The Massachusetts Flower Expo is easily one of my favorite events of the year. As an agency, we get to work with cannabis companies across the country (and even beyond), but Massachusetts will always feel like home turf.

Recent changes to Google’s verification process have made it significantly harder for cannabis dispensaries to get their Google Business Profiles (GBPs) verified and live. Without a verified profile, your dispensary won’t appear in local search results, meaning that you will have significant missed opportunities for foot traffic and online orders. At CannaPlanners, we know how to navigate these new challenges and can help you get your GBP up and running so you can rank higher, build trust, and get discovered by ready-to-buy customers.

Every month, millions of shoppers search “dispensary near me” on Google, and the top-ranked stores snag the lion’s share of those clicks. The most successful cannabis brands secure that visibility and convert it into store visits and revenue. The old cannabis playbook to make that happen? Run some ads on Weedmaps, Leafly, or other platforms, and hope you see a return on investment. Pair that with a bare-bones website and a solid POS system, and you were once relatively good to go. That approach is history, however. Today’s marketing landscape requires a more strategic approach. Our cannabis dispensary SEO guide equips brands to dominate Google for high-value keywords your competitors are already leveraging to outrank you. If you’re ready to boost revenue without relying on paid directories, this cannabis SEO strategy is your roadmap.

Google remains the first place most shoppers turn to when they need a dispensary. According to Statcounter’s April 2025 data, Google still commands roughly 89.7% of global search traffic—an enviable slice of attention for any retailer. Yet for cannabis, the platform’s Dangerous Products & Services policy is as strict as ever. Google explicitly prohibits ads that promote, link to, or even imply the sale of cannabis or THC products. Violators receive escalating penalties that can end in permanent account suspension.

“It’s not about who yells the loudest—it’s about who plans the smartest.”

MG Magazine, April 2025 Issue, pg. 9 + 20: “Rewriting the Rules – Women and the New Cannabis Market"

“I started this company from my kitchen table and now I employ 22 of the smartest and coolest people I’ve ever known.”

In Marijuana Venture’s roundtable on hemp-derived product regulation, CannaPlanners contributed to a growing consensus: the future of cannabinoids like Delta-8 and THC-P requires federal clarity.