Write store pages and product copy at roughly a middle-school reading level, keep paragraphs to two or three sentences, define jargon like myrcene the first time you use it, and check drafts in the Hemingway Editor. Readability is not a ranking score, but clear pages hold readers, earn links, and get quoted by AI search tools.
Who You Are Writing For
Not stoners, and not chemists. The person reading your product page is a 54-year-old with a sore knee who heard edibles might help, or a college kid comparing two carts on a phone in the parking lot. Both are skimming. Neither will re-read a sentence that lost them. That is the whole case for readability: your best customers are new customers, and new customers do not speak the vocabulary yet. The industry keeps writing for the connoisseur it already has instead of the curious visitor it wants, and the copy shows it on nearly every menu I audit.
The Jargon Rule
Keep the technical terms, because they carry search value and your experienced customers use them, but define each on first use, in the same sentence. "High in myrcene, the terpene associated with heavier, more sedating effects" costs nine extra words and loses nobody. What kills a page is stacking three undefined terms in one line and expecting a newcomer to keep reading. One term, one plain-words definition, then move on.
A Rewrite, Before and After
Before: "This cultivar's robust terpene profile, dominated by beta-caryophyllene and limonene, synergistically potentiates its cannabinoid content for a multifaceted experiential outcome." Twenty-two words, graduate-school syntax, zero information a shopper can use. After: "This strain smells like pepper and citrus. Most people find it relaxing without being sleepy. Good for evenings when you still want to function." Same facts a customer cares about, third-grade sentences, and it now contains the phrases people actually search — relaxing, citrus, evenings. The rewrite is not dumber. It is more useful.
Structure, Then Score It
Paragraphs of two to four sentences. A heading every 150 to 250 words that says what the section contains, because scanners navigate by headings alone. Lists where items are truly parallel, prose everywhere else. When the draft is done, paste it into the Hemingway Editor and look at the grade level: store pages and product copy should land around grades six to eight, educational posts can run a bit higher. Treat the score as a smoke alarm, not a target to game — if a sentence needs to be long to be true, keep it long.
Key takeaways
- Write for the first-time buyer; experienced customers are not slowed down by clarity.
- Keep jargon for its search value but define every term on first use.
- Aim for a grade six to eight reading level on commercial pages, checked in the Hemingway Editor.
- Short paragraphs and honest headings serve scanners, which is most readers.
Frequently asked questions
What reading level should cannabis content target?
Around a middle-school grade level for store pages, product descriptions, and buying guides. Educational deep-dives can run a little higher. This is about sentence construction, not intelligence — busy adults skim, and simple sentences survive skimming.
Is readability a direct ranking factor?
Google has said there is no readability score in the algorithm. It matters indirectly: clear pages hold readers longer, earn more links, and are easier for search engines to summarize and quote in AI answers.
Should I strip out cannabis jargon entirely?
No. Terms like terpene, myrcene, and full-spectrum are the vocabulary your best customers search with. Keep the terms and define each one in plain words the first time it appears on the page.
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