7 February 2022 967 words, 4 min. read Latest update : 2 March 2023

CBD online: French and English, all addicted! [SEO Research]

By Pierre-Nicolas Schwab PhD in marketing, director of IntoTheMinds
SEO research on online searches related to CBD shows that 2 countries share the first place. France and the UK have the highest number of searches per capita. The SEO research we realized in 31 countries also shows significant differences […]

SEO research on online searches related to CBD shows that 2 countries share the first place. France and the UK have the highest number of searches per capita. The SEO research we realized in 31 countries also shows significant differences in the keywords used.

Follow us into the beautiful world of CBD online; it may surprise you!

Summary

 

Introduction

Cannabidiol (or CBD) is a substance increasingly marketed in Europe. It is often found in the form of oil but sometimes also in candy. This popularity is reflected in the searches related to CBD done on Google.

We have researched the keywords related to CBD in 31 European countries. The results show significant differences between countries, both in terms of volumes and the nature of the searches.

If you only have 30 seconds

  • We have realized research on online search volumes for CBD-related keywords in 31 European countries.
  • The research shows that the UK and France realize the most searches per capita.
  • The research highlights that in the majority of cases, Internet users are looking for information on CBD oil
  • The difficulty of ranking on the 1st page is elevated in most countries. However, the research reveals that some niches combine high traffic with low difficulty.
  • In this article, we present a new SEO metric that will allow you to determine at a glance the value of investing time on a keyword; based on monthly volume and difficulty

Methodology

The analysis of Google searches related to CBD has allowed us to rank the countries of the Old Continent according to the volume of monthly searches they generate. But first of all, we would like to specify that we distinguish between the total volume of searches related to CBD and the volumes specific to each query.

CBD: most popular Google searches in the UK

CBD: most popular Google searches in the UK
(source: Ahrefs)

All the SEO data collected was taken from Ahrefs, while the demographic figures were taken from the Eurostat 2020 report. All of this was organized in a spreadsheet, and we assigned for each of the countries examined:

  • its population
  • the number of searches for “CBD”
  • the total volume of searches on the subject “CBD”
  • the difficulty of the keyword “CBD”
  • the most searched keyword after “CBD”
  • search volumes per 1000 inhabitants
  • the ratio of search volumes according to the difficulty of the keyword

Statistics on the CBD market in Europe


The results show that “CBD” is not necessarily the most popular keyword. In most countries, the first place is occupied by a combination of keywords. In almost 1/3 of the cases, the most popular search is for CBD oil. Indeed, there are many questions about its use and the associated dangers.

Apart from oil, “CBD drops” is a search that has met with some success in the Czech Republic and Slovenia. But also, “CBD [name of the country]” comes first in Portugal. This reflects targeted searches for local sales outlets.

For example, “CBD [oil]” is searched 640000 per month in Europe, 200000 less than “CBD.” From this small gap, consumers have an intense desire to obtain information about the nature and even the purchase of a derivative product. The following map shows which aspect of CBD attracts the most curiosity of Internet users on the continent.

2d most searched keywords related to CBD online


Volume/difficulty ratio: ranking of European countries

Search volumes on CBD-related keywords per 1000 inhabitants
(source: Ahrefs)

To compare the countries, we have reduced the search volumes to the number of inhabitants.
In the table below, we present the TOP 10 results related:

  • to the single keyword “CBD
  • to all the keywords associated with CBD
Country Total volume of research (per 1000 inhabitants) Volume of searches on the word “CBD” (per 1000 inhabitants)
United Kingdom 19.4 1.4
France 17.8 4.3
Germany 16.8 1.6
Slovakia 13.9 2.5
Austria 12.4 1.5
Poland 11.8 1.8
Switzerland 11.5 1.9
Netherlands 10.3 0.8
Czech Republic 9.5 2.4
Hungary 8.2 0.6

Thus, the United Kingdom and France are the most interested in CBD, with 1.3 million and 1.2 million monthly searches! Note that France is the country that searches the most for the single keyword “CBD” on Google, followed by Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Finally, Germany, Austria, and Poland also get a high score per capita.

Statistics on the CBD market

We have worked with “difficulty classes” to penalize KD that are too high. Despite opposed SEO realities, some countries can have a similar volume/difficulty ratio.

The following illustration shows the European portrait of the online CBD ranking according to our Volume/KD score.

Search volumes according to keyword difficulty
(source: Ahrefs)

The Czech Republic, Poland, and especially Slovakia turns out to be countries with under-exploited SEO potential. Let’s take the case of Slovakia: the combinations “CBD olej” (oil in Slovak) and “CBD” accumulate more than 30,000 monthly searches, all for a very low difficulty of access to the first page of results. The reason is simple: it is the last state to have legalized CBD in Europe.

Finally, after Central Europe, it would be wise to focus your SEO efforts on Belgium, Sweden, and Portugal. These countries have achieved relatively high volume/difficulty scores compared to their neighbors: this is where the best opportunities to enter the CBD market in these parts of Europe are to be found! Note that some agencies are now purposely focusing on SEO CBD like this one.

 



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