What is SEO?

“SEO” stands for Search Engine Optimization, but what does that mean? “SEO” is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results. In other words, “SEO” involves making certain changes to your website design and content that make your site more attractive to a search engine. “SEO” is the process that organizations go through to help make sure that their site ranks high in the search engines for relevant keywords and phrases.

Why do you need SEO? 

There are a lot of reasons to implement “SEO” for your website but here are the main ones. 

1. Organic Search Is Most Often the Primary Source of Website Traffic – Organic search is a huge part of most business’s website performance, as well as a critical component of the buyer funnel and ultimately getting users to complete a conversion or engagement. “Organic search” refers to unpaid search results. Being highly visible as a trusted resource by Google and other search engines is always going to work in a brand’s favor. Quality SEO and a high-quality website will take your company there.

2. SEO Builds Trust & Credibility – The goal of any experienced SEO is to establish a strong foundation for a beautiful website with a clean, effective user experience that is easily discoverable in search with thanks to the trust and credibility of the brand and its digital properties. Many elements go into establishing authority regarding search engines like Google. But establishing that authority will do more for a brand than most, if not all, other digital optimizations. Problem is, it’s impossible to build trust and credibility overnight – just like real life. Authority is earned and built over time. Establishing a brand as an authority takes patience, effort, and commitment, but also relies on offering a valuable, quality product or service that allows customers to trust a brand.

3. Good SEO Also Means a Better User Experience – Everyone wants better organic rankings and maximum visibility. Few realize that optimal user experience is a big part of getting there. Google has learned how to interpret a favorable or unfavorable user experience, and a positive user experience has become a pivotal element to a website’s success. Customers know what they want. If they can’t find it, there’s going to be a problem. And performance will suffer. Quality SEO incorporates a positive user experience, leveraging it to work in a brand’s favor. 

4. Local SEO Means Increased Engagement, Traffic & Conversions – With the rise and growing domination of mobile traffic, local search has become a fundamental part of small- and medium-sized businesses’ success. Local SEO aims at optimizing your digital properties for a specific vicinity, so people can find you quickly and easily, putting them one step closer to a transaction. Local optimizations focus on specific towns, cities, regions, and even states, to establish a viable medium for a brand’s messaging on a local level.

5. SEO Impacts the Buying Cycle – Customers do their research. That’s one of the biggest advantages of the internet from a buyer perspective. Using SEO tactics to relay your messaging for good deals, groundbreaking products and/or services, and the importance and dependability of what you offer customers will be a game changer. It will also undoubtedly impact the buying cycle in a positive way when done right. Brands must be visible in the places people need them for a worthy connection to be made. Local SEO enhances that visibility and lets potential customers find the answers, and the businesses providing those answers. 

6. SEO Is Relatively Cheap – Sure, it costs money. All the best things do, right? But SEO is relatively cheap in the grand scheme of things, and the payoff will most likely be considerable in terms of a brand’s benefit and bottom line. This isn’t a marketing cost; this is a true business investment. Good SEO implementation will hold water for years to come. And, like most things in life, will only be better with the more attention (and investment) it gets.

7. It’s Quantifiable – While SEO doesn’t offer the easier-to-calculate ROI like that of paid search, you can measure almost anything with proper tracking and analytics. Brands want to know and understand where they were, where they are, and where they’re going in terms of digital performance, especially for SEO when they have a person/company that is being paid to execute on its behalf. There’s no better way to show the success of SEO, either. We all know the data never lies.

In conclusion

If You’re Not on Page 1, You’re Not Winning the Click – It’s no secret in the world of SEO that if you’re not on Page 1, you’re likely not killing the organic search game. A recent study shows that the first three organic search ranking positions result in nearly 40 percent of all click-throughs, while up to 30 percent of all results on Page 1 and 2 don’t get clicked at all.

What’s this mean? Two things: If you’re not on Page 1, you need to be and there are still too many instances when a user types a search query and can’t find exactly what they are looking for.

We can help!

Adilas WP Shop is a plugin that allows you to bring your Adilas inventory directly into your WordPress site. This allows you to maximize SEO on your E-Commerce site. Read more about it here! Contact us today to discuss your E-Commerce and SEO needs.

