News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Thurs. Feb. 17, 2022: Cannabis is quite a controversial matter for some people. While the opponents and supporters are struggling for and against the legalization of marijuana all over the country, cannabis businesses have their own fight. It is their struggle to survive among the niche competition. For this purpose, these enterprises are also actively using digital promotional tools. Is there any difference in promotion for a cannabis company and the one working in another field?
Yes, there is. But how have industry differences appeared? What are they? In this post, we are going to dwell on the most essential complications faced by cannabis businesses while they are trying to promote their websites on the Internet. Some of them have already understood the difficulty of the situation and have entrusted promotion to SEO experts for cannabis businesses, one of which is MjSeo Agency.
Difficulties Faced by Cannabis Businesses
So, let us determine the most serious complications that interfere with the promotion of cannabis businesses. There are:
- legality restrictions, besides, they are different in different states;
- data issues since search engines are severely limited on the data on cannabis search; Google, for instance, hides the info on cannabis in Google Ads);
- sales limitation issues caused by the above-mentioned legal restrictions.
To try to win over the attention of the target audience, cannabis businesses need to overcome more obstacles than regular companies. Because of all this, cannabis is a trickier industry to work in. Optimization of the content on a site takes much more effort and requires a higher level of professionalism of specialists. Even with SEO tips for cannabis businesses, it is not an easy task. And it does not matter if your business is a product manufacturer, dispensary, farm, cultivator, e-commerce store, etc.
Restrictions from Search Engines
So, you have decided to select keywords for a blog post. You open Google Keyword Planner and input the word “cannabis”. It is a way the work on the content starts. However, here, the results of GKP show “No ideas satisfy current filters.” Does this mean that there is no data on cannabis on Google? Sounds unrealistic, doesn’t it?
If you want proof, it is possible to open Google Trends for the same query. As you can see the interest in this topic over time exists, and it is analyzed by the search engine. There is enough data on cannabis-related searches, but Google is not sharing it.
As a result, key queries research, as well as content targeting are much more complicated for cannabis businesses in comparison to other industries. If you are a beginning entrepreneur in the cannabis industry and have read plenty of SEO guides to promote your site, it will be complicated to start. Since Google will not provide you with a starting point for a successful SEO campaign.
Are there solutions?
There are undeniably methods that help businesses and SEO agencies identify key-term niches, but these approaches are not as easy as cutting and pasting from a Keyword Planner search.
If you are looking for a way to create the content for your cannabis business and have decided to select an SEO agency for this purpose, keep in mind that choosing the right topics and keywords is a tricky process in this business. And it requires not only the knowledge of tools but also extensive experience in the niche. If you select a company with scarce experience, this might result in irrelevant content, ineffective SEO, and low website rankings.
Here are the obstacles faced by cannabis businesses:
- They are restricted from advertising on Google and the main social media sites like Facebook.
- Businesses are allowed to deliver CBD products to certain states.
- They can sell cannabis and related products only within a state.
- Online payment options are limited for cannabis companies.
- Available delivery services that cooperate with this industry are also limited.
- The market in metropolitan areas is oversaturated.
All of the above issues negatively impact search engine optimization and limit the possibilities of promoting businesses online.
A cannabis enterprise might want to restrict its target market to a certain state. It is even a necessity taking into consideration the above-mentioned. To restrict optimization by location is much more complicated if it has not been targeted initially while launching a site. As a result, regulatory restrictions can become a real hurdle for optimization specialists.
Let us consider an example. An e-store in Washington DC sells flowers in the southern part of the state, and there is no problem with selling them in WA. However, there is no possibility to restrict their rankings to only the state of Washington. If someone residing in North Oregon looks for bulk flowers and their website shows up, this company can be accused of aiding in a felony if they are aware that the buyer wants to take their product across state lines.
How to Overcome These Difficulties?
The most effective solution is federal legalization since it will eliminate all the difficulties and obstacles overnight. While businesses and associations are working hard to ensure legal changes in the country at the federal level, other businesses need to work carefully so as not to break any law and not be banned from the rankings of search engines. That is why it is so essential to entrust SEO promotion to experienced specialists who know the specifics of the industry.
