The Google Places Description is a Critical Element in How to Set Up and Optimize Your Google Places Directory Listing

You may have heard of the elevator speech where you need to tell someone in 4 floors enough about your  mortgage broker business to get your listener to ask for your card.  The description space on the listing form for Google Places Directory is only 200 characters, counting spaces, or about 40 words.  You need to tell your whole story in a way that is captivating and yet includes keywords.

Here's a video with much more to say on the subject.