What is a diversity plan?

A diversity plan is an actionable plan that describes how your business will go about including people from diverse backgrounds. It is a commitment by the company to create a workplace that is fair and inclusive, and promotes a workforce which better reflects the diversity of our communities. Workplace diversity integrates the principles of equal employment.

Diversity and inclusion is a company’s mission, strategies, and practices to support a diverse workplace and leverage the effects of diversity to achieve a competitive business advantage. The top diversity and inclusion priority is recruitment of diverse employees.

Why do you need one?

Business Plans, such as those required for many cannabis business applications, generally require a Diversity Plan. Diversity means accepting, understanding and valuing differences among individuals. Having a diverse workplace gives your business ideas and innovations from a variety of backgrounds and cultures. Following a diversity plan for the workplace helps your company operate in a global marketplace. 

Creating a diversity plan for your business is one of the most important actions we can take to ensure that diversity and inclusion become integral to the way our institutions function, both internally and externally. 

The world is a colorfully diverse place and so are our workplaces. Diversity is an economic and legal priority in business. It increases the bottom line, jump starts innovation and keeps businesses out of legal jeopardy. Managers, supervisors and employees at every level of a company need to find ways to embrace and respect diversity in their departments and the organization as a whole.

Diversity in the workplace is vital for employees because it manifests itself in building a great reputation for the company, leading to increased profitability and opportunities for workers. Workplace diversity is important within the organization as well as outside.

Embrace diversity in your workplace and you are on the way to a more fulfilling and productive organization. The world is a beautiful mosaic of differences and the workplace should be as well. Respecting your co-workers and employees is paramount to tapping the valuable diversity in your organization.

Let us help!

Adilas420.com offers a diversity plan that will be an integral part of your business plan. Check it out here! We can even customize it for your specific needs. Contact us today to discuss your diversity plan needs.

What is Adilas WP Shop? 

Adilas WP Shop is a plugin that connects Adilas (software as a service) to your WordPress and WooCommerce e-commerce website. This allows your e-commerce site to show live inventory directly from your Adilas inventory control system and for online orders placed online to be created in the Adilas Point of Sale system. Read more and purchase it here. 

Why is it important?

 E-Commerce is an essential part of a modern successful business. There are many things to consider when choosing an e-commerce option for your business. How will customers locate and access your site? How will your categories, products and services appear? It is also important to  understand how the customer will use your site to maximize its effectiveness. 

Managing a menu in multiple places including your POS, in store signage and popular search engines can be time consuming and expensive. An integrated online menu and shopping experience will save your business valuable time and money. 

There are several options for businesses that use Adilas POS to allow for online menus and ordering. Each may have benefits and drawbacks for your cannabis business so it is important to thoroughly explore your options before making a decision. Read about them here.

Getting started today is as easy as 1,2,3.

1. Install and Configure the Adilas WP Shop Plugin.

Once you make the purchase you will be provided with the Adilas WP Shop plugin. Just install it and then configure the plugin settings. This will pull your inventory from Adilas into your ecommerce site. 

2. Set Up Your Adilas WP Shop Site.

This step will vary depending on the customer experience you want to provide. It may involve installing other plugins to provide certain features. Decide things like if and how your customers will register and how your products will appear online. 

3. Start Selling!

Congratulations! You are ready to start selling your products from your newly built ecommerce website. 

Let Us Help!

Setting up your e-commerce can seem daunting with so many factors to think about. Let the experts help you set up and design your e-commerce website. Contact us today to discuss your e-commerce needs!

Trump stated he supported medical cannabis and a states rights approach to managing cannabis policy during his campaign. His new budget proves this was not true. 

In his 2021 federal budget proposal, Trump has called for ending existing federal protections. These protections limit the federal government from interfering in the state-sanctioned regulation of medical cannabis. This will put thousands of medical cannabis providers and the millions of patients who rely on them at risk for criminal prosecution.

What does this mean? 

The rider has been renewed in appropriations legislation every year since 2014. It stipulates the Justice Department can’t use its funds to prevent states or territories “from implementing their own laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.” Trump’s budget deletes this rider. 

