Off-Site SEO Guide For Dispensaries, Delivery Services & CBD Brands
Key Points
- Guest posting is crucial for cannabis websites to build high-quality backlinks and enhance off-site SEO.
- Finding cannabis-friendly sites like High Times, Ganjapreneur, and Cannabistech can yield valuable opportunities, given their acceptance of guest contributions.
- Evaluate site quality (domain authority, traffic, relevance) to ensure effective guest posting, especially in a niche with legal and stigma challenges.
- Controversy exists around legal restrictions and stigma, impacting which sites accept cannabis-related content, requiring careful, compliant strategies.
Guest posting is one of the most effective ways to build your cannabis brand’s online presence.
With strict advertising rules limiting cannabis promotions on Google and social media, off-site SEO tactics like guest blogging have become essential for dispensaries, delivery services, and CBD/hemp brands.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explain what guest posting is, why it’s so valuable in 2025, and how you can find high-quality cannabis guest posting opportunities to boost your SEO.
Whether you’re a dispensary owner searching how to guest post on a dispensary website, or a CBD marketer planning a CBD guest blog strategy, this guide will walk you through a step-by-step process.
You’ll learn how guest posts support SEO and authority, how to identify quality “cannabis-friendly” sites (and avoid bad ones), and how to craft pitches that get you published.
Let’s dive in!
What Is Guest Posting And Why Does It Matter For Cannabis SEO?
Guest posting (or guest blogging) means writing an article for someone else’s website or blog in your industry.
In exchange, you typically get an author byline or content mention with a link back to your own site.
Essentially, you become a “guest” contributor on another site.
This simple strategy packs a powerful SEO punch.
By guest posting on relevant websites, you earn high-quality backlinks to your site.
Those backlinks signal to search engines that your site is credible and authoritative, which can improve your rankings.
In fact, Google’s algorithm heavily favors backlinks – the more quality sites linking to you, the more trust your site gains.
Guest blogging also boosts your off-site authority by establishing your brand’s expertise in the eyes of readers and the industry.
For cannabis businesses, guest posts bring double benefits: not only do they enhance SEO, but they also put your brand in front of new, highly targeted audiences.
A well-placed article on a cannabis news site or CBD blog introduces you to potential customers who might never have found you otherwise.
It’s a win-win for brand exposure and organic traffic.
Why Guest Posting Is So Valuable
In 2025, content marketing and SEO remain among the safest and most effective channels for cannabis companies to reach customers.
Here’s why guest posting has become crucial for cannabis and CBD brands.
Advertising Restrictions
Major ad platforms like Google, Facebook, and Instagram either ban or heavily restrict cannabis advertising.
Cannabis businesses are often banned from traditional ads, which means you can’t rely on PPC or social ads like other industries.
Guest posting and organic SEO fill that void by driving traffic without paid ads.
As one cannabis SEO expert put it, search marketing is “one of the safest channels for cannabis companies to advertise” in this regulated environment.
Building Authority & Trust
By contributing educational content to reputable cannabis publications, you position your brand as a trusted authority.
This is especially important now, as consumers in 2025 are overwhelmed with choices in the cannabis market.
High-quality guest posts on respected sites (for example, a dispensary owner writing a column on a cannabis business magazine) can set you apart as a knowledgeable leader.
Off-Site SEO Momentum
Guest blogging remains a valuable off-site SEO tactic despite changes in search algorithms.
Google still values genuine, relevant backlinks.
A cannabis guest posting strategy – when done right – helps you steadily build domain authority and climb search rankings.
Unlike fleeting ad campaigns, these SEO gains are long-term assets that keep paying off.
Bypassing “Cannabis” Stigma
Some mainstream websites might shy away from cannabis ads, but many are open to informative content about cannabis or CBD.
In 2025, public interest in cannabis has grown; media outlets want quality content on topics like cannabis health benefits, legalization, CBD wellness, etc.
Guest posts allow cannabis brands to get coverage on sites that might not accept an “advertisement” but will publish a well-written, compliant article.
In short, guest posting is one of the best investments for cannabis marketing in 2025.
It leverages content and relationships instead of ad dollars.
Now, let’s get into how to actually find and secure those guest post spots.
How Guest Posting Boosts SEO And Off-Site Authority
Guest blogging is essentially a form of off-site SEO, which means improving your site’s reputation and ranking signals externally (outside your own website).
The key benefits for SEO include.
Quality Backlinks
Each guest post usually includes a link back to your website (often in the author bio or the article itself).
These inbound links from other sites act like “votes of confidence” to Google.
The more high-quality backlinks you earn, the more Google trusts your site.
