A Practical Guide to Creating Pins that Work (Pinterest Traffic Guide -2024)

A Practical Guide to Creating Pins that Work (Pinterest Traffic Guide -2024)

Harnessing traffic from social media is without a doubt a winning strategy for many successful online businesses.

In this article, I will share insights into the mechanics of Pinterest and how to use this often underestimated visual network to your advantage.

Key Highlights

🎯 Pinterest is 80% more engaging and 3x more powerful in generating leads on visual content than Twitter.

🎯 Pinterest generates more referral website traffic than YouTube, Google+, Reddit, and LinkedIn put together.

🎯 Pinterest is the largest visual social network for inbound links, driving traffic, and drawing ideas.

🎯 Over 431 million people use Pinterest monthly.

🎯 Many top brands use Pinterest as a traffic-generating tool.

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One of the most effective ways to generate traffic in a short amount of time is to use Pinterest, especially for newer sites still within the Google sandbox. Established sites benefit more from Pinterest Strategy if the recommended frequency of posting is sustained daily.

Concerning the number of times, one should share pins daily on Pinterest is somewhat debatable, there are many schools of thought with divergent opinions on the frequency of posting.  

DowSocial suggests a minimum of 3x a day is ideal for pinning, while Michelle MacPhearson says that 20–30 Pins per day is the sweet spot for visibility on Pinterest. Quick sprout and Buffer recommend five pins daily. Nulou recommends ten pins daily as your maximum.  

With the enormous frequency required to make an impact, it’s tough to keep up with manually posting pins. An app feature known as the SmartScheduler on the Tailwind app can help you schedule your pins ahead of time and save you the stress of doing it manually.

Pinterest has helped many new businesses to generate and sustain traffic while waiting for Google to fully index and rank most of their web pages. Only a few webmasters know what to do at the sandbox waiting time.

Pinterest has given many websites explosive growth in a 7 – 9 months period that saw them sign up to premium ad networks like Mediavine. However, it is important to note that some niches do well on Pinterest than others. Niches that offer visual content are known to do well on Pinterest.

There is a common misconception that Pinterest is only used to find recipe ideas and finalize event planning, but that is far from the real deal.

Many small businesses now understand that Pinterest is a powerful social platform for growing an audience and driving traffic from well over 431 million users. Most users visit Pinterest each month for visual inspiration, art ideas, mom & child care, fitness, home décor, motivational quotes, and more.

Apart from individuals, many businesses such as Reebok USA, Allrecipes, ELLE Magazine, Forever 21, Etsy, Panera Bread, Martha Stewart Living, and many brands like fashion, beauty & skincare, food & drinks, travel, and homeware use Pinterest to deliver them the much-needed traffic, and awareness.

The U.S, Germany, France and the U.k top the list of countries that use Pinterest.

Pinterest is undoubtedly an ideal platform for your business or brand depending on the needs of your target market. All these start from the uniqueness of your Pins.

But the question is: How will your Pins get the maximum exposure possible?

How do I get outbound clicks on my Pins?

To get the secret ingredient for creating excellent pins that work on Pinterest, read on.

How Pinterest works

Pinterest, referred to as a visual bookmarking website, is a top social media platform for categorizing, and sharing unique and specific images on the internet. The terms “pin” and “interest” are combined to form the word “Pinterest.” That is, the ability to pin your interest.

Pinterest is a great tool to use to boost the number of links pointing back to your website, which will boost SEO and enhance traffic.

Due to Pinterest’s domain authority, relevance, and popularity, the visual platform ranks Pins fast on Google SERPs.

As long as you’re able to create great pins that work, Pinterest is more efficient than any other social media platform at driving traffic back to your blog or website. Pinterest is more than a social platform; it is a visual search engine.

Pinterest ranks the 7th-largest advertising platform in the world while outperforming Twitter, Reddit, and others. However, it trails Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok in popularity by active users on a global basis. Nevertheless, it ranks high among the top ten most suitable sites for your business.

