This is an effective technique to getting top placement in google's search engine results page (serp). If you own a business you should definitely get listed on google's local business results. The process is extremely easy.
1. Visit http://www.google.com/local/add/lookup?hl=en-US&gl=US
and enter your companies information.
Note: Top get top placement in search engine results. Use an address that is nearest to your city. For instance if you search for the term "Phoenix Air Conditioning"
You should place an address that is closest to the city. In the above example you would place an address closest to the phoenix area, somewhere downtown.
The way google is pulling search results for google is listing them in order of distance from the target location. If you were searching for "Tempe Air Conditioning" again the company who entered an address closest to the city of tempe will get top placement.
Resources:
Super Pages Business Listing
Insider Pages Get a free business listing
Business Profilers Handbook