For example, a link from a well-known cannabis blog or a high-traffic CBD magazine can significantly boost your domain’s authority.
Referral Traffic
Guest posts can drive direct traffic as readers click through to learn about your brand.
If you contribute to a popular site like a cannabis lifestyle blog or industry news site, interested readers may visit your dispensary or CBD shop site from the article.
This referral traffic consists of already-engaged people (since they liked your article enough to click).
Brand Visibility & Credibility
Seeing your brand featured on reputable websites enhances your credibility with customers.
It’s a form of PR – “as seen in High Times” or “guest contributor on Project CBD” is a trust signal.
Over time, consistently appearing across various cannabis publications builds your off-site authority.
You become a familiar name in the industry, which can lead to even more opportunities (invites to contribute elsewhere, interview requests, etc.).
Networking & Relationships
Don’t overlook the relationship-building aspect.
When you guest post, you often form a connection with the site editors or owners.
Developing these relationships can open doors to future collaborations, partnerships, or media coverage.
It’s a side benefit that can amplify your marketing beyond just SEO.
Now that we’ve covered why guest posting is worth your time, let’s move on to how to find quality opportunities.
Finding High-Quality Cannabis Guest Posting Opportunities (Step-By-Step Checklist)
Not all guest post opportunities are created equal.
You’ll want to target high-quality, relevant sites that provide real SEO value and reach the right audience.
Here is a step-by-step checklist to help you find and evaluate great guest blogging prospects.
1. Define Your Niche And Goals
Start by clarifying what topics or sub-niches you want to write about and what you hope to achieve.
Are you a dispensary aiming to rank locally?
A CBD brand targeting wellness consumers?
Knowing your focus will help you find sites that align.
For example, a dispensary might target local city blogs or cannabis business magazines, while a CBD brand might target health and wellness sites that accept CBD guest posts.
2. Search For Cannabis-Friendly Blogs And “Write for Us” Pages
Use Google to discover websites in your niche that accept guest contributions.
Try search queries like.
- cannabis blog “write for us”
- CBD magazine “submit a guest post”
- dispensary blog “guest post guidelines”
- cannabis SEO “contribute”
These search operators will surface blogs and publications actively seeking guest writers.
For example, searching “CBD blog submit a guest post” might lead you to a CBD wellness site’s guidelines page.
Make a list of any promising sites you find.
3. Leverage Existing Lists And Directories
Save time by using curated lists of cannabis-friendly sites.
SEO communities often compile lists of blogs that accept guest posts.
You can also check cannabis industry forums or SEO resources for threads where people share guest post opportunities (e.g., a Reddit thread on CBD guest posts or a Feedspot list of top cannabis blogs).
These resources can give you a jump start in finding targets.
4. Spy On Competitor Backlinks
Another smart strategy is to see where your competitors have guest posted.
Use an SEO tool like Ahrefs or Moz to pull the backlink profile of a competing dispensary or CBD brand.
Look for blog or magazine domains in their backlinks.
If you notice they have links from, say, Ganjapreneur.com or CannabisNow.com, those sites might be open to guest contributions.
Competitor backlinks can reveal niche sites you might not find via simple Google searches.
5. Evaluate Each Website’s Quality (The Guest Post “Quality Checklist”)
Once you have a list of potential sites, vet them carefully.
Before you reach out, ensure these sites are worth your time.
Here’s a quick quality checklist.
- Relevance: Is the site’s content relevant to cannabis, CBD, or your specific niche? A local lifestyle blog in your city could be relevant for a dispensary; a general health blog could work for a CBD brand if it covers supplements. The closer the site’s audience matches your audience, the better.
- Authority (Domain Rating/Authority): Check the site’s Domain Authority (DA) or Domain Rating (DR) using tools like Moz or Ahrefs. Aim for sites with a decent authority score – often DA 40+ is a good benchmark. Higher authority means a stronger SEO boost from that backlink.
- Traffic & Engagement: Look at the site’s estimated monthly traffic (tools like SimilarWeb or Ahrefs can help). A site with at least a few thousand visitors a month indicates it has an active readership (aim for 1,000+ monthly visits as a healthy baseline). Also check if the blog content gets comments or social shares – signs of an engaged audience.
- Content Quality: Read a couple of articles on the site. Are they well-written and informative? High-quality guest sites maintain editorial standards. If the blog is full of shallow 300-word articles or spammy content, steer clear. You want your brand associated with quality content, not fluff.
- Editorial Guidelines: See if the site provides guest post guidelines. Reputable sites often have a “Write for Us” page outlining what they expect (topics, word count, tone, etc.). Clear guidelines are a good sign – it means the site has a formal editorial process. It also gives you a blueprint to follow for your pitch (more on that later).
