Back in 2010, I grab the yellow pages and check out my competition. What was I looking for?

1. What they offered
2. What they specialized in
3. Where they plumbed (Service Area's)
4. How many employee's ect.

Then I did the same on the internet. I check there sites, pulled their keywords and meta tags. Who designed there sites ect.
I found out how my competitors advertise and where locally and if they hired an SEO company.
The answer...

If your goal is to have your business information appear at the top of localized search results, Google Places can help you create and optimize your listing. Here are some common questions and answers about getting started with Google Places.

Why should I use Google Places?
The main advantage of Google Places is that it’s a free way to increase your business. A detailed listing can provide you with name recognition in your local community, allowing you to reach more potential...

Google Places listing for business is less about tricks and more about systematic math. In many cases, when someone puts out a Google Places guide, they mean well and they mean to help other marketers. Oddly, there are not many guides on how to do a Yahoo Places listing, which is relevant here. Yahoo has shifted many times in how it executes this; and so it does not make sense to follow a guide. But the fact of the matter is the same is true about A Google Places listing. The sand shifts every...