Over 50% of all website traffic starts on a Search engine. Unfortunately, 75% of search engine users don’t bother checking the second page of search results.

With search engine optimization (SEO), you can help more people find your Cannabis website. Not sure how to use cannabis SEO? Read this Cannabis Seo guide to gather the information you need for an effective strategy!

With these tips, you can give your cannabis digital marketing strategy the boost it needs. Light it up with these tips today.  

Gather Audience Research

In order to improve your search engine rankings, you need to gain a better understanding of your target audience. Then, you can create content that appeals to the consumer’s search intent. Their search intent indicates what they’re looking for while online.

For example, maybe they’re looking for marijuana or CBD products to purchase. Maybe they want to learn about the different types of CBD or marijuana strains.

Maybe they want to read reviews other consumers have posted about your CBD store. 

Don’t assume you understand who your customers are or what they care about. Instead, gather audience research. First, define your target audience based on demo- and psychographic research.

For example, you might consider:

• Age groups
• Gender
• Buying behaviors
• Interests
• Hobbies
• Pain points
• Location
• Marital status
• Income
• Education
• Career

Break your larger audience into smaller groups. Then, gather keyword research based on the search terms each group uses when researching CBD and marijuana.

You can use tools like SEMRush, Answer the Public, Google Trends, and Google Keyword Planner to develop a list of keywords. Look for long-tail keywords that include four or more words. These phrases can help you understand the user’s search intent.

Then, you can start creating content that appeals to their search intent. Appealing to the consumer’s needs can help you attract them to your website. As they click on your content on search engine result pages (SERPs), your clickthrough rate will increase.

Improving your clickthrough rate can boost your rankings on SERPs. Higher rankings can benefit your entire marijuana digital marketing strategy. You can generate more brand awareness and website traffic before boosting leads and sales. 

Update Your Website

Google will also review your website before determining your SERP rankings.

First, make sure your site is mobile-optimized (run it through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check). Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it will look at the mobile version of your site first.

Next, run your site through Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Core Web Vitals. Make sure your site is fast, secure, and user-friendly.

If you haven’t updated your website in a while, hire a cannabis digital marketing agency before using the rest of this cannabis SEO guide. They can improve your cannabis website design with SEO in mind. Then, you can use technical SEO to boost your rankings. 

Claim Your Listing

Claim and optimize your Google Business listing. Your listing will help consumers find your:

• Business name
• Hours
• Phone number
• Address/directions
• Customer reviews
• Photos/videos
• Recent posts

Make sure the information on your listing matches exactly what appears on your website. Google will compare the two to determine the accuracy.

Ask your customers to post their reviews on your listing. Positive reviews can boost your brand’s reputation and credibility. If you receive negative reviews, don’t delete them.

Instead, respond right away to show consumers you’re willing to help solve their problems.

Otherwise, add fresh photos, videos, and posts to your listing. Keeping your listing up-to-date can benefit your local SEO strategy. Then, you can attract more people to your website and storefront. 

Create Quality Content

Use your keyword research to create quality blog content. Answer the questions your customers are asking to demonstrate your expertise. You could become a go-to resource for all their cannabis questions and needs. 

Optimize your posts for on-page SEO by including your target keyword in the:

• URL
• Page title
• Opening and closing paragraphs
• An H1 header
• Image file name
• Image alt text
• Body text
• SEO title
• SEO description

Make sure your title and description are engaging. These elements will appear on SERPs. Remembering, generating more clicks could boost your rankings.

Try adding video content to your content marketing strategy this year. Google displays videos as featured snippets, which appear at the top of SERPs.

Generate Backlinks

Backlinks will send readers on other websites to your cannabis website, allowing you to generate more traffic. Backlinks are one of Google’s top ranking factors. You can start generating backlinks by guest blogging on other websites. 

Otherwise, consider working with an experienced marijuana digital marketing agency. Their backlink-building services can help you boost your rankings. 

Share Your Content

Make sure you’re sharing your blog content on other websites.

For example, you can send subscribers an email newsletter directing them to your blog posts. You can also reformat your posts for social media to generate traffic. 

As more people visit your website, your rankings could improve.

Track Trends

As you begin using cannabis and CBD SEO strategies, make sure to keep track of new trends. Tracking SEO trends could help you discover new ways to get ahead of competing brands. 

For example, about 48% of consumers use voice search for general web searches. You can appeal to voice searches by focusing on long-tail keywords that are phrased as questions. About 40.7% of voice search answers come from featured snippets.

Featured snippets appear at the top of SERPs, helping you generate more web traffic and leads. 

You can work with an agency to make sure you never fall behind SEO trends. 

Analyze and Adjust

Once you begin using these tips, review your Google Analytics. Which posts do your customers read the most often? Look at the post type (video, blog posts, infographic, etc.), topic, and target keyword.

Review your data to make informed changes to your cannabis SEO strategy in the future. 

Light It Up: Boost Your Cannabis SEO Rankings Today

Developing a strong cannabis SEO strategy can help you reach new customers online. Then, you can expand your reach, generate more traffic, and boost sales. Use this cannabis SEO guide to help your business grow.

Remember, you don’t have to develop your SEO strategy alone. Consider working with a cannabis digital marketing agency this year instead. 

Ready to get started?

Contact our team today to learn more!

The post How to Incorporate Cannabis SEO Into Your Website appeared first on Forge Digital Marketing.