This isn’t the first time that the administration has requested that the rider be stricken. Trump’s last two budgets omitted the medical cannabis protections language and asked for the policy to be removed. In all cases, Congress ignored those requests and renewed the protections in spending bills.

When Trump signed large-scale spending legislation in December, he attached a statement that said he is empowered to ignore the congressionally approved medical cannabis rider. He stated that the administration “will treat this provision consistent with the President’s constitutional responsibility to faithfully execute the laws of the United States.” 

How will this affect the industry?

No one can know for sure what this means for the industry, but it seems to bode ill. One thing we can assume is that if the Department of Justice starts prosecuting state legal and compliant medical cannabis businesses and patients then things are bound to get messy. 

In the meantime, stay compliant!

Need help getting or staying compliant? We have Seed to Sale Software, Cannabis SOP’s, and offer Cannabis Business Consulting. Check out Adilas420.com and contact us today!

Arizona has implemented new cannabis testing rules that take effect on November 1, 2020 requiring the testing of cannabis and cannabis products for potency and a wide range of contaminants. Though many companies already utilize some form of cannabis testing, this could be a big, and costly, change for many. 

The state created an advisory council to determine what cannabis testing must be done and the levels of contaminants that are considered safe. Their findings can be reviewed here. But we have listed them below as well. 

 Microbial Contamination

The final recommendations of the Council related to microbial contaminants are:

• All final products must be tested for E. coli prior to sale.
  • Products testing ≤100 CFU/g pass.
  • Products testing >100 CFU/g must be remediated or reprocessed as applicable and retested prior to sale.
• All final products must be tested for Salmonella. Samples with detectable Salmonella will fail and must be destroyed – no remediation possible.
• All inhaled products must either be:
  • Tested for Aspergillus flavus, fumigatus, niger, and terreus using molecular methods (PCR, qPCR, DNA microarrays, sequencing). Products ≤1 CFU pass and no further testing is required. If the result is >1 CFU, the product must be tested for mycotoxins using HPLC, ELISA, or an in-house developed method that is validated by AOAC Appendix J or K, as relevant, or other federal or international standards. Products testing ≥20µg/kg (ppm) mycotoxins fail and cannot be remediated.

OR

• Tested for mycotoxins using HPLC, ELISA, or an in-house developed method that is validated by AOAC Appendix J or K, as relevant, or other federal or international standards. Products testing ≥20µg/kg (ppm) mycotoxins fail and cannot be remediated.
• Microbial testing should be conducted using the Bacteriological Analytical Manual (FDA 2013a) and validated by AOAC Appendix J or K, as relevant, or other federal or international standards that meet the criteria

Heavy Metals

The final recommendations of the Council related to heavy metals are:

• Any edible or infused product made from concentrate that has previously passed safety testing is exempt from final testing for solvents, heavy metals, pesticides, fungicides, and growth regulators.
• All final products must be tested for heavy metals as listed below. Products at or below the values listed in the table may be sold.

• Heavy metals testing can be conducted using any national, international, or in-house developed method that is validated by AOAC Appendix K or other federal or international standards that meet the method criteria from EPA methods

Pesticides, Herbicides, Fungicides, Growth Regulators

The final recommendations of the Council related to pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and growth regulators are:

• Any edible or infused product made from concentrate that has previously passed safety testing is exempt from final testing for solvents, heavy metals, pesticides, fungicides, and growth regulators.
• All final products must be tested for pesticides, fungicides, and growth regulators listed in Table 2 within the Oregon Health Authority’s Technical Report (OHA 8964) .

Products at or below the values listed in the table may be sold.

• Pesticide, fungicide, herbicide, and growth regulator testing can be conducted using any national, international, or in-house developed method that is validated by AOAC Appendix K or other federal or international standards that meet the method criteria from EPA methods.

Residual Solvents

The final recommendations of the Council related to residual solvents are:

• Any edible or infused product made from concentrate that has previously passed safety testing is exempt from final testing for solvents, heavy metals, pesticides, fungicides, and growth regulators.
• All final extracted products must be tested for residual solvents referenced below.

Products at or below the values listed in the table may be sold.

• Residual solvent testing should be conducted using any EPA, AOAC, or in-house developed method that is validated by AOAC Appendix K or other federal or international standards that meet the EPA criteria.

