Hi guys. Anyone know how to influence Google Local rankings? I.E. getting into the top 3 places next to Google's locals map. I can't seem to find anything on e-consultancy about it - or anywhere else.

It seems like a pretty valuable bit of space to be in - being as though a UK local search map takes up a large percentage of space right at the top of the page there.

Any help/pointers much appreciated.

Thanks. You're right. That is what I'm talking about. Anyone know what comes into play here? With Google not charging for it and our client's excellent general search performance being ignored for identical keyphrases - it's not obvious what factors Google are taking into account for the local searches.

I've actually seen Google maps with multiple display results from a single business, where other suppliers have been ignored, and others where the map has exclusively shown results on the other side of London and ignored actual suppliers from that location.  'Office Space in Croydon' being a current example.

So far as I can tell it all seems a bit random. Strange considering the real-estate Google are giving it and the potential for anyone with a local branch or locally-based business.

It's actually quite simple. The closest geograhical location to the town showing the listings, gets the highest position ranking. Therefore for searches you appear in, in the local listing, you cannot influence the ranking except by moving closer in!

david@adwordsanswers.com

thanks for this chaps... i was checking things out the other day and didn't get round to registering... just done it now after your prompting... will keep you posted on the results as they come in!!