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October 08, 2004
Google to help publishers sell books online
Today, Google quietly launched a new search technology designed to help book publishers sell online.
Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page will host a press conference on Thursday to demonstrate the technology at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, an important showcase if the Internet search engine is to recruit the heavyweights of the book publishing industry.
Since going public in August, Google shares have risen more than 60 percent to end Tuesday at $138.37. Speculation has been rife that Google was planning a new search technology, and possibly a Web browser, as it seeks to diversify a business model dependent on selling advertisements related to users' search queries.
The new service, dubbed Google Print, is incorporated into Google search queries. When users search for many book titles, they get "book results," URLs that lead to book excerpts, at the top of the list of ordinary search results. The book excerpts will carry a link to buy the book from a choice of online book retailers.
Google started testing the service last year. Amazon launched a similar, though ad-free, service last month, called A9, that is partly based on Google's search technology. It is also possible to search inside books from Amazon.com.
A Google spokesman in Germany on Wednesday downplayed questions that Google Print would be a rival service to Amazon's.
The spokesman, Stefan Keuchel, said the two companies plan to continue their business alliance and that Google plans to link to a variety of online retailers, including Amazon, for users who wish to purchase books.
Keuchel added it was too early to predict potential revenue from the service. But Amazon has said the "search-inside-the-book" function has helped it sell more books.
The challenge for Google is to recruit a critical mass of publishers to rival Amazon's head start.
Google said it would not charge book sellers who would like their sites listed alongside the search results. It makes money on the service by selling targeted ad links related to the search query. To entice publishers, it plans to share ad revenue with them.
"It's an advantage for publishers because it offers them the possibility to promote books online. And for users, it gives them the advantage of accessing information about authors and books and even to read a little from the books," Keuchel said. "We're trying to index every book there is, and make it searchable for our users."
Google has been trying to diversify its revenue by expanding into online commerce, with mixed success.
Source: C-Net News
Posted by nakul at October 8, 2004 12:40 PM | TrackBack