Dispensary SEO Blueprint: How to Get Website Traffic, Rankings, and Customers

What is dispensary SEO?

Dispensary SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of optimizing your cannabis dispensary’s website to rank higher on search engines. It helps people find your store when they search for dispensaries and cannabis products in their area.

Advertising channels like Google Ads and Facebook Ads have strict rules about promoting cannabis. SEO, however, offers a way around these restrictions without much limitation. You’ve got full control over your dispensary’s website.

Recently opened and looking to build awareness? Already established and want to stay ahead of the competition? Either way, investing in a solid SEO strategy (or working with a dispensary SEO service) can make all the difference.

Why SEO matters for cannabis dispensaries

Take the keyword “Boston dispensary,” which gets up to 6,500 searches per month (according to Moz). If you’re a dispensary in Boston, naturally you want to get in front of those people. And there are many more variations and related terms your audience is searching for, like “weed near me.”

With SEO, you can rank in search results for keywords like these. There’s a lot of traffic to be captured and money to be made.

If you don’t spend time doing SEO, you’ll essentially be invisible to customers in search engines. And your competitors will continue eating your lunch.

I’ve worked on many dispensary sites, and I’ve learned what works for this type of business organically and what doesn’t. This guide is my blueprint for dispensary SEO that gets traffic, rankings, and customers.

Local dispensary SEO

Normally, I’d lead with on-page SEO strategies here. But this section will cover local keyword targeting, which will help you determine what to use when optimizing everything.

So, let’s start with local SEO. These techniques in particular get your dispensary to appear in map listings and local searches, helping you rank above competitors in your area.

Here’s what the Google results look like for the query “Newton dispensary.” In this case, the organic map listings (often called the “local pack”) appear first, and the standard organic listings are below them. You can rank in both, as you can see a couple of the dispensaries do here:

If your dispensary doesn’t show up for a search like that, you’re missing out on customers. 42% of people who conduct a local search click on results inside of the local pack.

How do you get into the local pack then? Well, that’s where Google Business Profile (GBP) comes in.

Maintain your Google Business Profile

Creating and maintaining a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is one of the most important dispensary SEO strategies, next to having a great website.

Our agency has worked with a well-established dispensary in the Berkshires, and 60% of their organic traffic comes from GBP clicks. So, an optimized GBP with lots of great reviews can be a huge asset. And it’s free to set one up.

The GBP is what shows up in the local pack. In addition to appearing as a map listing, it can show up on the right side of the search engine results page (SERP). It features all the important information about your business and makes it easy for people to visit your site, get directions, etc.

As an example, here’s the profile for Full Harvest Moonz, a dispensary in Lowell, MA:

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Google’s local results are based on three main factors: relevance, distance, and prominence.

Relevance refers to how well your profile matches the user’s search intent. Distance refers to how far your dispensary is from the location indicated in the search. And prominence refers to how well known you are – Google looks at ratings, reviews, and information about your business around the web.

You can watch this 1-minute video for a few tips from Google itself about the profile:

“Our local listings are crucial to gaining as much organic – and foot – traffic as possible,” says Andrea Cordts of PharmaCann, a vertically-integrated company with dispensaries in six states. “I’m fortunate as an SEO in that I have complete buy-in across the company to ensure we’re optimizing our listings to the fullest extent.”

Customers are 50% more likely to consider buying from businesses with a complete GBP. Here’s just about everything you can do to optimize yours:

