With the cannabis industry growing and local competition increasing, mastering local SEO becomes vital to ensure your CBD business stands out in your neighborhood. As seasoned SEO experts, we know firsthand the importance of implementing local SEO strategies in this strictly regulated industry. That’s why we have crafted this comprehensive CBD local SEO guide, backed and approved by our team of CBD SEO experts.
This guide encapsulates invaluable insights, practical tips, and proven strategies that will help you elevate your local online presence and attract more customers to your cannabis business.
Let’s get started and make your mark in the ever-growing cannabis industry!
What is CBD Local SEO and How Is It Different from Traditional SEO?
Local SEO for CBD businesses aims to connect with customers within a specific geographical area, unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on a global audience.
Local SEO ensures that your business pops up on their screens when someone in your area searches for a CBD product. These results are primarily based on relevance, distance, and prominence. “It’s like being the most popular spot in town without needing a billboard on every corner.”
How Local SEO is Elevating CBD Businesses Everywhere?
Learning the importance of local SEO is critical, especially in the CBD industry, due to the stringent regulations and highly localized nature of the market. It allows you to connect with people actively looking for CBD products in your vicinity.
- First and foremost, local SEO caters to the immediate market potential surrounding your geographical location. When potential customers search for CBD products, they often include location-specific terms like “CBD store near me” or “local CBD supplier.” Optimizing for these local keywords ensures that your business appears prominently in these searches, increasing traffic and boosting conversions. According to stats, search queries that include “near me” or “close by” phrases have seen a 900% increase in the past two years. We’ve complied a list of 50 best keywords for CBD Brands with search intent and their search volumes (based on our research)
- Moreover, local SEO works magically with trust-building. When optimized for local searches, your business ranks high in local search results, signaling credibility to the users. As people discover your CBD business within their locality, it becomes a familiar and trusted option, essential in an industry where consumer confidence is key.
To put it simply, we believe that local SEO for CBD businesses is the bridge that connects your brand to the local community and maximizes your visibility among those actively seeking CBD products nearby.
6 Time-tested Strategies to Transform Your CBD Local SEO
1. Optimize Your GMB Profile
As a CBD business owner, optimizing your Google My Business (GMB) profile is significant because it increases your visibility in local search results and helps you attract the right audience, the people honestly looking to buy CBD products in your area.
Quick guide on how to optimize GMB profile for your CBD Business
With all the rules and regulations in play, the cannabis business demands a thoughtful strategy. So, here’s a mini guide on how to fine-tune your GMB profile to perfectly match the visitors’ needs.
- Enter complete details: Complete every section of your GMB profile, including business name, accurate address, working phone number, website, hours of operation, etc., to help Google match your business profile to relevant searches.
GMB profile of a cbd store with complete details
- Verify your profile: Ensure your Cannabis business complies with Google’s guidelines. Provide all necessary licenses and stick to local laws in the verification process because doing the opposite can result in penalties, including suspension or removal of your GMB listing.
- Choose relevant categories: Accurate categorization is important to appear in relevant searches. Select primary categories that closely align with the CBD and cannabis industry, such as “CBD Store,” “Organic Shop,” or “Cannabis Store.” You can also add secondary categories that reflect other aspects of your business, like “health and beauty” or “CBD oil,” “CBD gummies,” etc.
GMB primary category for a CBD store in America
- Add high-quality images: Besides uploading pictures of your store and staff, we advise you to upload images of your CBD products on your GMB profile to highlight your business specialties. Make sure the pictures you add comply with local regulations regarding CBD marketing.
High-quality images of a CBD store
- Collect, monitor and respond to reviews: In the CBD industry, trust, credibility, and quality matter the most. Therefore, encourage your customers to post positive reviews about your CBD products. Monitor and respond to each review, positive and negative, showcasing you value feedback and your customers.
- Q&A section: Q&A is an important section in the GMB profile of cannabis businesses. You can post and answer common questions regarding CBD and cannabis, such as legal concerns, informational questions, product recommendations, and health benefits, to help your visitors.
