How Pinterest SEO Actually Works In 2024 📈(Full Guide)

Pinterest SEO comes down to optimizing your content to match user search intent and interest. This means optimizing your pins, boards, profile, website, and account activity to boost relevance in Pinterest’s algorithm. Focus on high-quality content that solves user needs, natural language optimization, enough keyword usage without stuffing, lots of saves and engagement signals. Follow proper metadata optimization and keep optimizing over time.

Pinterest is unique because it operates as both a visual search engine and a social media platform. That means in order to understand Pinterest SEO, you need to optimize content for both search discovery and social engagement.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about optimizing for Pinterest in 2024, including:

How content gets discovered in 3 main ways:

• Home feed
• Search
• Watch tab

Key factors Pinterest’s algorithm considers for relevance:

• Domain quality
• Profile quality
• Topic relevance
• Pin quality

Step-by-step guides to optimize:

• Pins
• Boards
• Profile
• Website

Advanced tactics:

• Link building
• Keyword research
• Analyzing metrics
• Content strategy

And much more…

By the end, you’ll have a complete understanding of how to improve visibility and engagement for your brand on Pinterest using the latest SEO best practices.

Recommended Pinterest Marketing Agency

If you’re looking to leverage Pinterest SEO to build a sustainable traffic source, hire a professional agency. If you ask me to recommend one, I’ll recommend Pin Operator any day.

The co-founder Shahe is a Mediavine publisher himself who leveraged Pinterest SEO to build sustainable online businesses. I got an email a few days ago from them how they have grown a client’s pinterest account from 0 to 10 million monthly views using Pinterest SEO.

The client was earning over $5K/mo from organic Pinterest traffic as shown in their case study which is awesome!

How Does Discovery Work on Pinterest?

Before we dive into specifics around Pinterest SEO, it’s important to understand the 3 main ways content gets discovered on the platform.

1. Home Feed

The home feed shows recommended pins personalized for each user based on their previous engagement, interests, follows, and other signals. It works similarly to the main feed on other social platforms like Instagram.

Pinterest refers to this as the “For You” feed on mobile devices.

The goal is to show users more of what they have liked before to keep them engaged. For marketers, this means optimizing content to match user intent and interest is key.

2. Search Results

The second way content gets discovered is directly from search queries.

Over 200 million monthly searches occur on Pinterest from people looking for ideas around cooking, fashion, home decor, DIY projects, and much more.

When a user searches for something like “small bathroom remodel ideas”, they will see a tailored set of pins in the results.

This makes Pinterest function as a visual search engine. Optimizing for search is crucial for discovery here.

And there are 5 different types of search on Pinterest:

• All Pins
• Videos
• Boards
• Profiles
• Products

We’ll cover how to optimize for each later on.

3. Watch Tab

The watch tab features video pins and ideapins personalized to user interests, similar to TikTok.

This is only available on mobile currently.

While video is still smaller on Pinterest compared to static pins, it is growing. Ensuring your video content is optimized for discovery in the watch feed is important.

Editor’s Note: The key insight here is that Pinterest serves content to users in 3 primary ways — their home feed, search results, and the watch tab. By optimizing content for all 3 pathways, you maximize discoverability potential. We’ll cover specific optimization tactics for each in detail next.

Key Factors: What Does Pinterest Consider for Relevance?

Pinterest’s goal is to match the most relevant and useful content to each search query and user interest. This increases engagement and enhances the user experience.

But how does Pinterest determine what’s “relevant”? Which signals matter most?

There are 4 main factors that influence relevance in ranking:

1. Domain Quality

While Pinterest hasn’t publicly stated specific guidelines around domain quality, we can extrapolate based on what they require for eCommerce sites to advertise products:

• Domain registered for over 9 months
• No excessive popups/interstitials
• Good technical performance (page speed)
• Secure HTTPS website
• High-quality content (good grammar, formatting, images etc.)
• Clear business information and policies

Ensuring your website meets these quality standards will help establish domain authority and relevance in Pinterest’s eyes.

2. Profile Quality

Your Pinterest profile is a significant factor for relevance.

Signals Pinterest likely considers include:

• Completeness level (% of profile filled out)
• Number of boards
• Followers and engagement rates
• Consistency and quality of pinning activity

Properly optimizing your profile is crucial, which we’ll cover more later on.

3. Topic Relevance

This refers to how closely your pins and destination sites align with user search intent and interest.

For example, if someone searches “healthy dinner recipes”, and your pin for “chocolate chip cookie recipe” shows up, that’s low relevance.

Whereas a pin showcasing a new quinoa salad recipe would have high topic relevance.

4. Pin Quality

Pin quality measures how useful and engaging your pins are to Pinterest’s community based on signals like saves, clicks, dwell time, and more.

High-quality pins solve user needs and provide value. Low-quality pins focus solely on driving traffic without consideration for the user experience.

Here are a few key pin quality factors Pinterest likely considers:

Saves — The #1 signal. More saves = higher quality score.

Click-through rate — Are people clicking from the pin to your site?

Engagements — Comments, reactions, repins.