Potency

The final recommendations of the Council related to potency are:

• All products must be tested for THC-A, Δ9-THC, CBD-A, CBD, and any label claims specific to cannabinoids.
• Total THC and CBD shall be reported as follows:
  • Total THC = (Δ9-THC + (THC-A x 87.7%))
  • Total CBD = (CBD + (CBD-A x 87.7%))
• Potency of all products must test +/- 20% of label claim or be repackaged to meet actual concentration.
• Potency reporting should include, at minimum:
  • For anything over 10% cannabinoid – one decimal place (i.e., to 12.3%)
  • For anything under 10% but above 0.1% – two decimal places (i.e., to 0.01%)
  • For anything under 0.01% – three decimal places (i.e., to 0.012%)
• For edibles, report potency in milligrams (mg) with two significant figures.
• Potency reporting should note that results are “below the level of quantitation” (< LOQ) when applicable.
• Potency testing can be conducted by AHP or in-house methods that are validated by AOAC Appendix K or other federal or international standards that meet the criteria.

Other Testing Standards

In addition to discussion regarding required testing for microbial contamination, heavy metals, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, growth regulators, residual solvents, and potency, the Council discussed the value of recommending requirements for other kinds of testing. Items discussed included aflatoxins, total yeast and mold, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria, toxigenic E. coli, other bacterial pathogens besides Salmonella, terpenes, water activity, and filth and foreign material. Ultimately, the Council decided against making recommendations regarding these items at this time, but approved a motion to reconvene in six and twelve months to reconsider many of these.

We Can Help!

Changing your processes to allow for the new cannabis testing can seem daunting but we can help! Take advantage of our extensive cannabis business experience to identify needs and adjust your process. We can also help update your SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) with our writing services. Contact Adilas420 today!

If you are an Adilas user you will be happy to know that the Adilas loyalty reward system was recently released. Companies that were utilizing a third party solution for their rewards program can now have a system that is fully integrated with their POS. This points based system will automatically issue points to a customer for each purchase they make. They can then redeem like cash when they are ready. 

Features and Benefits

• It is easy to set up. With just a few basic settings you can be using your new loyalty rewards system in a matter of minutes. 
• Settings allow for customization of your rewards program. Each company can make choices about their loyalty rewards system points that suit them, such as how many are earned or how much they are worth.
• It is easy to use. Once set up, learning how to integrate them into the point of sale process will be a breeze for employees. 
• It is fully integrated with Adilas. This means it is a part of the seed to sale system you are already using rather than having to figure out how to integrate a third party process into your point of sale process that may not connect with Adilas at all. 
• Employees can easily see a customer’s points in the shopping cart. This makes it easy to learn and easy to communicate the current points value to a customer.
• Points can be redeemed like cash. When the customer wishes to use their points they can be applied to an order the same way as any other payment method.
• Customers can see points on their receipt. Once a transaction is complete the customer will be able to see points transaction details on the receipt including their current balance. 
• Adjustments can be made manually. There may be situations points that weren’t earned through a normal purchase  need to be issued, such as for a customer service goodwill gesture. This is easily done by a manager with the correct permissions. 
• Easily report on points transactions. With the loyalty reporting tool, looking up or keeping tabs on loyalty rewards system transactions is simple. 

Still have questions? Adilas420 can help! Contact us today to discuss your loyalty rewards needs. We can help you get set up as well as find solutions to your specific challenges.

In August, Weedmaps promised to eliminate California unlicensed cannabis retailer ads from its site. The announced deadline for this action was January 1, 2020. They seem to have met that goal though there is still some question as to whether they have done enough to keep these postings from appearing on their site. 

In a statement sent to Marijuana Business Daily, Weedmaps stated that “hundreds of our retail and brand partners” had provided state license numbers, but they did not offer details on how many ads were removed or how many California businesses are currently advertising on the site. “This was the right decision,” a Weedmaps spokesperson wrote to MJBizDaily. “However, the severe shortage of licenses in the state of California at the local level is real and will be detrimental to this industry at large.”

