According to Hootsuite research conducted in 2022 ; Pinterest is the 14th most used social media application in the world.
In order to stand out in this application, we need to reach a wider audience. Pinterest SEO strategies are important for this. Let's look at what can be done in terms of SEO on this platform, which has 450 million monthly active users in 2023.
What is Pinterest SEO?
There are currently 4 main factors in terms of SEO for Pinterest. These are:
Domain Quality: Pinterest ranks your pins based on the quality of your site and the popularity of pins linked to your website.
Pin Quality: This is the metric that evaluates the quality of your pin based on its popularity and engagement (example: comments the pin receives).
Pinner Quality: A metric that measures the overall activity and engagement of your Pinterest account.
Relevance: This is the metric that measures the relevance of the keywords used in the pin to the search intent.
Quality scores are very important here. Because; Pinterest homepage uses an algorithm called Smart Feed. This algorithm shows users posts that are relevant to them, and the posts are ranked according to their quality score.
Basically, we can say that SEO metrics on Pinterest are largely dependent on interactions and shares.
There are a few important points that Pinterest prioritizes content with these metrics. These are:
Writing in the biography section of the website and approval of the website
Pinterest prioritizes pins created by a website owner, so verifying the website can help pins rank higher in search results.
Make sure your website is verified on your Pinterest account. An image of a verified Pinterest account is as follows.
Creating a Pin
One specific thing to consider when creating your Pins is optimizing the image filename. Similar to optimizing an image for Google search, make sure to set the filename to a relevant keyword before uploading your images to Pinterest.
Another very important tool for Pinterest SEO is image descriptions. You should use descriptive and relevant keywords about the image you pin. This will increase the likelihood that your pins will appear when a user searches for your keyword phrase on Pinterest.
You can use hashtags on your pins to get more visibility.
Creating a board
Although board names are allowed up to 100 characters, anything beyond 40 characters can be deleted depending on the device used. For this reason, it is important that it is simple, understandable and suitable for your content.
The number of characters allowed in the description section for boards is 500. This field is not used for users to see and read, but for Pinterest to measure relevance. The description field is important to help Pinterest perceive relevance and target the right user. Be sure to create a description that also uses long-tail keywords that can be targeted on each board.
Using a relevant and eye-catching cover photo will also be beneficial for the user to understand what the boards are about. While using relevant visual choices and cover photos with the same design language for each board, you can provide a better experience for users by making sure that the board title is written in the photo.
Another advantage of creating a board is that it brings together similar/same type of content and makes it more accessible to your target audience.
You may want to use group boards to get more views. You can overseas chinese in uk data collaborate on a group board with an account that you find useful with its Pinterest follower count.
Another benefit of interacting with other and similar accounts is that you become a recommended profile for their followers. This way, you can reach more users.
Fixing pins to the created board
For Pinterest, pins will appear in relation to the board they are pinned to. This is how Pinterest ensures that pins appear in the right searches.
Pay attention to visual aspect ratio
Shared images must use an aspect ratio of 2:3. Pinterest may remove pins with a larger aspect ratio from users’ feeds.
For detailed information about Pinterest's recommended sizes, you can use the link here .
Video content creation
Video content, which has become popular on many other platforms, is also very important for Pinterest. According to Pinterest algorithms, video content is prioritized.
According to Pinterest's statement in 2021, Pinterest users watch approximately 1 billion videos every day.
Sharing should be done regularly at certain intervals.
Sharing at regular intervals and sharing during prime time is important for gaining more visibility.
It would be better for you to share 10 times in 5 days regularly instead of 50 shares at once. Evening hours and break times are the most suitable hours for sharing.
You can make sure that the posts are regular and include video posts.
Startup Settings
After touching on the points that Pinterest attaches importance to, let's take a look at what we can do when it comes to creating a Pinterest account.
Creating a Business Account
If you want to actively use Pinterest to drive more traffic to your website, it is recommended that you create a business account on Pinterest. This will allow you to edit the header of your profile.
With your Pinterest business account, you can access analytics data and learn the amount of views and clicks your posts receive with this data. You can also take advantage of ad publishing features. The generally preferred ad type is the featured pin.
Another important advantage of a business account is the ability to create rich pins. With rich pins, you can automatically synchronize information from your website with your pins.
Profile Optimization
When you create a profile on Pinterest, you choose two different names: a display name and an account name. The account name is a standard requirement. However, you should optimize the display name as best you can.
The bio section is an area that can make your profile stand out. You should include as many relevant keywords and a call to action as possible in this area.
Previously, social media accounts could be associated with your Pinterest account, but the social media account claim feature is no longer active . Instead, if you don't want to build your followers from scratch, you can share the updates on your Pinterest account with your users on social media platforms.
Perhaps the most important thing about profile optimization is that your profile is crawlable. If you want search engines to come to your Pinterest profile, make sure that the Search privacy field in the "Privacy and data" section of your Pinterest profile settings is not checked .
Competitor Reviews
According to the Pinterest SEO metrics we mentioned above and the things to consider when sharing on Pinterest, we can examine our competitors' profiles and list our actions. There are a few methods we can use when examining competitors. These are:
Reviewing Competitor's Pinterest Profile
You can evaluate the image choice your competitor uses as the cover photo.
You can also check how many pins they have shared so far and how many followers they have.
In order to evaluate what your competitors care about differently than you, you can examine the styles used in their pins (fonts, effects, etc.).
What your competitor includes in the pin description section of their posts and whether hashtags are used are also among the points that need to be evaluated.
Finally, the competitor's sharing and video content sharing frequency can be examined.
Reviews Performed with Ahrefs
You can see how many different backlinks your competitor's Pinterest account currently has from different domains using tools like Ahrefs. You can access the organic keywords your competitor is listed on with their Pinterest page. You can determine your strategies accordingly.
You can access which boards your competitor gets the most traffic from, the titles and search volumes of these boards. You can use the outputs you get from here to guide your strategies.
Reviews Conducted by Similarweb
You can check Pinterest's share of traffic your website and your competitor's website get from social media channels with Similarweb.
You can measure the success of your Pinterest SEO efforts here.
Summary
You can gain various benefits as a result of the Pinterest SEO suggestions and competitor reviews we listed above.
For example; with your content listed on Google as both your Pinterest account and your website, you can be displayed on the SERP with 2 different results for the same search. This allows you to have more space than your competitors and has a positive effect on CTR.
In summary; Thanks to Pinterest SEO work, you can attract organic traffic to your site for free. Then, you can direct this traffic as you wish with calls to action.
Another important point you should know is that 85% of Pinterest users have stated that they use their mobile apps. For this reason, don't forget that making your own site mobile-friendly will give you an advantage.