- Link Policy (Dofollow vs Nofollow): Try to determine if the site gives dofollow backlinks in guest posts. Some high-profile sites nofollow external links by policy, which means the link won’t pass SEO authority (it can still bring referral traffic and branding, though). If getting SEO value is your goal, prioritize sites likely to allow dofollow links. You might find this by checking an existing guest author’s post (inspect their link if you can). If unsure, you can still proceed – just be aware of the possibility.
- Spam Score and Red Flags: Check the site’s spam score (a Moz metric) or just use your judgment. A spammy guest post site might have off-topic content, tons of outbound links in every article, or a homepage that’s basically a link farm. If the site has a spam score over, say, 15-20% or it looks like a “PBN” (private blog network site made solely for links), avoid it. Trust your gut – if the site looks unprofessional or sketchy, it likely won’t help your SEO in the long run.
Pro Tip: Tools like Moz’s Link Explorer or Ahrefs can provide DA/DR and spam metrics in one go. Some services (like Collaborator or Accessily) also let you filter guest post site lists by these quality metrics, saving you time.
6. Identify The Right Contact Or Submission Method
After vetting, gather the contact info for each site.
This could be an editor’s email, a general “submit@site.com” address, or a contact form.
Often, the “Write for Us” page will tell you how to submit a guest idea (some have online forms, others list an email).
If no obvious info is listed, you might find an editor’s email in the masthead or use a tool like Hunter.io to find email formats.
In some cases, you may need to reach out via LinkedIn or a Twitter DM if the site operators are active there (common in the cannabis industry).
7. Organize Your Target List
Create a simple outreach spreadsheet or use a CRM tool to track your prospects.
Include columns for Website, Domain Authority, Contact Name/Email, Date Contacted, Follow-up Date, Status, etc.
Having this organized will keep your guest posting campaign on track.
| Website | DA | Contact Person | Date Pitched | Follow-up | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannabis Tech Today | 58 | Jane Doe (Editor) | jane@cannatechtoday.com | 03/01/2025 | 03/08/2025 | Sent Pitch |
| High Times | 80 | Submissions Desk | submissions@hightimes.com | 03/01/2025 | 03/10/2025 | No reply yet |
| Project CBD | 78 | — (Contact Form) | via website form | 03/02/2025 | 03/09/2025 | Accepted 🎉 |
Keeping records helps you remember where you’ve pitched (and prevents accidentally pitching the same site twice with different ideas).
It’s also useful for tracking results later (which sites published your content, which links are live, etc.).
By following this checklist, you’ll compile a solid list of high-quality cannabis guest blogging opportunities.
Next, we’ll look at some examples of sites you might target and what makes them great.
Examples Of Cannabis-Friendly Sites That Accept Guest Posts
To get you started, here are a few examples of blogs, magazines, and niche outlets known to be cannabis-friendly and open to guest contributions.
These illustrate the variety of opportunities out there.
- Cannabis & Tech Today – A cannabis industry magazine focusing on technology and innovation. Cannabis Tech Today often features guest articles from industry experts on topics like cannabis science, business, and tech trends. (High relevance, mid-to-high authority, professional editorial standards.)
- High Times – One of the most iconic cannabis culture magazines. While much of High Times’ content is staff-written, they do feature contributions and guest columns from time to time. The domain authority here is very high (DR 80), so a backlink from High Times is extremely valuable – though competition for placement is stiff.
- New Cannabis Ventures – A news and investment focused site for the cannabis industry (DR 67). They cover business news and product releases. Guest contributions here might be press-release style or op-eds about industry developments.
- NORML Blog – NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) runs a blog (DR 78) where they share cannabis policy news and education. They occasionally accept guest pieces, especially from legal experts or activists. It’s a highly authoritative site in the advocacy space.
- Project CBD – A niche site dedicated to CBD education and research (DR 78). Project CBD publishes articles by doctors, scientists, and experts on CBD’s effects, benefits, and science. If you have a science or health angle for CBD, this is a great place to contribute.
- Cannabis Science & Technology – An industry journal (DR 59) that publishes more technical and scientific content. They likely have a formal submission process, but a well-researched article on testing, extraction, or science-based topics could fit.
- Ganjapreneur – An online publication geared towards cannabis entrepreneurs. They cover industry news, business tips, interviews, etc. Ganjapreneur has a “Contribute” page and is known to accept guest articles relevant to cannabis business and marketing.
- The Cannabis Community – A community-driven site that explicitly features Guest Posts on various cannabis lifestyle and advocacy topics (as seen in their guest post archive). It’s a platform designed to amplify diverse voices in the cannabis community.
