Global Discoverability Guidance

Updated February 10, 2025

Through IngramSpark's extensive distribution channels, your title has the potential to reach audiences around the world. For optimized global discoverability of your title regardless of the content language, use these metadata guidelines and suggestions. All content must follow our Catalog Integrity Guidelines. 

Below are key metadata elements to consider for reaching the widest global audience in retail, wholesale, and library markets. For non-English content, some metadata can be provided in both the content language and in English. Incorporating key metadata in English enables retailers and libraries to curate and source titles for their customer base more effectively, even if they aren't fluent in the content's language. 

Title Name

• • The title name field has a 400 byte limit. Most English language characters equal one byte. To ensure your text fits within these parameters, an online calculator can be used to determine the byte size of your text.
    • Byte Calculator
  • For non-English content, list the title name in English first and then in the content language, separated by a “/”.
    • Example: The Three Little Pigs / Los Tres Cerditos
  • Be mindful of the 400 byte limit for this field, especially for non-Roman languages where each character can sometimes use 2-4 bytes.
  • Right-to-Left Content - We also suggest listing the English title first for languages that are read Right-to-Left (Arabic, Hebrew, Farsi, for example). Online retailers may have different character limits on what they can display. If text is cut off due to exceeding their limit, we recommend listing the English first since our data systems are based on a left-to-right reading orientation. 

Content Language

• • This is the language in which the book is printed. This should be provided in the metadata in English.
    • • Example: Spanish, French, Arabic, etc.

Edition Description

• • If there are multiple editions of the title in different languages, use the edition description to identify those. Provide the edition description in English.
    • • Example: Spanish Edition
  • Please note: An edition description of International Edition should only be used to identify titles that are only available in markets outside the U.S. If you want your title to be available for purchase in the U.S., do not use “International Edition”.  
  • Bilingual Content: Consider using “Bilingual” as the edition for titles written in more than one language.

Contributors

• • Provide up to three contributor names with the appropriate roles (author, illustrator, translator, etc.).
  • Contributor names should match what is printed on the cover. Be consistent with the spelling and format.
  • If the work was originally published in another language, include the name of the translator as one of the contributors. If AI was used for translating, provide “Artificial Intelligence” as the translator's name.
  • Include a contributor biography. Here, you can provide personal information about the contributor such as prior works, education, achievements, and personal facts.

     

BISAC Subjects – Used in North American markets, BISAC categories help classify titles by subject matter.

• • Using three subject categories is recommended.
  • List the most specific BISAC category first.
  • Avoid general BISACs such as ‘FICTION/General’ or ‘RELIGION/General’.

THEMA Subjects – Used in all markets outside North America, Thema is an international classification system used to categorize books based on subject matter. They consist of two parts: subject and qualifier codes.

• • Thema Subjects: Use up to three Thema subjects to convey subject matter. 
  • Thema Qualifiers: Qualifiers are used in conjunction with Thema subjects and help to refine the subject categories. For example, Qualifiers can further describe Place, Language, Audience, and Time Period.
  • For additional info on using and selecting Thema subjects, see here.

Keywords

• • Keywords help with online search optimization. Provide at least seven keywords or phrases that potential customers may search for.
  • Separate keywords by semi-colons (500 character limit). Do not put spaces in between keywords.
    • Example: door;photos of my home;livestock;sunglasses;birthday candles
  • For non-English titles, keywords should be provided in both the content language and English.
    • Example: door;la puerta;photos of my home;unas fotos de mi casa;livestock;ganado

Book Descriptions

• • Provide both a short description and a full description to help explain and summarize what your book is about.
  • This descriptive copy should be appropriate for public display, and will be used for marketing, discovery, and sales purposes.
  • Each book description field has a byte limit. Use a Byte Calculator to ensure your text fits within these limits.
    • • 250 bytes for a short description
      • 4,000 bytes for a full description
  • HTML can be used to format book descriptions but should be limited to : <p>, <br />, <ul>, <ol>, <li>, <em> or <i>, <strong> or <b>, and corresponding end tags. Do not include active hyperlinks in your description.
  • For non-English titles, provide the full and short descriptions in both English and the content language. The text can be provided in the same field but should be separated by a line break. Providing descriptions in English will help reach a wider audience, by allowing a bookseller or librarian who may not speak the content language source books for their customers who do speak the content language.
  • Bilingual Content – Within the book description, indicate all languages in which the content is written.
  • For translated works, consider mentioning the original language in which the book was translated from within the book description.

Pricing

• • Pricing should only be provided for markets in which the publisher has rights to sell the title.

Please note* If using copy/paste to enter metadata, paste as Plain Text to help avoid formatting issues.

HTML should only be used for narrative text such as book descriptions and contributor bios. Do not use HTML in other fields such as the title name, contributor names, keywords, etc.