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The SEO Basics

Before we talk about SEO for Pinterest, let’s go over the basics of Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO.

SEO is essentially understanding what your audience is searching for and then helping them find your content by using keywords and descriptions.

It also means building authority in the vast online space. Building authority means that search engines rank your content higher than others, based on how relevant and useful the search engine deems your content to be.

On Pinterest, using the right keywords and building authority with a solid strategy is a great way to grow your social audience and meet your marketing goals.

It does not take much to optimize your profile, and much of the work you may already be doing intuitively.

Here we are going to discuss how you can boost your Pinterest SEO to increase your exposure and build authority on the web.

But first, let’s see a few statistical facts:

Pinterest Usage Infographic

Ok, let’s get started!

Here is what will be covered in this “SEO for Pinterest” guide.

How to boost your Pinterest SEO

1. Verify your Website

Pinterest seems to prioritize verified websites in the search results above the rest. It increases the pinner’s authority, eventually ranking higher in the search results.

The verification of your website on Pinterest allows you to access further details in Pinterest analytics, which can help you to understand things like the performance of your pins and who your audience is.

  • From your Dashboard click on the 3 dots menu and navigate to Settings.
  • On your settings page, scroll down until you see the Claim section.
  • Enter your website in the Claim your website field and click the red Claim button.
Claim Your Website On Pinterest

Pinterest will generate a snippet of code that you will need to add to your websites.

You also have the option to download a file and upload it to your site via an FTP client. If this is too technical for you, send it to your web developer or a friend who is good with tech.

Verifying your website is definitely important and will improve your SEO for Pinterest.

2. Optimize your profile

Pick the right username.

  • Still on the Settings page, scroll down until you see the Username field. By default, you should see random numbers and letters. Clean those default letters and numbers and put your company name.
  • If you do not wish to use your company name or if it is taken, it is a good idea to use keywords. Choose a clear and memorable username so that Pinterest knows what your account is about and can rank it with similar content.

3. Link to other social media accounts

Linking your Pinterest to your other social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter helps to increase your authority. By linking the accounts, the authority you have on these other social media sites rubs off on your Pinterest account.

Having linked accounts makes it really easy for people to find you on these other social channels. They also share information back and forth.

  • Head to your Pinterest account settings.
  • Scroll down to the Social Networks section.
  • Here you will see which social accounts your Pinterest account is linked to.
  • Simply click to connect each account. Pinterest will redirect you to log in to your Facebook or Twitter account via a pop-up window, so make sure you are allowing popups from this site.
  • Log in to your accounts and give Pinterest access to connect.
Connect To Social Networks

4. Install Pin it buttons

Encouraging users to pin your content from your website helps boost your content on the platform. The more pins you get, the higher your authority and the higher your posts will rank.

  • Head to the Widget Builder tool to create your web buttons.
  • Choose which button you want from the list. Save, Follow, Pin, Board, or Profile.
  • Answer the various questions, i.e.: button type, custom image, round/large, language, etc.
  • You will see your preview to the right. Beneath the preview is your code.
  • Copy and paste this code into the page on your website where you want it to appear.
Pinterest Widget Builder

For WordPress Users:

If you are a WordPress user and want to simplify the process by Plug-ins, we recommend installing and configuring the following.

  • Social Warfare – Offers advanced options. You might have to upgrade to the Pro version for more features. The only downside to this plugin is that it installs the Pin buttons on the entire site, you can not exclude pages as of this writing.
  • jQuery Pin It Button for Images – You might also want to check out this one, it’s a great plug-in and gives you a lot of features.

This may seem difficult, but it is actually quite simple and very important.

Once you start browsing other blogs with your Pinterest glasses on, you will notice this button a lot on other people’s blogs.

5. Know your keywords

This cannot be emphasized enough. Get to know your keywords with a tool like Google Adwords Keyword Planner. (If you prefer Moz Keyword Explorer, please read this article on how to use this tool.)

You can also use Google Autofill to see what other people are searching for.

Google Autofill

This works on Pinterest as well. Simply start typing something into the search bar and see what fills in.

Pinterest Autofill

How to use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool

  • Login to your Google Adwords account, from your dashboard click Tools from the top menu.
  • The first option you should see on this page is the Keyword Planner, click.
The Keyword Planner Tool
  • You will see two options, Find new keywords and Get search volume and forecasts.
  • Choose the Find new keywords option.
  • Add your website to the website field.
  • Click Get Ideas to see a list of keywords based on the content of your website.

