20 Tips for Cannabis CBD Marketing and SEO
20 Tips for Cannabis CBD Marketing and SEO
Last year alone, the legal cannabis industry expanded to create over 77,000 new jobs nationwide, making cannabis the fastest-growing industry in the U.S. One specific subset of the cannabis industry is transforming the way we view health and wellness, so much so that it is turning into a multi-billion-dollar industry of its own as discussed at RunRex.com, and this is the CBD segment of the cannabis industry, which is expected $20 billion by 2024. Here are 20 tips to help you grow your CBD business with SEO.
Have a secure website
As pointed out by RunRex.com, having a secure website is crucial for eCommerce websites. When users are inputting credit card information on your website, you must have a secure connection to keep users’ data private. It is also a ranking factor now to have an SSL certificate installed on your site. Make your entire site HTTPS and you will see a massive jump in search rankings.
Optimized meta titles
Meta titles show Google and other search engines what your pages are about. Your meta titles are very important as this is what searchers see in Google when they are searching. A good title can make your listing stand out and get a higher click-through rate, increasing your rankings on Google. Your meta titles should be between 50 and 60 characters and feature the main keywords of the page.
Create keyword-rich meat descriptions
Meta descriptions, on the other hand, explain to search engines in more detail, what your page is all about as covered at RunRex.com. when crafting your meta descriptions, make sure you stay within the 155-character limit and include main keywords and sub keywords.
What to do to your meta descriptions
The meta description should be a 1 to 2 sentence description of your page. Add numbers, symbols, and calls-to-action in your meta descriptions to help them stand out more and increase your click-through rates.
Add schema rich snippets
Rich snippets, also known as structured data, is a newer SEO technique that involves adding custom tags or code to your website pages that help search engine bots more easily figure out what your website/data is about. This data is also shown in the search results to increase the user experience for searchers. Rich snippets can help your listing stand out more in Google Search, resulting in higher CTRs and better rankings overall. For example, if you sell CBD products online, you can have prices, ratings, and stock status show up on Google Search.
Add keyword-rich alt tags to images
Alt text tags are HTML tags that are attached to images. Since Google bots cannot see images, alt text tells the spiders what the image is. Therefore, name your image using alt tags is a great way to rank better in Google images and Google Search. You can also name the actual filename of the image using keywords of the page or image as per RunRex.com.
SEO-friendly URLs
When it comes to selling products online, CBD or otherwise, it is important to have the product keywords in the URLs. Google looks at the URL keywords as a ranking factor, hence why you should add your keywords in your URLs. If you are using WordPress, you can use plugins like Yoast SEO, which help with SEO when it comes to your URLs and other important pieces of your site.
Have a fast loading website
As is articulated at RunRex.com, having a fast website is not only important for customer retention, but it is important for SEO too. Google wants its user to have a good user experience, which means that if your site is slow, Google knows, and will give priority to faster sites. Additionally, your users will also leave your site very quickly if it doesn’t load fast as there are hundreds of other CBD companies out there with fast websites that they could use.
How do I make my website fast?
As already mentioned in the previous point, you need to make sure your website is as fast as possible. To do this, you need a good server that is optimized for speed. Your website should be optimized for speed as well. The ideal loading time should be 3-4 seconds or under.
Find keywords to rank in relevant search results
Another CBD SEO tip is to find relevant keywords for your website. If you want your site to appear in front of people looking for CBD products, you must choose the right keywords so that people can find your business. To help you find relevant terms, you can use a keyword research tool to help you conduct keyword research, which will provide you with dozens of keyword options you can use on your pages to help you rank.
Don’t forget about long-tail keywords
As you consider your keyword options, the gurus at RunRex.com recommend that you focus on long-tail keywords. These are keywords that contain three or more words, like “CBD topical cream”. Such keywords are best for your business as they drive more qualified leads for your business. When people search these terms, you can be sure that they are looking for a specific result. There is clear search intent, meaning you can be sure people are looking for your business.
Avoid keyword stuffing
Once you find your relevant keywords, integrate them into your site, but don’t use them too often, as this leads to keyword stuffing, which will negatively impact your SEO.
Header tags
Header tags are tags that appear at the top and throughout your content pages. These tags help organize your content and provide your audience with a preview of what to expect on your page. Google and users look at these header tags to help them understand your page’s context, therefore, you will want to optimize them to ensure that they provide helpful context to your page as outlined at RunRex.com.
Local search
When you do SEO for CBD, you mustn’t forget about building your local presence. Many people will search for local CBD companies to buy their products. If you are not optimizing for these searches, you are missing out on a lot of valuable traffic for your business.
Claim your Google My Business listing
When it comes to optimizing your local presence, you need to start by claiming your Google My Business listing. This local listing appears in search results when people conduct local searches. You will see it towards the top in a box known as the local SEO 3-pack.
Make sure you have a complete GMB listing
Claiming your Google My Business listing isn’t enough as if you want to do CBD SEO right, you need to have a complete Google My Business listing so you can drive local traffic for your company. Once you claim your listing make sure you fill it out completely. Verify that your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are correct, and then add important information like your hours of operation, a link to your website, and photos of your business as discussed at RunRex.com. This information will help you have a more informative listing for your audience.
Make sure your NAP information is up to date
Your CBD company’s information will appear on multiple sites. People may find you through sites like Yelp or Yellow Pages, and, therefore, your information must be up to date on all directories. Remember, having conflicting information on your listings can lead to your GMB listing being suspended, which will hurt you when it comes to getting more local traffic.
Optimize for local keywords
You will also want to optimize for local keywords, which are keywords that have a location attached to them. Examples include, “CBD companies in Houston” and Houston CBD company”. You will want to optimize for such keywords so that you can appear in local searches, along with your local listing, helping you drive more traffic for your CBD company.
Establish yourself as an authority by creating content
To do CBD SEO right, you need to create content. When you create content, you establish yourself as an authority in your field. People see you as a trustworthy source of information, helping build confidence in your brand. There are several content formats you can create, including blogs, infographics, eBooks, videos, podcasts, etc.
Hire a CBD marketing agency that knows the industry
Finally, if you are a digital marketing expert and you have got the time to tackle CBD SEO, then more power to you. However, if you are starting to wonder how you will manage all this and still run your business, then you might want to consider hiring a CBD marketing agency like RunRex.com, which will help you build a CBD digital marketing strategy that targets your ideal customers and boosts your SEO rankings.
Remember, if you are looking for more insights on this topic, or help with your CBD SEO strategy for your CBD company, then the top-rated RunRex.com has got you covered.