The cannabis industry is responsible for a whirlwind of emerging markets, especially in adult-use recreationally legal states, and we are just seeing the beginning of incredibly high competition for top organic positions in the SERPs. The Canadian cannabis industry is deep into 2.0 and starting to really hit its stride, creating nuanced markets unique to each province.
Dispensary SEO
SEO for Dispensaries and Medical Cannabis Retailers in the United States and Canada
In the US, relatively mature recreational adult-use states like Colorado, Washington and Oregon, dispensaries are opening (and closing) at accelerated rates as those turbulent markets continue to move the goal posts on nearly all traditional marketing channels. Because of the fluid restrictions on paid search marketing
options, on-page SEO
has become more important than ever to establish and protect the successful cannabis dispensary’s coveted digital market share.
With 500 or more dispensaries in established states like Colorado and Washington and well over 1000 in Oregon and California (we see you Oklahoma!, currently over 2K), the markets are flooded with consumer options, especially where supply far exceeds demand and the dispensary-on-every-corner scenario combine for a one-two punch on any small business trying to compete with the deep pockets of big out-of-state cannabis investors.
As the more robust medical markets and newly legal recreational adult-use states each begin to ride the wave of legalization expanding eastward across America, states like Montana, Florida, Michigan, New Mexico, Arizona and Florida now top 100 dispensaries with Maryland, Pennsylvania and Ohio not far behind. The regulatory molasses has slowed newcomers Massachusetts and Illinois (by design), but New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, all hoping for first sales in 2022, will add to the industry's collective revenue explosion once they figure out how much tax they can get away with levying.
Population centers like Vancouver and Toronto are finally becoming Canadian industry hotspots as the dispensaries struggle to navigate the provincial and municipal challenges that have delayed the rollout thus far. Inventories are backed up, biomass is being swapped and the retail locations are just now opening their doors at effective rates. Despite all this new momentum, the Cannabis Act and it's stringent regulations have muddled the market with nebulous brands and made cannabis advertising in Canada even more difficult.
Any dispensary trying to compete in 2022 and beyond will benefit from professional search engine optimization and a strategy for reaping the rewards of a well-optimized website, in addition to the now mandatory
accurate and active local listing on Google and Bing.
Cannabis dispensary SEO certainly comes with its shares of challenges not present in mainstream industries, but nothing that cannot be overcome with a strong technical and content-based search engine optimization strategy. If your dispensary could clearly benefit from added visibility and organic search traffic,
get started by filling out this contact form today.
For more information about greenco's cannabis dispensary search engine optimization services, email, text or call Jamie now or
