A solid Pinterest SEO strategy is one of the most effective ways to expand your reach and drive more sales.
Indeed, SEO on Pinterest may be more important than on any other social media platform.
That’s because Pinterest is a powerful visual discovery engine where content lives for months, not minutes, and is surfaced and resurfaced repeatedly.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss how you can use SEO to increase your brand’s presence on Pinterest, target relevant audiences, and drive clicks and sales for your company:
Why Pinterest Should Be Considered a Search Engine
Here is why. Because Pinterest is primarily designed for search and discovery, your content will have a much longer shelf life than on other platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
It’s critical to consider the platform as more than just a social channel.
This is where your SEO strategy comes in.
By implementing the 12 tips listed below, you will be able to take your Pinterest SEO to the next level and generate significantly more value for your brand!
- Create a Profile for Success
- Create the Ideal Bio
- Obtain Verification
- Follow Other Accounts to Increase Visibility
- Publish Video Pins
- Make your boards searchable
- Produce Captivating, Unique Content
- Configure Pins with the Best Ratios
- Make strategic pin descriptions
- Make use of Rich Pins
- Engage in the Pinterest Ad Game
- Maintain Consistency
Don’t forget! We can plan, schedule, and automatically publish to Pinterest for you!
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Tip 1: Set Up Your Pinterest Profile for Success
Adding keywords to your display name is one of the quickest and easiest ways to improve your Pinterest SEO.
You’ll want to use words that accurately represent your brand while also allowing you to be found in relevant search queries.
For example, Meghan includes 2-3 SEO keywords in her display name to give users an idea of the type of content she’s sharing:
In addition to your display name, it’s a good idea to give your Pinterest username some thought as well.
Because your username serves as the URL for your profile, make it direct, concise, and memorable.
It’s also a good idea to use the same username across all of your social channels and website — this greatly improves cross-platform discoverability.
See how Hulu.com uses Hulu as their username on both Instagram and Pinterest.
This not only makes you more searchable, but it also makes it easier for social audiences who may already know you to identify your Pinterest account.
Do you want to get started with Pinterest marketing? Book an online one-to-one Zoom session with our Digital Marketing Consultant for everything you need to know about growing your Pinterest following, driving traffic, and making sales!
Tip 2: Craft the Perfect Bio for your Pinterest
As long as you use strategic keywords, your bio can be as creative or straightforward as you want.
If you’re not sure where to begin, write a bio that describes who you are and what you can do/offer.
Once you’ve completed your first revised version, go over it and highlight any relevant words that someone might use to find your profile on Pinterest. If there aren’t many, it’s worth returning to the drawing board.
LXRandco, for example, uses their bio to explain what they’re all about while also including several keywords that potential buyers may search on Pinterest:
If you want to add some personality, use a slogan or quote in the second sentence, but keep the first sentence for keywords.
Tip 3: Claim Your Website & Shop on Pinterest
Here’s why you should claim your website on Pinterest.
First and foremost, you’ll be able to include your website URL in your profile, which is huge! When you feature your website URL on your profile, it acts as a sort of keyword, making you more discoverable to Pinners.
Additionally, it will make you appear more official and will help drive more traffic to your site!
You can verify yourself on Pinterest in two ways: by claiming your website and by verifying yourself as a merchant.
First and foremost, you must claim your website. When you claim your website, Pinterest knows you’re a legitimate business or brand. Examine how Marketing and Proposal Templates for social media manager has claimed their website using the little globe to the left of their bio:
As an added benefit, having a verified website on the platform grants you access to more metrics in your Pinterest Analytics, allowing you to better understand your performance.
You can also verify your business on Pinterest as a merchant. More information on becoming a Verified Merchant can be found in the Pinterest Help Center.
A blue checkmark that says “Verified Merchant” appears on many accounts. This indicates that the brand can directly link products in stock on their Shop tab.
If you sell products, becoming a Verified Merchant on Pinterest will make it much easier for users to shop your products on Pinterest, resulting in more sales!
Tip 4: Follow Other Accounts to Boost Your Visibility on Pinterest
While Pinterest is more of a discovery platform than a social platform, who you follow on Pinterest matters.
Pinterest looks at your following list to determine where you’ll appear in users’ suggested boards and profiles to follow.
Following the right people will put you in front of the right people’s eyes, so choose wisely.
Take note of how similar brands make up Gray Malin’s community:
Following profiles that are similar to yours increases the likelihood that your Pins will appear in their followers’ suggested Pin recommendations.
Tip #5: Publish Video Pins on Pinterest
Pinners enjoy watching videos. Views of organic Video Pins are up 240 percent year on year, with the food and beverage, beauty, DIY, entertainment, and home decor categories leading the way.
Video Pins allow you to share much more about your brand’s story than images do.
But that isn’t all. They are also excellent for your SEO strategy.
Evidently, Video Pins appear at the top of the Pinterest mobile app search results. When you enter a popular search query on your mobile device, such as “life hacks,” a block of Video Pins will appear above the rest of the feed.
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Simply choose a date and time to submit your video content to Pinterest for review (all videos must be approved by Pinterest) and your video will go live on your chosen board as soon as it is approved.
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Tip 6: Make Your Boards Discoverable on Pinterest
Pinterest Boards are yet another excellent way to increase your discoverability on the network.
Boards can also appear in Pinterest search results, so make your board titles and descriptions as SEO-friendly as possible.
Make sure to name them with important keywords, since they will make a huge difference in your board’s SEO.
Everyone likes fun or original board names, but try to include some searchable phrases as well.
The Canva’s board names provide excellent examples, with strategic names including “Canva videos,” “#WithCanvaYouCan,” and “ Design Inspiration.”
