How should cannabis brands approach their visibility strategy? According to Google search trends, holistically.

The share of voice world is beyond competitive for cannabis brands. Google’s search trends data lend some insights into the challenges for cannabis companies, both THC and CBD, to stand out. It isn’t enough to expect one marketing or PR lever to do the heavy lifting. Now more than ever it’s important to consider advertising alongside earned media, owned content, and paid content.

What cannabis terms do people search for by state?

When considering how to write a press release, or even a social media post, knowing what words are most commonly used in your state can increase your visibility and your share of voice. You can use this information as your secret PR weapon and stay top of mind against your primary competitors.

This map is particularly useful for cannabis brands confined to a single state. For example, notice how the west coast and upper east coast mirror each other and use the term “cannabis” most intensely, while states without a legal cannabis program (adult use or medicinal) used the term “marijuana” most (April 13, 2022).

How Do Cannabis Search Terms Compare Over Time?

While “marijuana” remains the dominant search term (of those presented), what’s shocking is how low the search volume for CBD is in comparison, proving that the CBD market is the most competitive in terms of search competition, which is one reason why CBD PR is so prevalent.

Is It Difficult to Stand Out for CBD Brands on Google?

This graph shows how competitive the search term “CBD” really is and underscores the importance of customer clarity, differentiation, and storytelling. At certain times during 2021, there were 75% more Google searches for CBD than vitamins. It’s incredibly difficult to stay relevant, so CBD brands need a holistic PR, social media, owned and paid content strategy to cut through the noise.

Digitally savvy PR agencies like Avaans Media think about these things when writing anything searchable on the web. And these searches are dynamic which is why it’s important not to rest on your laurels. When creating content or press releases. Press releases in particular are useful for search visibility and they provide a nice SEO boost as well.

This data is live-updated by Google, based on the last 12 months.