Answers

How do you get your business on Waze?

Ascent Vision · Published October 24, 2026

Your business may already be on Waze: Waze says the business details it shows come from Waze users, Google and other partners. If it is missing, anyone can suggest it as a place in the Waze app, and Waze's volunteer map editors review it before it goes on the map. Paid pins are separate: Google says U.S. businesses can now appear as promoted pins on Waze through some Google Ads campaigns. Waze usually matters most for businesses customers drive to.

Where Waze gets business details

Waze's help page on search results says it may show contact details, hours and prices for a business, and that this data comes from "Waze users, Google and other partners". It says it tries to update partner data regularly, that its community of editors suggests edits, and that it does not verify third-party data.

So a business can appear on Waze without the owner doing anything. Because Waze names Google as one source, an accurate Google Business Profile is a sensible start; the related answer on what a Google Business Profile is covers it.

Adding a missing place

Waze's help page says businesses, public places and residential addresses can be added as places, either suggested through the Waze app or added directly by someone who becomes a Waze map editor. For a place suggested in the app, Waze says "The place will be reviewed by our community of volunteer map editors"; the person who suggested it gets an email with the decision, and an approved place goes on the map. Where an area is locked, Waze says a local map editor reviews a suggested edit.

Waze's photo tips for places ask for:

• A clear photo that shows only the place being added.
• What the place looks like from the outside.
• No full readable license plates and no clear image of someone's face.

How Waze orders search results

Waze says it ranks search results by three factors, in this order of importance: the driver's distance from the place, how well the place fits the search, and the place's prominence and popularity. When a search turns up an ad or other paid content, Waze says it shows at the top, clearly labeled as an ad. Because distance comes first, a driver across town may see a closer competitor first.

Paid pins on Waze

Waze's help page says it stopped providing Waze Ads after August 31, 2023, while it moved advertising to Google Ads technology. In November 2025, Google said a U.S. business running a Performance Max for store goals campaign can now appear on Waze as a "Promoted Places in Navigation" pin, and that it planned to expand Waze ads beyond the U.S. in 2026. As general advice, a business that travels to its customers may get little from campaigns built around store visits.

Is Waze worth the effort?

For a shop, office or showroom, checking that Waze sends drivers to the right place is usually worth a few minutes; for a business that goes to its customers, Waze matters less. The related answer on how to get your business on Apple Maps covers Apple's map, and if your Google Maps pin is off, the related answer on why your business is in the wrong place on Google Maps covers fixing it.

Sources

1. Waze Help, "How search results work"
2. Waze Help, "Add a place to the map"
3. Waze Help, "Add or edit a business with the Waze Map Editor"
4. Waze Ads Help, "Ads Wind Down FAQs"
5. Google, "Access new inventory and channel performance reporting in Performance Max campaigns" (November 2025)

Related answers

• How do you get your business on Apple Maps, and is it worth it?
• What is a Google Business Profile, and does a service business need one?
• Why is your business pin in the wrong place on Google Maps, and how do you fix it?