Deal expands local content in niche marketplace that includes Yelp and Yahoo:Google has bought Zagat, the popular restaurant recommendations and ratings authority, to expand its local content in the niche marketplace that includes Yelp and Yahoo.
In an entry on the search giant’s official blog titled “Google just got ZAGATRated!,” Google Vice President Marissa Mayer said Thursday that Zagat will now become “a cornerstone” of Google’s local offering, adding “reviews, ratings and insights, while enabling people everywhere to find extraordinary (and ordinary) experiences around the corner and around the world.”
Mayer said the 32-year-old Zagat, which polls consumers and compiles reviews on restaurants around the world, will work in tandem with its mapping services and core search engine.
“With Zagat, we gain a world-class team that has more experience in consumer based-surveys, recommendations and reviews than anyone else in the industry,” Mayer said.
Founded by Tim and Nina Zagat, their eponymous service provides pocket-sized guides to restaurants in more than 100 cities. It may be one of the earliest forms of user-generated content, Mayer said in her blog post.
"We are thrilled to see our baby placed in such good hands and to start today as official 'Googlers,'" Tim and Nina Zagat said in a joint statement.
Zagat will go up against competing services popular with users on the Internet, including Yelp.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
reuters