Key takeaways
- Google's dangerous products policy bars THC ads, so be wary of any agency that pitches a dispensary product campaign.
- Management for a dispensary means a written policy check, then the placements you are allowed to buy, run with the same discipline as an ad account.
- Every login, listing and customer record belongs in your store's name, because menu platform accounts hold your followers, reviews and order history.
- Reports should count first-time customers and how many return, matched in your POS, not views or clicks.
Google Ads management for a dispensary is mostly a policy question. THC products can't be advertised on Google (Google's policy) or Meta (Meta's policy), and an ad for the store itself is very unlikely to pass. So the job becomes managing the placements you are allowed to buy, on cannabis menu platforms, with an ad account's discipline and in logins you own.
What management includes
- A policy check in writing, before any spend. What your store may run on Google, on Meta and on each cannabis platform you use, and what it may not. If someone promises a Google campaign that sells flower, the answer is no.
- Menu platform placements managed like an ad account. Featured listings and deal placements on cannabis menu and directory platforms, with a monthly budget and a reason for every line.
- Deals that match the register. Every advertised deal is set up in the POS first, with start and end dates, and checked against your state's advertising rules before it goes live.
- Creative refreshed for drops and seasons. New brands and products added when they land, 4/20 and holiday placements booked and built weeks ahead.
- Landing pages on your own domain. A store page, a first-visit page and a deals page, so a platform shopper who searches your name finds you directly next time.
- Source tracking. A promo code or loyalty source per placement, so the POS can tell you which one produced each first purchase (conversion measurement).
- Monthly cleanup. Cut placements whose first-time customers rarely return, and a short written note of what changed and why.
Who owns what in a managed account
| Part | You own | We do |
|---|---|---|
| The account | Opened in your business name | Work in it as a user |
| Billing | Charged to your payment method | Recommend budgets |
| Changes | Every change visible in the account | Build, test and adjust campaigns |
| Results | History that stays with you | Report calls, booked jobs and cost per customer |
Who should own the account
Your store should own every account: any Google Ads account, every menu platform listing, the loyalty platform, the domain and the tracking, with the manager added as a user. For a dispensary this goes further than ad spend.
A menu platform listing collects your followers, reviews and order history over time. If an agency set it up under its own login, all of that walks out the door with the agency. The same goes for a loyalty platform configured on an agency account, which holds the customer list that keeps you in business between seasons.
Put four conditions in writing before any agency touches a listing:
- Admin access to every listing and account, held by an owner or manager on your staff.
- Billing on your store's card or invoice, with no markup hidden in a combined bill.
- Promo codes and source fields you can see in your own POS.
- A written list of what they will not run, and why.
How we report
We report first-time customers, how many come back, and what each cost, by placement, every month.
| Line in the report | Source | Why a dispensary needs it |
|---|---|---|
| First purchases by placement | POS source field or promo code | The only honest count of new customers |
| Returning within 60 days | POS and loyalty records | Cannabis is a repeat purchase; regulars pay the rent |
| Cost per new customer | Placement cost plus funded discount, divided by first purchases | The number a budget decision starts from |
| Cost per returning customer | The same cost, divided by those who came back | Separates real growth from one-day deal traffic |
| Loyalty sign-ups by source | Loyalty platform | Shows which channels build your own list |
The cost per lead guide for dispensaries walks through this math with a worked example.
How it works
- Assess. We review every paid placement, your menu platform listings, deal setup in the POS and three months of first purchases by source. We also list anything currently running that breaks a policy.
- Prioritize. We rank fixes by new customers per hour of work, timed so placements and deal pages are ready weeks before 4/20, the holidays or your next big product drop.
- Execute. We do the work inside your accounts. Your compliance lead approves deals and copy before they go live.
- Measure. We report first-time and returning customers by placement each month, cut what doesn't keep customers, and set the next priority.
For the bigger picture of how a dispensary wins customers without ad platforms, see marketing for cannabis dispensaries.
How VETS Growth Marketing helps
We manage a dispensary's paid placements as a project with outcomes and dates, starting with an honest answer about what you are allowed to run. Every account and listing stays in your store's name, there is no long-term contract, and we report new customers and how many come back. Book a growth consultation and we will audit what you pay for today.
Sources
- Dangerous products or services policy, Google Advertising Policies Help
- Advertising Standards: Drugs and pharmaceuticals, Meta Transparency Center
- About conversion measurement, Google Ads Help