• Enter your business name. Many dispensaries will include “Dispensary” or “[City] Dispensary” as part of the name. Even though it’s against Google guidelines, it does in fact help you rank.
• Choose “Cannabis store” as the primary business category. If you choose something else (like “Herbal medicine store”), you risk not showing up for the right searches. You can, however, add a few secondary categories if any are applicable, but there’s no need to go crazy.
• Write a description that tells people what your business is (for example, a recreational dispensary in Newton, MA), what makes you unique, the products you offer, and what kind of experience customers can expect.
• Add the opening date (grand opening).
• Add your store’s phone number.
• Enter your website.
• Add links to any of your social media profiles.
• Add your store’s business address.
• Leave “Service area” empty. This is really only for businesses that travel to the customer (like landscapers). But if you happen to offer delivery, go ahead and enter each city that you deliver to.
• Enter your business hours. You can also add special hours for holidays.
• Select if the dispensary ownership identifies as black-owned, women-owned, etc.
• Select if any accessibility, amenity, and crowd attributes are available, such as wheelchair seating, a gender-neutral restroom, etc.
• Select which parking options are available, such as street parking, parking lot, etc.
• Select which payment methods are accepted in store.
• Select which service options are offered, such as delivery, in-store pickup, etc.
• Upload your dispensary logo.
• Upload a cover image that showcases your brand, like a shot of the store layout. Think of this like a Facebook cover image.
• Upload high-quality shots of the inside and outside of the store, product displays, budtenders speaking with customers, and group photos of your team.
• Upload a video that gives people a tour of your store.
• When you have upcoming events or things to share that customers will find interesting, publish a Google Business post. It’s just like making a post on social media. You can use posts to announce upcoming events, share special offers, clarify changes in holiday hours, etc.

Pro tip: Keep a close eye on your GBP. Google will sometimes make changes without asking you. And literally anyone with a personal Google account can suggest edits to your profile in the SERP, and Google may accept those. Someone could change your hours, for instance. So, make a point to regularly log in and verify that everything’s accurate.

“BVC uses SEO tactics in conjunction with our Google Business Profile,” says Sarah Archambeault of Blackstone Valley Cannabis, a dispensary in Uxbridge, MA. “We ensure we rank highly for local searches by optimizing our profile and website with pertinent keywords, interesting descriptions, and current information.”

Get more Google reviews and respond to them

Google uses reviews as a ranking factor. So, more positive reviews mean better rankings. But reviews also build trust. If someone’s deciding between two dispensaries, they might go with the one with more and/or better reviews.

Asking for reviews

Asking customers to review your business should become natural. Here are some ideas:

• If customers are clearly happy with their experience while in the store, ask them on the spot. After checkout, say something like, “Hey, if you enjoyed your visit, we’d love it if you left us a review on Google.”
• Ask long-standing customers personally. You might be surprised at how effective this is when you chat with or reach out to them on a personal level.
• Use a sign or sticker with a QR code at the counter.
• Create social posts to spotlight reviews from previous customers or ask followers to leave one if they haven’t yet.
• Create an automated email or SMS asking customers for a review.

When providing a link or QR code, there’s a unique URL in your GBP you can copy and paste. Look for the “Ask for reviews” button. Sharing this link will take people straight to Google Maps where they’ll be served a box to submit their review for your dispensary.

You can watch this 1-minute video from Google about getting reviews:

“Reviews are so key in helping people trust your business. It’s one of the first things customers look at when searching for your business or product,” says Brittany Govednik of River Bluff Cannabis, a dispensary in Roselle, IL. “The more reviews and higher ratings you have, the more likely you are to rank better in local search results. And the better the odds the reviews will increase your website click through rate.”

Pro tip: You can’t control what customers write when they leave a review, but you can try to influence it. Whatever method you’re using to ask for a review, say something like “We want to be the best dispensary in [city]. If you think we are, could you leave us a review?” Framing your request with a keyword (“dispensary in [city]”) might encourage people to use it.

Responding to reviews

Don’t forget to respond to the reviews too. 88% of people are likely to use a business if they can see the business owner responds to all reviews.

Responding encourages additional engagement, establishes trust, and improves the reputation of your dispensary. Start by focusing on the negative reviews first (three stars or fewer) and then tackle the positive ones.

“Due to our highly regulated industry, we can only offer canned responses that have been pre-approved by our compliance department,” Andrea adds. “However, I have been able to work across departments to craft dozens of appropriate responses for the retail teams to use.”

Here are some tips for how to respond:

• Use the reviewer’s name. Avoid generic greetings like “Dear customer.”
• Say thank you. Whether the review is positive or negative, thank them for their feedback and helping improve your business.
• Be personal. Take the time to address the customer’s specific experience. Reword their complaint or compliment and work it into your response.
• Take responsibility. If your team made a mistake, apologize and explain what went wrong.
• Don’t be afraid to market the business. Tell people what your team is known for. Show gratitude that your customers are recognizing it or apologize for not hitting the mark.

