GoDaddy, the popular domain name provider, is acquiring Locu, a San Francisco startup aiming to help small businesses by easily found online, for $70 million.

Although the acquisition might seem like a stretch for GoDaddy, CEO Blake Irving (News - Alert) said it makes complete sense, as the two companies have similar missions.

Locu epitomizes what GoDaddy is all about - both companies are hell-bent on helping the “little guys” thrive on the Internet, Irving said. "Locu is comprised of amazing technologists who have taken the very complex problem of helping small businesses 'get found' wherever consumers are looking and are solving it through elegant, technology-based services. We are welcoming some of the brightest technology minds on the planet to our GoDaddy family,” he said.

Locu already has more than 30,000 small businesses using its services, including accountants, restaurants, contractors and others. The company also has partnerships with companies like TripAdvisor, Foursquare (News - Alert), YP.com and Facebook. Customers only have to enter their contact info once, and Locu propagates it to sites like Yelp, letting customers find them.

"We couldn't think of a more powerful platform to accelerate Locu's growth," Rene Reinsberg, CEO and cofounder of Locu, said. "We each have a core mission to help local businesses succeed. Our team developed deep respect for GoDaddy during our initial partnership and was impressed by the execution speed and quality, its industry-leading customer support, and the passionate, experienced new mangement team who puts 'product first.' All of this further positions GoDaddy as the 'go-to' provider in the small business space."

The two companies began working together when GoDaddy included Locu into its Website Builder, allowing small businesses an easy way to build a web presence from any device, from PCs to smartphones.

"Over the last few months, Locu has played an incredible role in helping grow the Presence and Commerce business through our Website Builder partnership," said Raj Mukherjee, GM of Presence and Commerce at GoDaddy. "The Locu team will play a much bigger role in helping GoDaddy's small businesses reach their customers more effectively and at lower cost."