- Cannabis Business Times – A leading B2B magazine for cannabis industry professionals. They have contributing writers and might consider expert guest columns on operations, regulations, or business strategy.
- Health & Wellness Blogs Covering CBD: Don’t forget that many general health sites now discuss CBD and hemp. For example, sites like Verywell Health or Healthline have articles on CBD (though these larger sites usually commission experts rather than accept unsolicited posts, they occasionally feature guest experts). Also, natural wellness blogs and even yoga or fitness blogs might accept an educational CBD post if it fits their audience.
This is just a sample – there are hundreds of potential sites, from large media outlets to small niche blogs.
As long as the site is reputable and relevant, it could be a candidate.
The key is to match your content to the site’s audience and style.
Now, once you’ve identified a target site, how do you approach them?
That’s where your pitch comes in.
What Makes A Good Guest Post Site? (Authority, Relevance, And More)
Before we discuss pitching, it’s worth summarizing the hallmarks of a good guest post site.
We touched on some in the checklist, but let’s clearly outline what you should look for.
Topical Relevance
The site’s theme aligns with your industry or content.
A cannabis cultivation equipment brand, for instance, would prefer a site about cannabis growing or tech rather than a generic “write about anything” blog.
Relevance means the audience is more likely to care about your insights and your backlink will be contextually natural.
Domain Authority
High DA/DR isn’t everything, but it’s a strong indicator of a site’s SEO weight.
A link from a DA 60 site generally carries more clout than one from DA 10.
Aim as high as possible without sacrificing relevance.
A DR 50 niche cannabis site is often better than a DR 80 general news site that barely touches cannabis.
Chose sites with at least DR 40 for CBD guest posting to ensure a baseline of authority.
Audience Engagement
A site with an active readership (comments, social media presence, regular posting schedule) is ideal.
It means your post will actually be seen by people, not just sit on a dead site.
Engaged readers might click your links, share the post, or even become customers.
Editorial Standards
High-quality guest sites have standards – and that’s a good thing.
They might have an editor who reviews submissions, specific formatting guidelines, and a certain voice.
If a site accepts only well-crafted, original articles (and perhaps rejects a lot of low-effort submissions), any post that gets through is in good company.
This also protects you – you don’t want your content surrounded by spam or misinformation.
Dofollow Links
As mentioned, a great guest post site will allow a dofollow link back to your site (at least in your author bio, if not in the content).
Some top-tier publications nofollow all external links by policy to avoid seeming like they “sell” links.
While those sites can still be worth it for brand exposure, the SEO juice is maximized when the link is standard (dofollow).
If in doubt, you can ask politely when your pitch is accepted, or just check after publication.
No Pay-to-Play Requirement
The best guest post opportunities are earned by providing value, not paid for.
There is a whole market of paid guest posts (where sites charge a fee to publish your article).
However, paying for links can violate Google’s guidelines if the links aren’t nofollowed.
Truly high-quality sites typically do not charge for genuine guest contributions (they see it as mutually beneficial content).
If a site demands $200 for a post, think twice – is it an actual editorial site or just selling link spots?
Paid placements aren’t always bad, but they blur the line into “sponsored content” which is a different strategy.
In summary, a good guest post site is relevant, authoritative, and reputable.
It should enhance your link profile and your brand image.
Now, once you’ve zeroed in on a golden opportunity, how do you secure it?
Let’s talk about crafting a winning pitch.
See Also: Crafting A Quality Guest Post Pitch Email (That Gets Responses)
Final Thoughts: Grow Your Cannabis Brand With Strategic Guest Posting
In the cannabis industry, where traditional advertising hits roadblocks, guest posting is a golden ticket to build your brand’s authority and organic reach.
By contributing valuable content to high-quality cannabis blogs and websites, you earn trust from both search engines and consumers.
We’ve explored how guest blogging supports off-site SEO, why it’s more relevant than ever in 2025’s cannabis landscape, and a step-by-step approach to find and secure the best opportunities.
To recap, remember to focus on quality at every stage – target relevant and authoritative sites, create excellent content, and nurture relationships.
A single backlink from a respected cannabis publication can be worth more than dozens of links from low-tier sites.
Over time, a consistent guest posting strategy can significantly boost your search rankings, send a stream of targeted traffic, and elevate your brand’s profile in the industry.
Ready to take your cannabis SEO to new heights?
Follow the checklist, apply the tips on pitching and outreach, and you’ll be well on your way to a robust cannabis guest posting campaign.
It’s a bit of work – but the payoff in SEO juice and brand visibility is well worth it.
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