Google Catalogs - Old Gashioned Mail Order Meets High Tech Search

In addition to Google's Froogle shopping service (still in beta), which features a searchable database of online merchants, Google is also beta-testing their Google Catalog service. Google Catalogs provides a searchable central repository of hundreds of mail-order catalogs.

The service includes the full scanned contents of the catalogs, not just a photo and subscription information. And these aren't database entries, but real high-quality images of the catalog images themselves. When you are browsing Google Catalog search results, you will see user interface controls at the top and bottom of each page. These are reminiscent of Acrobat and many other browser plug-in controls or common Windows print preview controls, and you can page through each catalog, zoom in/out, switch between one, two, and thumbnail views, jump to a specific page, and search within the current catalog. As with other Google searches, an advanced search feature is also available.

Available catalogs cover a full range of goods from business to consumer, from household names like Harriet Carter to obscure supply catalogs for specialty manufacturers. For easy online shopping, even the order forms, toll-free numbers, and vendor web sites are easily accessible. While beta testing, many of the catalogs are from one to three years old, but that's to be expected. When fully released, this service will almost surely feature not only current catalogs, but a lot more of them, as merchants become aware of the service.

Google recommends using a broadband internet connection to search their Google Catalog service. This is because all search results include images of the catalog pages themselves, and download speed over dialup will be too slow for most users. Google states that they aren't associated with the catalog merchants in any way, and receive no compensation when you buy something from an included catalog.

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.

---

Conducting Business through B2B E-marketplaces

Businesses, which are still sitting on sidelines and not doing... Read More

Alternative E-Commerce Solutions

Over the past several years, the Internet has emerged as... Read More

Is Your Business Afraid of the Internet?

My Business is Afraid of the InternetBill Gates, CEO of... Read More

The Webmasters Assistant

There are many tools available to a webmaster to analyse... Read More

Retirement Signature Frames ? The Perfect Retirement Gift!

When most people think of a retirement gift, they think... Read More

Select a Niche Market for Ecommerce

Choosing a carefully pinpointed niche market should be one of... Read More

The Five Most Commonly Encountered, Off-putting E-commerce Errors

While getting less public handwringing than during holiday season, the... Read More

Managing Project Risks and Issues

Inherent (or Business) RiskInherent Risk is the risk that exists... Read More

Grow Your Business Using B2B Emarketplace - Part I

If you are a small to medium size company and... Read More

Shopping Carts and the E-Aisles

Have you ever gone to the store and thought you... Read More

Cheap Cigarettes, Discount Tobacco and Cigars Online - Is It Legal?

Many people online today still believe that buying tobacco products... Read More

Shopping Online: What You Should Know

For some people, shopping online is as normal as driving... Read More

Ecommerce Comes from Customer Satisfaction

Online shopping is convenient, but many companies whose web sites... Read More

6 Steps to Attracting Black Customers Online

by Jamila White, "The E-Commerce Diva"In the rush to keep... Read More

7 Suggestions for an i-Mom Friendly Web Site (e-commerce news and statistics)

The Internet began as a male dominated medium, but those... Read More

Electronic Commerce and WTO

The Internet may not be useful for all businesses, nor... Read More

Online Payments Make It Easy For Your Customers To Buy

In the last column we discussed the process of credit... Read More

Grow Your Business Using B2B Emarketplace ? Part II

Selecting the right emarketplaceAlthough, IT spending has been staying flat... Read More

7 Key Steps To Reduce Refunds and Chargebacks

One sure-fire way to loosing out big time on your... Read More

Online Customer Service - The Cornerstone of a Successful Online Business

Online customer service is still one of the most frequently... Read More

How To Start An Internet Business ? Site Layout

The fourth step of how to start an Internet business... Read More

The Lowdown On ECommerce: Making All The Pieces Fit Together

The Lowdown on EcommerceEcommerce is truly the most confusing aspect... Read More

E-Gold

E-gold is a digital currency, used extensively on the Internet... Read More

Outsourcing Your Ecommerce Order Fulfillment

When your eCommerce business grows to the point where you... Read More

Your Site is all Direct Marketing

This may not be a popular view, but I think... Read More

How Do You Make Money Online?

If you learn how other people make money online, I... Read More

Website Marketing: 10 Resourceful Things You Can Do With A Product That Doesnt Sell

Do you have any product that has not been moving... Read More

3 Powerful Concepts That Climb Marketing Mountains

You have probably heard many times how you should offer... Read More

How To Stay Cutting Edge In Online Business

Let's face it, there's just way too much information out... Read More

Are You Making These E-Commerce Excuses? (part 2)

Last time, we started to take a look at the... Read More

10 Reasons To Survey Your Visitors, Subscribers And Customers

1. To find out what type of content visitors want... Read More

The Secret Science Of Online Shopping

In theory you could create a retail web site with... Read More

Your Readers are Publishers Too

Too often we charge ahead and treat the web as... Read More