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The ABCs of Amazon

By posted at 3:11 am on June 17, 2009 5

coverYou may have noticed that the search box on Amazon recently added an “auto-complete” feature. So if you start typing in letters, it starts suggesting things that begin with those letters. It’s probably safe to assume that it suggests the most frequently searched words, so, if we look at Amazon’s book section we can type in letters and discover, for each letter of the alphabet, the most popular searches on Amazon. Or, if you like, the ABCs of Amazon (a peek into the reading habits of America and, like it or not, a primer for what’s popular in the world of books):

(Amazon has been known to personalize and regularly adjust its results, so your Amazon alphabet may vary.)

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5 Responses to “The ABCs of Amazon”

  1. Pete
    at 9:54 am on June 17, 2009

    "Safe to assume that it suggests the most frequently searched words"? I wouldn't assume that at all – given how hugely successful Google's business model has been, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Amazon was selling paid placement in its search results to publishers.

  2. Anonymous
    at 1:17 pm on June 17, 2009

    I don't think that is that case (that they are ads). It is pretty clear that the auto-complete is working off of popular searches. Try 'Fin' on the book main page. 'Finnegans Wake' comes up in the list, which I doubt is an ad. Also, 'Finger Lickin Fifteen' comes up, so I may now be on some sort of list.

  3. Alan Baxter
    at 10:44 pm on June 20, 2009

    Further proof that vampires are becoming the pop music of literature at the moment! It's really time we all moved on.

  4. An Anonymous Child
    at 2:14 am on June 28, 2009

    I ran through the list myself and noticed a few small differences ("Atlas Shrugged" edged out "Angels and Demons"). But on the whole, vampires and Stephenie Meyer seem to rule the list. That's a bit depressing.

  5. The Amazon Alphabet: From Audio Books to Zane « Readersforum's Blog
    at 1:19 am on January 21, 2011

    [...] for each letter of the alphabet, the most popular searches on Amazon. Last time we did this, about a year and half ago, vampires were the dominant theme. This time around, the vampires have mostly disappeared and [...]

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