So, you’re considering investing in cannabis SEO and just received an SEO audit for your website. What should you do next?
Parsing all the information in an SEO audit can be difficult — and it can be even harder to know where to start implementing changes.
As a longtime cannabis SEO agency, NisonCo has helped hundreds of companies like yours achieve success, and we know the most common pain points in navigating the process. We wanted to put together a resource to guide you through the most important things you need to know about SEO to make sense of an SEO audit and give you some information about where to begin. Keep reading to get started!
What is SEO for Cannabis Websites?
SEO (search engine optimization) refers to the techniques you can leverage on your site to ensure it’s one of the first to show up when people make a search on Google or another traditional or AI search engine.
Cannabis SEO simply refers to tailoring your SEO techniques to the cannabis industry, using relevant keywords and staying mindful of regulations.
Essential SEO Terms You Need to Know
It’s no secret that the SEO industry is chock-full of jargon. Here are some of the most important terms you’ll need to recognize while reading through an SEO audit or consulting with a potential SEO agency.
Keywords, Keyphrases, and Long-Tail Keywords
Keywords refer to the words people use to search for something on the internet. For example: “SEO” is a keyword.
Keyphrases are essentially keywords that are longer than a single word, like “cannabis SEO.”
Long-tail keywords are keyphrases that contain several words, like “free cannabis SEO audit guide.” Long-tail keywords are the most targeted and specific. Fewer people will search for this exact phrase, but those who do are an excellent match for your products or services.
Bonus vocab word: when someone says you’re “ranking” for a keyword, that means your page is showing up when someone searches for that keyword. For example, NisonCo ranks for “cannabis SEO agency.”
Keyword Difficulty
Some keywords are easier to rank for than others. Keywords that are more competitive and, therefore, more difficult to rank for have a higher keyword difficulty score on a scale from 1-100. Less competitive keywords have a lower score. Most companies typically aim for keywords somewhere in the middle: competitive enough that many people are searching for them but not so competitive that your site will get lost in the noise.
Keyword Density
Having the right balance of keywords and content text on your pages is essential. With too many keywords, readability — and your SEO score — will suffer. With too few keywords, you risk not appearing in search results. Keyword density describes the percentage of your page that is made up of keywords.
Search Volume
The more often people search for a given keyword, the higher its search volume. This metric is closely tied to keyword difficulty since keywords with a higher search volume typically have a higher keyword difficulty, too.
Search Intent
People make web searches for many different reasons — seeking answers to questions, searching for items to purchase, and more. SEO professionals describe the purpose of different searches by referring to their search intent, and the types of search intent that you target will depend on your overall goals.
SERP
This acronym stands for “Search Engine Results Page.” It’s just another way to refer to a page of search results.
Page Rank
Similar to saying your site ranks for a keyword, your page rank describes where, exactly, your page appears on a SERP. The higher your rank, the higher up you appear on the page. The higher up on the page you appear, the more clicks you will get.
Domain Authority and Page Authority
Domain and page authority refer to similar concepts on different parts of your site. Domain authority refers to the strength of your site as a whole, while page authority refers to the strength of an individual page. Stronger pages are more likely to rank well.
Organic Traffic
Organic traffic is, arguably, what SEO is all about. It refers to people clinking on a link to your page naturally, not because it’s promoted or sponsored.
Backlinks
Have you clicked on any external links in this post to learn more about any topics we’ve mentioned? Those links are all backlinks. Backlinks are links to your site hosted on other websites.
Well-placed, optimized backlinks on trustworthy sites can help boost your SEO ranking. However, you might also see references to toxic backlinks on an SEO audit. Toxic backlinks are hosted on untrustworthy, spammy sites and can hurt your SEO value, so you’ll need to regularly review and disavow them or have your SEO agency do so.
We recently posted a blog on backlinks with everything you need to know about cannabis backlinking. (A bonus SEO vocab word: that link is an internal link, not a backlink!)
Meta Tags
When browsing search engine results, you’ll see a title and description for each page. These are meta tags. The meta title and meta description primarily serve to tell consumers what your page is about and convince them to click.
A screenshot of the meta title and description for NisonCo’s homepage.
Alt Image Text
Not all parts of your SEO strategy will show up on-screen. Backend SEO describes the SEO techniques that most people browsing your site won’t see but that will still significantly impact your rank. Alt image text is one of the most common backend SEO topics that you’ll see referenced in SEO audits. It’s the text that displays when an image doesn’t load or someone is using a screen reader, and optimizing it can be very helpful for accessibility and your overall SEO strategy.
Essential SEO KPIs
Now that you know what the terms in your SEO audit mean, how do you measure SEO success? The KPIs (key performance indicators) to track will vary slightly depending on your overall SEO strategy, the changes you’re making, and your goals.
Typically, you’ll want to keep track of your page rank for various keywords. This is one of the most straightforward metrics to track, and it’s a good metric to keep an eye on since it’s the culmination of all of the various SEO techniques you’re leveraging.
You can also monitor organic traffic and page clicks, though these will almost always rise as your rank does. Ideally, this will lead to more sales, too!
Where Should I Start with SEO?
We’ve already given you many things to think about in this blog, but here’s the most important part. What do you do with the results of your SEO audit?
We always suggest starting with the basics: keyword research and on-page optimizations. Determine which keywords will be most beneficial for you to target, and start adding them to your site with optimized content and refreshed product pages.
What you do next will depend on the state of your website, your needs, and your goals.
Working with an SEO agency can simplify everything and maximize your results. NisonCo is a leading cannabis SEO agency, and we’d love to discuss creating a personalized SEO package to help your company excel. Contact us today to set up a meeting!
