Interesting SEO: The ‘Near Me’ Search Applied to Medical Cannabis

There are some industries for which SEO and digital marketing take some interesting twists. The cannabis industry is one of them. More specific is medical cannabis. The ways in which digital marketers apply SEO to medical cannabis can vary based on state regulations and local markets. Take the simple ‘near me’ search.

Every SEO professional who knows his craft is familiar with the ‘near me’ search. It is a specific kind of search consumers run when they are looking for a business or service located close to where they are at the time the search is made. You might run a search on ‘coffee shops near me’ in hopes of picking up a cup of joe on your way to work.

Medical Cannabis Near Me

Imagine your neighbor running a similar search for medical cannabis. Right off the top, what does that tell you? Your neighbor wants to purchase medical cannabis from a dispensary or pharmacy that is close by. There could be any number of reasons, including:

• Your neighbor’s health does not allow him to travel great distances.
• Your neighbor has no car and does not want to take public transport.
• It is inconvenient to have to travel across town to pick up cannabis medicines.

There are as many reasons as there are people who search for ‘medical cannabis near me’. But a consumer’s motivation is only part of the story. There are other things to think about from an SEO perspective.

State Cannabis Regulations

State regulations are one consideration. To understand why SEO professionals have to think about them, consider the differences between California and Utah. In California, consumers can find dispensaries and medical cannabis pharmacies in every major city. Most midsize cities have them as well. California residents typically have plenty of dispensaries to choose from. That is not the case in Utah.

The Beehive State has licensed just 15 medical cannabis pharmacies in total. That’s 15 retail outlets to serve the entire Utah population. All but one of the pharmacies is located in a major urban center. The lone exception is Cedar City’s Zion Medicinal. The dispensary serves St. George residents as well.

Imagine you are a medical cannabis patient living in rural Utah. Run a search on ‘medical cannabis near me’ and you might discover that the closest licensed pharmacy is more than an hour away. On the other hand, your search might also reveal that crossing the border into a neighboring state can give you access to medical cannabis without driving nearly as far.

A cannabis retailer in Utah is less concerned about the ‘near me’ concept for SEO purposes because retail options are limited. But in California, ‘near me’ searches can mean the difference between success and failure.

Competing Against Other Retailers

Where competition is stiff, the ‘near me’ search becomes so much more important. In practical terms, this means cannabis retailers need to optimize for local search. They also need to optimize for mobile. Why? Because a growing number of ‘near me’ searches are being conducted on mobile phones rather than desktops.

When someone runs a ‘near me’ search, they are looking for something close by. The principle applies as much to medical cannabis as any other product or service. So here’s the long and short of it: if you are a cannabis retailer, you need to pay attention to the ‘near me’ search concept. You also need to optimize for it on all your online channels. The likelihood of reaching more local customers is not very high if they can’t find you with a typical ‘near me’ search.