Ever wonder how Google grew as quickly and profitably as it did? Fortune magazine talks with Larry Page, revealing a perspective that sheds light on the company's success. Page follows a method he calls the "toothbrush test," which every new product must pass. It means the product is important enough for most people to use at least twice daily. And while Page shares information on a variety of projects, it's the sound bytes of his thought process that reveal Google's future.

As the U.S. Congress approves the fiscal cliff measure, Business Insider tells us that Google funneled £6 billion through Bermuda in 2012, halving its 2011 tax bill that put £1 billion less into government hands. The post points to another that claims Google Chairman Eric Schmidt called the company's legitimate tax arrangement to lower taxes "capitalism."

I predict that Rand Fishkin's 10 predictions for inbound marketing will identify a broader direction for SEOmoz in 2013 -- which historically focused on search engine optimization -- and make at least one acquisition in this space. His No. 2 prediction talks about how inbound marketing will show up in more job titles, as SEO becomes too limiting for many professionals who will need to broaden their own skills to support social and content marketing, as well as top-level domain name sites companies will start launching later this year.

Scott Brinker describes the impact that data and data rights of the owners will have on marketing in 2013, by pointing to steps taken by media and other organizations that provide access to view "publicly available" data online. For example, The Journal News posted the names and addresses of gun permit holders in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam. The information is public record, but the media agency aggregated the data in maps to provide one view.

Paid-search audits identify opportunities and flag problems, so it's important to review campaigns frequently. Jeremy Hull lays out a road map for auditing paid-search accounts, from checking campaign settings to account structures to ad copy and extensions. Ad extensions like Google sitelinks can help consumers who are searching for products or services to quickly find the information -- but don't discount other extensions like PLAs, location, and social.