Have a Map in Your App? Add the Uber Button!

By John Park

As a member of Uber’s Developer Platform team, I’m always impressed by the exciting and innovative ways that our developers have and continue to leverage our platform. Having evaluated hundreds of API and SDK integrations by these third party developers, I’ve developed a keen sense of what works and what doesn’t. Drawing from that experience, I’d like to share a few of the best ways that developers have implemented our platform products. Let’s start with the most fundamental one: adding an Uber ride request button to your map.

If you’ve built a transit, city guide, restaurant, or local business app, you can inspire your customers to engage with the world around them by integrating Uber’s “Get a ride” button. When your users tap the button, the Uber app will open with the address of the destination pre-set, making it super easy for your customers to get a reliable ride when their intent to travel is highest.

Global scale

The benefit to you is compelling: with just a few lines of code, you can activate a global transportation option for your users that spans 500+ cities and 80+ countries, providing a myriad of opportunities to drive online-to-offline conversions.

Increased engagement

Integrating the Uber button into your app or website can also drive increased user engagement. Based on studies conducted by mobile monetization company Button, third party apps that integrate Uber buttons show an 11% increase in time spent by users. This appears to be due to the increased utility and ease of use that the button provides in context, removing the additional step of filling out the destination within the Uber app. It’s really about improving the user experience.

New revenue

In addition to offering convenient access to transportation and increasing engagement, you can monetize your integration through the Uber API Affiliate Program. For any new, US-based rider that you sign up and takes a trip, you can be rewarded with a $5 affiliate bonus. Make sure to check out the program terms to understand how it works and any restrictions that may apply to you.

It only takes 10 minutes

Check out our technical docs here and get started with your button integration today.

Once you’ve integrated the Uber button into your app, tell us! Tweet to @UberDevelopers a screenshot or GIF of how you integrated Uber into your map or location-based app and we’ll retweet it to our community.

I’m also constantly on the hunt for great apps to feature in our Developer Showcase, so that may be an option as well.

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