If you’re a blogger or online business owner you’ll know what a powerful tool Pinterest is to drive traffic to your website.
The question is…
How do you know what Pinterest Analytics to keep track of for monthly Pinterest growth?
This is what I’m here to talk about today, tracking the right Pinterest metrics so you can have a high-level understanding of how you are performing each and every month.
Not sure what Pinterest metrics to track every month? Here are 5 you should be tracking to grow your traffic and leads! #pinterestmarketing Click To Tweet
Here are 5 Pinterest Analytics and Google Metrics To Review Every Month
In order to see how Pinterest is fully performing, you will need to look at data from Pinterest Analytics and Google Analytics.
*Also, make sure to download your FREE printable Pinterest metrics & optimization worksheets to start tracking your numbers…
Sessions (Google Analytics)
What are Sessions?
As defined by Google, “A session is a group of user interactions with your website that take place within a given time frame. For example a single session can contain multiple page views, events, social interactions, and ecommerce transactions.”
- A session expires with 30 minutes of inactivity
- A session in Google Analytics is also referred to as a ‘visit’
- One user can have multiple sessions in any given day if they visit the site more than once, outside of a 30 minute period
Where to find Sessions:
In your Google Analytics dashboard go to Audience/Overview
Make sure to select the entire previous month to get the full session count.
Why do Sessions matter?
Monthly sessions are important to review so you can get a monthly view of how your website/blog traffic is performing.
Also, a goal many website owners have is to grow their traffic so they can apply to specific advertising networks, like Mediavine. Mediavine specifically requires 25,000 sessions (within a 30 day period) in order to apply.
Therefore sessions are a great metric to review if you have a goal to join a larger advertising network.
Page Views (Google Analytics)
What are Page Views?
Simply, this metric shows the total number of pages viewed within a specific timeframe.
Where to find Page Views:
The page views number is also found in the Google Analytics dashboard in the Audience/Overview section. The number is displayed under the Sessions number.
Why do Page Views Matter?
As with sessions, page views are also recommended to look at every month so you can see how your overall website/blog traffic is performing.
If you want to understand how engaged your readers are when they visit your website here is a quick formula you can use…
Page Views divided by Sessions = Pages per session
If you see this number going up or down this is a good indicator of whether people go to another page or pages of your blog or if they just read the page they landed on and leave.
Note: Where the majority of your traffic is coming from will determine your pages per session number.
For example: People coming from Pinterest or Google typically read what they came for and leave (so you’ll see a lower pages per session number)
However, traffic from your email list will have a higher pages per session number.
Sessions From Pinterest (Google Analytics)
What are Sessions from Pinterest?
This number represents the sessions that Pinterest generated, which is different than the total sessions generated in a given month.
Where to find Pinterest Sessions:
Go to Acquisition/Social/Network Referrals
Why do Pinterest Sessions Matter?
The reason to look at monthly Pinterest sessions is so you can compare this to the website/blog total sessions.
This way you can understand how Pinterest is growing on a monthly basis.
Link Clicks (Pinterest Analytics)
What are Link Clicks?
Link clicks are clicks back to your website, from a Pinterest pin.
Where to find Link Clicks:
When logged into Pinterest, go to Analytics/Overview which can be found in the top lefthand corner.
Note: You must have a business account set up to view analytics.
- Once you click on ‘overview’, scroll down and select your website address under ‘Claimed Accounts’.
- Select the date range for the entire previous month before
- You’ll then see a dropdown at the top of the page that says ‘Impressions’. Click on this dropdown and select ‘Link Clicks’.
- Under the graph, you’ll see the total ‘Link Clicks’ number.
Why do Pinterest Link Clicks Matter?
Link clicks actually matter most to bloggers and website owners, as this Pinterest metric shows how much traffic Pinterest is driving to our sites.
You are most likely on Pinterest to drive traffic, yes?!
So make sure to review your total ‘Link Clicks’ number every month to see how your Pinterest marketing is performing.
Followers (Pinterest Analytics)
Where to find Your Pinterest Follower Number:
I recommend using your mobile device to look at the total ‘followers’ number, as Pinterest on your laptop currently rounds this number up.
In your Pinterest mobile app go to Community/Followers/See all
Why Do Pinterest Followers Matter?
When you release a new pin, Pinterest will begin to show that pin to your followers first.
Depending on how your followers interact with the pin (saves, closeups, links, comments, etc) will initially impact how Pinterest rolls out that pin to the rest of Pinterest (i.e through search).
Followers are also more likely to see your content, through the follower feed on Pinterest. They are therefore more likely to engage with your pins.
Related: How to Get More Pinterest Followers in 10 Simple Steps
Want to drive more traffic to your website with Pinterest? Here are 5 metrics you need to start tracking... #pinterestmarketing #bloggingtips Click To Tweet
Now that You understand what Pinterest metrics to look at, what’s next?
You’ll want to take a deeper dive into why your Pinterest performed a certain way this past month.
Knowing what impacted your Pinterest performance, whether it was a good month or a bad month will enable you to optimize your Pinterest marketing for the upcoming month.
How To Optimize Your Pinterest Marketing
There are 3 key areas you want to focus on to improve your Pinterest success:
- What worked
- What didn’t work
- What will you try next month?
Let’s dig into these focus areas in a little more detail…
1. What Worked
Now that you have worked through your Pinterest Analytics for the past month you’ll be able to take a good look into what performed well.
How do you determine what worked?
Your first step to do this is to go back into your Google Analytics. Go to Acquisition/Social/Network Referrals
- Here you’ll see a breakdown of your social media traffic
- Click on Pinterest
- Once you do this you’ll see your blog post titles with the session counts
Looking at this data is a good indicator of what has been working from the previous month.
