Before the dust has even settled on Google's blockbuster Motorola acquisition bid, the search engine giant is making another purchase: Zagat, a restaurant-review firm.
Marissa Mayer, vice president of Local, Maps And Location Services at Google, said Zagat would be a cornerstone of Google's local offering.
The Zagat acquisition will give Google an array of reviews, ratings and insights that will help people discover restaurants in their local neighborhood or in exotic places around the world.
" 'Did you know there's a place in Menlo Park near the Safeway that has a 27 food rating?' One of my friends asked me that about two years ago," Mayer said, "and I was struck because I immediately knew what it meant.
"Food rating...30 point scale 
... Zagat. And the place...had to be good. With no other context, I instantly recognized and trusted Zagat's review and recommendation."
User-Generated Content Pioneer
Mayer is not alone. Zagat is a trusted brand in restaurant reviews. Zagat is also a pioneer of user-generated content. By combining Google and Zagat content, resources and platforms, the companies plan to "offer new ways for consumers to express their opinions and make informed decisions," Zagat said on its home page.
"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, noting that the brand was founded 32 years ago and operates in 13 categories in more than 100 cities.
"The Zagats have demonstrated their ability to innovate and to do so with tremendous insight," Mayer continued. She called Zagat surveys one of the earliest forms of user-generated content, which gathered restaurant recommendations from friends and computing and distributing ratings before the Internet as we know it today even existed.
"Their iconic pocket-sized guides with paragraphs summarizing and 'snippeting' sentiment were 'mobile ' before 'mobile' involved electronics," Mayer said.
Competing Locally
The Google-Zagat tie-up seems like a fit for both companies. Zagat tried to sell itself a year ago, hiring Goldman Sachs to advise on the deal. Google, meanwhile, has tried to pick up Yelp and Groupon to enhance its local-content business . Google has tried to replicate both services, but hasn't gained much traction. With the Zagat deal, Google gets plenty of Internet assets that could help it compete in the local market.
"This is primarily about acquiring reviews content but it also comes with other secondary assets: guides, an online community and mobile apps," said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence.
"Google is fortifying its local content now that it no longer is showing Yelp and other reviews on its Places pages. But will Google continue publishing the books? Probably not. And maintain the Zagat online subscription business? Probably not. It's a significant acquisition for Google's local efforts."
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