Dwell time — How long do people stay on your site after clicking?

External links — Does your pin link externally to a useful webpage?

By improving these metrics, your pins will be seen as more relevant in search results and recommendations.

Let’s now dive into specific tactics to optimize each area — starting with pins!

Step-by-Step: How to Optimize Pins for Pinterest SEO

Optimizing your pins is arguably the most important Pinterest SEO task, since they are the primary discovery unit on the platform.

Here is a step-by-step checklist to optimize pins:

Choose a Relevant Keyword

The first step is choosing a relevant keyword to create your pin around so it has the best chance of ranking.

For example, let’s say we run a DIY craft site for moms and want to create a pin related to crocheting baby blankets.

Some keyword ideas could be:

• crochet baby blanket pattern
• easy crochet baby blanket
• how to crochet baby blanket for beginners

I recommend doing preliminary keyword research to see suggestions from Pinterest’s autocomplete feature.

This reveals actual user search queries to target. The more specific, the better usually.

Let’s optimize around “easy crochet baby blanket for beginners” to attract people interested in blankets for babies that don’t require expert crochet skills.

Design Pin Content Around the Keyword

Now we’ll craft the actual pin content around our target keyword to increase on-topic relevance.

The image or video should convey “easy baby blanket crochet” visually as best as possible.

For the pin description, incorporate the keyword naturally 2–3 times while providing useful context.

Do NOT keyword stuff or it may trigger spam filters. Here is an example description:

“Learn how to crochet a beautiful chunky baby blanket perfect for beginners! This easy pattern only uses basic stitches so anyone can make it. Perfect for baby showers or new parents!”

Finally, make sure the destination URL is relevant too. In this case, a specific page on our DIY site dedicated to beginner baby blanket crochet patterns.

Provide Value Beyond the Link

A strategic mistake people make with Pinterest marketing is solely using pins as link-bait to directly drive traffic, without delivering tangible value on Pinterest itself.

While ultimately you want people to click-through to your site from pins, boosting relevance means creating pins that also provide value inside the Pinterest ecosystem.

Ways to add value directly on pins:

• Incorporate text overlay tips or stats
• Pin informative charts, tables or lists
• Use Canva to overlay value-add graphics
• Utilize the ideapin details section for added info
• Cropping the image to showcase more of the actual solution/outcome

This screenshot from one of my pins has custom graphics with measurements added to increase utility.

Pins that provide immediate value are more likely to get saves, which directly signal relevance and quality to Pinterest.

Choose a Relevant Board Topic

Every pin must be published to a board. So choosing one that matches the pin topic is important for relevance.

Don’t post a chicken pasta recipe pin to your “woodworking workshop” board.

Some best practices here:

• Use board names/descriptions to reinforce keywords
• Have boards with at least 15+ topic-relevant pins
• Create new niche boards as needed

Ideally save pins to boards aligned to a specific user intent or sub-topic. The more granular your boards, the more relevant they become to searchers.

For example, instead of a general “recipes” board, having:

• healthy weeknight dinners
• vegetarian instant pot
• easy chicken breast recipes

Allows better personalization for users on-topic.

Optimize Pin Meta Data

The final step is optimizing technical pin metadata to reinforce relevancy signals to Pinterest.

When uploading the pin image file or entering a destination URL, incorporate keywords naturally here as well:

Image File Name: easy-crochet-baby-blanket-beginners.jpg

Destination URL Slug: diycrafts.com/easy-crochet-baby-blanket

Additionally, if pinning editorial articles, properly fill out the open graph structured data markup on your pages for optimal rich pin rendering.

By following this comprehensive pin optimization checklist for each piece of content, your relevance scores will improve significantly.

Pro Tip: Bookmark this post and reference the steps before making any new pins for consistent best practices.

Step-by-Step: Video SEO Optimization Guide

Video usage continues rising across social media.

On Pinterest specifically, video pins now generate 3X more engagement on average compared to static image pins.

That’s why optimizing video SEO is crucial for boosting relevance in both standard search results and the watch feed.

While video optimization follows many of the same principles outlined for basic pins, there are a few additional tactics specifically for video:

Creating an Idea Pin

When uploading natively created videos to Pinterest through the “Create” function, you have two choices:

1. Video Pin — straight upload of any pre-made video file. Similar to other platforms.
2. Idea Pin — a “Pinterest-specific” video that supports additional elements like an intro/outro cover image, tags, details overlay, and more.

For most use cases, Idea Pins provide the most optimization capability and visibility. I recommend focusing efforts here.

Step 1 — Add Relevant Title + Description

Just like regular pins, incorporate keywords appropriately into the pin title + description of the ideapin.

This surfaces your content to related search queries better matching your target topic.

Step 2 — Include Voiceover Mentions

Work spoken uses of primary and secondary keywords into your video voiceover script naturally.

This further signals to Pinterest what the video focuses on.

Aim for 1–3 verbal mentions depending on video length. Avoid being overly promotional.

Step 3 — Tag Relevant Topics

Inside the Pinterest video uploader, you can assign up to 10 topic tags to each ideapin.

