Want More Traffic, Leads & Sales in 2020? Pinterest SEO is Here to Help…
If you are reading this article, you most likely know what a powerful platform Pinterest is for your business. But, you also may be frustrated that you’re not getting the Pinterest results others are getting. This is where Pinterest SEO comes in.
The first thing to confirm is that Pinterest is a search engine and not a social media site. You, therefore, need to put thought and effort into SEO like you would for Google.
The great thing though is that you can drive traffic with Pinterest a lot faster than with Google, which as you know can take a long time to see results.
Let’s get into everything you need to know about Pinterest SEO so you can see your website traffic, leads and sales increase.
Related: How to Create High Performing Pinterest Pins
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share products and services I have personally used and love. Disclosure here.
How and What Do I Optimize For Pinterest SEO?
There are 3 core places you can optimize your Pinterest SEO (with the right keywords).
These include:
- Pin descriptions
- Board names
- Your Profile (name and description)
Below I’ll be going through exactly how to optimize these sections of your Pinterest profile, plus the best ways to find keywords on Pinterest.
How Do You Use Keywords on Pinterest?
Let’s first discuss the most effective ways to find Pinterest keywords.
Finding the right keywords to include in your PIN TITLE and PIN DESCRIPTION is one of the key factors that directly impact how your pins perform.
Just like Google, Pinterest is a search engine, therefore people find your content based on their searches. Having the right keywords increases your impressions, monthly viewers and most important traffic to your website.
Pinterest Auto-Fill
The first place to look for relevant keywords to help you drive traffic is by using the Pinterest search box.
Type in a broad topic and the auto-fill box will show you the top terms people are searching for in relation to your topic. The example below for productivity shows us that quotes, tips, planner, hacks, etc are all top searches.
This is your first indicator that these topics are popular and great keywords to target.
Pinterest Suggested Keywords
Let’s walk through an example in the Money Niche.
Pinterest search: ‘make money’. I then clicked on ‘fast’, ‘extra cash’.
This is one way to find content ideas and the right keywords to target!
The below keyword list shows in order of most popular searches. As you can see ‘fast’ is the 2nd recommended word Pinterest is using to narrow the search for the user. This is, therefore, a great keyword to target.
General Tips for Selecting Pinterest Keywords:
- As a rule of thumb – the keywords at the beginning of the suggested keywords are the most popular
- Add complimentary descriptive keywords – look at the keyword results list for this
- Include keywords in your Pinterest title and pin description
Related: Pinterest Analytics: What You Should Be Tracking Every Month
*Also, make sure to download your FREE printable Pinterest metrics & optimization worksheets to start tracking your numbers…
Pin Description: What Should You Include?
The biggest question I get from people is “what should I put in my pin description?”
The answer is actually quite simple. Your pin description should be made up of 4 components.
- Keywords
- Compelling, problem-solving copy
- A call to action
- Relevant Hashtags
Let’s get into this in a little more detail.
Pinterest Keywords:
Above we talked about how to find keywords, so let’s now discuss how you should be using them in your descriptions.
- Do not keyword stuff your pin descriptions. You are adding keywords into your descriptions to help Pinterest users find your content in search, but also remember to write the description so it will encourage users to click to your content.
- Target a handful of top keywords and add in a few descriptive terms as well
- Write a different pin description for each different creative. This gives you the opportunity to target various keywords and to see what performs best for you
Compelling, Problem Solving Copy:
When writing your pin descriptions remember that people are actually reading them, so make sure to write your description in a way that is helpful and easily describes your blog post.
Also, make sure you don’t give away all the details in the pin as you want people to click through to find out more.
A Call To Action:
That’s right – in your pin description tell people what you want them to do. You could use some of these examples…
- Download now
- Learn how
- Get the tips
- Try these {enter descriptive keyword here} hacks now
- Give it a try
- Here’s what you need to know
- Read to learn how
- Grab the recipe
The topic of your blog post will help you determine the best call to action for your pin description.
