The cannabis industry is budding in the USA, and here we see a drastic increase in the number of marijuana dispensaries being recently opened across the country. As the laws and regulations around marijuana are relaxed, people find it easier to sell cannabis through their dispensaries. 

However, this, on the other side, also means increased competition in the cannabis market – which can be a little tough for you to survive if you have only recently started your own cannabis business. Therefore, it is crucial for you as a cannabis dispensary owner to pull all your strings in dispensary marketing to make sure you can stay ahead of your competitors and reach the maximum audience, to eventually increase your sales.

There are various marketing techniques that you can apply to your cannabis business to build your dispensary awareness, but one technique that has proven to be fruitful in this sector is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is among the most popular marketing techniques that have been beneficial for dispensaries and can be of great help to you as well. If you don't know how to use SEO to your advantage, this article will help you! Here is all you need to know about SEO and how you can use it to build your dispensary awareness. 

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the best technique to help you rank higher on the search engine result pages (SERPS) such as Google. It is an organic technique that only requires targeting your suitable keywords. It is the best technique for cannabis dispensaries because there are no restrictions attached to it. 

Unlike other paid marketing techniques that have ad restrictions, SEO is totally up to you, and you can post whatever content you think is suitable to promote your dispensary. Moreover, you can choose a platform that makes SEO the most beneficial technique to increase your online visibility and presence. Let’s see how you can use SEO to build your dispensary awareness.

How to Use SEO to Build your Dispensary Awareness?

• Take a Data-Driven Approach 

Your research can be very helpful for you when it comes to search engines optimizing your brand. To start your cannabis dispensary SEO, you must first analyze and evaluate your website's current traffic and user search behavior metrics. 

You can find this information in your Google Analytics account, and if you don't have it, your should get it as soon as possible. But make sure you get data for information such as:

• What pages of your website are top-performing?
• What are the keywords cannabis consumers are likely to use?
• How many unique users are visiting your dispensary website?
• What search terms are cannabis users using to reach your content?

• Understand User Search Behavior and Intent 

Once you have collected data from previous searches and results, it's time for you to understand the behavior of cannabis users. An SEO expert must understand the different types of marijuana smokers visiting their website and what is their typical search behavior. This helps you to isolate useful keywords that you can optimize in keyword research. 

However, one important thing to note is that SEO has drastically changed over the years, and while keyword research is important, it is not the only strategy to help you move forward. The way people search today is not the same as what people did earlier. Therefore, understanding user intent has become essential if you want to target your specific audience.

 Hence, it is effective to be aware of the reasoning behind almost every search your audience is making to understand their intent. It is better to target dynamic and long-tail keywords – to be more specific with your audience. And lastly, do a lot of testing with your SEO strategies while implementing more conversation keywords to your strategy. 

• Get on with Mobile Optimization

There is no doubt that mobile users are increasing exponentially, and the time spent on mobile phones is also growing year by year. This means that most users search for cannabis dispensaries through their phones; hence, it is essential to target “mobile consumers.” 

To make sure you are reaching a maximum audience, your cannabis dispensary SEO requires mobile optimization. Here you need to understand the mobile consumers and how their search behavior and intent differ from laptop or PC users. 

Therefore, make sure your website is mobile-friendly and reaches people who are likely to search for a “cannabis dispensary near me” on their phones. Given the typical behavior of mobile users these days, if your website is not mobile-friendly, they are likely to switch to another brand within seconds. 

• Make Good Use of Social Media 

There is no doubt that social media is the biggest marketing platform, and it is the best place you can organically promote your cannabis dispensary. SEO and social media go hand in hand, and your cannabis dispensary SEO strategy needs to include social media campaigns and targeting techniques. 

You can quickly increase your website foot traffic by increasing your social media engagement. In fact, Google trusts websites and ranks those websites higher with a higher number of shares on their social media. Hence, if you have content on a cannabis dispensary website, such as blogs or information that you have optimized using SEO, you must share them on your social media as well, such as Twitter or Facebook. Google index those pages faster than others because when people share your content on their social media, it creates social signals that get picked on by Google itself. 

Cannabis Dispensary SEO Strategy 

SEO is among the top marketing strategies that have helped build numerous brands in multiple industries. But it is especially effective for dispensaries operating in the cannabis industry because with the increasing competition and uncertain regulation, you need a solid marketing technique that you can have complete control on. 

And SEO is a marketing technique that is entirely in your hand, and you can even start your cannabis dispensary SEO today. Just make sure you focus on your user search behavior and what terms they are using to target them, and do not neglect your social media. A good SEO strategy along with social media campaigns are the recipe for increased website visibility and higher SERP ranking.