The numbers

According to a Sacramento-based consultant, Jackie McGowan, that spoke with Marijuana Business Daily, Weedmaps seems to have scrubbed its site of approximately 2,700 illicit marijuana shops and delivery services in California. She explained that on Dec. 31, there were 5,610 listings on Weedmaps in California for various marijuana retailers. By Jan. 3, that number had changed to 2,920.

California has 1,181 legal retailers, including licensed shops, delivery services and microbusinesses, although not all of the latter engage in retail. This indicates that Weedmaps could still be showing ads for up to 1,700 unlicensed marijuana retailers. McGowan suspects many of them are illicit dealers, but how many remains unclear. “They are semi-living up to their self-imposed mandate to remove these listings,” she said. “They are failing to conduct due diligence on the authenticity of license numbers unlicensed businesses are supplying to their site.”

An industry insider familiar with Weedmaps’ operations said “expecting listing numbers to match licensee numbers shows a fundamental misunderstanding of state regulations and Weedmaps.” “The same licensee often has multiple listings,” the source said, explaining that at least one company has “several hundred” listings and that doctors, CBD stores and other businesses are included in the count.

A problem

One way that illicit shops have found to keep their contact info on Weedmaps for customers to use is to publish state license numbers poached from legal companies and pass them off as their own. Another way that some shops have found, McGowan said, is to change the store name and to include keywords such as “hemp” or “CBD” to change the retailer’s profile.

Weedmaps states that it’s been addressing ads that mislead consumers but urges legal shops to contact the company if they find their license numbers are misused. Weedmaps also restated that its ads are self-published. “If an advertiser’s license information is flagged, we reach out to that advertiser to notify them of the discrepancy and request they review and correct any errors in their information,” a Weedmaps spokesperson wrote to Marijuana Business Daily. “If the advertiser does not take action to correct the information, they are removed from the platform upon completion of the review if they do not provide a valid license number.”

Reactions are mixed

The L.A.-based United Cannabis Business Association (UCBA), one of Weedmaps’ loudest industry critics, offered an olive branch when asked for comment by MJBizDaily. “We are glad to see that Weedmaps has begun working to remove unlicensed listings,” UCBA Executive Director Ruben Honig wrote in an emailed statement. “The removal of these shops … gives Weedmaps the opportunity to work as partners with Californians and the legal industry.” Adam Spiker, executive director of the L.A.-based Southern California Coalition, said he’s “going to take them (Weedmaps) at their word and hope for the best.” “I hope … they were true to their word. Because it will help the legal industry, and it can use all the help it can get. It’s dying,” Spiker said.

Though Weedmaps has made efforts, McGowan feels state regulators should take a stronger stance against the company and its advertising policies due to a law that took effect last summer authorizing the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) to fine companies such as Weedmaps up to $30,000 a day per violation.

The BCC entered into the Weedmaps fight in 2018 by sending the company a cease-and-desist letter regarding its advertising for unlicensed marijuana companies. Weedmaps claimed protection under federal law, and, since then, state regulators have taken no action, even though they now have the power to collect large fines. This was established last summer by Assembly Bill 97, and can apply to any unlicensed company that the BCC deems to be engaged in commercial cannabis activity.

BCC communications chief Alex Traverso wrote in an emailed statement on Jan. 2 to MJBizDaily: “If the state finds that Weedmaps advertises illicit operators, then it will be treated like any other enforcement action. The Bureau does not provide comment regarding ongoing investigations.”

Let Adilas420.com help your cannabis business become licensed. We offer application writing services, seed to sale tracking software and training, and cannabis business consulting. Contact us today!

The cannabis industry is highly regulated and so it should come as no surprise to learn that cannabis inventory audits will be an essential part of your standard operating procedures. Inventory audits are just one component of inventory management but may be one of the most important. This remains true whether you are a dispensary, cultivation, manufacturing, or distribution business. 

Prepare

Depending on your seed-to-sale software and individual circumstances, there are a number of ways in which a cannabis inventory audit can be performed. As a result, it is important to have a good plan of attack. This is the stage where you might print out your inventory list and plan what order to count things in. Break the project into bite size pieces. For instance, you can plan to focus on counting inventory in one location at a time. 

Count

Counting the inventory can be more difficult than you might think. It can be easy to lose your place and have to start over. Focus on following your plan. Be efficient but don’t rush. Keep diligent records of each item counted as you go. You may experience some frustration at first but you will get faster as your knowledge grows and you gain confidence. 

