If you can't beat it - Google it . . .

Several years ago, I received some very sage advice from my boss at the time, “Never bet against Microsoft.” This was at a time when Microsoft was facing anti-trust litigation. Needless to say, that proved to be very sound advice.

I’d like offer similar sounding advice to you my dear reader – “Don’t bet against Google.” They said the IPO wouldn’t happen, it did. They said the market wouldn’t bear its share price, it has and continues to at more than double the initial offering price of $85. It has taken over the adword market, it is cataloging the world’s best libraries, and that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

So my advice to you is to make Google your friend. It can be one of your most powerful tools as you conduct market research.

Want to know who your competitors are? Type in your webpage to Google’s similar search feature - Similar Pages - you’ll be surprised who comes up.

Want to Global? Google has a language translation feature - Web Page Translation

Want to search the deep web? Consider searching by file types - File Types

These is but a small smattering of tools offered by Google. Why not take a ride along with one of 2004’s most successful IPO’s ?