Local City SEO in Canada - Google Places

[ddzc]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering how ordinary global seo differs than localized seo and ranking on Google Places? What type of onsite and offsite seo would help benefit and increase my odds of ranking to the top of Google maps.

Here is a prime example:

http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s664/d99999/localseo-1.png

The top site has less of a score and reviews than the others so I suppose that's not a ranking factor.

Would it be more helpful if the domain was registered in .ca if I were to rank in Canada? I noticed in the above example, the site is .ca and the rest below are .com. Number 2 and 3 have a much bigger and better link profile, I'm wondering if the .ca is what is giving #1 that edge.

Would hosting the website in Canada increase my odds in ranking? In the example above, the site is hosted in U.S but I'm wondering if hosting localization matters?

When backlinking, would it be better to get links from Toronto websites or websites in Canada as opposed to worldwide?

What other suggestions/tips can be given?

Thanks

[rcostica]

Both owning a .ca domain and a Canadian IP will help you rank better in Canada overall. As for linking, it's best you get links from Canadian websites as well, but not exclusively.