Optimize Google My Business: Drive Local Customers To Your Dispensary

As legal marijuana steps ever closer into the national limelight, cannabis entrepreneurs will do well to harness the marketing power of Google My Business, a free and user-friendly tool that helps businesses and organizations manage their internet presence across all of Google’s offerings, including Maps and Search.

There are an estimated 450,000 local dispensary searches per month in Google.

Google My Business allows users to make their businesses more accessible – and can help them to tell their company stories, too. Basically, Google My Business puts you in charge of what customers see when they search for businesses like yours. When you verify your information with Google My Business, you’re more likely to seem relevant and reputable to your customer base – and you’re making it easy for people to instantly access your hours, website, and street address.

Local 3 pack for industry relevant searches (GMB Local Pack listed above organic search results):

Google My Business and the Cannabis Dispensary

When it comes to the location-based search, dispensaries stand to gain big time. That’s because local searches and search engine optimization techniques are quickly becoming some of the most important components of online marketing. A Google My Business profile will appear on the first page of search results, which correlates to increased store visits, phone calls to your business and more traffic to your website. Google My Business also makes it easy for potential customers to view customer reviews, so if you’re doing everything right, your own customers’ feedback should boost your overall online presence.

Google My Business boasts an easy-to-use dashboard, which helps you to update your business information from one central locale. Within the dashboard, it’s easy to share updates, track customer activity, and more.

How your Google My Business is displayed for people searching for your business.

Getting Started

To begin, just visit Google My Business online, and click “Start Now.” Log into the Google account you use to manage your business – or, if you haven’t yet set one up, just select “Create Account” to easily make one.

Next, search your business by name and address using the entry box in the top left-hand corner of the screen, then select the right listing for your company. If your company isn’t showing up, create a listing to claim it, taking care to complete every field for maximum accuracy.

Finally, it’s time to activate your Google My Business profile. Google lets you verify your company via postcard, phone, or through bulk verification – if your business has ten or more locations. Once verification is complete, it’s easy to make changes to your profile, adding all relevant details to improve your listing. Keep information updated throughout the year, and include as much information as you can – this improves the user’s ability to find your company.

Enhancing Your Profile

Once you’ve got your profile up and running, take steps to strengthen your listing – and your credibility – online. Encourage customers to post reviews, since good reviews are critical to a strong listing. Eliminate any duplicate listings that could confuse users, and consider building citations for your business by ensuring that your company appears on local business listing websites. Or, harness platforms like MOZ Local, YEXT, and Bright Local to spread your business’s information across a range of websites.

Today, more people are searching for cannabis dispensaries than ever before – and Google My Business can help those customers find you. A few easy steps will boost your online presence, making it easy for locals to seek out your services. Whether you’re doing it solo or with a marketing agency, optimizing your online.

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By: Josefine Nowitz, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Cannabis Creative Group

Cannabis Creative Group is a full service digital marketing agency geared towards the Cannabis Industry. We help cannabis businesses gain the digital edge to elevate their brand and display their products, menu & services online. Run successful, results-driven web marketing campaigns with packaging to match. We offer: Branding, Web Strategy, Website Design & Development, Search (SEO), Packaging Design, Print Design, Media, Social & E-mail. We can help you strategize, implement, monitor, manage and track your online data, so that we can learn from your consumers and you can sell more product.