Written by Dan Mondello, CEO & Co-Founder of Rank Really High
Dispensaries face a unique challenge in the digital marketing world. While other retailers can run PPC campaigns, target Instagram ads, and remarket on YouTube, cannabis businesses in the U.S. and Canada must play by different rules. Most of the traditional tools are off-limits due to advertising restrictions—and that makes one thing even more important:
Getting found on Google.
That’s what Cannabis Dispensary SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is all about. But not all SEO is created equal, and not all traffic is valuable. Let’s break it down.
(Stay tuned for the end where we give you 5 things you can do today)
What Is SEO and Why Should Dispensaries Care?
SEO is how you make your online presence easier to find, understand, and trust—from the perspective of both search engines and potential customers.
It’s more than a few keywords or meta tags. It's about how your digital footprint aligns with what people are actually searching for—and how you structure your content so Google shows you first.
For dispensaries, it’s especially critical because:
- You can’t solely rely on paid advertising.
- Your competitors are already investing in their Dispensary SEO.
- Around 60% of consumers begin their cannabis shopping journey with a search—especially on mobile.
Your potential customers are searching “dispensary near me,” and if you’re not visible at that moment, you’re not in the running.
Start With Google Business Profile
Before worrying about blogs or backlinks, your foundation starts with your Google Business Profile (GBP). Think of it like your storefront on Google Maps—it’s often the first thing someone sees when they search for cannabis in your area.
Why is GBP so important? Because it influences local pack rankings (the box of nearby businesses that appears at the top of many search results). If you’re not optimized here, you’re not showing up when it counts.
So, what does a strong GBP look like?
It’s accurate, complete, and regularly updated. It includes your hours, services, contact info, photos, and reviews. It reflects who you are—and signals to Google that you’re relevant to local users.
It’s also where many key customer actions happen:
- They click to call you.
- They read your reviews.
- They get directions.
- They visit your website.
The top-performing cannabis-related searches in your area likely include:
- “dispensary near me”
- “open dispensary [city]”
- “cannabis delivery in [neighborhood]”
- “best weed deals [location]”
If your GBP isn’t up to date—or if you haven’t claimed it at all—you’re invisible in those moments. You need to actively manage it and build it out in a way that signals trust, relevance, and value to both Google and potential customers.
How to Optimize Your Google Business Profile?
Here’s how you can set up your GBP in 6 easy steps!
1. Claim and Verify Your Profile
If you haven’t claimed your GBP yet, start there. Go to google.com/business, search for your dispensary name, and claim your listing. Verification happens through Video Recording, Phone or text, email, live video call, or mail. Learn more about verifying your business on Google.
2. Add All of Your Dispensary’s Info
Once you’ve claimed your Google Business Profile, it’s time to fill it out completely—and correctly. Every field you skip is a missed opportunity to show up in a customer’s search. Keep in mind elements such as your dispensary’s hours of operation, delivery/ service area, and review score and count can all dramatically influence your search results and performance. Businesses that open earlier and closer later and have the best reviews, and convenience will almost always win searches.
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Business Name: Use your real, legal business name. Don’t try to sneak in extra keywords like “Greenhouse Dispensary – Best Weed in Denver.” Google sees this as spammy and could suspend or penalize your profile. Stick to what’s on your sign and your website.
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Category: Choosing the right primary category is key. Most dispensaries should stick to selecting “Cannabis Store”. Often we see dispensaries selecting additional business categories. Generally, we recommend against this for dispensaries as it can lead to worse rankings, suspensions, and improper classifications resulting in poor search performance.
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Address & Phone Number: Make sure these match exactly across your website, GBP, social profiles, and any online directories you’re listed on. This is your NAP consistency—Name, Address, Phone—and it’s a critical trust signal for local SEO.
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Hours of Operation: Add your hours, including holidays and special event days. If a customer shows up expecting you to be open—and you're not—it hurts more than your reputation. It tells Google you’re not reliable, and that can affect your rankings. Learn About Updating Holiday Hours
3. Add High-Quality Photos
Now that your basic information is set, you will want to add photos! Photos are one of the best ways to build trust. Real images (not stock photography) of your storefront, products, team, interior, and even signage give potential customers a sense of what to expect.
According to Google, businesses with photos get 42% more direction requests and 35% more click-throughs to their websites.
Upload new photos regularly to keep your profile fresh.
4. Encourage Reviews (and Respond to Them)
Positive reviews do more than build trust—they’re a ranking factor.
Ask happy customers to leave reviews, and always respond—especially to negative ones. Your responses show potential customers that you care about their experience, and they show Google that your profile is active.
5. Link to the Right Page
Make sure your GBP links to a page that converts. Ideally, it should be your homepage—or better yet, a location-specific landing page that includes your menu, directions, and offers.
Don’t send people to a generic menu that lives off-site. You want them on your domain, where SEO and tracking work in your favor.
A fully optimized Google Business Profile is one of the simplest—and most effective—ways to boost your visibility and drive foot traffic or online orders. Treat it like part of your marketing strategy, not an afterthought.
Let’s Talk About Your Website
Once your GBP is in order, your dispensary website becomes the hub of your Dispensary SEO strategy. But here’s the key difference between a website that exists and a website that performs:
A performing site is designed to rank, engage, and convert.
A few things to consider:
- Does your homepage clearly communicate who you are and where you are?
- Do your location-specific keywords show up in the right places?
- Are you giving Google clear signals about your products, categories, and services?
And most importantly: are the people landing on your site actually sticking around?
SEO isn’t just about attracting traffic. It’s about attracting the right traffic.
Let’s say your blog on “how to make marijuana banana bread” goes viral. That might drive traffic—but if all your clicks are coming from San Diego and you’re in Boston, that content isn’t building your business.
