What I like, and what I work on is a second interesting search phenomena. Its a phenomena wherein the site has tremendously strong connectivity to the city name, even if its not part of the official name.

Basically if you have done a huge and relatively far stronger job than your competitors you might be found for search phrases for city name/business vertical or service.

The Herson’s Kia was one example. I saw the same thing with some other search terms for business type/city name. (its sorta where thru optimization that business “owns that name”.

In lieu of the OneMap with picture/map and google + Places data from your “Places page, it shows an equally expansive Map with a single pinned result and none of the info from the interior places page.

Its still an extremely prominent position on the google.com search page.

@Andy
Agreed

There are some variations on this. For instance use alternative search terms for the single Kia dealership located in Rockville, Md, with two different close but different search phrases:

Rockville Kia:

On the right is just a map. no pictures:

Alternatively search for that singular business:

Hersons Kia:

There is the expanded onebox with picture and detailed information below.

In at least that example there are more site links for the more definitive term, Hersons.

In either case its a prominent listing.

I searched on some examples wherein a business seems to dominate serps for a city name/its service. Some times its because of the actual business name. Sometimes its because of significant levels of relative “SEO/Local Optimization” relative to the competition.

In those cases the somewhat less prominent example shows up as opposed to the full OneMap with a picture and description underneath on the right of the page.

Will google monetize on the inside or not, as Nyagoslav suggested. I don’t know.

It will provide for some interesting data over time for Google, though. Unfortunately for the rest of us, none of us will know what google knows as to how users respond to these different presentations.

Dave

@Nyagoslav
I don’t think Google is focusing on click thrus to their Local Pages but on giving answers and keeping users at Google. Certainly they, and every other stock held company, are under pressures to increase revenues and going forward we will see more and more of that. But I don’t think this directly related to that.

I also think that they will be adding new SMB paid products in the near future if they ever get the Biz Builder done. Hopefully some of those products WILL see the front page of a business OneBox. Otherwise they will have little value.

@Chad
Google is certainly giving a lot of real estate to local brands. I am with you… take advantage of it.

@Marylyn
In the recent survey (see question 3) as to how consumers find lawyers a very small percentage of folks (~4%) said that when they go to google will they go into Google to look at photos. They are more likely to go into the Local page to look at reviews. But even that task was superseded by the users desire to go to the business website .
I am not sure that this will change their behaviors that much… some but not much.

Google+ Local Gets in Your Face! – love it.