#1 rank useless for local?

OK, I really don't get this.

I've gotten my client the #1 ranking in Google for the term "dietitian morristown NJ." I've set her up in the Google Local Business Center and her location (Morristown, NJ) is prominent both on-page and off-page. Yet when I do the above search, yes, she's the top result, but there's a map above her with three listings, none of which include her. And two of them aren't even in Morristown!

If she's truly the top ranking page for this keyword, why is she being pushed down the page?

Links, authority, and age.....

I have heard....Rumors here...That it is helpful to utilize a Google map on site as well.

--Melanie

hmmm? maybe its google ads... or maybe mprough is right....

The 3 listings you are looking at comes from google maps, when you put Morristown NJ into a google search it will search google maps and display the first 3 business listings it has for the keyword dietitian. Then it displays the regular listings.

Maybe someone can chime in on how to get listed in the google map results, google maps is relatively new and the inclusion of it into search results is even newer.

I would do some research on if "dietitian morristown NJ" is actually getting any visitors to it. Wordtracker is an excellent source of information about how many people are looking for a keyword.

PS: This thread is already beating your client for the keyword "dietitian morristown", so I doubt that it is that valuable a keyword.

To get listed in the Google Maps results, you'd definitely need to have your address written prominently on the contact page. Secondly, seek out as many places (directories, etc) where you can list your physical address alongside your URL.

It's also worth noting that the top three results shown alongside the map all focus on the keyword "nutrition" within their title element rather than dietitian.