Case Study – Public Flower
How one of Buffalo’s first dispensaries went from zero online presence to ranking #1 on Google in under 3 months.
#1 ranking in Google for primary Buffalo dispensary words
0 -> 5K+ monthly website sessions
From no website to top of Google in 3mo.
The Challenge
One of Buffalo's first.
But nobody knew they existed.
- No website, no online presence of any kind
- Not ranking for a single keyword on Google
- No way for customers to browse products or order online
- No marketing infrastructure built before launch
- Operating in a brand new cannabis market with no playbook
Public Flower was among the first dispensaries to open in Buffalo when New York’s adult-use market launched. They had the product, the vision, and a premium selection built to serve a wide range of customers. What they didn’t have was anything online.
Sheldon and the team knew that their expertise was in cannabis, not marketing. They had spoken with several agencies before landing on Cannabud, and their concern was straightforward: they needed to partner with someone who actually understood how cannabis marketing worked, because a bad launch in a new market is hard to recover from.
Being first to market is an advantage only if people can find you. Without a website, without a Google presence, and without a way for customers to browse or order online, that advantage disappears fast as competitors open their doors.
Before
The Solution
Build the foundation first.
Then make sure everyone finds it.
- Custom WordPress website with full Dutchie menu integration
- Built as an owned asset — all accounts and access in Public Flower’s hands
- Google Business Profile fully optimised for Buffalo search intent
- On-site and off-site SEO to rank for high-intent local keywords
The first move was the website. Public Flower had no owned digital presence at all, which meant there was no platform to rank, no way to capture customer data, and no destination to send any traffic. We built a custom WordPress site with Dutchie integrated directly, so customers could browse inventory and place orders from day one.
Critically, every account and credential was set up under Public Flower’s ownership. No agency lock-in, no shared access, no risk of losing assets if the relationship ever changed.
With the foundation in place, the second move was visibility. A website with no traffic is a storefront with the lights off. We optimised their Google Business Profile, built out their local SEO, and targeted the search terms Buffalo customers were already using to find dispensaries. The goal was simple: when someone in Buffalo searched for cannabis, Public Flower had to be first.
After
The Outcome
Google went from invisible
to their biggest revenue channel.
#1
Google ranking for primary Buffalo dispensary keywords
5K+
Monthly website sessions from zero
3 mo.
From no website to top of Google
"We went from having no website at all to ranking in the places section on Google. For us, that says everything."
Sheldon Anderson
Opening a dispensary and need to get it right from day one?
Most new dispensaries wait until they’re open to think about marketing. By then they’ve already lost ground to whoever ranked first. Book a free call and we’ll show you exactly what a launch-ready foundation looks like.