Robert_Charlton - 4:15 am on Nov 17, 2007 (gmt 0)

The one-box results up at the top are often different from Google Maps results, though there are often some similarities. They generally don't correspond to the algorithmic results in the broader Google index.

You should get your business listed in Google Maps....

Google Local Business Center
Help customers find you on Google Maps
https://www.google.com/local/add/login

You should also note where Google appears to be getting its data, and try to get listings in local sources Google uses. Make sure your local data is consistent across various directories, etc, in which you are listed.

Factors affecting rankings, and even the scope of the map, appear to vary depending on the nature of the business types searched. Google has improved over its initial "distance from the center of the zip code" approach to rankings, eg, but location is an inevitable consideration. Local review sites appear to be a big factor in many searches. Google also appears to be buying data from human edited sources like Zagat, which might conceivably be less prone to manipulation than local discussion groups.

Both the one box and the Google Maps algorithm have been evolving over time and some of the most interesting discussions about search I've read in the past few years have appeared in the WebmasterWorld Local Search Forum [webmasterworld.com].

Here's one of my favorite local search discussions, from three years back....

User Reviews and Local Search Optimization
[webmasterworld.com...]