Google Expands its Empire – Acquires Zagat to Enhance “Places” Reviews

It seems like the machine that we know as Google just keeps eating up everything  around them in an attempt to complete their mission for complete control of the planet (please note: this is a planet I would love to live on). Today’s news backs my previous statement up. In an exciting development, Google has acquired Zagat to help bolster their review system for Google Places. Traditionally Google has relied on third parties to handle reviews in Google Maps and Google Places. But with a strong emphasis towards controlling its local products, it has become necessary for Google to have its own database of restaurant guides and reviews.

Check out what Marissa Mayer, VP, Local, Maps and Location Services had to say on Google’s blog:

Google just got ZAGAT Rated!

9/08/2011 08:27:00 AM

“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, 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.

So, today, I’m thrilled that Google has acquired Zagat. Moving forward, 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.

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. Founded by Tim and Nina Zagat more than 32 years ago, Zagat has established a trusted and well-loved brand the world over, operating in 13 categories and more than 100 cities. The Zagats have demonstrated their ability to innovate and to do so with tremendous insight. Their surveys may be one of the earliest forms of UGC (user-generated content)—gathering restaurant recommendations from friends, 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. Today, Zagat provides people with a democratized, authentic and comprehensive view of where to eat, drink, stay, shop and play worldwide based on millions of reviews and ratings.

For all of these reasons, I’m incredibly excited to collaborate with Zagat to bring the power of Google search and Google Maps to their products and users, and to bring their innovation, trusted reputation and wealth of experience to our users.

(BTW, Kaygetsu, the place in Menlo Park, definitely lives up to its 27 food rating!)