Can you be smarter than Google? Not for long, it seems.

This past week, The New York Times gave readers insights into a new way to game Google: Grab tons of negative reviews and let the link love follow. Fortunately, Google caught wind of the scheme and has adjusted its algorithm to block this sort of thing.

As longtime FOT (that’s Friend of thinks) Mike Moran noted on Twitter the other day:

“The SEO tail wags the business dog again. Someone promotes bad reviews of his own business to gain rankings. Bizarre.”

Of course, I’ve long believed there are better things to do with your time than try to outsmart Google. Score one for the big G. Trying to outsmart Google seems like an especially bad idea when it involves screwing your customers over. Some thought that this guy (sorry, I simply refuse to link to him) was crazy like a fox. I’m pretty sure that screwing your customers is just plain crazy.

Are you getting enough value out of your small business website? Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local, mobile, social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your business via the web, every day. Get more than just news. Get understanding. Add thinks to your feed reader today.

Or subscribe via email.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Tim on Twitter.