Its going to be hard to compete with a long answer like that Ranaweeram's, but I'll give it a shot.
- Ads. Ads. Ads. Google's major source of revenue of $6.1 billion stems almost entirely from ads.
- In order to increase revenue from ads, Google can go in two directions:
- Create a larger online user base: By investing in different online services (Writely, Picasa), by creating online services (Search, Gmail, GCal, Spreadsheets) and by providing free online storage (Web albums, Page Creator), Google is increasing the amount of pages accessed every day, increasing the ads viewed everyday and making it more attractive for people who want to get word of their product out. Basically, by throwing a multiple products against the wall and seeing what sticks, they increase their target audience.
- Spread offline: Google has recently begun to branch out from the internet, primarly through print (trial ads in the Chicago Sun-Times) and radio ("dMarc, which provides an automated system that allows companies to advertise on the radio" -- Wikipedia)
Like any company, Google wants to increase its revenue. By focusing on the global market, it can increase its users and increase ad impressions. However, the diverse approaches it uses allows it to stay flexible enough to focus on other ultimate (and farther) goals, such as creating an online Office replacement or creating an internet-based operating system.
Whoo, that went on longer than I thought it would.
