for a site that probably many readers, even those in the book business, had never heard of before. I come here neither to praise nor condemn Antbo. I know nothing about this German book listing site. I mention it only for illustration. Perhaps counterintuitively, the online bookselling market seems to be expanding and fragmenting, rather than contracting. The general rule, be it cars in the early 20th century, or computer operating systems at that century's end, is a contraction in the number of brands. Competition drives out weaker players, concentrating power and survival in the hands of the few who are big and strong. In technology, pricing plays a particularly important role. Rapidly decreasing costs drive prices down, forcing the weak out of business, and concentrating all power in a small number of companies at the top, perhaps as few as one (of course, once a monopoly or oligopoly is formed, then prices may rise again). For whatever reason, this does not appear to be happening, at least not yet, in the online bookselling market. There is a logic for contraction, especially for the poor book buyer. Having to search countless sites for books, or for the best deals, is an impracticality, even if you know all of the sites (and no one does). The meta-searchers, BookFinder and AddAll, can help, but not even they search all sites, and the many duplicate and junk listings (such as print-on-demand listings posted by some sites) do not make these sites that easy to use. The current system does not work all that well for either buyers or sellers, but for now, that is what we have. We have no choice but to deal with it. Perhaps the large sites have contributed to this fragmentation, rather than concentration in the market. They have raised their prices to sellers before cornering the market. Usually, a vendor will wait until their customers are totally dependent to attempt this. Abebooks certainly antagonized some dealers with cost increases earlier this year, and while it does not appear that many sellers have abandoned them, it does appear that many have added to the group of other sites where they list. In some cases, they offer lower prices elsewhere, encouraging purchasers to buy on other sites when they are aware of them. Such price increases may add to the major sites' revenue, but they also encourage further fragmentation of the market. This all serves as an introduction to the topic at hand: Google-Froogle. Google has been doing to internet search what the largest book sites have not been able to do to online bookselling - dominate the market. Sure there are other notable search sites. Yahoo and MSN in particular come to mind. However, when it comes to internet searching, they are, well... kind of like what Antbo is to bookselling. They are not in the same league.
Google/Froogle: Is This Any Place To Sell Books? - By Michael Stillman Froogle finds one copy of "History of Bill Yopp" for sale. As a website operator, we can see where people who come to the Americana Exchange are searching for us. It is not uncommon to see several of Google's national offshoots, such as Google UK, Google France, Google Germany, maybe even Google Netherlands, Canada, or Italy, outpull its largest rivals. Regular Google, the version used in the U.S., is on another planet from the others. They are what eBay is to auctions, not what Abe or Alibris or even Amazon is to books. They dominate. Now all of this might seem irrelevant to the bookselling field but for one fact - among the many things people search for on Google is books. If you want to take a quick, unscientific survey, walk down the street and ask strangers you meet whether they have heard of even the largest old/used/rare book sites, Abebooks, Alibris, or Biblio. Most, if they don't say "mind your own business," will respond "huh?" Chances are they have heard of none of the book sites, except maybe Amazon, and that they will associate with new books. Old books are barely a needle in Amazon's haystack of products offered. In other words, the inability of any one or two old books sites to totally dominate the market has led to consumer confusion, or downright ignorance, as to where to look for them. So where do these people look if they want to find out more about old books, or maybe, just maybe, buy one? The answer is GOOGLE! How many people are searching Google for old books? We have no way of knowing, but from our own experience, it is substantial. You want to be there. In other words, you need to have your books listed somewhere online in order for them to be picked up in Google searches. Some listing sites provide this, though a few seem more focused than others. Some listings from Abebooks show up; same for Alibris. Biblio appears to be focused intently on this (see the separate article this month on Biblio). Listings may also show up from your own site if you have one. The first and most important step to showing up in Google searches is to be sure the search engine can find your listings in automated sweeps. This means your listings must be visible through a series of clicks on links. If someone can find your listings by just clicking on their mouse, chances are Google can too. If it is necessary to type something into a search box, or scroll through some choices to find your listings, it is unlikely Google will find them. Google can't type words into your search box. If Google can't find your listings, then Google searchers won't be able to find them either. In September, AE launched its *Books For Sale* listings, so we have had a chance to watch search engine traffic. *Books For Sale* is not meant to replace Abe or Alibris, but is designed to bring booksellers traffic from those who use the AE site for other purposes, and those who find it through search engines. Therefore, the listings were designed to be easily found by the search engines. Here is what we are finding. About 0.2% of the listings in *Books For Sale* are accessed each day through Google searches. Roughly half of these are from the U.S., the balance from the rest of the world. The next most effective sites for generating traffic are Yahoo, AOL, and MSN, but they provide only a small fraction of what comes from Google. How does this compare with the number of views a listing gets on a major book listing site? We have no idea, as those sites aren't sharing that information with us.
