Is it possible to be smarter than Google?

I saw a speaker a few years back who said, “If your business model relies on you being smarter than Google, get a new business model.” Harsh, maybe? But is it good advice?

After spending this morning with Google, my answer is a qualified… maybe.

Now don’t roast me for being noncommittal. It’s more a matter of nuance. I prefer to say, don’t try to outsmart Google where the risks outweigh the benefits.

Black hat SEO? Well, is it worth it to you to get completely bounced from Google? No? Then play nice and partner up.

Search? The only real risk is wasting a lot of time and money. If you don’t care about those things (i.e., you’re venture funded and it’s not your money), knock yourself out. If not…

Knowing your customer? Ah… Now we’re onto something. Google has ridiculous amounts of data and can know tremendous amounts about your customer. Google can find and target customers all over the place. Leverage their tools, like AdPlanner, where it makes sense to augment your understanding. But, ultimately, you should never outsource understanding your customer. Is it possible you’ll be able to outsmart Google when it comes to knowing your customer? Maybe not. But the risk of not trying is much, much worse.

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