Google announced Wednesday that it has bought Appetas, a service that lets restaurants build their own websites.
The move is part of the search giant's interest in working with local businesses - and restaurants in particular - so that it can compete against Yelp, according to TechCrunch.
Appetas allows restaurants to combine services from OpenTable and GrubHub to include extra features like reservations and delivery services.
"Google shares Appetas' vision for bringing incredibly simple experiences to merchants that strengthen their business," Appetas co-founders Curtis Fonger and Keller Smith wrote on the company's blog. "We're very excited to use what we've learned with Appetas to create something even better at Google."
Appetas said that restaurant websites are usually difficult to use, have outdated menus and may not be able to work with PCs and mobile devices, ZDNet reported. This motivated the company to provide a service that is easy for local restaurant owners to use and promote their businesses.
Appetas also works with the service Foursquare.
The company added that customers will be moving to alternative platforms "to focus on our new endeavors." It did not provide any details about what these endeavors are, TechCrunch reported.
"We'll be reaching out to each customer individually to ensure a smooth transition," the company said.
Neither company disclosed the terms of the deal.
Appetas was founded in Seattle in 2012 and has raised close to $120,000 since then. The company received $50,000 of funding from Right Side Capital Management and Palo Alto Venture Science, as well as funding from TechStars, where it was created, TechCrunch reported.
The company was also able to raise money by winning the AngelHack hackathon in 2012.
Google's initiatives for helping local businesses include Google Place for Businesses, which local merchants can use to submit information for Google to display in search results, Digits reported.
The search giant also lets merchants shoot panoramas of their business for Google to provide in search results.
