The meta description is what search engines display as the “snippet” of your site in the organic search results, right below the blue “clickable text” (your page title) in the SERPs. The meta description length should be around 135-200 characters. Cannabis dispensary meta descriptions are crucial for SEO, meaning that learning how to write meta descriptions for cannabis dispensaries is a good first step in improving your dispensary’s search engine ranking.
Compelling cannabis dispensary meta descriptions that accurately describe what a page is about and includes a clear call-to-action (CTA) will draw a user to click through to your site. Meta descriptions are critical when considering click-through rates and how users view your site in the search results. They have no direct effect on actual rankings.
Having a well crafted and unique meta description will significantly increase the chance of a user clicking through to your dispensary’s site, which in turn shows a positive clickthrough rate. A site with a good click-through rate shows search engines that the site is clearly valuable to the user, which is when you’ll see your rankings improve.
How to Write Meta Descriptions for Cannabis Dispensaries: SEO Best Practices
A meta description is a form of advertising for your page. The content should be unique, informative, contain relevant keywords and have a strong CTA.
Where to add the Meta Description:
You can add a meta description in the <head> section of your site’s HTML. It should look something like this:
<head>
<meta name=”description” content=”Here is a precise description of my awesome cannabis dispensary.”>
</head>
If you’re using WordPress or a similar user-friendly platform, scroll to the bottom of the page or post and customize the meta description there.
Length
There is no “perfect number” when it comes to the length of a meta description. A meta description should be anywhere between 135-200 characters (the most updated limit set by Google). In most cases, if you go over the upper limit, your meta description will be cut short by Google and not displayed correctly like in the example below.
Keywords
Make sure your most important keywords for your dispensary page are inserted into the meta description. Search engines will bold the keyword within your meta description, therefore driving up click-through rates.
From the local perspective, make sure to include the city or location in which that page is targeting and, if you can, near the keywords within the meta description.
Call to Action
A meta description should encourage the user to take action and visit your website. The call-to-action is your sales manuscript and can increase your site’s click-through rates. Below, Road Runner Sports does an excellent job using a short call-to-action at the end of their meta description
Duplicate Cannabis Dispensary Meta Descriptions
Even though meta descriptions don’t have a direct impact on your rankings, they still play a large role in the overall user experience. With Google’s algorithm continuing to reward great user experience, having duplicate meta descriptions means that the user isn’t seeing relevant information. If you do not fix this problem, Google will assume your website isn’t doing its best to prioritize user experience which can have negative consequences. If you are tempted to create a duplicate meta description, you’re better off leaving the description empty and allowing Google to pick a snippet from the page containing the keyword used in a search.
Rich Snippets
Schema markup allows you to add elements to the area around the meta description to increase the page’s appeal. These elements would include anything from star ratings, customer ratings, product information, calorie counts, etc. You’ll want to invest in learning how to implement rich snippets. Below is an excellent example of rich snippets alongside a meta description.
