Cannabis businesses are becoming more and more needed not only by medical marijuana patients but also by consumers in states where weed is legal. Because of this, a cannabis entrepreneur will need to take the necessary steps to make sure that it remains competitive in a highly in-demand industry.
One of the best ways to do it is with the help of keywords. If you do not have any background in digital marketing, you might be confused about what these have to do with elevating your business. What you need to know is it is a very important aspect of a digital marketing strategy that can be your business’ way to more success.
Where Do You Need Keywords?
Keywords are used in search engine optimization or SEO, a technique in digital marketing that uses KWs and other elements to increase your business’ potential for success. Essentially, this is the process of increasing your website and webpages’ ranking on search engines. Keep in mind that a high ranking on search engines such as Google means that your website will appear higher on the list. In SEO, marketers place keywords on content, as well as in their site and pages’ metadata.
Why Run a Cannabis SEO Campaign
So SEO uses KWs, but why is it so important to go down this road for your digital marketing strategy. As mentioned, this approach helps you rank higher in search engine page results (SERPs). To elaborate on that, remember that in SEO, your goal is to be at the very first spot of any search results. A high ranking means that you are close to that goal.
The reason for this is for many users, taking a look at a few entries in search results pages is enough to make a decision. In fact, 25% of users click on the first item on the list and they rarely go to the second page. An effective SEO campaign will help you reach the first page, even the number one spot.
Why Do You Need the Right Keywords?
If you are interested in running an SEO campaign, you need to understand why merely using keywords is not enough. You need to use the right ones to get optimal results. Here’s why you should take the time to look for the right keywords.
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To Connect You with Your Target Market
Your main audience when you create content for your website is your target market. Whenever they search for related keywords, you are hoping that they click on your link from the search results.
Your keywords will make your content relevant, relatable, and effective when viewed by readers, but in order to get to that level, you will need to reach your market first. SEO and the right keyword can help you with that.
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To Leverage Google’s Algorithm
When it comes to digital marketing, you should try hard to make Google your best friend. Whenever a user searches the internet using a keyword, this search engine uses crawlers to look for and index content that contains the key word or phrase. Then, it returns to the searcher with a list of the most relevant sites and pages. Google also takes into account your site’s popularity and authority on the subject matter.
Keywords are the very tools that can help you leverage Google’s algorithm to boost your site and pages’ ranking. However, this works only if you use the right KWs. A few well-researched words and phrases can beat a numerous list of spammy and low-quality ones.
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To Increase Your Authority
The right KWs can increase your authority. Keep in mind that website authority is composed of several factors including popularity, trustworthiness, and traffic. SEO can help drive traffic to your site, so you got popularity and visits covered.
What you now need to do is to increase your trustworthiness. To do that, you should consider using your KW research to create a content, which you will offer to a high-authority website as part of your link building efforts.
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To Strengthen Your Campaign
Your SEO campaign depends on a lot of things including the quality of your content, the accessibility and authority of your website, and the quality of your links, just to name a few. However, you should remember that your KWs play a huge role in boosting the aforementioned factors, starting from its potential to connect to your market down to its ability to draw Google’s crawlers into your site and pages.
How to Choose the Best Keywords for Cannabis Marketing
Learning how to pick the right keywords and phrases is one of the most essential steps to ensure a successful SEO campaign. If you want to attract more customers and increase your conversion rates, utilizing the best keywords is a must. After all, keywords are of vital importance to maintan rankings in search engines of your choice.
Below are some of the ways you can pick the right initial set of keywords and how you can help effect change in your campaign over time. Read on.
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Understand Your Market
Put yourselves into the shoes of your customers and your target market. These allow you to gain a better grasp of what they are looking for, and by extension, the types of keywords and products they search for in different search engines.
To fully understand your market, taking the time to study the demographics can make a great change in your campaign. From the age, gender, interests, and even the areas and establishments, looking at these aspects will give a clearer outlook on how you can improve on your KWs.
For example, individuals who are looking for ‘dispensaries near me’ may want to find a listing near their area. To better optimize your keywords and their searches, you want to use KWs that have specific locations in them.
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Scope Out Your Competitors
While it is always to focus on your own achievements, there is certainly nothing wrong with checking out the keywords your competitors are also targeting. In the end, just because they are doing or employing certain keywords does not mean you should always do the same.
However, having a solid grasp on what keywords your competitors are trying to rank for is an ideal way to gauge what keywords you should also be using. This way, you can also refine your KWs accordingly and make a content strategy that can seamlessly rival theirs.
One way you can check out the content your competitors are doing is to go over to their websites and read what they are putting out. Find the metatags within these articles or content to determine what KWs are being targeted. Doing so allows you to gain more insights on the essential terms you want to be zeroing on as well as how you can widen your strategies.
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Do Your Keyword Research
As mentioned earlier, employing keyword research is an essential part of search engine optimization. It allows you to gain a deeper understanding of what your customers are intent on finding. By extension, this enables you to optimize your content towards these particular audiences, thereby giving them the answers they need.
To stay ahead in the game, leveraging keyword research tools will no doubt elevate your game. Apart from Google, there are free keyword research tools that provide you with initial KWs you can work your way up from complete with their respective search volumes.
Keyword research can be made easier with the help of keyword research tools. Not only will this help you consolidate data and find more trends that work to your advantage, but it will also shed insight on keyword competition and more.
Though there are a number of free research tools available on the market, you can upgrade these services and pay for more premium options. These paid services offer more detailed insights towards the trends and KWs prevalent in just about any industry today, making you elevate your SEO campaign to a whole new level.
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Use Google
Google certainly seems to have everything in place. Through its Google Analytics and Google Search Console channels, you can find keywords that are already ushering in customers and visitors alike towards your website.
Use these two platforms to find new terms and keywords you can employ for your SEO campaign. Both of these provide a more extensive selection of keywords that are outside the norm. Alternatively, you can also use Google Trends to see the popularity of KWs and how these terms fare well over time.
To make things easier, you can simply start by keying in an initial phrase in the Google search bar and press the spacebar to see what predictions and searches people are normally interested in finding out. Chances are, these predictions and phrases come up first primarily because they are the most searched for.
The Bottom Line
The cannabis industry shows that despite coming across numerous challenges and landscapes, it is here to stay and thrive even in the most difficult situations. With the help of a strategically planned SEO campaign, your cannabis business ensures that it can stay well ahead of the curve.