Cannabis Technical SEO

Technical SEO Factors

Technical SEO is the backbone of your cannabis or CBD SEO strategy. It ensures your website is:

• Accessible
• Indexable
• Fast
• Structured for search engine understanding

Without a strong technical foundation, even high-quality content may never rank.

This lesson covers each core technical SEO area, why it matters, how to check it, and how you can improve it using free and paid tools like Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, Screaming Frog, and Ahrefs.

Site Speed & Core Web Vitals

What It Is:

Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics Google uses to evaluate user experience on a webpage:

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): How long does it take the main content (like images or headlines) to load.
• FID (First Input Delay): How fast the site responds to a user's first click or interaction.
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): How much the content shifts around while loading.

Why It Matters:

‍Google uses these signals as ranking factors. If your site is slow or visually unstable, visitors will leave, and Google will rank you lower.

How to Measure It:

• Go to PageSpeed Insights, enter your URL, and review the Core Web Vitals section.
• For more details, use Google Search Console > Core Web Vitals to see site-wide issues.

What to Do:

• Compress large images and video
• Use lazy loading for offscreen content
• Minimize third-party scripts and JavaScript
• Use a fast web host or CDN

🔗 Read: How to Improve Core Web Vitals for Cannabis Sites

Mobile-First Indexing

What It Is:

Google now uses your mobile site (not desktop) as the primary version for crawling and indexing.

Why It Matters:

‍If your mobile version lacks content, has broken layouts, or slow load times, your SEO will suffer—even if your desktop version looks great.

How to Test It:

• Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
• Navigate to Google Search Console > Mobile Usability

What to Do:

• Use responsive web design (not separate mobile URLs)
• Test mobile menus, buttons, and popups to ensure they work
• Avoid hiding content on mobile that’s important on desktop

🔗 Explore: Mobile Optimization for Dispensaries and CBD Brands

XML Sitemaps & Robots.txt

What They Are:

• An XML sitemap lists all the URLs you want search engines to crawl and index
• A robots.txt file tells search engines which parts of your site they should or shouldn't crawl

Why It Matters:

‍Without a sitemap, Google may miss important content that supports your cannabis Technical SEO strategy. With a poorly configured robots.txt file, you might accidentally block pages you want indexed, undermining your visibility in search results.

How to Check It:

• Your sitemap is usually found at yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml
• Your robots.txt file is at yourdomain.com/robots.txt
• Use Google Search Console > Indexing > Sitemaps

What to Do:

• Ensure all important pages (products, blogs, categories) are included in the sitemap
• Use robots.txt to block admin pages, filters, or test environments—but don’t block key content

🔗 Learn: Cannabis Website Sitemap and Robots.txt Best Practices

HTTPS, Redirects & Canonical Tags

What They Are:

• HTTPS secures your website and builds user trust. It's a confirmed ranking signal.
• 301 Redirects tell Google when content has moved permanently
• Canonical Tags tell Google which version of a page is the preferred version when duplicates exist

Why It Matters:

• A lack of HTTPS can deter customers and lower your rankings
• Incorrect redirects confuse search engines and waste link equity
• Duplicate content can cause indexing issues

How to Check It:

• Use WhyNoPadlock to verify HTTPS setup
• Use Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to check redirects and canonicals

What to Do:

• Ensure HTTPS is implemented site-wide with a valid SSL certificate
• Use 301 redirects (not 302) for permanent changes
• Set canonical tags on product variants or filtered URLs

🔗 Read: Technical Trust Signals for Cannabis eCommerce

Structured Data / Schema Markup

What It Is:

‍Schema markup is code added to your website that gives Google extra context, such as telling it you sell a product, are a local business, or have reviews. It’s a key technical SEO factor that helps search engines better understand and display your content in enhanced search results.

Why It Matters:

• Helps content show up as rich results (stars, FAQs, product info)
• Increases click-through rate and visibility

How to Check It:

• Use Google’s Rich Results Test
• Use the schema validator in Screaming Frog

What to Do:

• Add schema for products, reviews, FAQs, and local business info
• Use JSON-LD format and test regularly

🔗 See: Schema for Cannabis Products and Dispensaries

Clean URL Architecture

What It Is:

‍URLs should be simple, readable, and include relevant keywords.

Why It Matters:

• Clean URLs are easier for search engines and users to understand
• Long, parameter-heavy URLs can confuse bots and lower rankings

How to Check It:

• Review a list of your site’s URLs in Screaming Frog
• Or manually check product/blog pages

What to Do:

• Use hyphens between words
• Avoid using ?, &, and unnecessary folder depth

Examples
✅ /cbd-oil-sleep
❌ /products?id=129&ref=23&page=2

🔗 Explore: URL Structure Best Practices for SEO

Crawl Errors & Broken Links

What They Are:

• Crawl errors occur when Google tries to access a page and encounters an issue (404, 500 error, etc.)
• Broken links are links that lead to non-existent pages

Why It Matters:

• Crawl errors can prevent important pages from being indexed
• Broken links hurt SEO and create poor user experiences

How to Find Them:

• Use Google Search Console > Pages or Crawl Stats
• Use Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to scan for broken links

What to Do:

• Redirect or fix 404 pages
• Update or remove broken links
• Regularly monitor for new issues

🔗 Guide: How to Fix Crawl Errors for Cannabis Websites

Other Technical SEO Topics to Explore

• JavaScript SEO: Ensure bots can render content if your site uses dynamic JS (e.g., React)
• Pagination: Use rel="next" and rel="prev" for paginated content
• Noindex Tags: Use to keep thin, duplicate, or private content out of Google
• Hreflang Tags: Use if you serve content in multiple languages or countries

Common Technical SEO Issues

Technical SEO issues are often hidden beneath the surface but can significantly impact your cannabis website’s ability to rank. Identifying these problems early is essential to maintaining strong organic visibility and building a solid cannabis technical SEO foundation that supports long-term performance. 

🔗What Are the Technical SEO Issues for a full breakdown of what to watch for and how to fix them.

Technical SEO Audit Toolkit

Use these tools to diagnose and resolve technical SEO issues:

• Google Search Console – Indexing, Core Web Vitals, crawl errors
• PageSpeed Insights / Lighthouse – Speed and UX audits
• Screaming Frog SEO Spider – Deep technical crawling
• Ahrefs / SEMrush – Site audits and backlink/crawl analysis
• GTmetrix / WebPageTest – Performance diagnostics

Technical SEO Checklist Template

Staying on top of technical SEO is essential for ensuring your cannabis website performs well in search results. From page speed and mobile responsiveness to crawl errors and structured data, every element contributes to how search engines index your content. Use our comprehensive technical SEO checklist to identify and fix the most critical issues impacting your visibility.

🔗 Download the Technical SEO Checklist

Technical SEO Services

At MediaJel, we specialize in cannabis technical SEO the behind-the-scenes work that makes your dispensary or CBD site visible to search engines. Our technical SEO services include site audits, speed optimization, structured data implementation, crawl error resolution, and mobile readiness.

Whether you're running a single-location dispensary or managing a multi-state brand, our services ensure your cannabis website meets modern search engine standards and delivers consistent organic visibility.

Closing Tip

Technical SEO is the invisible infrastructure behind every high-ranking site. For cannabis and CBD brands that face advertising restrictions, technical optimization is one of the few reliable ways to gain organic visibility.