Target local keywords

Many dispensary websites fail to mention their business is a dispensary in a clear, consistent way. Or which city it’s in. If things aren’t clear to users, it won’t be clear to search engines.

This is dispensary SEO 101, and thankfully these are easy things to fix. Targeting (using) local keywords will help your rankings and traffic for local searches. And visitors will feel confident they’re in the right place when they see those keywords on the page.

Focus on terms that people actually type when looking for a dispensary. You can use a keyword research tool (like Moz) to do this, and you’ll find popular phrases like:

• Cannabis in [city]
• [City] cannabis
• [City] dispensary
• Dispensary in [city]
• Dispensary in [state]
• [State] dispensary
• Weed dispensary in [city]

Note: People search “near me” keywords a lot, but I don’t recommend using them on your site. Sure, Google uses it as an indicator that the user is searching locally. But on your site, it looks hacky – there’s no way to naturally say “dispensary near me” without looking like it’s shoehorned in. Not to mention, Google has said many times it won’t prioritize content that’s “made primarily to gain search engine rankings.”

Localized keywords often have transactional intent, which will give you the biggest “bang for your buck” when it comes to targeting.

Once you’ve finalized your target list, you can use those keywords on just about every page of your site, as long as you do it naturally without stuffing. Common pages on dispensary sites often include:

• Homepage
• Menu
• Location
• About
• Loyalty
• Brands
• Blog posts and news
• FAQ
• Careers page
• Contact page

“We’ve excelled in SEO by strategically targeting local keywords, ensuring we rank at the top of search results in our key markets,” says Kirby Rowe of Theory Wellness, a dispensary with locations in six states. “Our product pages are carefully crafted with detailed descriptions and focused keywords, making them highly relevant for both search and potential customers.”

Create a location page on your website

You probably have your dispensary hours, address, and phone number somewhere on your site, right? Like in the footer or on the homepage. But it’s even better to list all that information on a separate location page too.

A location page is a common dispensary SEO strategy that helps search engines collect important information about your business and understand where you operate. Site visitors can see how to reach you and get to your store, all in one spot. This type of page also improves your chances of appearing in local search results for your specific location.

Plus, creating this page gives you another opportunity to use location-specific keywords. You might choose to toot your own horn and proclaim to be the “best dispensary in [city].” Or you could mention something about your product offerings, like “organic cannabis in [state].” This helps you capture traffic from people searching in your specific area.

To see an example of a location page in action, take Misty Mountain Shop. A dispensary in Malden, MA with a skiing theme, their location page is simple and helpful.

RELATED PORTFOLIO: Making marketing magic for Misty Mountain

Have more than one location? You can get away with just one location page that lists information for however many stores you have.

But things can quickly get crowded on one page. You could take it a step further by creating a dedicated location page for each store. This allows you to go deeper with more details as each location page would be entirely about the specific location – the headings, the map, the content, etc.

Here’s what to include on your location page:

• Main heading that indicates the page is a location page
• Address
• Phone number
• Store hours
• Email address or a link to the contact page
• A link to the menu
• Driving directions
• Parking information
• Embedded Google Map with a pin at your location
• A description of the neighborhood and any local landmarks nearby
• Photos of the store interior and exterior
• Customer reviews

Once the location page is up, don’t forget to add it to the main navigation.

On-page dispensary SEO

On-page SEO is all about optimizing your website so search engines and customers can easily find your content. Every little detail plays a role in improving your rankings, bringing people to the site, and getting more foot traffic to your store.

Have a straightforward, user-friendly homepage

The homepage is the most important page of your site. It’s where most of your visitors will land.

And the harsh truth is that most cannabis homepages aren’t designed well. They tend to focus on being flashy to grab attention. Or they just push products in the customer’s face to buy, buy, buy.

But having a great homepage is easier than you think.

Hayley Malloy, our Associate Director of Technology Services, says it just requires you to think about the goals from your customer’s point of view:

The adult attention span is just eight seconds. So, when someone visits your homepage, you need to quickly guide them to your most important business objective – taking online orders.

