Can You Advertise CBD on Google?

If you own, manage, or market a CBD business, then you probably want to advertise it, and since the Google ad network is the world’s largest ad network, it’s probably top of your list. 

Like any other business, you want to go advertise where the eyeballs are.

However, due to the unique legal status of cannabidiol or CBD products in most countries, it is difficult to know what is and isn’t allowed to be advertised across the Google advertising network.

Hopefully, this article can give you some clarity.

Does Google allow CBD ads?

The short answer is no.

The long answer is it’s complicated.

CBD can be advertised on the Google display network, Google ads, and Google shopping ads only if it contains CBD oil derived from hemp and not cannabis.

This is because cannabis is federally illegal in the united states but legal in certain states. In Canada, it is legal but not in the UK.

This also means that one of the biggest obstacles if you want to build up a global CBD business, is having to work out the regulations in each different country that you want to sell into.

You also need to be careful not to advocate in your promotional materials for the health benefits of your products in the USA, or you may run foul of the federal trade commission (FTC) or the food and drug administration (FDA). 

If you do make claims, then you have to be sure that you can back them up with credible medical research.

How to put CBD ads on Google

If you have weighed up the risks but want to try advertising on Google anyway, then you need to proceed with caution. Google has huge power to block your domain, flag your billing information, and even prevent you from setting up a new account if they cancel your other ones.

If you want to go ahead and advertise your CBD products on the Google advertising network, then follow these steps:

• The first step is to create a new Google Ads account to use specifically for advertising your CBD product. If you run into problems, then it won’t affect your other Google Ads campaigns.
• Once your account is set up, you can then set your budget and location and set up a campaign using the ‘paid search ads’ option.
• The next step is to select relevant keywords for your product, such as “CBD, “CBD oils,” hemp,” etc. And then enter a cost-per-click bid for each keyword.
• Now comes the tricky part. When you create and write an ad, make sure that you avoid promoting your CBD product directly, or you will get caught out by Google’s terms of service. It is better to just use a more vague description of your product. For example, focus on the benefits of it without naming it.
• The final step is to create a specific landing page that your ad will take consumers to. Just like the ad itself, don’t overtly promote your CBD product on the landing page either – instead, make it an information page that users can then click thru to your product pages.

That’s how you put CBD ads on Google. There is a chance that this will still upset the Google ‘gods,’ but if you follow these steps, then you are technically not violating their terms of service.

Is there a better way?

If you want to avoid these problems, then yes, there is a better way to still get traffic from Google. And that is through an aggressive content marketing campaign that employs highly informative and engaging quality content that is optimized to rank highly in search results. For example, you could hire a CBD content writer to write a blog that covers CBD topics to help inform your audience about the industry and your products. Focusing on your CBD SEO can pay large dividends over the long term if you do things right. 

This way, you will drive lots of traffic to your website without the risks.

The bottom line

Advertising CBD on Google is not allowed if the oil is made from cannabis, but technically ok if it is made from hemp. This ambiguity makes it risky to invest in Google advertising campaigns as you risk getting banned from Google.

Cannabis is a huge, growing industry. People want to find out more about your products, so a much better option is to invest in website content so that it ranks high in organic search results, which will lead to an increase in traffic and, at the same time, avoid all of the risks of paid advertising