and reference this when you forget stuff when your starting out.
To rank high in google maps you need to just have all the appropriate info filled out and make sure its relevant. Fill out everything, opening hours, pictures, videos etc. just make sure your keywords you select feature on the page your trying to promote.
yes, i prefer subdomains, lets me use the location for the seo, whilst still on the same domain (city.website.com), also look into renting a virtual office to get a google maps listing if you do not have an office in that area.
best keeping blog on your domain, use scrape box to build good backlinks from high pr sites, just do the commenting manually, to keep it legit.
cant you just google you keywords +the city you want to see the rankings for.