In the world of book reviews, excerpts from the text are often included, making small portions of the book searchable. This raises the question: why not make the entire book searchable? Authors and publishers worry about digital theft when a book is posted in its entirety online. However, platforms like Amazon and Google can make an entire text searchable without making it available for download. The best metadata about a book is the entire text itself, serving as the ultimate tool for discoverability.
Discovering Hidden Gems
Recently, I discovered four management books that I would have never heard of if their texts weren’t searchable on Amazon. This discovery was made while reading about Sig Rinde’s concept of BRP: Barely Repeatable Processes. Rinde explains that about a third of daily business activities are automated by ERP systems (which he suggests should stand for Easily Repeatable Processes rather than Enterprise Resource Planning). The remaining two-thirds are handled with Barely Repeatable Processes. These BRPs include the phone calls, meetings, creative thinking, and all the emailing back and forth that occur when unexpected issues arise. As Zoli Erdos explains, “Exceptions may be a fraction of business volume, but they are what corporate employees spend most of their time resolving. Knowledge workers who come up with innovative solutions may consider it good practice to document them. If the ‘exception’ occurs a few times, it becomes a (Barely) Repeatable Process.”
A Search for Knowledge
This topic gets sporadic coverage online, so I wondered if I could order a book on the subject. Surprisingly, Amazon offered four titles that mention the topic, even though only one title had any of the relevant words in its title or subtitle. The discovery was made possible because the publisher enabled Amazon’s “Search Inside the Book” feature, allowing Amazon to find the term on a page not included in the preview.
Comparing Search Results
Google’s search results were different, returning six titles with only one matching Amazon’s result. A direct search in Google Play for “Barely Repeatable Processes” yielded no results, highlighting a significant gap in their search functionality.
On Barnes & Noble, a search for “barely repeatable processes” returned no results, with the first recommendation being the “Angry Birds Star Wars” Nook app. Similarly, Kobo offered a romance novel, and Sony’s search drew a blank. Apple’s iBookstore software also returned no results.
The Amazon Advantage
These experiences illustrate why Amazon is winning the ebook wars. Amazon ensures it wins every battle by making books discoverable through features like “Search Inside the Book.”
Lessons for Publishers
Publishers serious about making their books discoverable should enable Amazon’s “Search Inside the Book” feature and improve their engagement with Google’s search offerings, despite the complexity. This approach maximizes the chances of readers discovering their books, even when they don’t explicitly search for them.
Conclusion
In conclusion, making the entire text of a book searchable is a powerful tool for discoverability. By leveraging this metadata, authors and publishers can increase the visibility of their books and reach a wider audience.
