Be Excellent To Each Other

How does Google choose which ones to display?

For example, if you do a search on Google for hotel in shrewsbury, you get a map at the top of the listings with a number of hotels listed.

The first one is a hotel smack in the town centre, Abbots Mead. Directly opposite this hotel is another hotel, Sandford House. They are more or less equal, yet Abbots Mead always gets displayed over Sandford House.

The reason I'm asking is the guy from the latter hotel wants me to try and get his hotel on to that listing, and I've tried everything I can think of to get it there.

So, how does Google prioritise them? Alphabetical??

$$$

I assume his business has a Google+ page.

Nope, I thought it was that too. It does have a Google+ page but it's an automated one as part of Google Places. The business I'm working with has a Google+ page created specifically for him, by me - so that should take precedence I would have thought.

Have you done this:

https://support.google.com/places/answer/142906?hl=en

Google Places has been superseded by Google+ now AFAIK.

I dunno man, this looks pretty current:

https://www.google.com/business/placesforbusiness/

I think Google+ is being gradually and quietly executed isn't it?

Yeah, done that. It's needlessly confusing - you create a listing for your business on Google Places for Business, which you can upload photos etc. to.

That then creates a Google+ listing for that business, but if there's already a listing (typically an automated one) for that business, it doesn't merge the two together so you end up with two Google+ pages for one place.

Or something like that. It's a pain.

I think I'm getting confused between Places and Places for Business.

It's all a bit confused and confusing. I had some dealings with them a while back when they started giving the number of a small clinic out as the main number for the whole Trust. Was a bit of a nightmare to get it sorted out.

I don't know for sure, but I'd hazard a guess that it's an algorithmic blend over a large number of signals. So for example, it could be based on star rating (as in, the ratings left on Maps), with a boost to any business that has been highly rated or +1d by someone in your circles. That, times some number of other factors.

No.