The main heading, messaging, and navigation should clearly convey what you do. Once the user sees they’re in the right place and you offer what they’re looking for, they’ll engage with you.

A dispensary that does a great job of this is Cal Verde Naturals in Belmont, MA.

Above the fold on their homepage, the main heading conveys the business is a dispensary and where it’s located. And there’s a prominent CTA (call-to-action) button that promotes the single most important thing you want users to do – shop.

The main navigation also has a link to the menu as the very first element. With more than one way to get to the menu, it’s easy for users to find their way to it.

As you scroll down the page, there are links to menu categories, information about the business, recent blog posts, testimonials, and more.

This homepage is effective because it’s a simple, purposeful layout that guides the user.

RELATED PORTFOLIO: An intentional synthesis of new branding and imagery

Whatever you do, don’t use a carousel. You’ve probably seen it on other sites where the “slides” of content move left and right automatically.

Carousels are conversion killers – people generally don’t engage with them because they look like ads. Or they’re overwhelmed with choices. Carousels also come with accessibility issues and slow down your page speed.

So, design your website with performance in mind for long-term success. Dan Serard, our VP of Sales and Marketing, confirms this:

 

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Optimize your meta tags

There are a variety of meta tags, but for SEO, the two common ones are title tags and meta description tags.

The title tag is an HTML tag that allows you to give a web page a title that appears as the click-able link in search engine results. It’s a Google ranking factor, so it’s important that every page on your site has an optimized one.

Every title tag should be unique and summarize the topic of the page. Use local keywords that we talked about in this guide.

The meta description tag is another HTML tag. It appears as the small blurb of text underneath your website’s listing in SERPs. Similar to ad messaging, the description should be written to provide users with a brief summary of the content on your page.

While this tag isn’t a ranking factor, it’s good to show users what to expect if they decide to click. Use a keyword if you can. Make the description enticing for users to click.

Here’s an example of these meta tags in search results. This is the homepage listing for Plantabis, a dispensary in Rahway, NJ. The blue, click-able text is the title tag. And the snippet of messaging below that is the meta description.

RELATED PORTFOLIO: Bringing new business to Plantabis

For dispensaries, your traffic will mostly be people on mobile devices. I’m talking like 70-80% mobile traffic. Since Google can’t show as many characters in its results for mobile as it does for desktop, it’s good to check that your tags don’t get cut off in SERPs.

This isn’t exact, but Google’s mobile results will display approximately 60 characters for the title tag and 100 characters for the meta description. You can use a Google SERP simulator tool to see what your tags will look like before you implement the tags on your site. Just be sure to click the “mobile” button when using the tool.

Use header tags for page structure

Look at some of the pages on your site. Are they mostly a wall of words? Or do they have headings to break things up?

You can classify headings with header tags (H tags) to structure your content in a hierarchical manner (H1, H2, H3, etc.), which helps search engines better understand the page. Headings generally have more SEO value than simple text, so use keywords in them wisely.

These headings also make it easier for customers to skim and read the content, of course.

There aren’t any “must follow” rules when it comes to H tags. Search engines just need to be able to understand the content, and headings help do that. But I usually recommend following these guidelines for H tag classification:

• A page should have its main heading classified as H1. It’s not the end of the world to have more than one heading that’s an H1, but try to keep it to just one.
• Secondary headings should be H2.
• Subheadings under an H2 should be H3, but it’s OK if you want them to be H4 (or lower) for styling purposes. It doesn’t hurt anything to make that jump from H2 to H4.
• Blocks of text should just be text. If something isn’t a heading, there’s no need to classify it as one.

As a hypothetical example, let’s say you’re creating a page about edibles. The structure and hierarchy of headings might look like this:

Or check out this example for CastleLeaf, a dispensary in Brighton, MA. Their About page follows a natural hierarchy of headings, which I’ve labeled in red:

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Maintain an active blog to create content

Most successful dispensaries have a blog section of some kind, whether they call it a blog, news, insights, or something else. It’s difficult to improve upon your rankings and attract more customers without a place on your site to consistently publish content.

