Pinterest is an image-based search engine that often gets lumped in as a social media platform. It allows users to pin images and descriptions of things they like to their boards, which can be viewed by other people who follow the user. Pins can also be shared on other social media platforms. By using Pinterest, users can increase their blog traffic by promoting pins from their blog posts onto their boards. Additionally, by creating boards for related topics, users can compile a library of relevant pins that can help promote their blog content to a wider audience.
Why Pinterest?
Pinterest is a hidden gem for online marketing. Pinterest touches all parts of building and growing of your business from email marketing and list-building, social media marketing, content marketing, and evergreen content. Pinterest is a powerful tool for bloggers, online coaches, service providers, and product-based businesses.
I highly recommend blogging to all of my clients. You can do a written blog like the one you are reading now or you can do a vlog, where you post a video of you talking about the content instead of writing it. You still need to include some written content, like easy-to-read bullet points of what you are talking about, a summary and links, but the meat of the content will be in video form embedded on the page. The reason why I recommend blogging is it’s the easiest way to have one piece of content and create many other pieces from it. Plus with a weekly blog, you are able to create more standard pins for Pinterest since Pinterest requires fresh pins and fresh URLs. That means you need lots of links coming from your website and a weekly blog fulfills that requirement. More pins out there on Pinterest means more opportunities for users to find your pin and get to your website.
Pinterest released at the end of 2021 the total number of monthly users is up by 37% to 459 million. The users on Pinterest are there with something in mind, they are in action mode meaning unlike on other platforms, users aren’t there to comment back and forth or aimlessly scroll through the images. They are using the search bar and the filter bubbles to narrow down the results. They are on a mission to find what they are looking for.
Another benefit of blogging and using Pinterest to promote your blog is that it can help improve search engine optimization (SEO). When blogs and pins are properly optimized with relevant keywords, they have the potential to rank high on search engine results pages (SERPs). This can result in more traffic to your blog posts PLUS whatever you put out there on Pinterest is evergreen. That means you get years of reach to your blog post verse posting to other social media sites. Plus when you optimize your blog post for Pinterest you are also optimizing for Google. That’s right! Taking the steps to succeed on Pinterest will also help you rank better in Google search results.
Pinterest can be a powerful tool to increase blog traffic. When used correctly, Pinterest can help drive relevant traffic to your blog posts and website.
Here are a few tips on how to use Pinterest to improve your blog traffic:
1. Optimize your Pinterest profile:
You need an optimized profile. Make sure your profile is complete and includes a link to your blog (make sure your website is claimed in your settings). Make sure you have a cover image with a clear CTA (Call To Action) and display your opt-in or freebie. Think of this space as your billboard for your business or brand. Make sure you have a profile picture uploaded, preferably an image of you and not your logo, and do some research on keywords to use in your profile name and your bio. You also want to make sure your boards are optimized. You want your board titles easy to understand and keyworded. To learn more about getting your Pinterest business account set up and optimized check out How To Set Up A Pinterest Business Account
2. Make sure your website is Pinterest-ready:
You want to make sure your website is optimized for all the traffic it’s about to get. Make sure you enable rich pins for Pinterest and validate them using the pin validator. This is called optimizing your pins and allows Pinterest to pull in metadata from the information you list on your website, under the image you upload. This is where adding a description to the image and making sure it’s keyword-rich is very important. Click here to learn more about rich pins and how to enable them. Other things you need to make sure are ready on your website are an easy-to-navigate homepage, an opt-in near the top, or a pop-up so you can capture their visit, get an email address, and give them something of value in return, and make sure it loads quickly. You have only a few seconds to grab their attention and keep them on your website. Make sure they can easily get to what they are looking for and everything loads properly.
3. Use keywords in your pins and board title:
It’s all about the keywords (and consistency). Take some time to do some keyword research so you know what keywords are being used. There’s a good chance you will be surprised to find out how people are searching to find products, services, or topics like what your business covers. You need to know those words because if you are creating content and pins around terms they aren’t using it will be a lot harder to get your pins in front of them. When you’re creating pins make sure you include keywords that are relevant to your topic. This will help your pins show up in search engine results, which will bring more traffic to your blog or website.
4. Know your Pinterest strategy:
You have to know what you are looking to get out of Pinterest so you know what content to be creating for the platform and how often. Some things to consider: Are you looking to increase sales, get more leads, sign more clients, build your email list, or grow your brand awareness? Each one of those means slightly different things on Pinterest. Knowing what kind of content you need to create for the end goal will set you up for success better than just throwing pins out there and hoping someone sees them and clicks on your website. There’s a method to this: from the content you create to the pins you publish to Pinterest, to the way your website functions, it’s all connected and what makes up your Pinterest Strategy.