Relevant Hashtags:
There still isn’t a lot of information as to how beneficial Pinterest Hashtags actually are, but here’s my theory…
Since Pinterest has hashtags as a feature why not use it?! They have hashtag capabilities set up for a reason so make sure to add them to your pin descriptions.
Want more help with Pinterest?
Check out my 2020 Pinterest Planner & Strategy Guide
How To Add Pin Descriptions to an Image in WordPress:
I notice many bloggers doing well with Pinterest pin descriptions, but they are forgetting to add the correct pin description to their pinnable image within the blog post.
This is an extremely important step for good Pinterest SEO so that when people are pinning from your blog post the correct pin description will be transferred to the pin on Pinterest.
There are two ways to add a pin description to a pinnable image in WordPress.
1. Add code to the ‘Text’ Tab of the Blog Post
All you need to do is add this code to the image…
data-pin-description=”Pinterest description goes here”
To do this, click on the image in your WordPress blog post editor (to ensure you’ve selected the image) and then click on the text tab in the upper right corner.
You will see that the image code is highlighted. It will look something like this…
Add the data-pin-description=”Pinterest description goes here” after the image size, so it will look something like this…
<a href=”http://fullcircledigital.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Lifestyle-Blog-Post-Ideas-1-1.jpg”><img class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-7901″ src=”http://fullcircledigital.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Lifestyle-Blog-Post-Ideas-1-1.jpg” alt=”100 Blog Post Topics for Lifestyle Bloggers – fullcircledigital.ca” width=”600″ height=”1000″ data-pin-description=”Pinterest description goes here”/></a>
Important! You’ll want to do this to every pinnable image in your blog post and make sure each pin description is different.
Why? By using a different pin description (targeting different keywords) you are telling Pinterest that each pin is unique. You can also test various keywords so you can see which pins perform best.
2. Use the WP Tasty Pins plugin
This plugin is handy if you want a quick and easy way to add your pin descriptions without a lot of fuss or if you are not technically inclined.
Personally, I use the WP Tasty Pins plugin on my lifestyle site (as I have a lot of older posts to update and it’s faster) and I manually add the code on this site. So, do what works for you!
The WP Tasty Pins plugin adds new fields to your Yoast plugin. These fields include:
- Pinterest Title – You can add a unique title here that is different from your blog post title.
- Pin Text – This is where you add your Pinterest description
- Disable Pinning – This is handy if you don’t want people pinning certain images to Pinterest, such as horizontal images that don’t do well on Pinterest.
- Pin Repin ID – I love this feature. You can add the pin ID of your best performing version of a particular pin so that when people pin from your blog post they are actually repinning your best pin and not creating a new pin.
To get the correct pin ID all you need to do is look at the URL of the pin.
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/5981411993761105/
You simply enter the ID into the ‘Pinterest Repin ID’ box that the plugin adds. See below…
Here is a screenshot of what the plugin fields look like:
Pinterest SEO: For Boards, Profile Name & Description
Pinterest Boards
Using keywords in pin descriptions is not the only way to tell Pinterest what your content is about. You can also include the right keywords on your Pinterest boards.
This includes using keywords in:
- The board name title
- The board description
The same way that you search for the best keywords for pin descriptions is the same method for your boards.
You may love creating unique names for your Pinterest boards, but if people aren’t using those terms to search, doing this won’t help you get more viewers and followers.
Pinterest Boards Tip! Make sure your boards are niche as this is how people search – for niche-specific topics. So, if you write a lot about bullet journals, have a board for this. Or if you write a lot about productivity, get more specific and create more niche boards, i.e. Productivity for businesses, Time Management for Moms, etc.
Pinterest Profile
Use your Pinterest profile to describe how you can help your ideal audience and use all of the real estate available to you.
This includes your profile name and profile description.
Think about the content that performs best for you and use those keywords to describe what your account and content is all about.
Pinterest SEO: Final Tip
Pinterest is an art, not a science so I encourage you to test, test, test.
