The popularity of Waze, a traffic and navigation app, is growing steadily. To the delight of users, the app was redesigned to bring them even more social integration. Besides a shiny new interface and redeisgned maps, Facebook single-click sign on and a host of new features that give users the power to share pickup and meetup spots, check-in at a destination, and update their status all from the Waze app.

What's more, Waze is now focusing on monetizing the app and making mobile advertising successful with Waze Ads. It is being launched today, a handy location-based advertising service to help connect users with local businesses wherever they may be. It is perfect to draw visitors to your business, especially if you are located in an area where you don't get a lot of exposure.

Will It Work?

Communications Director for Waze, Michal Habdank-Kolaczkowski, believes it. He says that mobile phone users are becoming accustomed to mobile advertising as a whole, and this is a new world of mobile advertising. The problem with advertising on this platform is the screen size. Other ads can be quite obnoxious, and brands have been searching for a way to make the ads easier to stomach, in essence making them more effective. Waze knows the way to do this is to target ads to those who appear they are searching for them.

Waze's user base is over 30 million strong, and the average user spends about 440 minutes each month using the app. Waze wants to target these users using location-aware advertising, bringing messages and ads from local businesses to their phone just when they want them. Imagine driving in an unfamiliar city and wondering what to eat, only to see an ad for an Italian place a couple of blocks away.

How Are People Using Waze?

To come to this decision, the company polled its users to see what people were searching for. Habdank-Kolaczkowski said about 20 percent use the app to find restaurants, 15 percent fast food, 10 percent for coffee shops, and a whopping 50 percent make “pit stops” while on the road – shopping, running errands, and so on. These are the users Waze is looking to reach, hoping to get them into places they've never been to before, and at the same time helping out businesses by bringing them new customers. Users will see the business on a map when they are either driving nearby the location or searching in the area.

The company is currently working with names like Wyndham Hotels, Dunkin' Donuts, Jamba Juice, Kum & Go, and P&G, granting them access to a platform where they, themselves can set, measure, and change their own mobile ad campaigns. This platform also includes location-based tools like local search advertising, loyalty programs, and advanced targeting that can, for example, control what time of day the ad is shown. What's more, businesses can add locations to the Waze map and make special offers based on this location.

How Do I Sign Up?

Are you a small busines looking for a little more exposure, or are you looking for a way to reach out to those people who do everything with their mobile device? Head to biz.waze.com to check it out and receive a $50 credit towards Waze Ads to be used by the end of the month.