It’s also a good idea to write descriptive board descriptions that correspond to your board titles and incorporate keywords.
Walmart’s “New Year” board from Holidays offers a detailed explanation with numerous keywords: “Find everything you need to transform a space in your home into a fun New Year’s Eve bar area at Walmart.”Find everything you need for your ultimate party ensemble at Walmart.
It’s a minor detail, but these extra keywords may make a big difference!
Tip 7: Create Captivating, Unique Content
What is the most effective strategy to optimize your profile for Pinterest’s search engine? Create content that users will want to view, save, and interact with.
To captivate Pinners’ attention, design ideas that are not just relevant and valuable, but also aesthetically appealing. change IN seconds, for example, offers interesting pins on innovative, current material with plainly evident value for its audience who is concerned about health, diet, nutrition, fitness, exercises, clean eating, healthy recipes, healthy meal prep, meal plans, healthy eating, motivation, quotes & weight loss!
Tip 8: Create Pins with Optimal Ratios
If you’ve never considered the ratio of your photographs and videos, you might be losing out on a huge opportunity on Pinterest.
Using an appropriate ratio will guarantee that your Pins appear fully in search results, which may make a big difference in how well they perform.
The 2:3 ratio — approximately 600900 pixels — is the sweet spot for a picture. It’s worth noting that formerly popular super-long photographs are no longer doing well since Pinterest can deprioritize them in search results.
Garnier USA uses the 2:3 ratio in the majority of their Pins:
Pinterest accepts video Pins in a variety of sizes, including:
- Square: one to one
- Vertical: 9:16, 4:5, 2:3.
- Horizontal (16:9)
Horizontal Pins, on the other hand, seldom gain momentum on Pinterest. If you have any square videos from Instagram or Facebook, you will have a greater chance of competing on Pinterest, which displays square videos in the top search results on mobile devices.
Vertical is one of your finest alternatives for Pins, with over 82 percent of Pinner’s scrolling on mobile.
Tip 9: Write Well-Researched, Strategic Pin Titles, and Descriptions
There are several spots where you may incorporate SEO keywords, but your Pin title is one of the most crucial.
Your keywords should cover as many relevant bases as possible in this section. Pin titles can be up to 100 characters long, so make them concise, interesting, and relevant.
This will help your Pins appear in the search results of your target audience, increasing your reach and assisting in the growth of your community.
You should include optimal keywords in your Pin descriptions in addition to your Pin titles.
Always offer the most crucial and useful information first in Pin descriptions. While you may use up to 500 characters, Pinners will only see the first 50-60 characters on their feed — take use of this!
See how Benefit Cosmetics clearly puts their optimized keywords in each of their Pin descriptions.
Pin description wording is more important than you would realize – it informs relevance and helps select where your content displays.
If it makes sense for your Pin, insert significant keywords, hashtags, and brand names in this section.
Including search-optimized keywords in your Pin titles and descriptions is one of the greatest methods to make your material easier to locate on the platform, so don’t skip this step.
If you’re not sure what keywords and hashtags to include in your Pins, you may get ideas using Pinterest’s built-in keyword research tool.
When you search for a broad phrase, such as “techno music,” in the Pinterest search field, you will receive a list of keywords suggested by Pinterest to narrow your search.
These suggested keywords are sorted by search popularity, so keep this in mind as you prepare the keywords and hashtags for your Pins.
For example, if you don’t have a large number of followers, it may be worthwhile to use less common terms. You’ll most likely have less competition for certain terms, which means you’ll rank better in search results.
Although discovering and adding keywords may appear to be extra work, it is one of the most effective strategies to increase traffic to your Pins.
Tip 10: Use Rich Pins
Rich Pins are your greatest buddy when it comes to increasing your Pinterest SEO! They’re a terrific method to add additional detail to your Pins (every little bit helps with discoverability), as well as drive more traffic to your website.
When you generate a Pin from your website, it automatically becomes a Rich Pin since it gets all of the extra features from your website.
On Pinterest, you may now utilize four categories of Rich Pins: “Product,” “Article,” “App,” and “Recipe.”
Depending on the sort of Rich Pin you use, they usually rank higher in Pinterest’s search results.
Tip 11: Participate in the Pinterest Ad Game
After you pick how to promote and pay for your new promoted Pins on Pinterest Ads Manager, it will show in front of new audiences in areas they are most likely to see them, such as their home feed. Take a look at this GQ example:
Using Pinterest Ads to enhance SEO is a terrific method to get your content in front of more consumers, bring more notice to your business, and increase traffic!
If you Want to learn more about how we can help you manage Pinterest Ads? Book a 30-minute session on UpWork where we dive into the details!
Tip 12: Stay Consistent
The key to consistency is setting and achieving specific goals. Start by determining how you want to be more consistent in managing your Pinterest.
Consistency is essential on Pinterest, as it is in most other aspects of life.
The more you adhere to SEO best practices, the more the Pinterest algorithm will learn about your account, resulting in your profile and content being presented to relevant users as they surf Pinterest.
Take Moschino for example. They include clear board descriptions and they post on-brand (and amazing!) content regularly.
There is no such thing as too much engagement on Pinterest, so the more time you can devote to it, the better, as long as you’re providing a consistent SEO message about your business and its product.
Remember that Pinterest material is far more evergreen than content on other social networks, so with the appropriate SEO technique, your Pins might still be circulating 12 months from now!
You now have all of the SEO advice you need to get started on Pinterest.
By adhering to SEO best practices on a constant basis, you will be able to build a strong, relevant audience and attract a base that is highly engaged with your content and brand.
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