A blog is one of the most effective SEO strategies for the cannabis industry, yet it’s often an afterthought.

An active blog with fresh, regular content can bring in new visitors searching for topics you’ve written about. And it helps improve your site’s authority for your relevant keywords. You want search engines to see that you’re an expert in dispensary and cannabis topics.

Create content at various stages of the customer journey to meet people where they’re at. Not all customers are the same.

Some visitors will be canna curious. Some will be deciding if they should choose your dispensary over another. And others might be looking for new strains to try or different ways to use products.

Similarly, not everyone consumes the same type of content. Create blog content in different formats and see what gets the best engagement. Then, do more of that. You might try things like:

• Standard blog posts: Guides on cannabis use, effects, and product recommendations.
• Videos: Strain reviews, how-to guides, and UGC (user-generated content).
• Infographics: Visual content explaining THC vs. CBD, dosage charts, and strain comparisons.

Address common questions from customers

Think about the questions you hear a lot at your dispensary. You can answer those on your site to attract people searching for the same thing online.

Add frequently asked questions (FAQs) to product pages, blog posts, and even your homepage. Also consider a dedicated FAQ page, which is common for dispensary sites. It’s a good spot to address lots of questions in one place.

What should an FAQ page look like?

Take Bask, for example, a dispensary with several locations in Massachusetts. Their FAQ page covers common questions about products, store hours, what to bring, parking, and more. And questions are split up by category, so the page isn’t just a big list.

Clicking a question will get the answer to expand into view – this design saves space so it’s quicker for people to find the question they’re looking for.

RELATED PORTFOLIO: Driving traffic and increasing online sales

Pro tip: Search your target keywords (like “dispensary in [state]”) on Google. Scroll down a bit to the “People also ask” section in the middle of the results. If there’s a question that applies to your dispensary, use that question word for word on your FAQ page. For example, when I search “dispensary in NYC,” I see questions like:

• Can I go to a dispensary without a card in NY?
• Can you walk into a dispensary in NYC?
• Are NY dispensaries cash only?

Product-based dispensary SEO

Most people who come to your dispensary website will be borderline ready to buy. Or they’ll be deciding if you happen to offer what they need. That’s why product-based SEO matters.

Use an SEO-friendly menu

Your online menu is a more impactful SEO strategy than you might think. Aside from the homepage, this is the page that’ll get the most views. So, you should give it the attention it deserves.

Many dispensaries use iFrame menus, such as embed-able menus from third parties like Dutchie or Jane. Meanwhile, the more SEO-savvy dispensaries use native menus – menus built directly on their site.

Here’s the main difference:

An iFrame menu is an inline frame menu that’s embedded on a page on your site. Think of it as another website, with its functionality living on just your menu page. None of the categories, brands, or products within the menu can be indexed by search engines. Only the menu page itself.

A native menu, on the other hand, allows for everything in your menu to be indexed. People searching for specific categories, brands, and products will be able to find those on Google. Native menus are customizable with full control over your brand’s styling and user interface. And you can contextually link directly to specific menu pages from anywhere on your site.

If you’re currently using an iFrame menu, consider switching to get more traffic and sales.

Hennep is a dispensary in Provincetown, MA. They came to our SEO agency to increase online visibility and drive customers to shop their products. Together, we built a customized, search-engine friendly native menu. Just one month after launching, this happened:

• Organic traffic grew 69%.
• The conversion rate improved 104%.
• Transactions more than doubled, growing 145%.
• Revenue grew 74%.

RELATED PORTFOLIO: Bringing big cannabis energy to Provincetown, MA

Create informational product pages

People search for specific strains and products all the time. As an example, take Cream D’Mint, my favorite strain.

When I Google it in conjunction with my state, the first listing is a product page – not a product in the menu, but an informational product page. Theory Wellness, which ranks #1, is a cultivator of the strain.

And the next two listings are native menu products.

So, product pages (and native menus for that matter) clearly have value. Being found in search results for product-specific keywords gives you an advantage over competitors.

If you’re a dispensary that grows flower, it’s smart to create a strain library on your site with a page for each strain. I’ve seen some sites maintain just a single library page that lists all the strains they grow, which is better than nothing.

