The SEO strategy for Everest Apothecary (EA) has been created and executed with the objective of creating more awareness of the brand as well as strengthening the communication between the brand and its current and potential clients. SiarzaSD created this strategy and began monitoring its performance in 2017.

Research:

PRIMARY RESEARCH – Detailed market segmentation models that described key target audiences, analysis on current/potential medical cannabis patients and analysis on the uses of medical cannabis.

SECONDARY RESEARCH — Government rules and regulations regarding the marketing of medical cannabis and the proper uses for the product were and are continuously studied. Research regarding the rules and regulations of search engines and social media platforms is also conducted regularly.

The information found in the primary research allowed SiarzaSD to understand the needs from current and potential clients of Everest Apothecary so that the website would be built in a way that makes it easy to connect with the brand. This understanding also gave SiarzaSD insight on what to look for in the SEO audits and create a higher ranking and easily searchable site. The secondary research allows the content creators to make sure that the website is seen and understood, while ensuring that there are no threats that may occur due to the violation of a rule or regulation.

Planning:

The target audiences were defined by the SiarzaSD team and placed into three segments.

Those segments are individuals with a medical condition recognized by the NM Cannabis Program, physicians and those who use marijuana recreationally

The goal was to increase awareness of Everest Apothecary by utilizing search engine optimization (SEO) tools. Utilizing SEO ensures that EA is easily found by people who are searching specifically for the store as well as those who are searching for medical cannabis, but do not have a specific dispensary in mind. An easily accessible website also strengthens the communication between EA and current and potential clients who are looking for information such as products, contact information and store location.

The main objective of the campaign was to increase the Google keyword ranking for the EA website. We measure the success through monthly analytic reports showing the ranking of EA in common keyword searches. We also monitor the types of traffic that are coming through to the site and the behavior of the guests on the site.

Execution:

Since March 2017, SiarzaSD has built and maintained a website for Everest Apothecary that contains content written for SEO. This content includes blogs, visual and emotional content, and content that integrates SEO findings into metadata.

A challenge that had to be overcome during the execution of the SEO strategy has been the rules and regulation that are set in place through Google’s algorithm that flags dangerous products/services as well as government rules and regulations. There are certain terms that will be flagged and could potentially shut the website down. The SiarzaSD team continuously researches and monitors those keywords and terms that could potentially cause the EA page to be flagged as one that is selling dangerous products or one that is not in accordance with the law.

• Blog
  1. The blog page for Everest Apothecary has been created for publishing content that highlights products, staff, grow process, expertise and industry news. The blog allows us to share more detailed information with people who are looking for it.
  2. When creating the blogs, SiarzaSD makes sure to include keywords and phrases that show high SEO rankings. Titles and visuals included in the blogs are also created to utilize SEO findings.   

• Visuals/Emotional Content
  1. Including more visuals than most competitors gives Everest Apothecary website visitors to receive a better experience when looking through the content. Seeing the location, staff and products allows the user to feel a closer connection to the brand.
  2. These visuals were not only used for creating a higher quality user experience, but also to add to the SEO strategy. Though the use of captions and descriptions that are often hidden from the page at first glance, those visuals have the potential to lead a search to the EA web page.

• Integrating SEO Findings
  1. Monthly analytics of SEO and Google rankings allow SiarzaSD to better understand the way that the target audience will search for and find their dispensary. With this understanding, the team is creates content that integrates these findings.

• Landing Pages
  1. Landing pages were built to promote specific events and promotions
  2. Landing pages were built as a destination for traffic from Pay Per Click Advertisement

In order to execute the strategy and continue to meet the objectives, SiarzaSD utilizes tools like ASANA to track deadlines and task out audits and changes to the site to optimize its performance. SiarzaSD has an account executive dedicated to monitoring and managing the SEO performance of the website. This account executive also leads a team that is responsible for running analytics and making any necessary changes to the site in order to create a higher ranking site.