Test various keywords to see what performs for your content. Design multiple different pins for each article or product so you can test what designs get the best click-thru rate.
Here are some details on how to understand your Pinterest metrics so you can optimize your pins in a strategic way.
–
Have Questions on Pinterest SEO?
Ask in the comments below and I’ll get back to you right away!
Related Pinterest Tips & Resources:
- Before Designing New Pinterest Images, Do These 3 Things
- Free Pinterest Pin Templates – Editable in Canva
- How To Get More Pinterest Followers in 10 Simple Steps
-PIN ME-
Thanks! I appreciate every single share 🙂
Thanks Yolanda, great information as always!
Hi Sabrina! Thanks so much. Happy it was useful for you. 🙂
This was a seriously helpful post to read as I’ve spent ALL day today trying to learn more about Pinterest and how to get the most bang for my buck on that platform. It’s helped draw a lot of traffic in the past, but I’d like to see my pins perform even better as I go. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Hey Stephanie – so happy to hear it was helpful for you. Yes! There is a lot to think about with Pinterest, but it is so worth it. Here’s another post that shares some tips for creating pins that perform! https://fullcircledigital.ca/how-to-create-pinterest-pin-designs/ – Take care!
Awesome tips! I need to focus on Pinterest more this year.
Thanks Alix! Good plan, it’s definitely worth it to drive more traffic.
Improving my Pinterest presence is a huge goal of mine this year. This post has given me a list of tasks to-do to get me there!
That’s great to hear Christa! If you ever have any questions feel free to reach out to me 🙂
Oh, I never thought of optimizing the profile description too. That’s such a good tip!
Hey Cristina – Yes! Optimize everywhere you can think of by adding relevant keywords everywhere! 😉
Thanks for all these tips. I’m working on improving my Pinterest this year. As I only started using it last June, it’s a lot to learn and your tips differently help. Thanks
Hi Kathy – thanks so much for the feedback. That’s great that you started using Pinterest as it’s such a great way to drive consistent traffic and grow your audience. All the best!
Such a great post. Everything I need all in one place to optimize my Pinterest for more shares and views. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback Jen! Glad to hear you find it helpful.
This was great thank you! How many pins per post do you recommend? Do you reccomend making each pin description different as well as each pin image?
Hi Amanda! I usually include 2 or 3 in the blog post, but then I create even more that I upload directly to Pinterest. For some posts, I have 10+ pin designs and others less. In general, if a pin is really taking off I’ll create another targeting different keywords. And yes, I use a different pin description for every design. Hope this helps 🙂
When I first started with Pinterest (not so long ago) I realized there was a learning curve and this blog post is an excellent resource. Thanks for making such a comprehensive article so I can learn more about SEO for Pinterest.
Hi Heather, thanks for the feedback! There is definitely a learning curve, but to be successful all you need to focus on is SEO and creating visually appealing, helpful pins. Best of luck and if you ever have questions feel free to reach out!
Pinterest is my main focus this year. I started using Tailwind and it’s great, but after reading your article I think the quick scheduling is making me a touch lazy with finding proper keywords (that’s on me not Tailwind 😉).
Fantastic information – thank you.
Hi Krista! Pinterest is a great place to focus on for traffic growth! Once you get in the habit of doing a little keyword research before publishing a new pin, I promise you’ll be able to do it super quick (5 minutes) – and you’ll really see a difference to your Pinterest metrics!
This is a timely reminder to do things properly.
Great post and loads of useful advice.
Thanks for the feedback Dale! Glad to hear you found the tips helpful 🙂
Extremely helpful tips! I am trying to learn about how to correctly optimize my Pinterest SEO so this helps A LOT. I never knew about the pin descriptions from my blog post! I will definitely have to fix that! Thank you so much!
Hi Pam 🙂 I’m happy you’ll start to add pin descriptions. This will make a big difference when it comes to people finding your content when they are searching on Pinterest!