Google is one of those tech companies that started small (literally in a dorm room) and grew exponentially over the years. Its success is due to a focus on simplicity—a simple home page, a simple search process, and simple (yet relevant) results. There’s a lot of complex technology behind the simplicity, of course, but however Google does it, it works.

And, to Google’s credit, it has discovered how to make money (and lots of it) from what is essentially a free service. The searching may be free, but Google turns a profit by selling targeted ads (those “sponsored links”) connected to specific search terms. Google makes money from its advertising customers without alienating its consumer customers—a very neat trick.