Search for Googlebooks Returns Google Books, Not Google's New Laptops

The outlet reported that typing "Googlebooks" into Google Search instead produces a first page of results for Google Books, the database of full-text books and magazines. Android Authority attributed the observation to The Verge and described the overlap as an oversight, noting that the two names are nearly identical.

Googlebooks are a new category of laptop that combines ChromeOS and Android into a single desktop operating system, according to Android Authority. Pre-orders for the machines opened on Monday, making it what the outlet described as a big week for Google. The laptops have sold out on the company's US store, Android Authority reported, citing their apparent popularity.

Google Books, by contrast, is the company's long-running digital library of books and magazines, a product whose name differs from the new hardware line by a single letter and a space. The similarity means the search engine's top results for the laptop brand currently point to the book service rather than to any product listings, support pages or marketing material for the computers.

Android Authority framed the situation as an SEO problem for the new product line and said the Mountain View-based company would have been expected to catch the clash before opening pre-orders. The outlet noted that readers looking for more information about the laptops will not find it through Search.

Neither Google nor Alphabet has publicly commented on the search results in the material reviewed. The search behavior was documented by The Verge and reported by Android Authority, and no further details on how or whether Google plans to address the results were provided in that account.

Editor's Summary Googlebooks, a new laptop category that merges ChromeOS and Android into one desktop operating system, went up for pre-order Monday and has already sold out on Google's US store. A search for the product name on Google Search returns first-page results for Google Books, the company's separate index of digitized books, according to Android Authority, which cited The Verge. The outlet described the near-identical naming as an SEO problem that pushes prospective buyers toward the book service instead of the new hardware.