The world of marketing is a vast space filled with ever-changing techniques, procedures and methods that brands utilize to make themselves top-of-mind for their current and potential customers. Two main techniques of marketing are search engine optimization and pay-per-click. Search engine optimization is a more organic way of marketing to users, while pay-per-click allows brands to pay to put themselves at the top of the search engine results page. If you’re looking to market your cannabis dispensary, you’ll want to know the ins and outs of marketing before you dive head-first into advertising.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization, better known as SEO, is a form of marketing that can have a higher cost upfront but will eventually be more cost-effective. SEO, while paid to run by a marketing agency, places your online content on a search results page without the “advertisement” tag attached to it. This can be a benefit in a few ways. First, researchers of your product may be more likely to trust a company that is showing up near the top of the search results without having paid to be there.
A large number of users scroll past the first few search results when they are labeled as ads because they trust the reviews of others, rather than a business directly paying for the user’s attention. Second, when your advertisement is not showing up as an ad at the top of someone’s search page, you’re more likely to get relevant traffic that could improve your return on investment. Plan to use dispensary SEO advertisements if you’re looking for an efficient, reliable way to get eyes on your business or product.
Pay-Per-Click
Pay-per-click, better known as PPC, charges marketing agencies or businesses each time a researcher clicks on the specified link or webpage. While you can set budgets and limitations for your PPC advertisements, they can rack up quite a large bill at the end of the day if you’re not investing wisely. PPC advertisements are great for placing your brand at the very top of the search results page; even if users skip over your content initially, your brand’s name is in the back of their mind because it was the first, second or third name they saw.
If you’re wanting a broader range of marketing options while performing dispensary marketing, PPC ads have a few benefits that may interest you. PPC advertising allows marketers to target users more specifically and is a fast way to achieve results. While paid advertising is a speedy, effective process, it’s important to remember that what you put into it is what you get out of it. The less you’re willing to spend, the less you’ll be seen.
Marketing Your Dispensary
Knowing the above information, you might be wondering which option is best for your dispensary. Whether you’re a small business just starting to market or a well-seasoned company looking for a way to refresh your strategy, SEO and PPC are both great options to get eyes on your content. Search engine optimization efficiently and effectively places your dispensary’s online content in an organic place so that users have a sense of trust when clicking out to your website.
While there is an initial cost to run SEO advertisements, there is no cost each time a user visits your website. Pay-per-click advertisements, while fantastic at getting your website to the top of the results page, may lean a bit more on the expensive side and may not get as big of an ROI as you’d like. Both options, when used properly, have the ability to showcase your dispensary online.
Whether you decide to use the well-oiled SEO machine or the quick-and-easy PPC method, marketing your dispensary is a major key in gathering and maintaining a business.