Google/Froogle: Is This Any Place To Sell Books? - By Michael Stillman Antbo is one of many not as well known websites selling books. Additionally, there is Froogle. Froogle is Google's dedicated selling site. It is not like Abe nor even like Amazon (though, like Amazon, it sells everything under the sun). It is a search engine of items for sale, but rather than selling anything itself, it leads people to the vendor's site (come to think of it, it is more like *Books For Sale). You can search everything on Froogle, or limit your searches to specific fields, such as books. We find Froogle also brings traffic to our site, perhaps only 10% of what Google brings, but traffic nonetheless. When you're selling books, every piece helps. However, for your books to show up on Froogle, they must be separately submitted to them through "Google Base" (sort of like the way you submit your listings to book sites). Since Books For Sale* directs the prospect to the bookseller, rather than making the sale itself, we do not know how many of these prospects become buyers or their average order size. BFS does provide an email form to send dealers, and we would presume most who make such as inquiry are at minimum a serious prospect. Roughly 1%-2% of the people who access a listing send either an email inquiry or an offer to buy. We do not know how many others contact the seller by phone instead. These are not huge numbers. Neither are they insignificant. Here is something to know about listings found through Google searches. Google is not likely to send a customer for your used copy of Tom Sawyer. Google finds over 2 million matches for the terms "Tom Sawyer." No one is going to see your listing among all of those. It is going to be the obscure title, or the book about niche fields or with unusual imprints which are going to be found. It is the phrase that only finds five matches in Google, rather than 2 million, which will lead a searcher to click the link to your listing. The good news is that this book is likely to be more valuable than your $2 used copy of Tom Sawyer. In other words, it is the obscure, and likely more valuable material, that is most likely to be found in a Google search. While we do not have any hard numbers on average order size, from talking to those who list on *Books For Sale, we find orders are typically substantial, some reaching into several thousands of dollars. People are finding the rarities they might never have thought they could find through internet searches. What's more, when the listing is on a site that encourages direct customer-bookseller contact, such as AE's Books For Sale*, ILAB, ABAA, Tom Folio, or your own site, you may be starting a long-term relationship with a serious buyer. Being seen on Google, Froogle, and other search sites can be an important part of your strategy after all.
Google/Froogle: Is This Any Place To Sell Books? - By Michael Stillman none While it certainly makes sense to be visible to internet searches, whether through your own or a cooperative listing site, there is nothing wrong with being visible through multiple sites. One point that has confused many booksellers is the apparent randomness with which their listings on a site show up or don't show up in Google searches. Google's algorithms are all very secretive, so we cannot give a definitive explanation for this phenomenon. However, their formula is complex, meaning that being on the largest site won't guarantee the highest ranking results in all cases. Google is also looking for the site's relevance to the matter at hand. If your book is listed on a site more heavily listed with similar books, that site may provide the highest position in Google. Therefore, being listed on multiple sites may not serve so much to "stuff" the search engine's results page with multiple listings of your book as to make sure at least one listing makes it to the results. However, this said, the material that is most likely to be found through an internet search is the uncommon, the book that finds few matches, so we would recommend that you make sure your material is listed on at least one site that Google can search. Search a few of your more obscure titles on Google and Froogle to see whether your books are making the grade. For those looking to get their books into internet searches, AE's *Books For Sale* will list as many of your books as you wish for the price of an "Octavo" membership - $240 per year. We suggest listing your better material, but not filling up pages with small value common material. You may also accomplish the same goal through listing material on your own site, or several of the other listing sites. *Books For Sale* does not charge any commissions, and sends leads directly to you (by email or phone). Check with other sites for their policies. Just be sure to make your listings accessible to the millions and millions of people who don't know the listing sites, but do know the search engines.

