Google, and other major search engines, favor local search optimization (especially for businesses) because a large number of searches conducted online are for local information.
Local SEO is a really important part of any Internet marketing or search optimization strategy.
Not only because of the search engines' bias in favor of local results, but also because attracting a local audience is simply more valuable for most businesses.
This article shows how important it is to create and maintain a wide array of local business listings for great local SEO, and how to manage and maintain these listings to drive high converting traffic from local search.