canuckseo - 5:22 pm on Jan 30, 2013 (gmt 0)

They are definitely tied together - i've seen organic listings get replaced with places listings one month, then back to organic the next month.

i've also seen places listings move up in the places through link building. I had a places lisitng move from the bottom position to position 3 in places without any more reviews or changes to the listing, but new backlinks added to the site (on unrelated phrases)