- Add keywords and highlight certifications in the description: Craft concise, keyword-rich descriptions to clearly communicate your business’s offerings to both Google and your customers. We advise you to list available products and services, including strains, edibles, oils, and more. Most importantly, include any certifications, such as organic or third-party lab testing, in your description to build trust and credibility with the target audience.
Optimized GMB description
Pro tip: Besides all of these techniques, ensure that you have consistent NAP information across all the platforms.
2. Build Local Citations
Now, you are aware of how important it is for your CBD business to build and optimize your GMB listing. However, you must take into consideration that other directories are also available to list your cannabis business. Weedmaps, Leafly, and Herb.co are popular local directories, primarily aimed at CBD businesses. Many individuals seeking CBD products locally often turn to these platforms while looking for a reliable cannabis company. So, by getting listed on these sites, you can reach more potential customers and grow your CBD business further.
3. Carry Out Local Keyword Research
Keywords are the key to ranking in the search results. Therefore, researching, selecting, and targeting the right local keywords is an essential local SEO strategy. Also, always keep the “user search intent” in mind while conducting local keyword research for your business.
You can utilize tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush to identify popular keywords relevant to the CBD industry in your target area.
Here are some additional tips that you can incorporate into your strategy:
- Incorporate location-specific terms in your keywords to target customers in your area. This could include the city name, neighborhood, or landmark where your business is located or serves.
- Aim for long-tail keywords, such as “cbd oil shop in (city name),” “best cbd products near me,” or “cbd oil for stress relief,” etc.
- Monitor the local cannabis-related search trends in your area and adjust your keyword strategy accordingly.
4. Implement Local Content Strategy
Valuable content is the backbone of a successful local SEO strategy. From blog posts to social media updates and customer testimonials, every piece of content you create helps guide potential customers straight to your doorstep. Therefore, relevant content can be your mightiest weapon if you want to attract local audiences.
Here are some checks that will help you build a local content strategy for your cannabis business:
- While writing blog posts or articles, focus on addressing topics that align with the search intent of your local audience. You can incorporate local landmarks or popular spots in your content to resonate with your local audience.
- Intelligently incorporate local CBD keywords into your content.
- To solve concerns and misconceptions of local visitors, you can create a frequently asked questions (FAQs) section on your website, addressing common inquiries about CBD tailored to your local market.
- Share content about the local CBD news, regulations, and industry developments on your website and social media platforms to position your business as a reliable source of information within the local CBD market.
5. CBD Local Link-building
Link building for cbd brands is crucial, especially within the cannabis industry, because it helps build trust and shows you’re a reliable choice for local customers. You must focus on obtaining backlinks from authoritative cannabis websites, local dispensaries, wellness blogs, local business directories, etc., to improve your website’s ranking in search results and increase visibility among the local target audience.
Besides this, ensure that the websites you target have strong domain authority and relevance to the cannabis industry.
6. Encourage Reviews and Monitor Online Reputation
In the cannabis industry, reviews and local SEO go hand-in-hand. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Good reviews are the currency of trust,” and it couldn’t be more accurate here. With trust being the magic element in this industry, businesses with solid online reputations are more likely to attract customers seeking cannabis products in their area.
In addition to enhancing local SEO rankings, positive reviews also build credibility with local consumers, influencing their purchasing decisions. Therefore, besides asking for positive feedback, effective management of online reviews is essential for cannabis businesses aiming to optimize their local SEO.
Wrapping Up
To sum up, understanding and implementing local SEO strategies is vital for cannabis businesses to succeed in this growing, highly regulated market. This expert-approved guide gives you the key strategies and insights to boost your online presence and attract more local customers.
With years of experience in working as an SEO agency for cbd brands, we’ve been there, done that, and know what works. Whether it’s local keyword research, online reputation management, or crafting informative content for your business, we’ve got you covered.
See Case Studies:
- CBD store increased 175% traffic through trust-driven SEO and keyword optimization
- Increased organic traffic by 284% in less than 2 years for a CBD store
- Gained 180% more organic users by implementing effective CBD SEO strategies
If you want to attract more local customers and make your mark in the industry, let our SEO team help you in helping your CBD business expand and reach new heights.
