In This Chapter

You probably know Google as a web search engine—the Web search engine, perhaps. But Google is a lot more than just a simple search engine. It’s a collection of technologies (most of which are search-related, to be fair) that helps users find and use all manner of information, both on the Internet and on their own computers.

Google is also the company behind the technology. It might surprise you to know that Google actually makes very little money from its search technologies. What Google does to make money is sell advertising based on its search results. When you look at its income statement, Google doesn’t look much like a technology company; instead, it looks quite a bit like an advertising company.

So if you only know Google for its famous search page, you have a lot of catching up to do. Read on to learn more about what Google really is—and what it does.