Everyone talks about how SEO has a better ROI than paid channels, but rarely do they put actual numbers behind those claims.
When you map out your assumptions about timing, investment, and returns, the picture becomes much more interesting—and often surprising.
SEO Isn’t Free
Many cannabis businesses fall into the trap of thinking that SEO is “free traffic.”
However, the reality is much different.
Let’s say you’re a cannabis dispensary or an online CBD brand.
You’re debating whether to invest heavily in SEO or funnel that budget into paid ads.
With paid marketing, you get instant results.
Spend $10,000 on Google or Meta ads, generate 500 leads, and convert 50 into customers.
The ROI is immediate and measurable. But once you stop paying, the traffic stops.
On the other hand, SEO is a long game.
You might invest $20,000 per month in content, PR, and SEO experts and see no return for six to twelve months.
Many companies get frustrated and give up at this stage.
However, if done correctly, that investment can generate traffic and leads for years, creating a sustainable pipeline of organic visitors.
The Right Choice Depends on Your Assumptions
I recently worked with a cannabis e-commerce company that had $500,000 to invest in marketing.
They knew their paid channels delivered a 3x return on ad spend within 30 days.
They also saw that competitors were generating significant traffic from SEO.
However, when we mapped out the assumptions behind their SEO investment, we uncovered some critical gaps.
The cost per content asset, agency fees, and timeline to results were not well-defined.
The likelihood of achieving the same lead volume as paid marketing was slim in the short term.
Ultimately, they decided to invest in paid channels to maintain predictable returns while keeping SEO in their long-term strategy.
When SEO Becomes a Gamble
Investing in SEO is a calculated risk.
For cannabis startups with tight revenue targets, waiting a year for organic traffic may not be viable.
That’s where the SEO vs. Paid Calculator (see graphic below) comes in—it forces businesses to quantify their expectations before making a decision.
Some key questions to consider:
- How much will you need to spend on SEO per month?
- How long before you see meaningful traffic?
- What’s your expected conversion rate from organic traffic?
- How long will your content continue generating leads?
For paid marketing:
- What’s your cost per click?
- What’s your conversion rate?
- How much can you scale before costs rise?
- What’s your customer acquisition cost (CAC)?
Too often, cannabis companies assume they can rank for competitive terms in a few months or build a robust content strategy on a $5,000 budget.
These assumptions need to be challenged with real numbers.
Copying the Competition Isn’t Always Feasible
Many cannabis businesses think they can replicate the SEO success of industry giants like Leafly or Weedmaps.
However, when they map out the required resources, they realize that creating hundreds or thousands of pages of content is a multi-year, high-cost endeavor.
If a cannabis brand is not ready to compete at scale, I advise focusing on bottom-funnel SEO first—ranking for branded terms—before expanding into competitive keywords.
This approach sets realistic expectations while preserving resources.
The Power of a Mixed Strategy
For some cannabis businesses, a hybrid approach works best.
Using paid channels to generate immediate revenue while gradually building SEO can be the most sustainable model.
However, this requires discipline—companies must resist the temptation to expect fast results from SEO and avoid half-hearted spending on both channels.
I’ve seen cannabis businesses waste their entire marketing budget trying to do both simultaneously, achieving only mediocre results.
A better approach is to go all-in on one channel at a time and execute it well.
The Best Decision Is the One That Fits Your Business
SEO isn’t inherently better than paid marketing—it depends on your situation.
Be honest about your numbers, set conservative expectations, and ensure you have the runway to sustain your strategy.
Sometimes, the best SEO strategy is to wait until you’re ready.
Explore this further by reviewing the above SEO vs. Paid Ads Calculator graph.
It will help you visualize your investment, timeline, and ROI.
Final Thought
It’s not just about which channel theoretically has the best ROI.
It’s about which strategy aligns with your cannabis business’s needs right now.