Dispensary SEO Audit Checklist

1. Google Business Profile

1. The profile is verified and the business name matches your signage exactly, with no added keywords.
2. The primary category is the most accurate one for your store.
3. Hours, holiday hours, phone, website and pickup or delivery details are current.
4. New photos of the storefront, interior and staff were added in the last month.
5. The website link carries UTM tags so GA4 separates profile traffic.
6. There's no history of suspension, or the cause of a past one has been fixed.

2. Crawlability and the Age Gate

1. Search Console's URL Inspection tool shows your real page content in the rendered page instead of the age gate alone.
2. The age gate appears as an overlay with the page content still present in the HTML.
3. robots.txt doesn't block menu, category or location pages.
4. The Page indexing report in Search Console shows your main pages as indexed.

3. Menu and Category Pages

1. You know whether your menu loads in an iframe, on a hosted subdomain or on your own pages.
2. Category pages for flower, pre-rolls, edibles, vapes and concentrates exist on your domain with written introductions.
3. Brand pages exist for the brands customers search for most.
4. Category and brand pages link into the live menu.

4. Location Pages

1. Each store has its own page with address, map, hours, parking, transit and delivery area.
2. Each page has content unique to that store and neighborhood.
3. LocalBusiness structured data is present and matches the profile details.

5. Speed and Mobile

1. Your main pages load quickly on a phone, checked with PageSpeed Insights.
2. Pop-ups don't stack on top of the age gate on mobile.
3. Product and category images are compressed.

6. Reviews

1. New reviews arrive every week.
2. Every review has a reply, including negative ones.
3. Your rating and review count are compared with the three nearest competitors in the map pack.

7. Links and Local Mentions

1. Brands you carry list your store on their stockist pages.
2. Local news, events and community organizations link to you where appropriate.
3. Name, address and phone are consistent across marketplaces and directories.

8. Tracking

1. GA4 records online orders that start from organic search.
2. Profile calls and direction requests are reviewed monthly.
3. Search-driven orders are reported separately from marketplace orders.

Turning the Audit Into a Plan

Fix profile and crawl problems first, since they hold everything else back. Then build or improve category and location pages, then work on reviews and links. Record each change with its date so you can compare results later. If you'd rather hand the fixes to someone, our guide to choosing a dispensary SEO agency covers what to ask, and our guide to dispensary marketing shows how search fits with email, SMS and loyalty.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. PageSpeed Insights pagespeed.web.dev
2. Google Search Console search.google.com