Here’s my presentation (hosted by SlideShare) on Local Search Rankings from PubCon Las Vegas 2012.
Obviously I went into some detail on each slide….but the long and short is that Google continues to blend / integrate search listings, especially with Local. What that means is that you not only need to optimize your Web site itself, but also your Google Places / + page. Moreover, you need to “optimize” things such as reviews, ratings, images, videos, and do other things that increase engagement on your Page / Site. You also want to make certain that you follow best practices as it relates to minimizing negative signals (i.e. inconsistent address info across structured citations) and maximize positive signals (appropriate category associations, use of local area code / phone # as primary #, etc.).
Feel free to post questions if you have them.