Update 10/21: According to Joel Headley of Google: The blue pin is there – it’s just hiding behind the “D” marker.

My curiosity was piqued when I noticed that the blue pins for some Local Listing Ads were not showing on the Local Lucky 7- Pack Map.

So what was up?

I performed a second search for Dentist in San Francisco and noticed that consistently on that search, two of the four pins for Local Listing Ad participants were not showing. When I went back and double checked the Local Listing Ads from last week, the pin display was the same for Dentist San Francisco, only 2 of the 4 had them.

The likely explanation is that the pin will only show if the location of the advertiser is within the default map presented for the Lucky-7 Pack. That means that some advertisers will have an ad but not a pin. It will be interesting to see if this display behavior affects click thrus or call rates.