Creating Pins that work

The key to effectively using Pinterest is producing pinnable images that get the attention of your target audience. This should not scare you. It is possible to make this happen.

When you create pins (images) on Pinterest, your aim should be to design a bold image (a design with a bold text overlay on a high-resolution image).

Recommend Pinterest image sizes

1. Pinterest Board Display image: 222 x 150 px.

2. Pinterest Standard Pin size: Vertical images 1000 x 1500 px.

With the right image size and design, Pinterest’s algorithm will begin to increase the number of impressions on your pins.

Impression means the number of times Pinterest shows your pins for viewers to see.   The more impressions your pin gets, the higher the likelihood of getting clicks on your pin.

With over 10 million monthly views on Pinterest, there are untapped opportunities for newer pins with the right design features, and posting frequency to get noticed.

Let’s look at these features in detail…

Step One – Creating your first pin

First, you’ll need to upload your pin. You can do this on Canva for free with several preloaded Pinterest templates. All you need to do is to edit and tweak a few things to your taste.

On Pinterest, create your first pin, by logging in to your Pinterest profile, clicking your name/profile picture located at the top-right-hand corner of Pinterest, and clicking the plus sign.

After clicking the plus icon proceed to select Create Pin option from the dropdown menu as seen below.

After that, you’ll be redirected to the pin-creation page to fill out a form as seen below.

To do the former, click on the gray box to select your preferred image file from the following window or drag the image file directly. After the image is uploaded, move on to the “Add a destination link” located on the bottom-right of the form (this is the website where the pin will link users to when they click on it).

After successfully uploading your image, you move to title your pin. Optimizing your pin requires the use of appropriate text which best represents your pin’s content. Knowing about Pinterest SEO would help.

For instance, if your company name is SOLAK, and you wish to pin an image on joggers, just hit “Add your title” and put in a descriptive text like, “Best Modern Joggers by SOLAK.” Always remember to attach a destination link.

Step Two – Optimize your pin description

Next, input a pin description below your title (up to 500 characters) for your pin below your title, and ensure it contains the right keywords you’re targeting.

Your pin description needs to be optimized because the Pinterest newsfeed only showcases the first 30-50 characters of your description. See the image below.

Step Three – Save to the right board

Finally, you need to save your pin to a board by hitting the “Choose a board (required)” option. You can either choose a board or create a new one that most suitably represents the content type that you want to pin.

After you’re done adding your pin to a board, go back to the pin-creation form and click the “Save” button, and follow the prompts. After that, you’re done! Your pin goes live.

Using the right keywords

As a beginner or a webmaster with an in-depth understanding of SEO, Keyword research is the bedrock of getting your content strategy right, missing this key fundamental will produce no tangible results.

On Pinterest, keyword research is pretty much the same as the regular autosuggestion done on Google, related question search, and the use of other keyword tools.

When key phrases are incorporated into your pin titles and pin descriptions, Pinterest’s algorithm will rank your pins with time. Getting Pinterest keyword research right is the bedrock to getting sizeable impressions that will translate to views and clicks.

How to find and target the right keywords on Pinterest

A practical approach to finding high & low-competitive keywords in your niche is to use Pinterest’s keyword tool in identifying short and long-tail keywords you can go for.

It’s better to target long-tail keywords (Keywords with 3- 5 words of search phrases) because you have a higher chance of winning than short-tail keywords that have already been taken by websites with stronger domain authority and millions of backlinks.

To start your keyword research, think about the possible search phrases people in your niche would have keyed into the Pinterest or Google search bar.

i) Use The Pinterest search bar

You’ll see a selection of suggestions when searching a keyword on Pinterest. These are suggested by Pinterest because they’re the top most popular according to its algorithm. Input a search phrase.

