If you run a cannabis dispensary in Cleveland, your Google Business Profile (GBP) may be the most important window into your store. For many consumers, it's the first (and sometimes only) impression they'll get before deciding where to shop. That means your GBP isn’t just a listing—it’s your storefront in search results.
While many cannabis companies focus on in-store experience or product assortment, winning online starts with local SEO. When done right, your GBP helps you show up in Google Maps and local packs—not just for "dispensary near me" searches, but for searches in surrounding cities and neighborhoods. In a regulated, hyper-localized market like Ohio, this is a powerful opportunity to pull customers from outside your immediate radius.
So how do you rank higher and convert more local traffic? You focus on what Google actually looks at—and what your competitors are currently missing.
If you need to update your Google Business Profile, Google provides step-by-step instructions in its Business Profile Help Center. You can edit your business information like your name, address, hours, and categories directly from your Business Profile Manager. To add new photos, follow Google's guide on how to add or remove photos, and to manage reviews, see how to respond to customer reviews. Keeping this information accurate and up to date helps your dispensary appear in more relevant local searches and improves trust with potential customers.
Google uses three core signals to determine who ranks in local search results: Relevance, Distance, and Prominence. Let’s break these down for all you folks who don't live in this stuff (unlike me).
Arguably the most important thing for Google, regardless of platform, is = to serve results that match a user’s intent. For Google Business Profiles or "Near Me" searches, these are the core relevance signals:
Business Name, Address, Phone (NAP): While some reports say that NAP doesn't matter, and that Google's more sophisticated algorithm has the ability to coordinate who you are based on other signals even if you don't exactly match, experience tells me that this isn't always the case. How you describe yourself must not only be accurate on your GBP, but as consistent across other platforms like Weedmaps, Leafly, Yelp, and your website. Mismatches confuse Google and hurt your ability to create a strong signal of who your brand is.
Business Categories: Your primary category should be “Cannabis Store.” In the Cleveland Area, almost no one has a secondary, but consider a supporting one like “Medical Cannabis Dispensary” or “Herbal Medicine Store” to capture more queries.
Business Description: Alright, I'm cheating a bit, because this one isn't technically a rnaking factor. That said, engagement is, and writing a clear, keyword-rich description that includes services, product types, location references (e.g., “Cleveland Heights”), and audience-specific info (e.g., medical vs. adult-use) can help people understand why they come to you vs. someone else, so make it look good. Truncated versions often within the local knowledge panel, so start strong.
Service and Product Listings: You likely aren't able to use the products listing for your GBP listings due to Google restrictions, but showing your services can be helpful. For Services, include things like "in-store pickup", "curbside pickup", or delivery if available.
Keyword Placement: Use local keywords in your business description, service listings, and on your linked website. Match search phrases like “Cleveland dispensaries open now” or “cannabis delivery in Lakewood.” Do not include these in your business name if you can't validate it on your website or in other places, as that can trigger a suspension.
Photos: Upload photos of your storefront, products, team, and events to help Google understand your business visually—and improve user engagement. This is heavily underutilized in our market (about half the dispensaries I dug into had 30 or fewer photos, and none recently), so could be the differentiator that kicks you up. I generally recommend adding a picture every week to signal your utilization of the platform to Google and create the right vibe for your dispensary.
Action Step: Upload new photos weekly, optimize your description with keywords, and add missing categories or service tags. CAUTION: Before you update your business name, talk to a professional as this is very likely to trigger a reverification which can take up to 6 weeks and take you off searches.
Not a ton you can do about this, but Google uses two methods to assess how close your business is to the person searching:
Proximity to the Searcher: If someone searches “dispensary near me,” Google calculates how close your location is in real time.
Location-Based Queries: If someone types “cannabis store in Cleveland Heights,” Google will prioritize listings that mention and are located near that area—even if they’re not physically closest.
How to Win Locally:
Even if you're not in a densely populated neighborhood, you can attract regional traffic by:
Creating location-specific landing pages on your website.
Mentioning neighborhoods and surrounding suburbs in your GBP description and FAQs.
Prominence is Google’s way of measuring how well-known and trusted your business is online. You'll hear this called lots of things like "Domain Authority" or "DA", or "Reputation".
Review Quantity and Recency: More reviews are better—but recent reviews matter more. Aim for a steady flow which you can only do by asking for it. Note: you are not allowed to offer anything in exchange for reviews due to Google terms, so don't do it, but DO make it easy for people to review you.
Review Quality: Ratings impact visibility. A 4.8 rating with 50 reviews may beat a 4.2 rating with 200.
Third-Party Reviews: Weedmaps, Yelp, and Leafly reviews contribute to your online reputation.
Backlinks/Citations: High-quality backlinks to your website from relevant cannabis or local media sites build authority.
User Behavior Signals: Clicks on your profile, direction requests, mobile calls, and time spent on your website tell Google your listing is valuable.
Cleveland Benchmark:
Most dispensaries have strong star ratings (~4.6 average) but lack consistent recent reviews.
Few dispensaries link out to Weedmaps or third-party review sources, missing out on reputation signals.
Action Step: Make review generation a weekly habit. Ask customers post-purchase. Train budtenders to mention it. Automate it via SMS or email.
Google also considers the following:
On-Page SEO: Your website must include matching NAP, local keywords, and schema markup for store locations and product categories.
Mobile Behavior: High mobile engagement (click-to-call, map directions) boosts local visibility.
Personalization: Google tailors results based on a user’s search history, device, and preferences. Make sure your content is locally relevant and mobile-optimized.
Based on analysis of public Google Maps data for cannabis retailers in Cleveland:
Review Velocity is Low: Most stores haven’t received a meaningful number of reviews in the past 30 days, despite having strong historical averages.
Visuals Are Uneven: Some stores upload hundreds of photos; others upload fewer than 30. That inconsistency weakens the “freshness” signal Google likes.
Websites Aren’t Localized: Most dispensaries link to a website, but few have store-specific landing pages with localized content or schema markup.
NAP Inconsistencies: Some businesses have slight variations in their name or address across platforms—this lowers trust signals.
Underutilized GBP Features: Only a few are using the full range of GBP tools (products, services, Q&A, updates).
While not direct ranking factors, these features improve how users perceive your store—and can influence clicks and visits.
Share product drops, new hours, staff updates, events, or educational info. Regular posts keep your profile fresh and show you’re active.
Answer common questions like “Do you offer discounts for first-time patients?” or “Is delivery available in Cleveland Heights?” These help you pre-qualify customers and increase conversions.
Mark your business as “LGBTQ+ friendly,” “Black-owned,” “Wheelchair accessible,” or “Veteran discounts available” if applicable.
Enable messaging to let customers reach out directly from your profile. Fast responses improve trust and engagement.
✅ Match your NAP across all platforms
✅ Use at least one primary and two secondary categories
✅ Add local keywords to your description and site
✅ Upload new photos weekly (storefront, product, team)
✅ Respond to reviews and encourage new ones
✅ Create location-specific landing pages with schema
✅ List services and products in GBP
✅ Post weekly updates and FAQs
If you're not showing up in local search, it's not because you're a cannabis brand—it's because your competitors are working the algorithm harder than you are. With the right mix of strategy and consistency, your Cleveland dispensary can own more local traffic, earn more clicks, and bring more customers through your door.