I have a confession to make. I’ve been unfaithful. Before you call my wife (and her attorney), I’m not talking about my marital status…which is great, by the way.

Google and I have had a long-term relationship that has rarely been challenged. I’ve used it for nearly everything: web searches, email, calendars, blogging, photo sharing, advertising, website enhancements, research, and about a million other tasks critical to my personal and professional lives (I try to keep them separate and balanced).

But lately I’ve been visiting another site for my basic web search needs. Okay, a few other sites. And you know what? I like it! I recently changed my browser’s default search engine from Google to Yahoo!, simply to get another perspective on “relevance.” Who knows? I might try Ask or MSN Live Live Search next week.

You see, I’ve had Google set as the default in Firefox’s search bar for as long as I can remember. Years. Possibly nearly a decade. It’s been so easy just to query the world’s “database of intentions” without having to type in yet another URL.

It’s Okay to Cheat

Switching search engines periodically will expose you to new search tools, new definitions of relevance, and different types of search results.

Pay attentions and you might discover some actionable intelligence about your competitors’ search marketing strategies.

Try it, you might like it. Just don’t tell Google.