Example: “Sell care bullet journal” (This is a long-tail keyword)

See the autosuggestions below…

With these keyword ideas, you can create quality pins around them using Canva, PowerPoint, PhotoShop, or any other platform you like.

ii) Use Pinterest suggested search

Simply type a general phrase/keyword into the Pinterest search bar and press the enter key to generate some keyword suggestions/ focused ideas underneath the search bar. See the example below:

iii) Use Pinterest Hashtag Finder

Try to get an understanding of the hashtags that are common to your niche on Pinterest. 

Make a new pin in your Pinterest app by opening it and simply entering “#”+ your keyword in the description.

You’ll see a dropdown menu displaying suggestions for that hashtag, as well as the number of pins.

iv) Pinterest Ad tools

To access this tool, you’ll need to create an ad (a dummy one tho; since you won’t be launching it).

• Select the “Create Ad” option below the Ads dropdown.

• Enter any details you like since you won’t launch the ad.

• Go to “Keywords & Interests” and click on “Add keywords.”

• Type in a generic keyword/phrase.

• View all Pinterest’s suggestions and their search volume

Once you have the above, you’ll see Pinterest’s keyword suggestions and their volume of monthly searches.

You can discover fresh ideas by using this method, which is a bonus because it lets you examine the frequency of searches for various terms.

Pinterest Algorithm

Pinterest’s algorithm updates from 2020 and the best practices for pinning still impact the site’s prioritization and pin rankings in searches today. Therefore, it’s important to design pins that draw attention, are eye-catching, clickable, and most importantly, relevant and appealing to Pinterest users.

The Pinterest algorithm determines what pins appear in search results and a user’s feed. It is essential to keep up with the most recent trends and updates because things continuously evolve with time.

The impressions and engagement you get on Pinterest are directly proportional to your chances of likely appearing in someone’s feed.

As a result of the evolutionary update in the algorithm, users will now see pins that are more relevant to them because the system is designed to examine a user’s previous pins and find pins that are similar to them.

Pinterest Facts

• Females make up a larger percentage (about 75%) of the demographic.

• Pinterest is not only for weddings, homecare, clothing, and food-related pins. It has a wide range of use serving as a powerful platform for growing your audience and driving traffic.

• Pinterest has more than 35 content categories.

• Pinterest remains one of the top global sources of website traffic.

• The New York Times estimated Pinterest’s net worth to be around $11.3 billion.

• About 95% of Pinterest’s total revenue is domestic.

• As of January 2020, Pinterest has over 320 million monthly active users.

• As of April 2020, Pinterest has over 200 billion Pins saved to more than 4 billion boards.

• In 2019, Pinterest’s first public offering (IPO) closed at $24.40.

• The Pinterest IPO brought in about $1.5 billion for Pinterest.

• With the impact of the coronavirus on revenue, Pinterest shares declined.

How Pinterest can boost your business

Pinterest is an amazing social media network built to connect its uses through visually appealing images.  For businesses, reaching out to a completely new audience is a whole new ball game that can boost revenues within a short period.

Pinterest is organic and a single pin can start a chain reaction that results in several other pins. More significantly, Pinterest focuses on improving business awareness, increasing blog traffic, and generating fresh leads, and sales.

Here are reasons why Pinterest could be a tool to get a second thought…

• Pinterest generates more referral website traffic than YouTube, Google+, Reddit, and LinkedIn put together.

• Pinterest is the largest visual social network for inbound links, driving traffic, and drawing ideas.

• Through this platform, users can share images, infographics, videos, and other types of predominantly visual content.

• Pinterest is 80% more viral and three times more successful at generating leads than Twitter.

• Nearly 95% of Pinterest users state that the site inspires them.

SEE ALSO: How to Rank Your Article with Featured Snippets Fast

SEE ALSO: Practical Ways To Rank An Old Blog Post – White Hat Methods

Final Thoughts

Considering that the average user spends over 14 minutes each time they visit Pinterest, the platform has a very active audience with millions of individuals using Pinterest to share/discover new things, and get visually inspired. You can take this tool and turn it to your advantage for free.