But a dedicated page for each strain allows you to go into greater detail and have a better chance of ranking. You can include things on each page like:

• Images of plants and buds
• A general description
• Lineage/genealogy
• Terpenes
• Cannabinoids
• Effects
• Aromas
• Flavors
• Consumer reviews
• Related strains

Or if you produce your own line of gummies, for instance, you could create a page for each type of gummy. And take a similar approach to providing information like above.

No matter what type of product you’re promoting, don’t forget to include a CTA button to encourage people to shop that product in the menu!

Pro tip: When building strain pages, don’t just copy information from the breeder site. Obviously, some of the information will be the same, like lineage, terpenes, and cannabinoids. But you can make your page more attractive to users and search engines by adding insights from your cultivators, experiences from your staff, reviews from customers, and more.

Create category pages

People search for categories too, like pre-rolls or edibles. You can create educational pages to attract people who are asking questions about the category or searching for the basics.

As an example, Hennep has an educational page about concentrates (shown below), which covers how to use them, popular product types, and more. And there are CTAs to shop concentrates on their menu.

This page is designed to drive traffic for searches like “types of concentrates” and “how strong are cannabis concentrates?” It’s similar to a blog post but has more commercial elements. Now, when someone lands on your page, they’ll learn something valuable and be more inclined to shop with you.

Educational content also helps search engines see you as a valuable resource, and customers may feel you’re more credible.

Another type of category page you can create is for a specific brand you sell. For example, Uma Flowers is a dispensary in Pepperell, MA, and they have a Fernway brand page that ranks 2^nd for “Fernway vapes.”

This shows it’s possible to rank for branded keywords other than your own.

How did Uma Flowers do that?

Their Fernway brand page is helpful and a great experience, covering:

• The Fernway product line
• Product specs
• Frequently asked questions
• Images
• Reviews
• And most importantly – an eCommerce functionality that lets people add products straight to their cart without even going to the menu

You can use the same SEO strategy. Since your dispensary likely carries a ton of brands, start by looking at your best sellers from online orders.

Pro tip: Log into Google Search Console (it’s free to set up) and you can see real queries that people searched to find your site. You might discover there’s a decent amount of searches for certain brands.

Once you’ve got your list of brands to consider, next use a keyword research tool to see which brands and brand/product combinations have the best search volume. You want to be sure there’s search demand before you start creating.

Then, pick one or two brands to create a page for. Turn those pages into a one-stop shop for learning about the brand and browsing products. Use local keywords, so if people include your city or state in their search, you’ll show up.

If those new pages prove to get traffic that turns into sales, then consider doing the same for other popular brands.

Technical dispensary SEO

Most people will say technical SEO is mainly for helping search engines navigate and rank your website properly. But it’s also important for providing a fast, error-free experience for customers.

There are plenty of minor technical things you can tinker with, but not many will move the needle. Here’s what to prioritize:

Improve page speed

Ever been to a site and got so frustrated that you left to go somewhere else? Don’t let that happen to your customers.

Page speed is a ranking factor, so a slow-loading site can cost you rankings. But it can also cost you sales. If your pages take too long to load, visitors will leave before they even get to your menu. Most people bounce after just three seconds if they’re not happy with the experience.

In a consumer survey, 45% of people said they were less likely to buy if a site loaded slower than expected. Could you imagine losing 45% of your customer base?!

Source: https://unbounce.com/page-speed-report/

I recommend optimizing your homepage first, which is where most people will first land on your site. A few tips to improve site speed:

• Avoid pop-ups: While dispensaries need an age verification pop-up, additional pop-ups can be frustrating and add to your page’s load time.
• Change the order of page components: Prioritize loading essential content first in the source code, with CSS and JavaScript positioned afterward.
• Compress images: Shrink image file sizes as much as possible while maintaining their quality.
• Optimize CSS and JavaScript files: Too much CSS and JavaScript can increase load times. Streamline these files by removing unnecessary code.
• Don’t use animation: Motion graphics and videos may look appealing, but they’re often detrimental to page speed. Go with static images instead.
• Use PageSpeed Insights to measure speed: Driven by Core Web Vitals, PageSpeed Insights gives you recommendations to improve performance. It’s free, so take advantage.

