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The Google Algorithm And Cannabis: What You Need To Know

29 December 2021

Are you an owner of a cannabis brand and want to increase your online presence? When it comes to cannabis SEO, you’ll need to have unique strategies in place. With proper planning, you’ll be able to stay ahead of any Google algorithm updates.

At UpFire SEO, we provide businesses like yours with customized strategies that grow your rankings and increase your sales. We understand that we put our clients first and take the time to know their needs. With these measures, you’ll be able to fulfill your business goals.

Today, we’ll discuss a few tips to help increase your online presence in the face of Google algorithms.

Study Your Competition

As your customers search for you online, they’ll likely find your competitors too. This makes competition research very important. By taking this step, you’ll be able to gain the best insights into where they’re succeeding. It’ll also help you identify areas your competitors are yet to cover, which can allow your business to get ahead.

Some tools can help you with your competitor research, such as SEMRush and Ahrefs. They can provide you with competitors’ information like the ones shown below.

  • Annual traffic
  • Backlinks
  • Types of keywords they commonly use

With tools like these, you’ll be able to create cannabis SEO strategies that’ll set you apart from other businesses.

Optimize Your Site For Mobile And Speed

Website access and speed are two factors that determine page ranking on Google.

What this means is that you’ll need to make your website mobile-friendly. Most cannabis website traffic comes from mobile devices, and if you’re a cannabis store, mobile traffic will be even higher. To test out your site’s mobile-friendliness, you can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Tool. You’ll receive feedback from this site on how you can make your site more mobile-friendly to online users.

As for site speed, the longer it takes for your site to load, the higher your site’s bounce rate. Not only that, but it can negatively impact your page rankings. Thankfully, there are ways you can optimize your site speed. Google Page Speed Insights, for example, can recommend steps on how you can improve the speed of your page.

With a faster page speed and mobile-friendliness, you’ll attract more visitors and increase your page rankings.

Find High-Quality Links

Outbound links are another cannabis SEO factor to consider. As you make claims, it’s best to back them up. Focus on obtaining links that are trustworthy and relevant to your cannabis business. There are three factors to look at when using outbound links.

  • Avoid spammy and irrelevant sites that can harm your page rankings.
  • Make sure the site is of high authority.
  • Use facts that come from within the past 12 months.

By taking these measures, you’ll be able to gain credibility with your audience and the search engines.

Research Your Keywords

Keyword research also helps grow your online presence in the face of Google algorithms. Google uses complex algorithms that look at keywords in the context of your page’s content.

To get your content to move up the list, you’ll need to use a diverse set of keywords over time. Here are some tips on how to find the right keywords.

  • Make a list of your main pages.
  • See which keywords bring you the most traffic.
  • Use keyword tools like Moz to track the success of your target keywords over time.

If you’re a new business, avoid starting with high-difficulty keywords. These keywords are competitive and won’t help you reach your audience. Instead, aim for keywords with low difficulty and high density. With these keywords, you’ll be able to attract the right people to your website.

Make Sure Your Content Is Of High-Quality

Perhaps the most important lesson for today is to create high-quality content that gives your readers value. To make that happen, you’ll need to use the EAT method, and EAT stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

Expertise

Expertise refers to the high knowledge a content creator has in a field. For Your Money, Your Life topics like cannabis medical advice, content creators need to have formal knowledge. An on-site blog or newsfeed is an excellent source to upload new and relevant content to build your expertise.

Authoritativeness

Authoritativeness talks about the reputation of a content creator. When others see a person or site as their go-to source, that is authority. Your authority is primarily determined by other websites that have a link to you. These are known as backlinks, and they are most valuable if they are contained within another website’s content if that content deals with your industry.

Reviews, expert advice, and references also help Google evaluate authority.

Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness talks about the legitimacy and transparency of content creators. Raters look for three aspects when evaluating trust.

  • Content accuracy
  • Proper citation of trustworthy sources
  • Content information

The EAT method helps ensure your content is top-quality and keeps you ahead of Google algorithm updates.

Choose A Cannabis SEO Agency That Can Help Your Business Grow

When building up your cannabis SEO strategy, look to provide your audience with the best experience. Make sure your information is easy to find and resonates with their needs. When you focus on others, you’ll grow your online presence and be on a path towards long-term business growth.

Are you looking to help your business stand out online? Then contact us today. Our team at UpFire SEO will ensure you have all you need to achieve the best online results.

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