Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. They are one of the most important factors for ranking well on search engines, especially in the cannabis niche, where competition is high and regulations are strict. But how do you get backlinks in the cannabis niche? And what kind of backlinks should you aim for?
On this page, we will share some proven strategies for getting backlinks in the cannabis niche, based on the external and internal link-building techniques discussed by Samuel Fisher in his 2024 dispensary marketing plan series.
We will also highlight the importance of relevant, high domain authority, and trusted backlinks, and share some insights on backlink types such as Haro backlinks, RSS feeds, guest posting, and business profiles. Finally, we will provide some tips for success, such as avoiding spammy links, ensuring correct anchor text, and monitoring live listings.
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Why Backlinks Matter for Cannabis Dispensaries
Backlinks are essential for any website that wants to rank well on search engines, but they are especially important for cannabis dispensaries, for several reasons:
- Backlinks help establish your authority and credibility in the cannabis niche, which is crucial for building trust with your potential customers and complying with the legal requirements.
- Backlinks help drive organic traffic to your website, which can increase your conversions and sales.
- Backlinks help improve your visibility and exposure in the cannabis niche, which can help you stand out from your competitors and attract more opportunities for collaboration and partnerships.
However, not all backlinks are created equal. Some backlinks can have a positive impact on your SEO, while others can have a negative impact or no impact at all. Therefore, you need to be careful about the quality and relevance of the backlinks you get, and avoid any practices that could harm your reputation or violate the search engine guidelines.
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How to Get Relevant, High Domain Authority, and Trusted Backlinks
The best backlinks for your cannabis dispensary website are those that come from relevant, high domain authority, and trusted sources. These are the backlinks that can boost your SEO, drive more traffic, and generate more leads and sales. But how do you get these backlinks?
There are many ways to get backlinks in the cannabis niche, but here are some of the most effective ones, based on the advice of Samuel Fisher, a cannabis marketing expert and the founder of Green Dispensary Marketing.
Haro Backlinks
Haro stands for Help a Reporter Out, and it is a platform that connects journalists and bloggers with sources and experts. By signing up for Haro, you can get access to hundreds of queries from media outlets that are looking for information, quotes, or opinions on various topics, including cannabis. By responding to these queries, you can get featured in reputable publications and get high-quality backlinks to your website.
To get Haro backlinks, you need to follow these steps:
- Create a free account on HARO and select the categories that are relevant to your niche, such as Health, Business, Lifestyle, etc.
- Check your email inbox regularly for new queries from Haro. You can also browse the queries on the Haro website or use filters to narrow down your search.
- Choose the queries that match your expertise and interest, and craft a compelling and informative response. Make sure to include your name, title, website URL, and a short bio in your response.
- Send your response to the journalist or blogger before the deadline, and follow up if necessary. If your response is selected, you will get a notification and a link to the published article.
Some tips for success with Haro backlinks include:
- Be quick and responsive. Haro queries are time-sensitive and competitive, so you need to act fast and reply as soon as possible.
- Be relevant and helpful. Haro queries are specific and targeted, so you need to provide relevant and helpful information that answers the question and adds value to the story.
- Be professional and courteous. Haro queries are from real journalists and bloggers, so you need to be professional and courteous in your communication and respect their guidelines and preferences.
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RSS Feeds
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and it is a technology that allows you to syndicate your content to other websites and platforms. By creating an RSS feed for your website, you can automatically distribute your content to various directories, aggregators, and news outlets that can expose your content to a wider audience and generate backlinks to your website.
To create an RSS feed for your website, you need to follow these steps:
- Choose a tool or a plugin that can help you create an RSS feed for your website. Some examples are [Feedburner], [Feedity], and [WordPress RSS Feed Plugin].
- Follow the instructions of the tool or plugin to create and customize your RSS feed. Make sure to include your website URL, title, description, and keywords in your feed.
- Submit your RSS feed to various directories, aggregators, and news outlets that accept RSS feeds. Some examples are [Alltop], [Feedspot], and [Google News].
Some tips for success with RSS feeds include:
- Update your content regularly. RSS feeds are dynamic and fresh, so you need to update your content regularly to keep your audience engaged and attract more backlinks.
- Optimize your content for SEO. RSS feeds are indexed by search engines, so you need to optimize your content for SEO, such as using keywords, headings, images, etc.
- Monitor your RSS feed performance. RSS feeds are trackable and measurable, so you need to monitor your RSS feed performance, such as the number of subscribers, views, clicks, etc.
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Guest Posting
Guest posting is the process of writing and publishing an article on another website that is relevant to your niche. By guest posting, you can showcase your expertise, build relationships with other influencers, and get backlinks to your website.
To get guest posting opportunities, you need to follow these steps:
- Find relevant and authoritative websites that accept guest posts in the cannabis niche. You can use tools like Ahrefs, BuzzSumo, or Google to search for keywords, topics, or competitors related to your niche, and filter the results by the domain authority, traffic, and social shares of the websites.
- Pitch your guest post idea to the website owner or editor. You can use tools like Hunter.io, Voila Norbert, or LinkedIn to find the contact information of the website owner or editor, and craft a personalized and persuasive email that introduces yourself, explains why you want to write for them, and proposes a topic and an outline for your guest post.
- Write and submit your guest post according to the website guidelines. You can use tools like Grammarly, Hemingway, or CoSchedule Headline Analyzer to write and edit your guest post, and make sure to include your website URL, bio, and a call to action in your guest post.