Make sure your site performs well on mobile

61% of users are unlikely to return to your site on mobile if they had trouble accessing it. Adding insult to injury, 40% will visit a competitor’s site instead.

And since more than half of your site visitors are on their phones anyway, your site needs to be mobile-friendly.

Plus, Google crawls the web using a smartphone agent (mobile first indexing), which means its rankings are based on your website’s experience on mobile devices.

Here are some tips to optimize for mobile:

• Use a responsive design: Your site should automatically adjust to different screen sizes and resolutions.
• Enable fast-loading mobile navigation: Use a sticky, collapsible navigation (“hamburger menu”) to make browsing easier on small screens.
• Avoid pop-ups and interstitials: Other than the age gate, don’t use intrusive elements that block content and frustrate users.
• Use touch-friendly elements: Buttons and links should be large enough to easily tap with fingers and prevent accidental clicks.
• Optimize fonts and spacing: Use legible font sizes and adequate spacing (padding) for easy reading without needing to zoom in.

Help search engines index your pages

Even with an amazing website and great content, your dispensary won’t appear in SERPs if search engines can’t find, crawl, and index your pages.

Here are some ways to help them do that:

• Link to important pages in the navigation: Link to your most valuable pages (menu, locations, contact, etc.) in the main navigation. Try limiting to five main elements and then use drop-downs to categorize.
• Link to lower priority pages in the footer: Place links to less important pages (careers, privacy policy, etc.) in the footer. They can still be found without cluttering the main navigation.
• Link between related pages: In the body of pages across your site, link to related pages to guide crawlers and users. For example, link to the location page from the about page. Link to the menu from blog posts. And so on.
• Create an XML sitemap: An XML sitemap is a list of all pages on your site that you want search engines to find and index. Most content management systems (CMSes) can generate one, but you can do it other ways too.
• Submit the XML sitemap to Search Console: Copy the URL of your XML sitemap and submit it to Google via Search Console. It’s like giving Google a heads up that you have a sitemap.
• Check your robots.txt file:txt is a simple text file on your site that instructs search crawlers which URLs they can and can’t access. Make sure it’s not preventing important pages from being crawled. Include a reference to the URL of your XML sitemap here.

Off-page dispensary SEO

Building authority and industry relevance helps you improve rankings and attract more customers. There’s an off-page aspect to SEO for dispensaries, meaning you should work to strengthen your brand’s presence throughout the web.

The best way to do that is to get mentions and backlinks on other sites. Here are some ideas:

Get your brand name out there

• Directories: Submit your business to directories like Google Business Profile, Yelp, BBB, Chamber of Commerce, etc. Also check local city directories related to tourism and business associations.
• Partners: Ask partners (like brands you carry) to give you a link on their site.
• Press releases: Issue press releases about community events and product launches to a PR distribution network.
• Quotes: Submit your expert insights to sites that write about cannabis and dispensary topics. If you’re a medical dispensary, you could try to get featured on health and wellness blogs to talk about the plant’s benefits.
• News pitches: When you have a great story or news to share that the cannabis and/or local community would find interesting, pitch it to journalists and press outlets in your state that publish online.
• Events: Take advantage of events, trade shows, and conferences that have booth or sponsorship opportunities. Their websites often have directories that link to the websites of exhibitors and sponsors.

Earn backlinks with content

• Local guides: Create a guide about your region. It’s OK to do something that isn’t about cannabis, as long as it’s related to your area. For example, you might choose a topic like “How to Spend a Weekend in [City].” You could even collaborate with another business to attract their customers and vice versa.
• Infographics: Create infographics that combines cannabis and your location. You might choose a topic like “Pairing Cannabis Products with [City] Activities” that provides recommendations, helpful information, and supportive imagery. You can turn these graphics into blog posts too.
• Guest posts: Contribute to blogs of other cannabis websites. You can also contribute to blogs of non-cannabis sites, like ones about lifestyle, wellness, or tourism in your region.