It was 2007 when Uri Levine, an Israeli entrepreneur tired of city traffic, decided to launch on Waze. Since then, the platform has gone through different transformation processes. One of the most important milestones was that Google bought it in 2013. However, the application maintains its initial spirit intact: it is still a GPS navigation solution designed for users and made by users.
Of course there is much more to say about this application. Above all, we want to emphasize the relevance of Waze in getting more customers for local businesses.
In this article we tell you what Waze is, why list your brand on the platform and how to do it.
What is Waze?
Waze is a GPS navigation application that works for free and takes care of providing information about city traffic in real time.
Users are the true protagonists of this app. These are called wazers and they are the ones who send information about traffic, police controls, construction sites, speed cameras, among others.
his is one of the most interesting points of this platform, since, as we said before, the contribution of the users themselves helps to improve the movements of those who use the application.
The idea behind Waze is that there is always more than one route to get to your destination. Therefore, when the user gets into his car, enters the address he wants to get to and drives with the application open, the app collects the information and learns the alternative routes.
In addition, users who want to play a more active role can report on police controls, accidents, roadblocks or any other data that allows other wazers to know what they can find along the way. All this will be reflected in real time in the application’s Maps.
And just as there is an active community that reports on all these issues, so are the companies. Part of the job of local businesses is to inform users that they are precisely there, part of the way back home or to work.
Leveraging Waze to gain visibility and help optimize branch SEO is an excellent strategy.
Why list your business on Waze?
Businesses can work on branch SEO by listing their brand on Waze. With the platform’s ad system it is possible to publicize a company in a prominent way.
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As users move around town, they can see your business in the app. Like Google Maps, Waze also takes advantage of proximity to show people the businesses that advertise on the platform, based on their location. The same is true when searching for local stores or businesses.
If, for example, the user enters the word bookstore in the app’s search engine, as a result, the list of nearby stores will appear, with the location on the map, the exact address and the distance. In addition to this, in the file of each business you can add other information such as telephone number and hours.
Remember that when listing a business In this and other similar applications, you must be consistent with the NAP to optimize branch SEO.
Reasons to list your brand on Waze
Gain visibility
The application shows markers and advertisements with the location of your business to users who are nearby. It is a functionality similar to Close to me of Google. The interesting thing is that it can help your business gain more visibility.
Remember that according to the most famous search engine, 76% of proximity searches end in a branch visit. Reason more than enough to strengthen your local marketing strategy by incorporating your company to Waze.
Reach users at key moments of the journey
Imagine that a couple heads to the center of the city to find a place to eat. They start using Waze to go the quickest route. They are looking for a good place, but they have not decided yet. On the way to your destination, your restaurant appears on the screen with the image of one of your most popular dishes. There is also the option Drive There. With the push of a simple button, people can change their route and go to your business. Your ad reaches users at key moments in their journey. And this is an advantage that you cannot miss.
Custom segmentation
Another feature offered by Waze ads brands is the possibility of segmentation based on different criteria. You can decide to display your business ad based on the time of day, the weather, the location of users (home, office, etc.), routes, type of traffic and destination.
How to add your brand on the platform?
It’s more than clear how beneficial it can be for a local business to be listed on Waze. Now it only remains to do it. To do this, it will be necessary to follow a few simple steps:
1- Download Waze from the application store of your cell phone
Remember that it is a free application, so you can add it to your mobile without charge.
2- Go to the Send report option
When you open the app you will find yourself directly on Maps with your location in real time. What you should do next is go to the option “Send report”. The same figure on the right side of the screen, through the orange button.
3- Select the option Place
Once you are inside the reports menu, you will see that there are several alternatives. To add your business, you will have to select the “Place” option.
4- Take a picture of your store
After performing the previous step, your cell phone camera will be activated. You only need to take a photo of your location to add it to Waze.
5- Add information about your business
To finish, you will have to indicate the name of your brand. In addition to this, you must add the category to which it belongs, for example shops and services. Within this you can choose a subcategory to which your company corresponds.
Finally, you will add the exact location of your store and voila! You will have listed your brand on Waze.
When your brand is already present on the platform, you can start testing your ads to have greater visibility and reach more potential customers.
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