Overview
Claybourne Co. is a California-based cannabis brand known for premium flower. When I joined as Digital Marketing Director, the brand had strong product quality but a weak digital footprint. My mandate was to build a digital strategy from the ground up.
The Challenge
The cannabis industry is highly competitive in California. Claybourne faced established incumbents with larger marketing budgets and stronger online presence. Organic visibility was minimal, paid channels were underoptimized, and ecommerce lacked proper conversion infrastructure.
Strategy
SEO & Content Foundation
Built a comprehensive SEO strategy targeting high-intent cannabis search terms. Developed a content calendar focused on strain-specific, educational, and lifestyle content aligned with how cannabis consumers actually search. Technical SEO improvements addressed crawlability and site architecture issues.
Result: 150% increase in organic traffic within 7 months.
Ecommerce Optimization
Restructured the ecommerce experience to improve product discovery, add clearer calls to action, and implement proper conversion tracking. Introduced A/B testing for key landing pages and product pages.
Result: 110% ecommerce revenue growth year-over-year.
Paid Media Strategy
Developed and executed paid marketing across Google Ads, Mantis (cannabis-specific ad network), Instagram, and influencer partnerships. Built custom tracking dashboards to measure ROAS across each channel.
Marketplace Presence
Optimized Weedmaps and Leafly listings with enhanced content, updated imagery, and competitive pricing strategy. Improved review management to build social proof.
Brand Position
Through a combination of SEO dominance, content marketing, and targeted paid campaigns, Claybourne secured the #3 position for best-selling flower brands in California — a major milestone for the brand.
Results
- 150% organic traffic increase
- 110% ecommerce revenue growth
- #3 best-selling flower brand in California
- Significant improvement in Weedmaps/Leafly marketplace performance
- Custom analytics dashboards built for full-funnel visibility