Some tips for success with guest posting include:
- Be selective and strategic. Guest posting can be time-consuming and competitive, so you need to be selective and strategic about the websites you choose to write for, and focus on the ones that have a high domain authority, a large and engaged audience, and a good reputation in the cannabis niche.
- Be original and valuable. Guest posting can be challenging and demanding, so you need to be original and valuable in your content, and provide useful and relevant information that solves a problem, answers a question, or educates the reader.
- Be proactive and follow up. Guest posting can be unpredictable and uncertain, so you need to be proactive and follow up with the website owner or editor, and thank them for the opportunity, ask for feedback, and promote your guest post on your own website and social media channels.
Business Profiles
Business profiles are online listings & citations of your business information, such as your name, address, phone number, website, description, etc. By creating and claiming your business profiles on various platforms, you can increase your online presence, improve your local SEO, and get backlinks to your website.
To create and claim your business profiles, you need to follow these steps:
- Find relevant and popular platforms that offer business profiles in the cannabis niche. You can use tools like Moz to search for and manage your business profiles on various platforms, such as Google My Business, Yelp, Leafly, etc.
- Fill out and verify your business profiles on each platform. You can use tools like Canva or Unsplash to create and upload your logo, images, and videos for your business profiles, and make sure to include your website URL, keywords, and a compelling description for your business.
- Optimize and update your business profiles on each platform. You can use tools like ReviewTrackers, Podium, or Trustpilot to monitor and respond to your reviews, ratings, and feedback on your business profiles, and make sure to update your information, offers, and events on a regular basis.
Some tips for success with business profiles include:
- Be consistent and accurate. Business profiles are essential for your local SEO, so you need to have a consistent name, address, and phone number (NAP)
- Invest on paid listing platforms. Not all listing platforms are free. There are some that you will need to invest to be listed on.
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How to Get Professional Assistance in Backlinking
Getting backlinks in the cannabis niche can be challenging and time-consuming, especially if you are not familiar with the best practices and the latest trends. That is why it is advisable to get professional assistance in backlinking from a reputable and experienced cannabis marketing agency, such as Green Dispensary Marketing.
By hiring a cannabis marketing agency, you can benefit from the following advantages:
- You can save time and money. A cannabis marketing agency can handle all the aspects of backlinking for you, such as finding and contacting potential sources, writing and submitting guest posts, creating and optimizing business profiles, etc. This way, you can focus on your core business activities and avoid wasting time and money on ineffective or risky backlinking methods.
- You can get access to exclusive and premium backlinks. A cannabis marketing agency can leverage their network and connections in the cannabis niche to get you access to exclusive and premium backlinks that are otherwise hard to obtain, such as from authoritative and influential websites, blogs, podcasts, magazines, etc.
- You can get better results and ROI. A cannabis marketing agency can use their expertise and tools to analyze and optimize your backlinking strategy, such as by choosing the best keywords, anchor texts, and platforms for your backlinks, monitoring and tracking your backlink performance, and reporting and adjusting your backlink campaign accordingly. This way, you can get better results and ROI from your backlinking efforts.
At Green Dispensary Marketing, we hold partnerships across the cannabis industry to ensure that our clients get high-quality backlinks with minimal investment. We have boosted the backlink profile for clients like Homegrown Cannabis Co, Tommy Chong CBD, Fountain Organics, and more!
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How to Use Internal Linking to Boost Your SEO
In addition to getting external backlinks, you also need to use internal linking to boost your SEO. Internal linking is the process of linking your web pages to each other, creating a structure and a hierarchy for your website. By using internal linking, you can improve your user experience, navigation, and crawlability, and distribute your link equity and authority among your web pages.
The basic structure for internal linking is to connect your top pages and your supporting pages. Your top pages are the main pages of your website, such as your homepage, your service pages, your product pages, etc. Your supporting pages are the subpages of your website, such as your blog posts, your FAQs, your testimonials, etc.
To use internal linking effectively, you need to follow these steps:
- Identify your top pages and your supporting pages. You can use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, or Ahrefs to find out which pages of your website have the most traffic, conversions, and authority, and categorize them as your top pages or your supporting pages.
- Link your top pages to your supporting pages. You can use tools like Yoast SEO, SEMrush, or Screaming Frog to find and insert relevant and natural links from your top pages to your supporting pages, using keywords and anchor texts that match the topic and the intent of the pages.
- Link your supporting pages to your top pages. You can use the same tools as above to find and insert relevant and natural links from your supporting pages to your top pages, using keywords and anchor texts that match the topic and the intent of the pages.
Some tips for success with internal linking are:
- Be logical and user-friendly. Internal linking should make sense and add value to your website, so you need to be logical and user-friendly in your linking structure, and avoid any links that are irrelevant, confusing, or misleading.
- Be moderate and balanced. Internal linking should not be excessive or spammy, so you need to be moderate and balanced in your linking frequency, and avoid any links that are too many, too few, or too similar.
- Be consistent and updated. Internal linking should be consistent and updated, so you need to be consistent and updated in your linking format, and avoid any links that are broken, outdated, or duplicated.
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Need Some Help Getting Backlinks in the Cannabis Niche?
Backlinks are vital for your cannabis dispensary website, as they can help you rank well on search engines, drive more traffic, and generate more leads and sales. However, getting backlinks in the cannabis niche can be challenging and time-consuming, so you need to use the best strategies and practices to get relevant, high domain authority, and trusted backlinks.
That is why it is advisable to get professional assistance in backlinking from a reputable and experienced cannabis marketing agency, such as Green Dispensary Marketing. We can help you save time and money, get access to exclusive and premium backlinks, and get better results and ROI from your backlinking efforts.