Google/Froogle: Is This Any Place To Sell Books?

- By Michael Stillman

A Google search for "History of Bill Yopp" finds just four matches, including one copy offered for sale.

By Mike Stillman

Antbo is looking for listing booksellers. According to their figures, they are already doing quite well. They claim to now have 5.9 million books listed by 529 booksellers. That is a lot of books and booksellers for a site that probably many readers, even those in the book business, had never heard of before. I come here neither to praise nor condemn Antbo. I know nothing about this German book listing site. I mention it only for illustration.

Perhaps counterintuitively, the online bookselling market seems to be expanding and fragmenting, rather than contracting. The general rule, be it cars in the early 20th century, or computer operating systems at that century's end, is a contraction in the number of brands. Competition drives out weaker players, concentrating power and survival in the hands of the few who are big and strong. In technology, pricing plays a particularly important role. Rapidly decreasing costs drive prices down, forcing the weak out of business, and concentrating all power in a small number of companies at the top, perhaps as few as one (of course, once a monopoly or oligopoly is formed, then prices may rise again).

For whatever reason, this does not appear to be happening, at least not yet, in the online bookselling market. There is a logic for contraction, especially for the poor book buyer. Having to search countless sites for books, or for the best deals, is an impracticality, even if you know all of the sites (and no one does). The meta-searchers, BookFinder and AddAll, can help, but not even they search all sites, and the many duplicate and junk listings (such as print-on-demand listings posted by some sites) do not make these sites that easy to use. The current system does not work all that well for either buyers or sellers, but for now, that is what we have. We have no choice but to deal with it.

Perhaps the large sites have contributed to this fragmentation, rather than concentration in the market. They have raised their prices to sellers before cornering the market. Usually, a vendor will wait until their customers are totally dependent to attempt this. Abebooks certainly antagonized some dealers with cost increases earlier this year, and while it does not appear that many sellers have abandoned them, it does appear that many have added to the group of other sites where they list. In some cases, they offer lower prices elsewhere, encouraging purchasers to buy on other sites when they are aware of them. Such price increases may add to the major sites' revenue, but they also encourage further fragmentation of the market.

This all serves as an introduction to the topic at hand: Google-Froogle. Google has been doing to internet search what the largest book sites have not been able to do to online bookselling - dominate the market. Sure there are other notable search sites. Yahoo and MSN in particular come to mind. However, when it comes to internet searching, they are, well... kind of like what Antbo is to bookselling. They are not in the same league.

Google/Froogle: Is This Any Place To Sell Books?

- By Michael Stillman

Froogle finds one copy of "History of Bill Yopp" for sale.

As a website operator, we can see where people who come to the Americana Exchange are searching for us. It is not uncommon to see several of Google's national offshoots, such as Google UK, Google France, Google Germany, maybe even Google Netherlands, Canada, or Italy, outpull its largest rivals. Regular Google, the version used in the U.S., is on another planet from the others. They are what eBay is to auctions, not what Abe or Alibris or even Amazon is to books. They dominate.

Now all of this might seem irrelevant to the bookselling field but for one fact - among the many things people search for on Google is books. If you want to take a quick, unscientific survey, walk down the street and ask strangers you meet whether they have heard of even the largest old/used/rare book sites, Abebooks, Alibris, or Biblio. Most, if they don't say "mind your own business," will respond "huh?" Chances are they have heard of none of the book sites, except maybe Amazon, and that they will associate with new books. Old books are barely a needle in Amazon's haystack of products offered. In other words, the inability of any one or two old books sites to totally dominate the market has led to consumer confusion, or downright ignorance, as to where to look for them. So where do these people look if they want to find out more about old books, or maybe, just maybe, buy one? The answer is GOOGLE!

How many people are searching Google for old books? We have no way of knowing, but from our own experience, it is substantial. You want to be there. In other words, you need to have your books listed somewhere online in order for them to be picked up in Google searches. Some listing sites provide this, though a few seem more focused than others. Some listings from Abebooks show up; same for Alibris. Biblio appears to be focused intently on this (see the separate article this month on Biblio). Listings may also show up from your own site if you have one. The first and most important step to showing up in Google searches is to be sure the search engine can find your listings in automated sweeps. This means your listings must be visible through a series of clicks on links. If someone can find your listings by just clicking on their mouse, chances are Google can too. If it is necessary to type something into a search box, or scroll through some choices to find your listings, it is unlikely Google will find them. Google can't type words into your search box. If Google can't find your listings, then Google searchers won't be able to find them either.

