Planet Vapor’s Local SEO Success with WRD

Direction Requests

+12%

Phone Calls

40%

Maps Views

+5%

Background

Planet Vapor, a vape and smoke shop based in Pennington Gap, VA, partnered with Web Rank Digital to take control of its local visibility and search presence. With a variety of products such as nicotine pouches, kratom, and disposable vapes, Planet Vapor aimed to become the top search result for local customers actively searching online.

Despite already having loyal customers, they lacked consistent visibility in local map packs and search results—especially for key product categories.

Client Name

Planet Vapor

Industry

Vape & Smoke Retail

Program

Local SEO by WRD

Challenges

Inconsistent search visibility across core product keywords.
Needed higher rankings in a competitive small-town market.
Low engagement from local searchers on Google Business Profile (GBP).
Needed to beat the top local competitor, The Shop of Pennington Gap.

Solutions Implemented

Google Business Profile Optimization

  • Optimized GBP with rich category usage and complete business info.

  • Posted regular product updates and photo uploads to increase engagement.

Keyword-Focused SEO Strategy

  • Targeted and tracked high-conversion keywords like “smoke shop,” “vape shop near me,” and “nicotine pouches.”

  • Regular keyword audits and rank tracking with AI visibility scoring.

Content & Engagement Boost

  • Weekly posts and product spotlights to maintain activity on Google.

  • Responded to Q&A and reviews to build trust and interaction.

Heatmap & Ranking Audits

  • Geo-grid audits used to identify ranking gaps across the service area.

Results After 6 Months

Engagement Metrics

  • Phone Calls: 250 → 350 (+40%)

  • Direction Requests: 329 → 370 (+12%)

  • Search Views: +13%

  • Maps Views: 756 total, +5%

Improved Keyword Rankings

  • Smoke Shop:

    • Ranking: 3.66 → 1.89

    • Top 3 Placements: 38.46% → 100%

    • AI Visibility Increase: +84.8%

  • Nicotine Pouches:

    • Ranking: 5.74 → 1.51

    • Top 3 Placements: 75.74% → 98.82%

    • AI Visibility Increase: +19.15%

  • Kratom:

    • Ranking: 2.24 → 1.73

    • Top 3 Placements: 97.04% → 100%

    • AI Visibility Increase: +16.43%

"We’ve tried marketing before, but nothing moved the needle like Web Rank Digital’s Local SEO program. In just a few months, we started getting way more calls, foot traffic, and top search visibility. Now we show up everywhere — and we’re finally outranking our main competitor. Absolutely worth it."

Planet Vapor

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