In a market as competitive and unique as the cannabis industry, local dispensaries face the challenge of standing out in a sea of green. While platforms like Weedmaps have been a go-to for visibility, their high costs have led many dispensary owners to seek more sustainable and costeffective marketing strategies. Enter Local SEO – a powerful tool to increase a dispensary's local market presence without breaking the bank.
POWER OF LOCAL SEO FOR DISPENSARIES
Local SEO, or search engine optimization, is the practice of optimizing a business's online presence to attract more business from relevant local searches. For dispensaries, this means ensuring that when a potential customer in your area searches for cannabisrelated products, your business appears prominently in search results. Why Local SEO Over Weedmaps? Weedmaps has been a popular platform for dispensaries to get noticed. However, its pricing can be prohibitive for smaller businesses. On the other hand, Google, the largest search engine, offers a free listing through Google My Business (GMB), which is a cornerstone of Local SEO. Data from Google Trends and SEO tools like SEMRUSH and AHREFS indicate that more people use Google to find dispensaries than Weedmaps, regardless of location. Tapping into the Local Market Local SEO allows dispensaries to tap into the local market by optimizing for keywords that potential customers are using in their searches. This includes not only "dispensary" but also "cannabis," "CBD," "edibles," and other product-related terms, along with the local area or neighborhood. 45
NOVEMBER 2023
thechronicmagazine.com
by Hunter Dublin
