Are you looking for some professional, super actionable cannabis dispensary SEO tips for your website? Cannabis entrepreneurs have a minimal number of advertising opportunities.
Although the substance has been legalized in most western countries, it is still pretty hard to promote a marijuana business.
Popular websites and social media remove such content on sight, making it virtually impossible to make a breakthrough.
While most options are useless, we can still do search engine optimization. Keep reading to learn 6 excellent dispensary SEO tips for your business.
The best of all cannabis dispensary SEO tips: Start with SEO right now
Given that Google has to show good results on its pages, they have no alternative but to place the best-optimized cannabis companies within their search.
And this is where you can make a breakthrough.
You finally have a feasible marketing option by hiring the right cannabis SEO expert.
On the other hand, you might also consider optimizing the site without outside interference.
So, if you’re into search engine optimization and you think you can make an impact, here are some of the things you need to know.
This article will showcase some of the best dispensary SEO tips that every entrepreneur should know about.
1. Set up reasonable goals for your cannabis dispensary
Here’s the first among our cannabis dispensary SEO tips. Please read it carefully, as it can make or break your cannabis SEO campaign!
The main reason why most people give up on SEO is that they set up unreasonable goals.
Keep in mind that it’s not easy to perform search engine optimization. So even with these dispensary SEO tips, you will have difficulty getting to the top of Google search results.
There are several reasons for this:
- The competition within the marijuana industry is tough.
- Google needs time to rank websites properly.
- There are lots of small things that can go wrong.
No matter what, you have to keep in mind that search engine optimization is a long-term project. Although you might’ve heard that optimization is easy, that doesn’t mean it will come overnight.
Having that in mind, you need to be very patient when setting up goals.
You will also need to consider the performance. For example, how many visits do you want to get, and for what period?
If you’re reasonable, it will be easier to work on the project without feeling too much pressure.
2. Consider the reach
When planning a cannabis dispensary SEO project, most entrepreneurs have big dreams. But, unfortunately, the reality is completely different.
Only a handful of people will get to the top of Google, and all others will just waste their money and resources. Because of that, it is much better to focus on local sales than to think about global achievements.
Cannabis websites should always start with their immediate vicinity. Then, optimize the site for your home city and state, and if that works, you can continue onwards.
If you’re a minor grower, this might be enough for you; in the end, you might not have enough plants to supply the whole state.
You might also want to consider a narrow specialization. The most common niches are recreational and medical marijuana.
However, you can also specialize in specific cannabis supplies, customers of a certain age, people with a specific background, etc.
All of this would give you an advantage when researching and optimizing a specific set of CBD keywords.
3. Think like an honest cannabis company
What do we mean by this?
It might be hard to think outside of the online space if you’re a cannabis organization that doesn’t have dispensaries but only has an online presence.
You might be too focused on optimization or social media, totally neglecting the core of your business.
That being said, you need to put yourself in clients’ shoes. What do they want to see? What kind of service do they require? All of this should be noticeable in your activity, especially when optimizing.
One of the most important things to consider is the customers’ search intent. Today, user experience is a crucial optimization factor.
Time spent on the website and searching through various pages before bouncing is very important for determining the relevance of a page and a site.
That being said, you need to provide content and products that would force people to keep browsing.
Even if you’re able to optimize certain pages, make sure to provide the expected content for such pages.
When starting any campaign, ask yourself, “What do I want to see/read when I type a particular keyword?”
4. Two crucial dispensary SEO tips: Mobile optimization and site speed
The next among our cannabis dispensary SEO tips is crucial!
In the last few years, Google has emphasized mobile optimization and site speed. This makes sense as the company is always looking to improve users’ experience.
Sites that are optimized for mobile devices have pages that can be opened on mobile phones, tablets, and such without losing their structure.
The basic premise of mobile optimization is to see the same things on your phone as you would on your desktop.
Site speed is another thing you need to watch out for. Your website needs to be responsive and to have pages that open quickly.
You had websites that took ages to open up back in the day. Today, this is no longer possible.
Make sure that your site is not too heavy, doesn’t have complex graphic solutions or anything else that would affect the speed at which it opens.
5. Don’t forget the blog section
Our dispensary SEO tips article cannot be complete if we skip on this piece of SEO advice.
It is virtually impossible to optimize a site without having a lively blog section.
Some people think they don’t need too many pages, but instead, they focus on getting as many links as they can. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work for anyone.
The general rule is: have one page for one keyword.
In other words, if you wish to optimize for a keyword like “Purple Haze strain,” you shouldn’t try to use that same page to try and optimize for another strain.
It is imperative to have good content. Not only do people link to valuable pages, thus increasing their relevance, but the users are also more likely to read them, which sends a strong signal to Google.
Anyway, if you wish to invest in search engine optimization, we recommend that you have a solid blog section. If you’re not a good writer, we suggest that you get one.
6. Social media impact
The last of our cannabis dispensary SEO tips have to do with social media.
Although social media doesn’t directly impact how search engines work, it can still be a valuable tool for your site.
There are a lot of cannabis lovers who rarely visit blogs. When they do, they usually do so to buy something.
However, if you can interest them in your content and drive that traffic to your blog, you can leave a positive impression on them.
Later on, when they start revisiting your blog to read your posts, you will get a lot of passionate readers. Google will definitely notice this behavior and will start giving you more credit.
So, if you’re unable to optimize through traditional means, try to have a go at social media. These visitors might prove to be valuable in the long run.
Remember: as long as you’re able to make a buzz, you’re doing something right!
In conclusion
Even with these excellent dispensary SEO tips, it might take time until you optimize your site and start getting some results.
No matter what, it is vital to be patient. You should always be prepared to invest in SEO.
Although search engine optimization experts often claim that this marketing strategy is free, you will still have a lot of expenses.
So, if you allocate a proper marketing budget for the project, you won’t feel constrained later on.