"Just Google It!! How many times have we heard or said that in our lives. The name "Google" has become part of our lexicon, joining the ranks of "I need a Kleenex", "hand me a cresant wrench",  and "xerox this for me." However, unlike Kleenex, Cresant and Xerox, whose products essentially have just one function, Google does a lot more than just search, including dozens of free apps (online software) that can make your life online easier.

Google Reader

Who has time to visit 30 Web sites? Keeping up-to-date is a full-time job in itself, and knowing what the market is talking about in regards to your product, business or company is critical for success. An RSS reader allows you to keep up on things without having to go to dozens of different Web sites to see if they have new content. RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, lets Web sites deliver their content to a RSS Reader, so you can read the content from multiple sites in one place. Google Reader is small, easy to use and most importantly, fast.  Plus, not only does it let you keep track of all of your favorite Web sites from any computer, it offers the ability to save feeds for later reading or sending to others.  Check it out at google.com/reader.

Google Docs

Just about everyone has some sort of office-type application installed on their work computer. For most of us, it's likely Microsoft office.  Office is a great suite, but it has two critical limitations. It's only on your computer and it costs at best a few hundred dollars to purchase.  

Google has an office suite known as Google Docs, which is completely free and available anywhere there's an internet connection. That means you'll be able to view and edit any of your word processing documents, spreadsheets or presentations online at anytime. Now, I hear you asking "why would I want my documents to be online? How many times have you had to pass the same file back and forth with someone while you were working on it?  We've all done that, but using Google Docs, you can just upload your documents, decide who to share them with and work together on the document. When it's done, you can print or email it as you would with any other office suite. Google Docs can be a real time saver, especially when you factor in all the wasted time waiting for the constant back and forth of document collaboration. Have a look at google.com/docs.

Google News and Google Alerts

Knowing what's being said about your product or business is critical. You never know when a happy customer talking about your Web site or product can be a great piece of PR — or when someone with a less than favorable experience with your service might be a nightmare. However, if someone wrote something about your business in their blog, you may never know about it; the Web is just too big anymore. Large companies have entire departments dedicated to surfing the Web all day looking for mentions of their company. Unfortunately, the rest of us don’t have that kind of luxury. Good thing for us that there is Google News and Google Alerts.

Setting up "search terms" for your business name or products in Google Alerts and Google News will result in weekly, daily, or even more frequent (if you choose) emails about every single place on the Web your search terms appear. If someone blogs about your product on the other side of the world or a newspaper article in the next town over mentions your Web site, you’ll know about it. Have a look yourself at google.com/news and google.com/alerts.

With so much available on the Internet, sometimes it's easy to get into the "ne trick pony" mindset when it comes to what Web sites offer. Dig a little deeper; you never know what you'll find beneath the surface.