Google tells me to just add each city we service but I already know that`s wrong.

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

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  andrew piegnet: I work for a mobile company and I would love to show up in the maps part of search results in all the cities we service. Google tells me to just add each city we service but I already know that's wrong. We are located in a city and service about 50 mile radius. Any tips? 
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  Perry Bernard: If all the cities lie in the 50 mile radius, then set a radius for your coverage in Google Places. You could also select given areas that are not set in the radius.
  This wont guarantee that your listing will get into page one of Google Places though, as more local results may gain favour in more local searches - i.e. if you are located centrally, and service another city 20 miles away, but in that city there are competitors who also have Places listings and who also have geographic constraints on their listing, then they may get priority based on being "more" local and relevant for a search performed in that area.
  Google 'learns' to serve results based on user behaviour, so if a searcher in the other city 20 miles away also interacted with your listing (or similar listings with similar local zones) then Google may deem your listings to have equal weight, despite being 20 miles further away.
  Check out articles on Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Land, or Site Pro News for "optimising for local search".
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  andrew piegnet: Thank you. Kinda what Google says but lots of good info. I appreciate the feedback.
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  Perry Bernard: You're welcome.