Optimizing Pinterest To Work for Your Brand

Looking for ways to make Pinterest work for your blog or biz? Is Pinterest good for SEO? Find out how optimizing Pinterest can work hard for your brand in this post.

In my opinion, my Pinterest account is my biggest asset when it comes to blogging.

If you are in niches related to fitness, DIY, frugal-living, food, mommy stuff, shopping, home and garden, and business or blogging, the same can be true of your Pinterest account.

You just have to know how to optimize Pinterest so that it works to your advantage.

Note: This post was written a few months ago but I just decided to publish it recently. 🙂

I have spoken to many bloggers who felt “stuck” in a spot where growth isn’t happening, but they feel overwhelmed with the idea of a serious social media strategy.

Because of that, I get questions about optimizing Pinterest all of the time. I see it in blogger Facebook groups and I even get emails about it.

I have so far come across bloggers who are on every end of the spectrum. I get a ton of questions.

They range from, “What is Pinterest good for?” to “How do I optimize my business for Pinterest?”

There’s a huge spectrum here. People who have no clue how you’d ever use Pinterest for business to people who are ready to go for it.

I know it can be overwhelming. There are so many different social media platforms to use – and so many different pieces of advice on how to use them.

It’s easy to put a little effort into 4 or 5 different platforms and not see any results. I suggest picking one or two platforms to master instead. Not sure where to start?

NO WORRIES, I’M HERE TO HELP YOU OPTIMIZE PINTEREST!

Obviously, I recommend starting with optimizing Pinterest. I strategically took my last blog from zero to 30,000 page views in just three months – so I know my strategy works. It’s working now on Ironwild Fitness.

(Now I’m at 55,000 page views, so yes my Pinterest SEO tips work.)

This strategy has been applied since mid-April 2017. I’m writing this post on April 30th, 2017. I started optimizing Pinterest with these strategies TWO weeks ago and I’m already seeing this beautiful upward trend in traffic.

Psst! I’m using this blog to reach my fitness goals and make money online. (Find out how in this post.) Then see how you can start your own blog here.

There are no signs that those numbers are going to do anything but increase. The numbers may seem humble to some, but any traffic is a good amount of traffic for a domain name that’s existed for two weeks.

Can you guess how I got the biggest chunk of my traffic? Pinterest!

Optimizing Pinterest is a real and legitimate marketing strategy for many bloggers. Pinterest is already my number one referrer, and I doubt that will change anytime soon. Why?

Because Pinterest is my specialty – I have completely optimized my Pinterest account. I have made small but intentional changes that have really added up. I have developed a strategy and am constantly trying new things.

You can, too. So let’s get to my Pinterest SEO tips + figuring out how to optimize your account for business.

Today I’m going to give you some simple step-by-step instructions that will help you optimize your own Pinterest account. Some steps are more time-consuming than others, but everything here is super simple.

Work your way through the list, give it a little time, and watch your Pinterest account really start working for you.

Related Reading: 25 Free Ways to Boost Your Blog Traffic

Note: You have to follow through on all of the steps to see the results you’re looking for. This is part one of my Pinterest strategy, if you get through this I’ll give you the second half. Sorry, no short-cuts here.

Don’t have time to get it all done now? NO WORRIES! Don’t overwhelm yourself. P.S. This post contains an affiliate link.

Optimizing Pinterest Step-By-Step

Step 1: Sign up for a Pinterest business account.

If you already have Pinterest, make sure it is converted to a business account if you didn’t start out with one. You’ll be able to feature more information and build your brand reputation more easily. Plus, you’ll have the chance to use ads if you want to later down the road.

Step 2: Delete boards that have nothing to do with your niche.

Pinterest has it’s own algorithm. To use it to your advantage, you don’t want it to be confused about your featured topics and trends. Delete random boards. Make any unrelated boards you can’t stand to delete “secret.”

Step 3: Fill boards with less than 10 pins.

Fill all boards with relevant pins from your blog or others. (I make mine with Canva.) Boards with less than 10 pins won’t be favorable to Pinterest. If you can’t find things to fill a particular board with, delete the whole board.

Step 4: Update all board descriptions.

Each board needs to have a category and feature a keyword-rich description. If your board is about “frugal living,” make your description include words and phrases like, “save money,” “budget,” etc.

Step 5: Make sure your pins have a description, too.

The more keywords related to the blog post, the better. More people will find your pins if you use more keywords. Note: We are starting to see the use of hashtags on Pinterest, too.

Step 6: Make a board dedicated to your blog posts.

I post all of my pins for each blog post to this source board. They get pinned to other boards after that.

Make your own source board and pin all of your blog post pins there. Make sure this source board is at the top of your board list.

Step 7: Update your own pins.

Each pin you create should be vertical and Pinterest-friendly. Use up to two fonts and make it super easy to read. I make all of my pins on Canva and use LibreStock to find free legal images.

Delete any pins or images that don’t fit the mold.

Step 8: Join as many relevant group boards as possible.

Ask bloggy friends for invites or use PinGroupie to find group boards and request invites. “Please” and “Thank You” go a long way here. I usually send a message within Pinterest for these requests, but sometimes regular email is necessary.

Step 9: Follow Pinterest users interested in your niche.

Follow other Pinterest users regularly. (Follow me here.)

To find people who are more likely to engage with your content, find other bloggers in your niche then follow their followers. I do this almost every day and have gained almost 4,000 followers in 4 months.

Step 10: Increase your pinning.

Repin your pins and those of others more often. I repin at about a 1:3 ratio. For every one of my own pins that I repin, I pin two others. Do this more each day or sign up for Tailwind to have it done for you.

Now that you’re done optimizing Pinterest to work for you, it’s time to set it up for major growth.

For the second part of my strategy, you’ll need to join Tailwind (affiliate link) to increase your visibility on Pinterest. (First month is free.) So go sign up and stay tuned for more! We’re gearing up for some serious strategy!

READY TO START YOUR OWN BLOG? THIS TUTORIAL IS FOR YOU!

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