Over the years Google has morphed from a simple, yet powerful search engine into a conglomerate of online tools and resources.  These resources have in recent years become more likely to be served as part of the most relevant search results for a given query. This is especially true when results for a search query pertain to local businesses. For example, take a look at this screenshot of the results on Google for the query "restaurant":

What's worth noting here is that the results that show above in pink (added by me) are the results above the fold - those that are visible without scrolling down the page.  Looking more carefully at those results we can see that seven of the top nine results that show up are for Google + Local pages.  Hovering over the listings turns the right-hand side into a sneak peek of the information Google + Local has for the restaurants in the list.

So the question for a restaurant owner becomes "how do I ensure I am in the top list in order to get that exposure?"  The answer is fairly straightforward - a well-constructed, informative website, social engagement and ensuring your listings on other local listing services  (Yelp, Urban Spoon, Trip Advisor, etc.) are all fully filled out, accurate and themselves engaging. This same method counts for all local businesses and not just restaurants. Alongside the ever-growing list of services Google offers has been an ever-increasing appetite for incorporating it's own products into search results.  It follows that those local businesses that feed Google with engagement in their platform(s) will see an increasing exposure. In addition to the impact of Google + Local on search results, the entire Local pages now has it's own navigation point inside Google +. This means that as Google pushes to make its' social network an ever-growing part of it's services, the impact of a good Google + Local page on a small business also increases since discovery inside the social network is now part and parcel of the user experience. Check out this video from Google for a sense of how this works:

With the increasing exposure of Local listings inside both the social network and the search results, if you own a small business now is the time to start paying attention to your Google + Local business page.