Dispensary SEO

Dispensary SEO Audit Checklist

A checklist for reviewing a dispensary's search presence, in the order problems usually cost the most visits.

Key Takeaways

  • Check the Business Profile first, since it drives most dispensary visits from search.
  • Test whether Google can see your menu and your content behind the age gate. Many dispensary sites fail one or both.
  • Compare your reviews, photos and categories with the three dispensaries outranking you nearby.
  • Separate search-driven orders from marketplace orders before judging results.
On This Page
  1. 1. Google Business Profile
  2. 2. Crawlability and the Age Gate
  3. 3. Menu and Category Pages
  4. 4. Location Pages
  5. 5. Speed and Mobile
  6. 6. Reviews
  7. 7. Links and Local Mentions
  8. 8. Tracking
  9. Turning the Audit Into a Plan
  10. Frequently Asked Questions

Audit a dispensary's search presence in this order: Business Profile, crawlability and the age gate, menu indexing, location pages, site speed, reviews, links and tracking. The profile and the age gate cause the largest losses we see, and both can be checked in under an hour with free tools. The full list takes about two hours for a single-store dispensary.

1. Google Business Profile

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

2. Crawlability and the Age Gate

  • [ ] Search Console's URL Inspection tool shows your real page content in the rendered page, not only the age gate.
  • [ ] The age gate appears as an overlay with the page content still present in the HTML.
  • [ ] robots.txt does not block menu, category or location pages.
  • [ ] The Page indexing report in Search Console shows key pages as indexed.

3. Menu and Category Pages

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

4. Location Pages

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

5. Speed and Mobile

  • [ ] Key pages load quickly on a phone, checked with PageSpeed Insights.
  • [ ] Pop-ups do not stack on top of the age gate on mobile.
  • [ ] Product and category images are compressed.

6. Reviews

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

7. Links and Local Mentions

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

8. Tracking

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

Turning the Audit Into a Plan

Fix profile and crawl problems first, since they limit everything else. Then build or improve category and location pages, then reviews and links. Record each change with its date so results can be compared.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if my age gate blocks Google?

Inspect a page in Search Console's URL Inspection tool and view the rendered page. If you see only the age gate, Google likely does too.

Why does my dispensary not show in the map pack?

Common causes are a weak or wrong primary category, few recent reviews compared with nearby stores, distance from the searcher or a profile issue. This checklist covers each.

How often should a dispensary run an SEO audit?

A full audit twice a year, with the profile and reviews checked weekly.

Sources

  1. Google Search Console search.google.com
Global Group One Team

Cannabis dispensary marketing has been a core specialty of our team, working across SEO, content and local search for dispensaries.

Get Your Dispensary Audited

Book a call and we will go through the results with you.

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