SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote) believes that big-name partnerships instead of major merger deals remain the best way to expand its customer base, executives of the Web search leader said on Wednesday.

“M&A (mergers and acquisitions) as a method to acquire traffic has not historically worked,” Chief Executive Eric Schmidt told Wall Street analysts on a conference call, but adding: “Again, we would never rule something like that out.”