**Edit:** Forgot to add some background when I first posted — added it here for context
A few years back, I was helping run a cannabis delivery brand out in California. We were doing solid numbers and getting almost all of our traffic through Weedmaps.

Everything was smooth — until one day, they changed the way rankings worked. Just like that, we dropped way down the list.

We lost about 70% of our daily orders overnight.

That’s when it hit us: Weedmaps isn’t your platform — it’s theirs. You don’t own the traffic. You don’t control the rankings. And the second you stop paying, you basically disappear.

Why You Need Your Own Store (Shopify or WooCommerce):

• You own the traffic and customer data
• You can build loyalty instead of being a “deal of the day” shop
• You’re not at the mercy of Weedmaps algorithm changes
• You can run ads, email campaigns, and retargeting strategies
• You control your pricing, branding, and experience

The Bigger Problem – Cheap Deal Seekers

Most Weedmaps traffic is people looking for:

• One specific strain or cart
• The cheapest eighth or half
• A promo code for 20% off first-time orders

Then they’re gone. You never see them again.

But when you own your own site, you can:

• Track what they browse
• Offer bundles or upsells
• Email/text them later
• Turn them into actual repeat customers

SEO = Your Lifeline

Most cannabis stores don’t optimize:

• Weedmaps listings
• Their product titles/descriptions
• Alt tags, meta data, or blog content
• No Woocommerce or Shopify store

This means they’re missing out on organic traffic from people literally searching “indica delivery near me” or “best THCA flower in [city]”.

How We Fixed It:

We:

• Built a Shopify store optimized for SEO
• Customized every product listing (strain effects, terpenes, flavors, etc.)
• Synced it with Weedmaps while building our own traffic pipeline

Result?
✅ Organic orders
✅ Email list growth
✅ Loyal repeat customers
✅ No more panic when Weedmaps makes changes

💬 If you’re running a store or delivery service:

I’m happy to share what we did or audit your setup for free. DM me or drop a comment — I’m not here to pitch anything, just to share what actually worked.