In September, AE launched its Books For Sale listings, so we have had a chance to watch search engine traffic. Books For Sale is not meant to replace Abe or Alibris, but is designed to bring booksellers traffic from those who use the AE site for other purposes, and those who find it through search engines. Therefore, the listings were designed to be easily found by the search engines. Here is what we are finding. About 0.2% of the listings in Books For Sale are accessed each day through Google searches. Roughly half of these are from the U.S., the balance from the rest of the world. The next most effective sites for generating traffic are Yahoo, AOL, and MSN, but they provide only a small fraction of what comes from Google. How does this compare with the number of views a listing gets on a major book listing site? We have no idea, as those sites aren't sharing that information with us.

Google/Froogle: Is This Any Place To Sell Books?

- By Michael Stillman

Antbo is one of many not as well known websites selling books.

Additionally, there is Froogle. Froogle is Google's dedicated selling site. It is not like Abe nor even like Amazon (though, like Amazon, it sells everything under the sun). It is a search engine of items for sale, but rather than selling anything itself, it leads people to the vendor's site (come to think of it, it is more like Books For Sale). You can search everything on Froogle, or limit your searches to specific fields, such as books. We find Froogle also brings traffic to our site, perhaps only 10% of what Google brings, but traffic nonetheless. When you're selling books, every piece helps. However, for your books to show up on Froogle, they must be separately submitted to them through "Google Base" (sort of like the way you submit your listings to book sites).

Since Books For Sale directs the prospect to the bookseller, rather than making the sale itself, we do not know how many of these prospects become buyers or their average order size. BFS does provide an email form to send dealers, and we would presume most who make such as inquiry are at minimum a serious prospect. Roughly 1%-2% of the people who access a listing send either an email inquiry or an offer to buy. We do not know how many others contact the seller by phone instead.

These are not huge numbers. Neither are they insignificant. Here is something to know about listings found through Google searches. Google is not likely to send a customer for your used copy of Tom Sawyer. Google finds over 2 million matches for the terms "Tom Sawyer." No one is going to see your listing among all of those. It is going to be the obscure title, or the book about niche fields or with unusual imprints which are going to be found. It is the phrase that only finds five matches in Google, rather than 2 million, which will lead a searcher to click the link to your listing. The good news is that this book is likely to be more valuable than your $2 used copy of Tom Sawyer. In other words, it is the obscure, and likely more valuable material, that is most likely to be found in a Google search. While we do not have any hard numbers on average order size, from talking to those who list on Books For Sale, we find orders are typically substantial, some reaching into several thousands of dollars. People are finding the rarities they might never have thought they could find through internet searches. What's more, when the listing is on a site that encourages direct customer-bookseller contact, such as AE's Books For Sale, ILAB, ABAA, Tom Folio, or your own site, you may be starting a long-term relationship with a serious buyer. Being seen on Google, Froogle, and other search sites can be an important part of your strategy after all.

Google/Froogle: Is This Any Place To Sell Books?

- By Michael Stillman

none

While it certainly makes sense to be visible to internet searches, whether through your own or a cooperative listing site, there is nothing wrong with being visible through multiple sites. One point that has confused many booksellers is the apparent randomness with which their listings on a site show up or don't show up in Google searches. Google's algorithms are all very secretive, so we cannot give a definitive explanation for this phenomenon. However, their formula is complex, meaning that being on the largest site won't guarantee the highest ranking results in all cases. Google is also looking for the site's relevance to the matter at hand. If your book is listed on a site more heavily listed with similar books, that site may provide the highest position in Google. Therefore, being listed on multiple sites may not serve so much to "stuff" the search engine's results page with multiple listings of your book as to make sure at least one listing makes it to the results. However, this said, the material that is most likely to be found through an internet search is the uncommon, the book that finds few matches, so we would recommend that you make sure your material is listed on at least one site that Google can search. Search a few of your more obscure titles on Google and Froogle to see whether your books are making the grade.

For those looking to get their books into internet searches, AE's Books For Sale will list as many of your books as you wish for the price of an "Octavo" membership - $240 per year. We suggest listing your better material, but not filling up pages with small value common material. You may also accomplish the same goal through listing material on your own site, or several of the other listing sites. Books For Sale does not charge any commissions, and sends leads directly to you (by email or phone). Check with other sites for their policies. Just be sure to make your listings accessible to the millions and millions of people who don't know the listing sites, but do know the search engines.