5. Create a pinning schedule and stick with it:
A beautiful thing about Pinterest is you do not have to be on it or create content for it nearly as much as you do for other platforms. Another beautiful thing is you can repurpose much of what you create on those other platforms and use them on Pinterest! What gets things going on Pinterest is consistency. Show up at least once a week and publish an idea pin and a couple of standard pins to different links on your website. Now, the more you show up, publish, and share on Pinterest the faster your account will grow so think back to your strategy and what you want to get from Pinterest. A happy medium is 3 idea pins a week and 5 standard pins a day. Pro Tip: Remember, these need to be fresh pins with fresh URLs which means 7-10 days between pins that link back to the same website page and do not repin pins already published. Pinterest has said that’s a good way to land yourself in the spam filter.
If you are struggling with pin design, want to build your online business using Pinterest, and want to do it with other women who are also building soul-led businesses, check out the Hand In Hand Pinning Membership.
6. Use hashtags in your pins for even more exposure:
Hashtags are back and they are searchable. Don’t use more than 4-5. They are great to add but are not the most important part of your pin description. The keywords you use are what help your pin get indexed properly.
7. Follow other pinners who might be interested in your content:
Pinterest is a sharing platform. It makes sense to follow others who might be interested in your content. They get a notification that you are now following them, prompting them to click on your profile. Then they can follow you back and look through the content you currently have on your profile plus the link to your website is right there in your bio.
8. Add a call to action to your pins:
Tell your audience what to do next. Let them know there’s a link in the description, to click on the pin to read more, to download the checklist, template, or guide, or to save the pin for later. The point of a call to action is to motivate the person reading or watching your pin to do the next thing, which is to move closer to being in your world. A CTA keeps the pinner in the action mode they came with and fulfills their desire to know more, to keep learning, and to dig deeper. You are simply reminding them by telling them the next step.
9. Experiment with different pin designs:
Fresh pins mean new designs and new images. This comes from years of content creators repinning the same pin over and over again to different boards. The variety was lost and people started seeing the same pins in their feed which hampered the users’ experience. The other perk to creating pins using different designs is you get to see over time which designs your audience seems to gravitate towards. This is key insight because oftentimes you can get a feeling of what is resonating with your audience which allows you to get to know them better so you can provide more of what they like. Learning from and listening to your audience is the #1 way to build super fans. So don’t be afraid to experiment and try out different design elements. Don’t forget you get FREE Canva templates for Pinterest when you join the Hand In Hand Pinning Membership. These are tried and true designs, the exact ones I use for my clients that get them all the clicks and traffic.
10. Track your results:
Use Pinterest’s analytics tools to track how well your pins are performing and identify which pins are driving the most traffic to your blog. Pinterest has super robust analytics tools to help you see what is going on with your pins, get an idea of who your audience is and what they are looking for, and even what pin design, board, and keywords they gravitate towards. I recommend tracking your stats every 30 days. PRO TIP: It takes at least 6 months for a new Pinterest business account to start seeing any real progress. Stay consistent and you will see the magic happen. It takes 45-90 days for a pin to really get going unless it gets a little boost from someone who has lots of followers and saved your pin to one of their boards. Compare every 30 days but stick with the same strategy for 90 days then look back and see what’s working and what needs to change.
11. Create relevant content and use keywords:
You want to make sure what you are pinning to your Pinterest page is relevant to your audience, and is something useful and of quality. Be sure to use keywords in your pins and board titles to help improve your SEO. Relevancy is key here. Pinterest gives you lots of tools to use for free to research what is currently popular on the site. You can use the search bar and see what pulls in the guided search and you can do some market research looking through the pins that show up in the search results. You can also use the Pinterest Trends tool to compare keywords and topics plus Pinterest gives you popular relevant search terms, boards, and topics and provides updates on current trends across all industries.
12. Use video and the Pinterest app when you create Idea pins:
Your audience wants to see you, wants to connect with you, and short-form video is what they are looking for. Mix it up! Do some idea pins that are all text, images, and some animations (if you want) created in Canva, save them to your phone, and upload them to Pinterest using the app. There are lots more features in the app, like music, stickers, and brand mentions. Then do another one with video only using the app with eye-catching text overlays on the video, and finally do one with both video slides and text overlay slides. You can do this by creating the text overlay slides in Canva and the video slides in the app. Save the text overlay slides to your phone and upload them to the app, rearranging the video and text overlay slides if needed. See which ones your audience resonates best with by comparing the impressions with the clicks and saves to other idea pins you created. Pinterest users are not looking for you to do a dance or be goofy like we see on TikTok and in reels. If that’s you, go for it! If not, that’s totally ok too. Your audience wants real which is what makes it so easy to build and grow your business authentically using Pinterest. To learn more about Idea pins, check out Pinterest Idea Pins For Your Business Marketing Strategy
By following these 12 tips you will drive more traffic from Pinterest to your website. Which tips were the most helpful? Are there ones you are already doing or ones that are new to you? Let me know in the comments.
Remember, Pinterest is a long game. It’s a search engine so the work you put in now will be doing work for you for years to come. Stick to your pinning schedule, stay consistent, and check me out on Pinterest for more tips and coaching on all things Pinterest and online marketing.
with gratitude,
Britni Wige
