Almost 6 months ago I was requested by a local client to get them listed (or rather improve their listings) in Google Maps and Yahoo local.

I made a series of changes to the listing, helped them get their reviews improved, modified their business categories. On Yahoo the results showed up within a week.

On Google however the local listing was mired on page two and despite many of the same changes, didn’t go anywhere. This past Sunday, the listing has moved to the number one spot on the Google search page.

This raises several questions but the obvious one is: Does Google Maps have a Sandbox?

It would seem likely that they do. But the question that I have is: Is this just a function of their data update cycle or is it a more formal protocol that they follow.

Over the 6 month period, I had noticed that the reviews from citysearch.com that seemed to influence the standing on this listing were updated on Google. Now the aggregate star rating has been updated although Google Maps still quotes an older 3 star star review.