Choosing a Dispensary SEO Agency
How to compare SEO providers for a dispensary and spot the ones that don't understand cannabis retail.
Key Takeaways
- A dispensary SEO agency should understand four problems general agencies often miss: menu indexing, age gate setup, Business Profile suspensions and competition from marketplaces.
- Ask how they measure results. The answer should include orders, calls and direction requests from search, separated from marketplace orders.
- You should own your website, content, Business Profile and analytics accounts.
- Be wary of guaranteed rankings, mass-produced strain pages and link packages.
On This Page
Choose a dispensary SEO agency that can explain how your menu is being indexed, whether your age gate blocks Google, how it'll protect your Business Profile from suspension and how it plans to win the searches marketplaces currently take. Those four topics separate agencies that understand cannabis retail from general ones, and a good agency will bring them up before you ask.
This guide covers the questions to ask, the warning signs and what the first months should look like.
What Dispensary SEO Covers
Good dispensary SEO work covers your Business Profile, menu and category pages, location pages, reviews, technical setup including the age gate, local links and measurement. Our guide to dispensary SEO explains each area. A proposal should address all of them, weighted by what your site and market need most.
Questions to Ask
- How is our menu indexed today, and what would you change? Look for a clear answer about iframes, hosted menus and category pages.
- Does our age gate block crawling? A capable agency will already have checked, using Search Console's URL Inspection tool or a crawler.
- How do you protect our Business Profile? Expect a plan for careful edits, consistent naming and handling suspensions.
- How will we compete with Weedmaps and Leafly? Look for a focus on branded, local and category searches the marketplaces cover poorly.
- How do you measure success? Orders, calls and direction requests from search, separated from marketplace orders.
- What would you publish in the first three months? The answer should be specific pages tied to your stores and menu.
- What happens to our content and accounts if we leave? You should keep everything.
Warning Signs
- Guaranteed rankings for "dispensary near me"
- Hundreds of near-identical strain pages, which usually add little and can be treated as scaled content under Google's spam policies
- Link packages sold by the month
- Suggestions to add keywords to your business name on Google, which risks suspension
- Reports showing only rankings, with no orders or calls
A Realistic First 3 Months
Month one covers the audit, tracking setup, Business Profile fixes and any age gate or indexing problems. Month two brings category and location page improvements. Month three adds review routines, local link outreach and a report showing search-driven orders, calls and direction requests compared with the starting point.
Ownership and Contracts
Get it in writing that you own the website, all content, the Business Profile and Search Console and Analytics, with the agency added as a user. Check notice periods and what gets handed over if you leave.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a cannabis specialist for SEO?
A specialist will already know menu platforms, age gates and marketplace competition, which shortens the learning curve. A general agency can succeed if it learns those areas quickly.
How long until dispensary SEO shows results?
Profile and technical fixes often show within one to two months. Competitive local rankings usually take four to nine months.
Should my agency write strain pages?
Only where they can add useful content beyond what's already on the menu. Category and brand pages usually matter more.
Sources
- Google Search spam policies developers.google.com
- Hundreds of near-identical strain pages niemanlab.org
Talk Through Your Dispensary's Search Plan
Request a free proposal and we'll review your site and profile with you.