Google is expanding. Again. The search engine giant mega-corporation announced on its blog that it’s moving forward with the purchase of Zagat. This will undoubtedly have a huge impact on Google’s local results and Places, particularly Places.
Last year, with Yelp walking away from an acquisition offer of their own, Google upped the ante by purging Yelp results from Places and then giving Places its own app. But it was the content – i.e. Yelp’s healthy collection of community-based reviews – that Google needed to make Places viable. Licensing content from review sites had been getting the job done, for the most part, but without Yelp, Places wouldn’t see the growth to which Google was accustomed with its properties.
Enter Zagat
Zagat is a highly regarded brand in the review genre. Their restaurant ratings system has been trusted for 30+ years and has integrated ratings and reviews submitted by an extensive “surveyor” base, with a strong online community of their own. Couple this with a demonstrated ability to innovate with tremendous insight (according to Google’s blog entry) and it seems a natural addition to Google’s empire.
Zagat’s restaurant reviews – that Google will now own – appear to be the biggest threat to Yelp. Though, they’re currently behind a pay-wall, they’ve proven moderately successful. No word on whether the subscription-based business model will change.
When the Dust Settles
A number of questions still remain. Will Zagat’s on-line offerings become free? Why not? Google is known for “free” and making the Zagat restaurant, entertainment venue, and travel reviews available pro bono could drive a hefty stake into Yelp’s traffic. What’s more, the boon to Places and Google’s local search results can’t help but be felt by every site in the field.
Whether it remains subscription-based or goes ad-supported, Zagat’s core business model is still print publishing. It’ll be interesting to see if/how this manifests under Google’s watch and how competitors will react to the ever-growing conflict of interest balancing act that’s becoming the norm in Mountain View.