Google today acquired Zagat in an effort to bolster its local products with the restaurant rating service. More notable is that Zagat is a content company.

In a blog post, Google said that Zagat will “be a cornerstone of our local offering.” Zagat is best known for its original reviews and rating service.

There are a few key elements to the Zagat purchase:

• Google will build out its local coverage and have reviews in more than 100 cities.

• Google is showing that it may actually have to own some content instead of merely aggregating it.

• As Robert Scoble noted, Zagat’s reviews are social-friendly and play in with Google+.

via Google buys Zagat, in original-content gambit | Digital Media – CNET News.