- Look at your top 3 posts and compare the session numbers to the previous month. Did the sessions on these top posts go up?
- You can also get more info on how specific pins performed by clicking on the blog post title. Here you’ll see the URL of different pins. Did one pin perform better than others this past month?
What else can you look at to determine what worked this past month?
- Your revenue
- Any viral pins?
- Your monthly viewers
- Increase in followers
- Increase in overall website traffic (sessions and page views)
Take note of the above to determine what you think performed well.
2. What Didn’t Work
The same way you determined what went well, do this to figure out what didn’t do well.
You can look at your Pinterest Analytics data to see if your link clicks increased. Other good metrics to consider are viewing the total impressions for the month and total engaged audience.
Did these numbers go up or down?
What else can you look at to determine what went well this past month?
- The number of blog posts you published. If you published more than last month and traffic is down, why?
- Revenue – Look at your income streams and see if anything has decreased this past month
Also, look at high level Pinterest and Google Analytics to see if anything is down.
3. What Will I Try Next Month?
This is where you have the opportunity to use this data and insights to optimize your Pinterest account.
Look at what worked and what didn’t work from the past month to determine how you will grow next month.
Make sure to think about your big goal for the month when planning what you will try. For example, is your goal to increase traffic, grow your email list, generate new leads, increase product sales?
Determine this goal and plan what your focus areas for the next month are.
Here are some ideas to help you narrow this down:
- Did you have a specific pin do really well last month? Create similar pins with a different call to action and image.
- Are your pins not really taking off? Do some Pinterest keyword research before you write your blog posts and write some killer pin descriptions.
- Did you see success with Tailwind? Go deeper and review your Tailwind tribes numbers to
- Try something completely new! Use Tailwind Tribes, review your group board analytics in Tailwind and leave the underperforming groups.
Haven’t used Tailwind yet? Here’s a free month for you to try!
Pssst! The above link also gives you a $15 credit towards a paid Tailwind Plus plan if you choose to upgrade.
Let’s Put Your Monthly Pinterest Analytics Review Into Practice…
Download this FREE worksheet where you can record your monthly Pinterest and Google Analytics, plus conduct your monthly Pinterest review of what worked, what didn’t work and areas you’ll try for the upcoming month.
Get access to your FREE Pinterest worksheets…
I hope you found the above helpful and you enjoy your free Pinterest monthly review worksheets.
I’d love to know…
What have been your biggest Pinterest wins this past month?
Share in the comments section below…
Related Pinterest Articles & Resources:
- Before Designing New Pinterest Images Do These 3 Things
- How To Create High Performing Pins
- Free Pinterest Pin Templates – Easy to Edit in Canva
- Best Pinterest Group Boards to Join, By Niche
- Pinterest Account Audit: Custom Analysis
-PIN ME-
Thanks! I appreciate every single share 🙂
This was so helpful! I’ve been blogging for years, but I still get confused when it comes to analytics. I can’t wait to get my hands on the printable so I can start tracking my stats properly!
Hi Meredith, There is SO much to focus on with blogging, so not to worry that you might get confused by analytics. Definitely download the free worksheets and if you ever have analytics specific questions give me a shout 🙂
All the best!
Yolanda
This is a fabulous post on how to read and diagnosis analytics! Thank you!!
Hi Kelly! Thanks so much – glad you found it helpful 🙂
What a helpful post for explaining the ins and outs of Pinterest analytics! I look at mine occasionally and just stay confused most of the time! 🙂
Hi Kristin, There are so many numbers in there that it can be a challenge to know what to look for if you aren’t sure. Glad this was helpful. If you ever have specific questions about Pinterest or Google Analytics, give me a shout!
Cheers!
Yolanda
This post has been immensely helpful to me! I have been on a struggle bus as far as Pinterest is concerned. So thank you so much for sharing! Bookmarking it for later as well.
Hi Falak! Thanks for your message and I’m so happy this is helpful for you. There is SO much to learn with Pinterest, so you will get there 🙂 Here are a few other resources that will help you…
– How to design high performing pins: https://fullcircledigital.ca/how-to-create-pinterest-pin-designs/
– Free Pin templates you can easily edit – https://fullcircledigital.ca/free-pinterest-pin-templates/
All the best!
Yolanda
Thank you for sharing that informative post. I was clueless about the analytics, now I will pay attention.
Hi Marjie, My pleasure and glad to hear it was helpful!
Thank you for sharing! I’ve just started developing my business account on Pinterest. It was so useful for me.
Thank you so much for this! I’ve been trying to learn more about Pinterest and this is very helpful!
This is great! Google Analytics is so confusing to me, so this is so helpful!!
Thank you, Yolanda, on the clarity on breaking down the analytics. I’m currently using your Power of Pinterest planner and strategy guide and find it really helpful and have seen an increase in clicks for myself and my clients. Yay. thank you.
That’s fantastic news Angie! Thanks for the feedback. I’m happy you are starting to see a difference!
Honestly, I have found analytics to be so overwhelming. This post is so helpful as I really needed someone to break down how to use them efficiently! Thank you!
Hi Hillary – Pinterest Analytics looks at SO much data, so if you’re not sure what to look for it can definitely be overwhelming! I’m really happy this post helped 🙂 Thanks for the feedback. Have a good one!
This is so important – I have seen a lot of bloggers get caught up with vanity metrics, like worrying about their impressions and whether they are high enough. However, having impressions on your Pinterest account with no link clinks is no more valuable in your blogging effort than having no impressions!
Exactly! I manage a handful of different Pinterest accounts too and what’s interesting is that an account with smaller monthly views (way smaller) can drive more link clicks than an account with double the monthly views! Everyone definitely needs to stop worrying about this metric and start focusing on driving traffic and leads!