Company Overview

How many company’s names can be used as a verb? It is a sign of Google’s dominance of the search engine field—and the comparatively young company has Microsoft worried. Google is famous for its deceptively simple search technology. But behind the friendly Google logo is an unrivaled search engine based on the number of links between pages. Fueling revenue for billions of searches are targeted advertisements, part of a program called Google AdWords. Though this combination of searches and accompanying ads is the bread and butter of Google’s business, the company offers other resources including free email, blogging space, and e-commerce services. It also offers AdSense for Content, which delivers advertisements to targeted to website publishers’ content. Technology experts and business pundits keep a close eye on Google because the company’s business model continues to evolve. One day it looks as though the young corporation will enter the realm of online auctions; the next day speculation shifts. Meanwhile, millions of people continue to make Google.com an essential part of their effective use of the Web. And they’ll have more to use as Google continues to expand. In 2006, Google signed a multi-year deal with News Corp. to provide search functions on MySpace.com, the hot online hangout that recorded a whopping 38.7 billion U.S. page views in November 2006 alone. The company also signed with MTV to distribute its video to a number of sites, and with Warner Music Group and Sony BMG, agreeing to make music videos available on Google’s video service and partner sites. And for $1.65 billion, Google also bought the online video-sharing site YouTube. In 2007, the company enhanced its results page with links to images, video clips, shopping information, news headlines, and business data on to be a more “universal” page. But that was only the start of it. Google revealed plans to develop software and partner with Motorola, Samsung, and other phone companies to develop and release Google-powered wireless phones by the end of 2008. Then, in December of the same year, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission gave its OK on Google’s planned acquisition of DoubleClick Inc., a premier provider of display ad serving technology and services. The company had announced an agreement to acquire the company for $3.1 billion in cash from San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman along with JMI Equity and management back in April. On the international scene, the company continues to focus on China, developing a Chinese brand name as well as expanding a Beijing product research facility. Many IT professionals consider a job at Google the new employment gold standard. The company receives more than one thousand applications every day, and topped Fortune’s “Best Company to Work For” list in 2007. Google engineers are encouraged to spend one-fifth of their time on the company project of their choice. The work environment is notoriously intense, yet encourages a sense of creative engagement. And there’s not much of a structured corporate hierarchy—everyone wears several hats and is a contributor to the company’s success.