It’s not hard to understand why Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is interested in buying Yelp, which has successfully created a community around thousands of real-world locations. It’s even monetized the content, and will reportedly make up to $30 million in revenues this year.
But it’s not a stretch to see why else Google’s interested in Yelp. It’s for mobile, too. To be sure, Yelp has built apps for the iPhone, Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre, BlackBerry and Android — in addition to its mobile website. But it goes beyond that. As Google gets into mobile more, it will need local business information in order to provide valuable services. Imagine having richer content and data when getting driving directions from Google’s free maps or navigation app. Or, imagine getting information on the fly when walking down the street. Today, the content is informational, but tomorrow it could be advertising.
Google has already started to make moves in this space. In September, it rolled out

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