Google Finally Starts to Kill Zagat Scores

Filed in Google, Local Search by Matt McGee on May 17, 2013 0 Comments

I wish you could’ve seen my face on Wednesday during the keynote at Google I/O. My eyes lit up big and bold and I’m sure my mouth opened wide while I wondered, “Did I just really see and hear them kill Zagat scores?”

Indeed, I did. Google even announced it on their blog, too.

This, you may know, is something I’ve been advocating for time and time again, so it was nice to see that Google finally realized the error of a 30-point rating scale.

That said, Zagat scores aren’t completely dead. In the new Google Maps, some business listings will continue to display a small Zagat icon and users can click that for additional Zagat-based information about the business. As Google explained in the blog post:

Zagat reviews are still available throughout Google, and you’ll continue to see Zagat throughout Google products with editorial reviews and curated lists awarded to notable places.

But the primary scoring system for local businesses is reverting back to the standard, widely understood 5-point/star scale. And that’s how it should be.

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