I have found that google maps and places all help twards increasing traffic to any site. If your a business and want to stand out on google then stick a google map on your site.
I recently done some work for a customer who was getting very low rankings on google. Arround two weeks after we put a google map and placemenrker on ther site there ranking shot up to near the top of google.
Could have had something to do with good keyword marketing but im convinced the map helped.