It’s tempting to chase content trends, but the best SEO strategies stay focused: bringing in local, qualified traffic that’s likely to become customers.
The Truth About Menu SEO
Your menu is the heartbeat of your site—but it’s also one of the most misunderstood parts of cannabis SEO.
Here’s the harsh reality: if your menu lives in an iframe (an embedded tool that pulls in a menu from another source), Google has difficulty reading it. That means many of your products, categories, or brands are NOT being properly indexed. To Google, they might as well not exist. Some of the cannabis menu providers have found clever ways to inject SEO value into Iframes but the reality is that this kind of SEO is rented not owned and ultimately accounts for a smaller volume of quality traffic when compared to location and brand-based searches.
The Four Types of Menu Setups:
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Iframe Menus: Quick to launch, but Google largely ignores them. They don’t build SEO value. They do not fully reflect your brand identity and they resemble everyone else’s menu diluting your brand value.
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Subdomain Menus: Better, but not fully connected to your main website. Still lost ranking potential. This solution does add ranking value but at the cost of several tradeoffs including: inconsistent user experience, the need to install some script tags more than once, tracking/data inconsistencies, and lack of personalization and brand identity.
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Reverse Proxy: This is essentially another form of Subdomain but instead of putting the menu content on a traditional subdomain or subdirectory the content is pointed at the parent domain giving search engines the understanding that the content lives on one site even if the user experience is very different.
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Native Menus (like Rank Really High): Fully integrated into your site. Google sees every product, every brand, every special—and you get rewarded for it. Native ecommerce allows for every page to be fully merchandised, monetized, and tracked in the most conventional way possible. This is how Shopify’s platform works out of the box and it’s the same method fortune 100 retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target use on their ecommerce websites.
This isn’t just about “ranking better.” It’s about making sure your products and deals are showing up in search, not just your homepage.
Cova customers can unlock native e-commerce with Rank Really High’s direct-to-POS integration, ensuring their inventory syncs seamlessly and accurately across both online and in-store experiences. Product availability and pricing update in near real-time, while each product, category, and brand lives natively on your site—no iframes, no missed opportunities. This not only eliminates inventory discrepancies but also gives Google full access to your menu content, turning your website into a true SEO asset.
Local SEO Is Your Best Friend
Menu SEO is a strategy—but it shouldn’t be your whole Dispensary SEO strategy.
Your goal is to dominate local searches with actual buyers. That means showing up not just when someone looks for a product, but when they search for a dispensary like yours in their neighborhood.
Remember how we talked about Google Business Profile? Local SEO needs to be prioritized on your website too.
Here’s how:
- Use your city and neighborhood names naturally in your website copy.
- Add location pages for each storefront, with unique content.
- Include your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) consistently across your site.
- Embed your Google Maps location.
These local cues help Google understand that you’re the best match for someone nearby. And that’s the traffic that turns into real revenue.
A High-Converting Website (and What Happens If It's Not)
The goal of dispensary SEO is to get more traffic. However, traffic means nothing if it doesn’t convert. Your goal should be to attract customers, not just clicks.
Once people land on your site—whether through GBP, local search, or product pages—you’ve got a few seconds to keep them. If they bounce (leave without clicking anything), that signals to Google: this page didn’t meet their needs which can lead to deindexing or diminished placement in the SERP (search engine results page) over time.
High bounce rates can lower your credibility with search engines. While not the only ranking factor, it’s a red flag if users repeatedly hit your homepage or menu and exit right away.
What causes bounces?
- Confusing navigation or cluttered design
- Menus hidden behind too many clicks
- Lack of trust or relevance
- Slow load times (especially on mobile)
A site that converts:
- Highlights deals and featured brands immediately and throughout
- Has clear navigation and “Order Now” buttons
- Answers customer questions directly (FAQs, education)
- Loads in under 3 seconds
Behavioral signals—like time on site, page views, and click-throughs—tell Google you’re worth showing again. And they help you make more sales.
Optimize For Mobile
We've found that 82% of dispensary customers are viewing websites on their phones—usually while they’re out, nearby, and ready to buy. That means if your site isn’t optimized for mobile, you're not just frustrating potential customers—you’re actively losing them.
What Comes Next—Additions That Boost SEO
Once your dispensary SEO foundation is strong, you can start adding layers that expand your visibility.
Start with content:
Blogs are a powerful way to target long-tail searches like “Best edibles for sleep in Michigan” or “Cannabis and migraines: What you need to know.” Just make sure they’re relevant to your market—remember, Massachusetts traffic won’t help a California shop. Make sure that your “Blogs” are actually blogs and not landing pages pushed as blogs. Blogs should cover topics such as company news, product reviews, industry perspectives, and tips.
Educational pages also help—like “How to get your first medical card” or “Cannabis laws in Ontario.” These build trust and authority. You can also you these to destigmatize the shopping experience and offer helpful advice or suggestions.
Don’t forget social signals:
While social media doesn’t directly impact rankings, it helps distribute your content, build links, and create branded searches (“[Store name] near me”). In our opinion, many dispensaries overvalue and overfocus on Social Media.
And of course, always link back to your site in your profiles and posts.
5 Quick Wins You Can Do Today
- Claim and fully optimize your Google Business Profile.
- Make Sure Your Menu Lives on a Page You Own
- Add Location-Based Keywords to Your Website
- Check Your Website’s Speed and Mobile Experience
- Create or update one page with local-focused content.
Need Help? Rank Really High Is Built for This
At Rank Really High, we work exclusively with dispensaries to build fully SEO-optimized websites, including native menus that search engines love.
Our platform combines smart e-commerce structure with SEO best practices, so your site gets found—by the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
Want to see how you can improve your website? Book a free website audit.