SEO: More Than Just Keywords

We’ve been working really hard on our SEO strategy, but let's be honest—SEO isn’t something you can just set up once and forget about. It’s something we need to keep working on all the time. We want to make sure that when Weed-Garden is ready for the spotlight, search engines will be paying attention.

Our SEO work is more than just using the right keywords. We’ve completely changed how our pages are set up, updated our meta tags, and made sure our website works well on mobile and is accessible to everyone. We don’t just want people to find Weed-Garden, we want everyone to be able to use it easily, including people with disabilities.

We’re focusing on key search terms like cannabis ERP, grow tracking software, and Minnesota dispensary management. These are some of the most important search terms for our audience, and we want to make sure people can find us when they’re looking for solutions. We’re also exploring different SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and others to see where we can get the most bang for our buck. Right now, we're specifically looking for free or trial options to help us make the best decisions without spending too much.

Competitor Research and Finding Our Place

While working on our SEO, we’ve also been researching our competitors. It’s important to know what the competition looks like, but it’s even more important to know where we fit in. Many of the big companies offer huge systems with tons of features—most of which small growers and dispensaries don’t need or can’t afford. We want to serve the small GrowOps and local dispensaries. Our goal is to keep it simple, easy to use, and powerful enough to manage crops, track inventory, and stay compliant—all without costing too much.

Compliance and the Metrc Question

Compliance is always on our minds, and we know that we might need to connect with Metrc in the future. If you’re not familiar, Metrc is a system that many states use to keep track of cannabis for compliance. We aren’t there yet, but we’re keeping it in mind as we get ready to bring more dispensaries on board. Connecting with Metrc will be important to make sure our app stays compliant with changing regulations.

The Feedback Problem: Getting People to Respond

One of the hardest things about building something from scratch is getting real feedback—especially when you’re not offering anything in return. We tried Facebook ads, boosted posts, surveys, and even LinkedIn—but still, we got almost no response.

It’s frustrating. We had over 300 views on LinkedIn and not a single like or comment. We get it—people are busy, and we aren’t offering any incentives for their time. But this is still teaching us a lot. Marketing without an audience is tough, and getting feedback without offering something in return is even tougher. This is the real world—no shortcuts—and it’s all part of the learning process.

Reddit: Like Stack Overflow, But for Marketing

We tried Reddit next, hoping for a more engaged audience, but Redditors are tough. Even when we followed the rules perfectly, our posts kept getting flagged for “self-promotion.” It’s starting to feel like Stack Overflow—if you don’t already know the answer, it’s like you shouldn’t even bother asking.

But there’s a bright side. Some of our Reddit posts are now showing up in Google’s "Discussions" section. We’re becoming one of the top results, and while it’s been a challenge, it’s paying off. Our posts are getting indexed, which is helping our SEO and making us more visible—even if we’re still fighting to keep those posts live.

UX, Accessibility, and Mobile Optimization

On the UX side, we’ve been improving our layout to make Weed-Garden easy to use and understand. We want to make sure that whether you’re a tech pro or new to the cannabis industry, you can use our app without any trouble. We’ve used contrast checkers and other tools to make sure no one is left out.

Mobile optimization has also been a big focus. At first, we focused more on desktop users, but we know that mobile is super important now. The site is now fully responsive, and we’re making sure it works well whether you’re on your laptop or checking in from your phone in the grow room.

The App Is Still Broken—But Not for Long

Here’s the truth: the app is still broken. We know it, and while we’ve been focusing on SEO, UX, and other important things, fixing the app is next on our list. All these other things—SEO, UX, accessibility—are important for our long-term success. But soon, we’ll turn our attention back to fixing the core functionality, getting it up and running again, and making changes to the database to support all the sensor data we’ve been talking about.

What’s Next: Sensor Prototypes and Getting Back to Development

Once the app is fixed, we’re excited to get back to a side project we’ve put on hold: building our sensor prototype. We’re planning to set up a small grow tent—right on my desk—to test out our sensor system with something like strawberries. We want to track humidity, temperature, and light in real-time through the app.

This prototype will help us improve how we collect sensor data and make sure everything works well and is easy to use. Plus, it’ll be pretty cool to have a tiny garden right next to the keyboard.

The Road Ahead: Building, Learning, and Growing

Building something from the ground up isn’t easy, and there are days when we wonder if it’s worth it. But I believe we’re making something solid—something that will really help small growers and dispensaries in the cannabis industry. There will always be bugs, challenges, and new things to learn. What matters is that we keep moving forward, keep learning, and stay focused on the big picture.

We’re making progress, even if it’s slower than we’d like. And soon, we’ll be back to where we want to be—fixing the app, building prototypes, and getting closer to delivering a powerful, user-friendly solution for cannabis growers.

Thanks for sticking with us on this journey. We’ve got more to share in the coming weeks as we keep learning, growing, and making Weed-Garden the tool we know it can be.