If you keep up with Pinterest news and changes, then you’ve most likely heard about the updates that have taken place to the Pinterest algorithm in the last year. In fact, that may be how you found this blog post! If you know you need to make tweaks to your Pinterest strategy, then you’re in the right place!
While yes, it has become more difficult to see the organic results from Pinterest as in years passed, I’m here to tell you that it IS still possible to see success on Pinterest. You just need to focus on the right elements in your overall Pinterest strategy and now, more than ever before, you need to stay consistent.
I have started 3 brand new accounts for client’s this year and have learned a thing or two when it comes to getting results:) Let’s take a look at 3 Pinterest strategy tweaks you can make to help increase your blog or website traffic.
Optimize Your Account – Pinterest SEO
This is one of the first steps I take when working with a new account. After keyword research of course:) Because if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times – If you’re not optimized, you’re not found!
Just like Google and your website, you are found on Pinterest when your content and your account is optimized with the keywords to attract your ideal audience.
After doing your keyword research, you will use the keywords in the following areas:
- Profile name
- Profile description
- Pin title
- Pin description
- Board name
- Board description
- The text on your pin image (if you use text on your pins)
- Website URL for the individual product/content
- Your Website page title
- Website page description
When you optimize the use of keywords across all of these areas, you increase your ranking potential which increases your chance of showing up in user searches.
Pin Types
One of the biggest changes on Pinterest in the last 18 months is the increased usage of alternate pin types. Alternate pin types being anything other than the standard pin image. Have you seen them? Interacted with them?
There are 5 different pin types you can use for your content:
- Standard pin (image only pin)
- Carousel Pin
- Idea Pin
- Video Pin
- Shop the Look Pin
Just like other social platforms, Pinterest is rewarding it’s creators for using new features by increasing distribution of those using alternate pin types. The three pin types you need to be focusing on to increase your blog traffic are the Carousel Pin, the Idea Pin and the Video Pin.
Carousel Pin
The Carousel pin, similar to the carousel post on Instagram, is designed by using multiple images that the user can swipe through. However, unlike Instagram, Pinterest allows you to attach a NEW URL to EACH image. This is the key feature of Carousel pins!
Idea Pin
The Idea Pin (formerly Story Pin), is similar to a “story” post on Instagram or Facebook. These pins automatically scroll through images or videos one at a time and are designed to inspire action and inspiration.
The Idea Pin is different from the other pin types as it is not clickable, meaning users will not be able to go directly to your website from the pin itself.
Now, I know what you’re saying: Erica, if this pin type won’t drive traffic to my blog or website, why use them?
Great question. Idea pins should be added to your Pinterest strategy for the reason I mentioned at the beginning of this section. Pinterest is rewarding it’s creators for using new features by increasing distribution. The Idea Pins I am creating for my clients are seeing amazing reach and overall impressions. What’s more is that their follower count is growing! The number of followers you have on Pinterest hasn’t really meant much in the past, but there are a lot of experts who are predicting that this will soon be changing!
Video Pin
If you’ve spent any amount of time on this blog (or my Instagram page), you already know that video is all the rage on Pinterest! In fact, with things like Reels, Stories, Lives and TikToc, video content is becoming king in the online space.
Additionally, if you’ve done any searching on Pinterest lately, you’re likely seeing video pins in the top line search result, regardless of what you’re searching for!
Bottom line: consistent use of these 3 alternate pin types will increase traffic to your website and at the same time, grow your Pinterest account. The more impressions your content has, the more opportunity it has to be clicked on.
Create New and Fresh Images
At the beginning of 2020, Pinterest announced some algorithm shifts and updates to how they would be ranking content moving forward.
In the past, many users would pin the same content with the same pin image, over and over and to multiple boards (whether they were closely relevant or not). But what Pinterest noticed, was that again and again, pinners engaged with and clicked on pins that were both NEW and FRESH more than they were engaging with the older content. So what does new and fresh even mean?
New = Brand new URL (content) + brand new image never before shared to Pinterest
Fresh = Old URL (content that has been shared to Pinterest) + brand new image
The first priority and higher ranking will go to the NEW pins while the second priority will be with FRESH pins.
You may be asking: can I no longer share duplicate pins on Pinterest?
The answer is yes, but with a few stipulations. Try not to share a duplicate pin to the same board more than once in a 12 month period. If you must, then try to space them out no less than 6 months.
Best practices
- Create multiple pins per blog post to help meet the new and fresh guidelines
- If sharing to multiple boards, do not share to more than 10 RELEVANT boards. Pin to the most relevant board for that piece of content first.
- When pinning the same image to a new board, try to keep anywhere from 2-7 days between the two images going out.
- Sticking to this new/fresh image practice is KEY to growing your reach and overall impressions which will in turn, increase the click throughs to your website.
Key Takeaways
Has the new Pinterest algorithm made organic growth more difficult? Potentially. But you can still achieve GREAT results from Pinterest by focusing on the strategic elements that have been proven to deliver.
- Optimize your profile and account with the right keywords and SEO
- Use alternate pin types (focus on video, idea and carousel pins)
- Use fresh and new images
Again, consistency is key. Don’t expect to implement these tweaks and see your traffic spike overnight. For brand new accounts, it is taking a minimum of 5 months to see growth – 6 months+ to see significant results.
Don’t stop. Keep going!
If all the strategy tweaks and algorithm changes are keeping you up at night, consider handing over the reins to an expert! As a Pinterest manager, I’ve made it my job to keep up to date on all the latest changes, plus, I’m regularly testing and analyzing what’s working best. By using that data, I’m able to implement a Pinterest strategy for my clients that get them serious results. If you’re curious about how I could help, or just want to learn more, drop me a line or check out my services page!
