Selling cannabis products is a lucrative business. However, the number of people getting caught up in the trend continues to rise. These days, many celebrities and famous influencers aren’t shying away from endorsing these products. But, advertising these products online can still be a challenge due to a myriad of reasons.
Marijuana, in its raw form, is still illegal in all 50 American states regardless of the way you brand or package it. Dispensaries or marketers that transport it through traditional means are drug trafficking.
That being said, a few knacks up your sleeve and adherence to certain norms can help you crack the market. Thus, rake in huge ROIs through this business. For instance, you can sell cannabis products if you derive and prepare them according to the legalities in place. Also, you can deliver such products within the states where cannabis byproducts are legal.
Regardless, it is always better to consult a lawyer who specializes in this area before going ahead. Once all are set, you are ready to find ways to market these products to your target audience.
So let's look at the best-performing methods to market cannabis products online. Note that products belonging to particular categories require niche-specific marketing techniques known as cannabis or dispensary SEO.
As we mentioned earlier, it is important to use techniques with a particular kind of finesse to market certain items. For example, cannabis products. One of the important considerations here is prioritizing organic traffic. And in the worst-case scenario, it may be your only option.
So, let’s see why the organic way might be the only option for you to market cannabis products online. Usually, e-commerce companies jump and invest in paid search or PPC campaigns to spread awareness. This can also create an initial boost in sales. Sometimes, they support these ads by other digital marketing strategies such as content marketing and social media.
However, paid campaigns can seldom be the mainstream revenue generator for companies that sell cannabis products. That leaves us with just SEO and content. These combine to make the number one strategy you can use for cannabis marketing.
For instance, Google’s terms state that cannabis is an addictive and hazardous product under the recreational drugs category. It rules out all chances for someone to market products like CBD made from real marijuana via Google Ads. There are exemptions, though. Their guidelines allow the sale of hemp-derived CBD, as long as ads stay free from direct mentions of cannabis terminologies.
Similar conditions apply to platforms such as Youtube as well as Facebook. Although you can find a ton of marijuana content on these platforms, you should know that they flag and remove tons of similar content on a daily basis. They will not encourage content that crosses the limits of things that could easily convert into illegal activities.
In a nutshell, it doesn’t hurt to try paid campaigns to market cannabis. But you'll likely have a ton of scrutiny before they benefit your business. That is why we advise you to go for SEO, the only option that allows you to freely market your products online.
Before initializing your SEO efforts for cannabis marketing, ensure that neither your internet service nor hosting provider has a problem or norms that prohibit you from publishing websites that contain cannabis products or information.
Cannabis SEO pretty much works similarly to that of traditional SEO. You will require the same old keyword lists and research to generate the best copy work for product pages. Then you must create an onsite blog and source guest posts. To date, the cannabis product industry has fared well for many early entrants. Numerous sites already circulate a ton of traffic, which you could use to your advantage through content marketing.
However, we recommend that you begin your SEO work by creating search-engine-friendly product page descriptions and keyword-rich web pages. These can potentially engage users for longer periods. After all, these are the target pages where your users should convert into paying customers.
Once your website is up and running SEO ready, you can shift focus toward creating your own blog or publishing guest posts. We recommend that you leverage the benefits of websites with higher domain scores that are relevant to the cannabis market over creating your own. This way, you will be able to attain better value and traffic, especially during the beginning phase of your business.
Nonetheless, you can always seek professional guidance from SEO agencies specializing in this area. Doing so will help you devise the best strategies that could drive the growth of your cannabis products sales and business.
