Biblio, third largest of the used and old book sites, announced some interesting and surprising data regarding visitors to their site. In a recent news release, they reported that traffic to the site is down, but contrary to what this might seem to imply, sales are up. The shortfall in traffic apparently comes primarily from a decrease in clicks from Google, the major search engine. Biblio attributed this decrease to "algorithmic changes at some of the search engines." However, Biblio did not express any great concern because, they said, sales are actually up.
In their release, Biblio's Chief Marketing Officer, Kevin Donaldson, is quoted as saying, "We have made huge advancements in the way our site is structured to maximize the number of pages that are indexed in the major search engines. Yahoo is indexing 200% more pages than last year, MSN, 100%, and Google is actually down, but conversions are way up. Honestly, you just can't complain about less superfluous traffic from Google and more closed sales. We are doing something right." Donaldson also stated that Biblio has 43,000 pages indexed with Google and is constantly working to get more listed.
The search engines, Google in particular, are critical to the success of online businesses (see the separate article on Google and Froogle in this month's issue of AE Monthly). Getting Google and the others to "index" your pages is the necessary step to having listings show up in searches. However, the search engines do not reveal the formulas by which they index pages, or how they determine whose page will show up number one in a search, and whose number one-thousand one, where no one will ever see it. The search engines have to be secretive about their formulas. Otherwise, web site operators will try to design their sites to meet the search engine algorithms, regardless of whether their site is the most relevant to a search. The result is, search engines keep adjusting their formulas to prevent sites from tricking their way to higher rankings, while site operators keep trying to understand their latest equations so they can rank higher. It is a cat and mouse game with no end in sight.
As a website operator, we constantly monitor our search engine standing, and attempt to make the site relevant to searches involving rare and antiquarian books. That is about all you can do, but it is also what you must do. Evidently, Biblio understands this point well, an indication that they are working hard to achieve the best results for their customers. As they have found, this is not always easy, but you cannot stop trying.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
