Google ranking factors.
Where does your dispensary show up when you check the Google ranking of the website? Although there is a lot of competition in this field, you still want to do everything you can to ensure you are on the first page of the search engine results. This takes a substantial amount of work if you were to do it all on your own. First, you need to understand all of the SEO elements that help to improve your rankings.
What are the top ranking factors on Google?
How does Google rank search results? To get on the first page of Google, the SEO needs to be the best it can be. Knowing about all of the most important ranking factors can help to ensure that your dispensary seo (website) receives the high ranking you need to grow your business.
High-quality content
The content that you have on your site needs to be of the best quality possible. This doesn’t mean that it needs to be award-winning writing, of course. It needs to be clear, and it must inform the visitors. It needs to be content that will be useful to them in some way and that relates to the subject of the page. Those who don’t want to write the content themselves can hire professionals to handle it for them.
Contact our expert dispensary strategist.
Search intent
Search intent is a term used that describes a person’s purpose for searching. Why did they initiate the search in the first place? They might be looking for information or a specific website, or they might be considering buying from your company. Some might even be ready to make a purchase.
You need to understand the reasons people are searching for your content and make sure that their intent is met with the material on your pages. You want it to be relevant to what they want. Google reviews the most relevant content from sites and could rank them higher in search engines.
Keyword Optimization
A big part of proper SEO, including local ranking factors, will be keyword optimization. You need to make sure you are using the best keywords for your product descriptions, articles, blogs, etc. Keyword research will show you which terms you should try to rank for on your site. With content for cannabis, local SEO will help to ensure you have keywords that are likely to be used by people in your area searching for a marijuana dispensary.
Mobile-First
How do most people look up information online today? They tend to always have a mobile device in their hands, so it makes sense that when designing a website, you have a mobile-first design. This simply means that the site will look great and be easy to use when someone accesses it through their phone or tablet.
User experience
Great content is just the start, of course. When someone visits your dispensary website, they need to have a good, simple user experience from the moment they arrive. This means you need to have a good design and layout. Everything should be easy to read and find. The navigation system should make sense, and you should always be able to get back to the home page from other pages you visit.
The colors and design should not make reading difficult. You should also make sure you are working to create an accessible site for everyone who wants to visit.
Page Speed
You might not think about your website’s page speed often, but you can be sure your visitors do. Pages that load slowly are frustrating, and people will likely head to a competitor’s site to make a purchase. Page speed has been an important part of ranking for more than a decade on desktop and several years on mobile.
There are Google signals that measure page speed known as Core Web Vitals. This measures loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability. This will often require a site audit, which you or a professional could perform.
On-Page Optimization
There are on-page factors in SEO, as well also known as on-site SEO. You will want to optimize all of the elements on your site. This includes improving the URLs, title tags, meta descriptions, content, images, keywords, etc. Data should be structured correctly, too, so it can be understood by Google.
Backlinks
Backlinks are another major factor when it comes to ranking on Google. Cannabis link building can sometimes feel a bit more difficult, of course, because it is hard to find enough authoritative and trusted links to use. Although it might take time to start building these links, they are essential.
Domain Authority
Domain authority measures how likely it is for an entire domain to rank in search engine results pages. Ideally, you will have your entire site, not just a handful of pages, rank highly. Increasing domain authority takes time, as it accounts for all of the elements and features in your site. Better content, backlinks, etc. will eventually help to improve ranking.
If you want to know how to rank #1 on Google, or at least ensure you are on the first page, you need to work hard on all of the Google ranking factors discussed above.
If you are the owner or manager of the dispensary, however, you likely don’t have time to spend working on the most important things to rank yourself. You have to worry about the product you are offering, your employees, customer service, and all of the other day-to-day operations at the dispensary.
Make sure you work with experts that know how to rank in Google. Having cannabis content marketing professionals helps ensure search engine compliance along with greater knowledge of all of the local search ranking factors that will help your dispensary stand out. They can check the Google ranking for the website before they begin and focus on the areas that need the most help.
Work with a company that understands this field and that can help with local SEO ranking factors, keywords, content, etc. Dispensary-Growth works with only the best and most reputable dispensaries when it comes to improving and measuring SEO success. Get in touch with us today to book a time to talk about your dispensary. See what we can do for you.