Tech Thursday – Google Acquires Zagat

September 8, 2011

Google reported to have acquired Zagat today. Marissa Mayer, VP, Local, Maps and Location Services writes today that “Zagat will be a cornerstone of our local offering—delighting people with their impressive array of reviews, ratings and insights, while enabling people everywhere to find extraordinary (and ordinary) experiences around the corner and around the world.” Zagat has been operating for more than 32 years now and is considered one of the earliest forms of User Generated Content. It has established itself as a well trusted and loved brand name operating in 13 different categories and more than 100 cities in the world. This move may help Google compete against companies such as Yelp. This also means that Google now will also own some of the data it serves rather than simply aggregating and indexing it. Tim Carmody of Wired.com adds that as Zagat is more or less already fully-backed for digital, which makes it a natural partner for local and mobile search.