8 Seo Benefits Of Pinterest In Your Web Presence

Originally posted on August 27, 2014; Updated on August 27, 2021

When Pinterest came onto the scene in 2010, it didn’t take long for the online pin board style social media platform to gain popularity. Pinterest was (and still is!) a place to save or “pin” your ideas and information in a digital space, rather than magazine clippings on a corkboard. While it started as a virtual vision board, it’s actually a visual search engine! 89% of users are on Pinterest for purchase inspiration. Pinterest boasts 450 million active users, versus the measly 10 million we had reported in 2014! And it is still projected to grow. How can Pinterest help your SEO and grow your online presence? Here are 8 ways, according to your Edmonton SEO company. Call us today for a free digital marketing checkup!

1. Google

Pinterest content is being crawled and indexed by Google, therefore it will impact your SEO rankings. Think of it as an opportunity to outrank a competitor for a keyword. If you are pinning on behalf of your organization, take the time to optimize Pinterest photo comments with important keyword phrases. If you have control over image file names when originally published, take the time to optimize photo descriptions for keywords as well.

2. Backlinks & Referrals

Every image pinned to a Pinterest board has a link back to its original published source. These are valuable backlinks and can provide referral traffic as well. Capitalize on this. Posting your product and service images and videos is a great place to start. However, keep in mind that it’s important to avoid being blatantly self-promotional – remember to provide value to your audience by sharing quality content that is relevant to their interests and worth liking, commenting on, and re-pinning.

3. The Pinterest Search Box

We have referred to Pinterest as a visual search engine. Pinterest users (or pinners) use the search box to look for products and ideas. An interesting stat from Sprout Social’s 2021 Pinterest study states that 97% of searches conducted on the platform are NOT brand related, so pay attention to the keywords you are using in your pin titles and descriptions in order to show up in Pinterest searches.

4. Web Presence

Pinterest is yet another web presence point. Simple as that. Just like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google My Business, Pinterest has gained enough momentum and significance that it may be time to consider including it in your business’ marketing strategy, depending on your industry of course.

5. Content

Pinterest is unique because it is the only social media site focused solely on sharing images. You likely do not have to go far to find an inventory of photos, graphics and videos in your organization. For example, design and architecture firms have projects, real estate agents have listings, product companies have products, services companies such as vacation and leisure have snap shots of places, artists have art, sports-related companies have action shots, non-profits have people and places and event pictures, technology companies have conferences and infographics, and so on. Get creative and start thinking about how to build your inventory of photos.

6. Social Signals

We know that social signals are factored into Google’s organic search algorithms. Pinterest provides yet another opportunity for your visitors, prospects and customers to generate social signals (Tweets, Likes, Shares, and now Pins). Social signals indicate to Google that people want to socialize your content with people they have relationships with, which signals that your content is relevant.

7. Competitors

Depending on your industry and particularly in home improvement and consumable goods, your competitors are likely using Pinterest already. This is a grand enough reason to get started. But better yet, if they are not, you can take advantage of the situation and start building out your Pinterest presence before they do.

8. Pinterest is Still Growing

Pinterest’s user base grew by 25% from 2019 and is not stopping! While there are users from all generations using the platform, it is particularly growing in popularity among the Millennial and Gen Z populations (people aged 40 and under). If you are wanting to market to a younger crowd, Pinterest is definitely for you!

 Not only is the user base rapidly expanding, but the number of users using Pinterest for shopping purposes grew by 50% in the first half of 2020! (Thanks, Covid!) Since the point of Pinterest is to share ideas and inspiration, its not really surprising that the content on Pinterest has inspired online shopping. Not to mention, all pins link back to a website, so it makes shopping directly from Pinterest seamless.

Start Winning by Pinning!

Pinterest users are 3 times more likely to click on a brands’ website from a pin than on any other social media platform! With literally billions of potential customers searching on Pinterest, it is a platform that you can’t afford to ignore. To discuss your overall digital marketing strategy, and how Pinterest may fit into it, get in touch with Smart WSI Marketing today!

Lynne Motkoski, Marketing Strategist

Specialty: Online Marketing Strategies
Education: MA Communications & Technology, BComm [U Alberta]
Author: The Online Marketing Handbook for Busy Entrepreneurs (coming soon)

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Lynne is known for her strategic approach to marketing communications, technologies, and lead generation. She has a passion for education, keeping up with current marketing trends and practices, and helping clients keep ahead of their competition.

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