Imagine a social media platform married a search engine and had a baby… that baby would be Pinterest.
And many people are using Pinterest to drive traffic to their websites or blogs organically. To drive traffic with Pinterest, you’re not only getting traffic, but you’re also getting people interested in the specific topic your website is about.
Plus, despite being the third-largest social network in the US, many people are not using it to drive traffic to their blogs or websites, which means competition is much lower than the likes of Facebook, Youtube, or Instagram.
How Does Pinterest Work?
Pinterest is a mix between a social media platform and a search engine.
Users post ‘Pins’ which are simply images with a title, description, and link.
You then create ‘Boards’, which are like categories or groups. These allow you to save Pins to an idea or concept. For example, I may have a board, on my personal account, for men’s fashion ideas, travel ideas, or recipes I want to cook.
I can then search for Pins that fit with that idea and save or ‘Pin’ what I like to my respective boards.
Pinterest will then also suggest to me ideas for that board based on what it’s called and what I’ve already pinned to it.
I also have a suggestions page, which Pinterest suggests Pins they think I like based on what I’ve already pinned in the past.
Each Pin linked to a website or web page. For example, a recipe Pin may link to the recipe. A pin based on how to drive traffic using Pinterest may link to a blog post like this (I hope you’re beginning to see that power of Pinterest now!)
How to Drive Traffic With Pinterest – Step By Step
The idea behind driving traffic to your website or blog with Pinterest is to create several Pins for your blog posts or website, and then pin to specific boards.
Throughout this post, I’m going to take you step-by-step through the process of setting up a Pinterest Business Account, how to create and optimize your pins, and strategies you should use in order to succeed with driving traffic using Pinterest. I will finish off with tops tips, including an online tool you should consider using that will automate a lot of this process for you and save tons of time and energy.
I have also linked to Youtube videos I think help will help you along the way. As a disclaimer, these are not my videos, and I have linked to the Youtube Channel of the person that created it (not only for credit, but it may be beneficial for you to check them out).
So, without further ado, let’s get started!
Step 1 – Sign Up For A Business Account
Not only are you not allowed to use Personal Accounts for promotional or commercial reasons, converting your account to a Business account allows you to do so much more, such as confirming your website, enabling Rich Pins, and creating ads. They also provide you with analytics on your pins, which can be very useful to learn what Pins do well.
Getting a Pinterest Business Account is simple. I would recommend setting up a new account for this, instead of converting your private one to a business one.
Regardless, find up to date information here on how you can set up or convert your Pinterest account to a business account.
Below is also a video that will walk you through both this step and the next step of setting up your profile. It was created by Whitney Bonds, who creates videos on many of the same topics I write about (so if you are interested in this website, perhaps check her out too!).
Step 2 – Set Up Your Boards and Profile
Now you have a Business Account, the next step is to set up your profile.
As mentioned in the video above, you want to ensure that you do the following:
- Claim Your Website
- Add a profile picture (of your face, preferably)
- Change and fill out your username and ‘about’ section (this is a great opportunity to add keywords for SEO purposes)
You then want to set up your boards. I recommend you have 10-15 boards to start with. So break your website down into smaller sub-niches.
For example, if I was setting up boards for this website, I would probably set up these boards: active income, career advancement, semi-passive income, passive income, affiliate marketing, saving, budgeting, investing, real estate, stocks, financial independence and retire early.
Then, you want to Pin at least 10 Pins to each board.
You should NOT only Pin your own Pins. Pinterest wants to see you engaging with others and Pinning/saving other people’s Pins. I will cover this in more detail in Step 5, but essentially, aim to Pin 3-4 other Pins for every Pin you create and post yourself. That way, you don’t come across as spammy.
So, now let’s discuss Pin creation.
Step 3 – Create Pinnable Images
Pinterest is all about Pins.
As mentioned before, these are images that link to content elsewhere on the internet.
Here is an example of a ‘Pin’.
They are designed to draw attention and can be an image, an infographic, a group of images, or more recently, a video.
To create your Pins, I recommend using a tool such as Canva. The best thing about using Canva is that they already have a template you can use (as a template or for inspiration).
Browse Pinterest to see what draws your attention. I recommend pinning those you like on your personal account so that you can use them for inspiration later on.
