Google acquires Zagat to make Google Maps and Google search more useful

Google has acquired the restaurant rating firm Zagat. The search engine giant plans to combine Zagat ratings and reviews with its Google's location-based services like Google Maps and Google search.

Quoted from the official Google blog,

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.

According to Google's Marissa Mayer, VP of Local, Maps and Location Services, published in a post on the Official Google Blog, "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," adding, "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."