Once you have a list of relevant keywords, take the top keywords and add them to your content calendar or brainstorming sheet. These keywords will help you to start brainstorming fresh content for your site.

Keywords are what people are searching for, and they are usually in search of answers. Begin writing blog posts and content aimed at answering these questions, create Pinnable images for your content and start pinning them.

Don’t forget to use your keywords in your Pin description as well as the title of your pin to increase your authority and rank.

How to use Pinterest Explore

Pinterest recently retired its explore page, however, you can still find trending ideas and searches that will help you find and choose the best keywords.

Here’s how:

  • Head to your Profile home page.
  • Click on the search bar as if you’re about to type something in.
  • You will notice towards the bottom a list of trending searches. These are the things that people are searching for the most. For example, around Christmas time you might see that Christmas Cookies is a trending search. Use this information to guide you in your keyword research and plan to create new content based on what people are searching for.
Pinterest Trending Search

6. Where to use keywords on Pinterest

Just as important as knowing which keywords to use, it is equally important to know where to use them.

Here is a list of places to use your keywords on Pinterest.

  1. Pin title
  2. Pin description
  3. Board name

The most important thing to remember about Pinterest is that it acts as a search engine, just like Google, except it is a visual search engine. The best way to increase your authority and optimize SEO for Pinterest is to create exceptional, useful content based on what people are searching for. Build your content around trending searches and use your keywords effectively as outlined above.

Images act like shortcuts to our brains, and that is why visuals are so powerful. – Ekaterina Walter

7. SEO for Pinterest boards

Creating relevant, niche-specific boards helps you organize your content and also helps Pinterest figure out what your content is about.

Boards are another important place to use keywords. For example, if you are in the web development industry, you might create boards such as ‘Coding’ and ‘Web Design’. These are niche-specific and keyword-rich boards.

Here is a list of important places to use your keywords to improve SEO for Pinterest boards.

  1. Board title
  2. Board description
  3. Pin title/descriptions of the content that you are pinning to this board

8. Increase Followers

Increasing your followers will help to build up your rank and authority on the platform by exposing your content to more viewers each month.

One way to increase your followers is to install the Follow button on your site. Do this by following the steps to install Pin it buttons outlined earlier in this article, from the Developer’s widget builder guide.

Installing this Follow button will encourage your readers to follow you on Pinterest, thereby increasing your reach and helping to build authority.

9. Create Unique and Effective Pins

It is important to understand the types of Pins that are effective and make people want to click them. Having great content means nothing if people are not finding it in search results and are intrigued enough to click through to it.

Here are ways to figure out what types of pins people like.

  • Type in your browser’s address bar https://www.pinterest.com/source/google.com/ <— replace the google.com with your domain name.
  • The system will show you the top and latest pins that have been pinned from your website.
  • Use this information to understand which of your pins are working and which aren’t.
  • Be sure to check your links and make sure that Pinterest isn’t sending your viewers expired or outdated content.

Another way to see what types of pins people like is to simply see what kinds of pins come up first when you search for something on Pinterest.

Because the search system prioritizes authority content, it returns the best and most relevant pins at the top of the search results.

Study these images and use them as a guide to help you create your pinnable images.

Also, be sure to check out your Analytics to study which pins get the most engagement and get overall profile insights.

10. Set up Rich Pins

Rich pins pull structure data from your website and display it on the platform. This really helps boost your Pinterest SEO, as well as improve your results on Google and other search engines.

This site has everything you need to know about Rich Pins. As you scroll through, click on the links to see examples of different Rich Pins.

These are really useful.

  • Click on Get Started
  • You will be redirected to the developer’s website
  • Here you will find step-by-step instructions on how to set up rich pins

Bonus Tip:

If you are looking for a way to automate some of your tasks, Tailwind is a great tool for this.

Tailwind is a Pinterest verified scheduling tool (meaning that Pinterest won’t penalize you for using it to schedule and pin your content for you). Tailwind is a really great way to grow your account.

You can use Tailwind to schedule pins for the entire month, and let it work for you while you spend your time on other tasks.

Tailwind also has a Tribes feature, which allows you to connect with other people in your niche. Connecting with others in the same industry will help to increase your reach and authority on the platform.

There is no magic bullet when it comes to Pinterest SEO, but there are very real, obtainable strategies that, when implemented correctly and continuously will help you grow your brand’s reach and influence.

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