When designing your Pins, you want to make sure you keep the following in mind:
- Keep to a ratio of 2:3 (and nothing smaller than 600:900)
- Make sure what you are pinning is interesting
- Keep bright and colorful
- Use text
- But avoid hard-to-read text, such as script fonts
- Make sure all text is visible; keep it short and sweet
- Don’t give everything away; give people a reason to click
Watch the video below, which walks you through how to create great Pins. It was created by Anastasia Blogger, who uses Pinterest to drive thousands and thousands of people to her blog every day. She has also created a number of other videos on Pinterest, as well as her Pinterest strategy, so be sure to check her out as well!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRjmSBbKm2g&t=0s
Step 4 – Pay Attention to Your Title and Description
As mentioned above, you need to keep in mind that Pinterest is a search engine as well. People will search for what they want, and you want your pins to show up in those results.
Therefore, make sure you include keywords in your Pin title and description.
That is not to say throw keywords in for no reason (known as keyword stuffing). You want it to read naturally and the keywords need to be relevant. Otherwise, you will be seen as a spammer and your account will be blocked, and you don’t want that.
Also, make sure to include a ‘call-to-action’. For example, ‘click on the image to find out the 19 best passive income ideas to stop trading your time for money’.
There are no fast and hard rules when it comes to writing the perfect pin title and description, so experiment and see what works.
And remember, you have 500 characters for the description, so make them count!
Step 5 – Plan Your Pinning Strategy
Right, now you know what Pinterest and Pinning is all about, now you need to plan your strategy of what you are going to pin and when.
Now, there are no fast and hard rules with Pinterest. It’s more try and see what works and do more of what works.
However, consistency is key. You need to be pinning every day, and most people suggest 4-5 pins a day.
You also should not Pin all of your own content, as that will flag Pinterest’s spam filter and most likely get you banned. You want to pin other people’s stuff as well. The best ratio I have seen is 1 of your own pins to 3-4 of other people’s Pins. So aim to pin something of your own once a day, and also pin 3-4 other pins from your suggestions each day.
Now, I realize this can be very time-intensive, but trust me (and everyone in the videos on this page)… it’s worth every second.
You can save time with Tailwind, a tool I’ve covered more in the final top tip. But even if you do use a tool like this, make sure you log in manually every couple of days or so and save a few pins manually, just so that Pinterest doesn’t see you as a spammer and block your account.
And that’s about it, really. Now for my top 3 tips on Pinterest Marketing and maximizing your reach on the platform.
Top Tips For Driving Traffic With Pinterest
Keep Going
It will take time to see results on Pinterest. There is a cumulative effect. So it’s important not to give up.
Make sure you give it an adequate amount of time before you change things up, too.
I’d say it would take up to six months to begin seeing results, so give it time.
Ensure Your Readers Can Pin Your Images and Posts
As mentioned in Anatasia’s video above, you want to include your Pin image on your webpage and make it easy for people to pin the image. You can do this by embedding social share buttons into your blog post or webpage.
If you are using WordPress, there are many plugins that do just that. I personally use Monarch, which is part of the Elegant Themes package, but ‘Social Media Share Buttons’ is a good free alternative.
Save Time And Energy with Tailwind
Tailwind is an online tool, or rather a group of tools, that allows you to schedule Pins in advance and better analyze their stats.
SmartScheduler, for example, analyses the most engaging time to post your Pins and schedules them to post at just the right time for maximum effect.
Tailwind Create allows you to create Pins specifically optimized for Pinterest.
Their browser extension allows you to create and schedule pins easily through your browser as you go about your day.
SmartLoop also allows you to repin specific pins regularly, to boost their reach over time.
And lastly, Tailwind Tribes allows you to join group boards and accelerate your growth and traffic by collorabting with others.
Now, I can go on all day about Tailwind, but it’s better for you to see it in action.
I’m going to show you two different videos here, both people I highly recommend you check out also if you are interested in marketing your website using Pinterest.
The first is from Cathrin Manning.
The second is from Heather Farris.
Both of these creators are incredibly successful and knowledgeable about Pinterest Marketing and are extremely generous with what they share.
Once again, click here to learn more about Tailwind.
So that about covers it! Make sure to look at some of the other posts on this website, as they will help you to build a comprehensive and successful marketing strategy and business, as it’s not the wisest decision to base your marketing solely on one platform. I also write generally about business and financial independence, so I’m sure you will find something else of interest here.
Take care and go be successful!
