A new addition to Google services could affect restaurants around the world that were previously reviewed by Zagat. Google search is to include ratings of restaurants free of charge, which will be taken from the Zagat review service. Google purchased Zagat in September 2011 and promptly dropped the $25 annual fee for the service.
Zagat produced a survey completed by diners for around 35,000 restaurants situated in 100 cities all over the world. The annual or monthly charge gave subscribers access to the survey. The reviews are now to be published free of charge on Zagat.com and some Google services. Any restaurant that appears in Google search results that has been reviewed by Zagat will now initiate a listing which will provide ratings for different aspects of the restaurant’s service.
The scoring system of Zagat has 30 points and looks at the décor of a restaurant, service provided and quality of food. Any recommendations or relevant comments about the restaurant left by a user’s contacts on Google+ will also be displayed. The new development could affect the SEO campaign of a number of restaurants wherever they are situated, whether Chester or California. The changes could also make some SEO jobs more complex.
The founders of Zagat, Tim and Nina Zagat posted on their Google Plus page.
“Now, the world’s highest-quality reviews are available to more people, whether they are at their desks or on the go.”
Google’s purchase of Zagat places the search giant in competition with Yelp, a well-known rating service available online.
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