A latest report that grabbed eyeballs, is about the search giant’s acquisitions made in 2011. If reports are to be believed, Google has spent nearly $2 billion on total of 79 acquisitions in year 2011. Most of Google's 2011 acquisitions were targeted at enhancing its local business and commerce search efforts.

To the reader’s surprise, in the first nine months of 2011, Google had completed the acquisition of 57 companies for a total of US $502 million, surpassing the previous record of 44 acquisitions for US $669 million in previous year.

It is worth noticing, Google has acquired over 100 firms in the last decade, translating into purchase of 10 companies a year on average.

The biggest acquisition of 2011was the $676 million purchase of ITA Software by Google. Other significant deals include acquisition of ad market specialist Admeld for $400 million and restaurant review guide maker Zagat for $151 million. 

Near the year end, search giant Google Inc has acquired two startup firms, Apture and Katango. These acquisitions are likely to help the company to enhance user’s experience for its browser and social networking services. 

Most recently, Google acquired mobile application developer CleverSense.  Sources informed, Clever Sense is known for its 'Alfred' application which is basically a location-based bar recommendation application. 

Analysts believe, these deals help Google to compete against its rivals including Facebook, Microsoft and other. 

ITVoir NewsDesk