You will not trace every sale back to one backlink, and anyone promising that is selling something. What you can track: referring-domain growth in Ahrefs, impressions and average position for target pages in Google Search Console, and referral traffic in GA4. Judge the trend across all three, not any single link.
Decide what each link is supposed to move
Most cannabis brands buy or earn links with no target in mind, then wonder what happened. Pick the money pages first: a city dispensary page, a category page, a strain guide that feeds email signups. Every link you chase should point at one of those pages or at content that links into them. If you cannot name the page a link is supposed to help, skip the link.
Three reports that tell you something real
Ahrefs shows referring-domain growth. One new domain matters more than five new links from a domain you already have, so chart domains, not raw links. Google Search Console, filtered to your target pages, shows impressions and average position — the earliest signal that authority is moving, usually visible before traffic changes. GA4 referral reports show whether the linking pages send actual visitors. A link that sends buyers is worth keeping even when its SEO value is debatable.
Be honest about attribution
Links work indirectly. They raise a page's authority, the page ranks better, the ranking brings traffic, and some of that traffic buys. Every step has other inputs — content changes, competitors, seasonality, algorithm updates. So resist tidy math like claiming one link produced a specific dollar figure. The defensible claim is directional: target pages that received links outperformed similar pages that did not, over the same period. That comparison is the closest thing to a controlled test most cannabis brands can run.
A worked example: one page, six months
Say a dispensary wants its Aurora location page moving. January baseline from Search Console: position 14, about 2,100 monthly impressions. It earns nine referring domains by June: two local news mentions, a chamber-of-commerce listing, six industry blogs. June check: position 6, impressions nearly quintupled, and GA4 shows 120 referral visits from the linking pages. Cost was roughly 30 hours of outreach and content. Whether that pencils out depends on what a first-page local ranking is worth to the store, but now it is an actual decision instead of a feeling.
When to call it and reallocate
Set a review date before the campaign starts, not after. If six months of steady link work leaves target-page impressions and position flat in Search Console, something upstream is broken. Usually that means the page itself or the keyword choice, not the links. Fix that before buying more outreach. And if referring domains grew but nothing else did, ask whether those domains were worth having in the first place.
Key takeaways
- Chart referring domains in Ahrefs, target-page impressions and position in GSC, and referral visits in GA4: the trio, not one number.
- New referring domains beat repeat links from domains you already have.
- Claim direction, not dollars: pages with links versus similar pages without.
- Set the review date before the campaign starts, and judge in months.
Frequently asked questions
Can I tie a specific sale to a specific backlink?
Almost never, and forcing it produces fiction. A link raises authority, authority lifts rankings, rankings bring traffic, and other factors touch every step. Compare target pages that got links against similar pages that did not, and judge the difference.
Which single number matters most?
Average position for the target page in Google Search Console. It moves earlier than traffic, it is free to check, and it reflects the thing links are supposed to change. Referring-domain counts are an input, not a result.
How long before link work shows in the numbers?
Months, not weeks. Impressions and position on target pages usually shift first, traffic follows, revenue comes last. Judging a campaign at week three mostly measures your impatience.
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