Update 

Once the counting is done you will need to update your seed-to-sale system to match the counted numbers. It is important that your seed-to-sale system match your actual inventory numbers so this should be done immediately before inventory numbers change. 

Report

Keep records of your inventory audits and adjustments. It is the law, you know? Cannabis businesses, like all businesses, that hold inventory are required to maintain detailed and accurate inventory records for tax purposes.

Adilas420 can help!

Let us help you make a cannabis business inventory control plan and execute it. Adilas420 offers cannabis business consulting that puts our years of experience to work for you! Contact us today to get the help you need.

Did you know Adilas integrates with a number of solutions created by third parties to enhance your experience? API solutions provide functionality above and beyond Adilas’ out of the box experience. 

What is API? 

API is defined as “a set of functions and procedures allowing the creation of applications that access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service.” Basically that means, once the connection is made, additional features and options will be available. This allows your data to work harder for you. 

What kinds of solutions are offered? 

Payment solutions 

Payment processing is always a challenge in the cannabis industry. Fortunately, there are several solutions available for payment processing. One notable option is Hypur who offers the option for cashless transactions at the point of sale. 

Government tracking 

Some states require that a cannabis business use their chosen software to track and report data to the state. Adilas integrates with major government tracking systems such as METRC and Leaf Data. This means that you only have to enter your cannabis tracking data into your Adilas  instead of having to enter it in two systems separately. 

Analytics  

Adilas provides a robust reporting platform but wouldn’t you love help determining what all that data means and how it can be put to work? The Headspace integration provides advanced reporting and analytical functionality for those who want to get more from their reporting. 

Resupply 

Some solutions monitor your inventory levels and prompt you when it is time to reorder items such as packaging materials. Greenstock is a great example of this solution. 

Email and text marketing 

Text and email marketing are essential due to stringent restrictions on how a cannabis business can. Full Circle provides a solution that allows you to stay in communication with your customers. Not only do they provide text and email options, but they also provide a number of other features that will enhance the customer experience.

Web Marketing 

Integrations for web marketing will save you loads of time. Leafly, Baker, and Iheartjane will all automatically show your current inventory once connected. 

Read more about Adilas’ third party solutions, including what to do if you want to create a new solution, here.

Adilas420 can help! Contact us today for help integrating your Adilas system or developing a solution of your own!

It’s no secret that learning new software can be intimidating. Adilas has done a lot to make their seed-to-sale software as intuitive as possible but you will still likely have questions and need help. Fortunately there are lots of Adilas software support options. This article will describe the different Adilas support options available and how to use them.

Using the Help Tool Bar

From any page, click on the gear on the right hand side of the page.

On every page in the platform, there is a small round gear icon on the right hand side of the page. This accesses a tool bar which currently has a help file for the specific page you are on. Development is also under way to add videos and other learning materials to help you learn how to best use your system.

Adilas News & Updates 

This is another useful help tools Adilas offers. Most every time Adilas changes or update something a post explaining the change and how to use it is published to their website. Depending on your settings, you may see this daily memo as you login to Adilas for the first time. As a result, this archive helps act as a help file with a specific topics or functions. Check it out here. 

Adilas University 

Adilas University is a fantastic tool for the newest users of Adilas. It is an e-learning experience that takes you through the basics of Adilas. It provides an introductory understanding of the pieces that make up Adilas. Check it out here. 

Adilas Videos

Adilas has a huge selection of videos to help with various subjects. Many can be accessed simply by googling the issue. Another option is to locate the Adilas Youtube channel. Alternatively, many videos have been compiled into other learning environments here and here. 

Adilas Customer Support

If you still need help after utilizing the above options then you can contact Adilas support. They will be able to answer questions and help with any issue you may be having. This is a great link to save for technical issues as well. 

Your Adilas Consultant  

Don’t forget your Adilas consultant. They are a fount of useful tips and hints for how to solve problems and learn new functionality in Adilas. 

Adilas420.com can help!

Adilas420 offers a number of tools for support of any type. We offer e-learning, standard operating procedures, consulting, and a training manual. Contact us today to see how we can best help your cannabis business!