How to be First Business in Google Local Search Results?

[Gene]

What market are you in? Some are obviously more competitive than others and thus harder to rank for.

Google changes so much that I wouldn't rely on SEO as much as most people say you should. Getting out of the scope of your question, but ever consider Adwords? This way you will be at the top of the results. Yes it cost money, however, if you have your funnel set up right, it won't really cost you anything at all.

The person who is willing and able to spend the most to acquire a customer wins. Sounds counter-intuitive, but it's 100% correct.

Since it's not what you asked about, I won't add more. But if you'd like to hear more, just let me know.