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BY ALEX OLGIN
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Not sure what to eat? Or where? Well it might just be a Google search away. The tech giant just bought Zagat’s restaurant review guide.
A blogger for the Huffington Post explains how the deal will work.
“Rather than directing searchers to these third-party sites, Google instead could foreseeably feature Zagat's ratings and reviews, which are highly regarded, in search results, in Google maps, and in mobile apps.”
Which means less business for online restaurant review sites such as Open Table. According to CNBC the new Google-Zagat combination has a more user-friendly business model.
“It’s a couple of steps before they actually start taking business from open table but there are low barriers to entry and Google could certainly do the same service for free and pay and make money by selling advertisements. I think that would be a much better business model if I was Open Table, I would be concerned about the move.”
Open Table isn’t the only restaurant review company that needs to be on the lookout. Yelp may soon be calling for help says TechChron’s James Temple.
“Now that Google owns Zagat, the obvious question becomes: will it favor those reviews over those created by competitors, including the clearly more popular Yelp of San Francisco?”
Zagat’s has been critiquing restaurants for 30 years.
A CNN Money blogger says -- there’s value in the name.
“Plus, the Zagat brand already attracts people looking for their next meal -- meaning it's a ready-made portal for reservations. Particularly if it gets better search functionality, which Google should be able to provide.”
Finally Bloomberg’s Cris Valero says this deal means expansion into the local markets of Googlers.
“This is a clear move by the search giant to build its local offerings to advertisers. This comes in the face of increased competition from companies like Groupon, Yelp and Four Square. Zagat has very strong ties to a network of restaurants and entertainment venues, something Google is trying to have access to.”
Transcript by Newsy.
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