These tags directly relate the content to keyword categories on the platform. Add tags aligning to your targets.

For example, if my video showed how to install a modern bathroom light fixture, relevant tags would be:

• Home improvement
• Electrical
• Bathroom decoration

Step 4 — Use the Details Section

The Details overlay optionally lets you provide text information. Use it to share supplemental resources, products used, or related links to reinforce relevance.

Step 5 — Monitor Performance

Check metrics like saves and watch time after publishing to gauge if your ideapin is resonating.

Experiment with different topic focuses and formats to keep increasing relevance.

Editor’s Note: Creating Idea Pins tailored to ranking key phrases gives you the best chance for people to find your videos in search. Optimize beyond just video files themselves.

Step-by-Step: Optimizing Boards for Discovery

Boards organize collections of pins by specific categories or sub-topics. They make content easily discoverable for targeted queries.

Optimizing your boards improves search visibility.

Here is a checklist:

1. Use Keyword-Focused Board Titles

Include your primary keyword or key phrase in the actual board name.

For example, instead of vague titles like “Recipes”, use:

• Easy Healthy Chicken Recipes
• Low Carb Keto Dessert Ideas

This helps signal relevance to searches.

2. Write Keyword-Rich Board Descriptions

The board description field provides additional context around the topic focus.

Continue using keywords appropriately here to indicate what the board contains:

“This board shares our very best and easy healthy chicken breast recipes for busy families and quick weeknight meals. All recipes only require 5 main ingredients or less but are still delicious and nutritious. They are also budget-friendly costing less than $3 per serving on average. We include tons of lean protein, vegetables, and smart carbs without sacrificing any flavor or breaking your wallet!”

In 200 characters or less, incorporate keywords to describe the board purpose, category and benefits provided.

3. Curate Relevant Pins

The most critical signal is the actual pins curated onto a board. They must align closely to the stated board topic and keywords.

A “Kitchen Storage Solutions” board with pins about fixing leaky faucets or installing tile backsplashes would have low relevance.

Whereas pins directly showcasing under-sink organizers, drawer inserts and pantry racks keeps things aligned.

Have at least 15+ well-curated, on-topic pins per board. Mix your own pins + engaging pins from other creators too for variety.

4. Check Performance

Log into Pinterest Analytics to view metrics per board like impressions, saves and click-through-rate.

Compare boards to identify ones resonating best. Replicate similar topics and pin formats for those high fliers to increase overall visibility.

Step-by-Step Guide: Profile Optimization

Beyond individual pieces of content, optimizing your overall Pinterest profile establishes you as an authoritative resource worth following.

Here are 5 quick profile optimization tips:

1. Verify Website

Connect your website URL inside the “Domains” tab of your Pinterest profile settings.

This confirms you as the official owner of that site on the platform for better branding and SEO value.

2. Craft Keyword-Rich Bio

The “About” bio section offers valuable real estate to demonstrate your expertise around particular subject matters.

Work primary keywords into custom bios naturally:

“Passionate about interior design, I share daily home decor inspiration and projects to help you update your space on a budget.”

But avoid awkward over-optimization or stuffing. Write for humans first and Pinterest’s algorithm second.

3. Include Relevant Keywords in Handle

Pinterest profile handles function like bios on other platforms.

Try incorporating keywords relevant to your niche here as well, such as:

@diybathroomremodels101

It can lead to better associations with those topics.

4. Curate Themed Boards

As highlighted previously in this post, one of the strongest profile signals is curating boards with topic-focused pins relevant to your goals.

Cluster pins into different interest areas to increase perceived authority breadth.

For example, a fitness influencer could have boards for:

• HIIT Workouts
• Yoga Tutorials
• Healthy Dinner Recipes
• Running Tips

Covering multiple sub-niches builds expertise depth on Pinterest.

5. Engage With Followers

While harder to directly quantify, having genuine engagement and community-building on your profile should boost perceived reputation as well.

Reply to comments, offer value, repin user content, and spotligh fans through Pinterest’s collaboration features.

Now that we’ve covered optimizing all the main Pinterest content elements step-by-step, let’s explore some more advanced tactics to take your strategy up another level…

Advanced Tactics to Improve Pinterest SEO

The steps outlined already will provide tremendous benefit for increasing discoverability and relevance on Pinterest.

But hungry growth marketers may be wondering: “What else can I do to take my Pinterest SEO game even further?”

Glad you asked!

Here are my top advanced tactics for expert-level Pinterest marketers:

Link Building

Link building refers to acquiring external sites to link back to your website using contextual anchor text and other signals. This historically helps SEO across all search engines.

But does link building matter for the Pinterest algorithm specifically?

Potentially…

We know Pinterest crawls and indexes websites connected through pins to understand relevance. So earning more niche edit links to your blog or store could indicate Authority assisting with rankings.

However, since pins themselves are the main metric driving Pinterest search, other signals may have reduced influence currently. But as machine learning advances over time, traditional factors could play a larger role.

Either way, securing relevant blog theme outward links certainly helps overall domain strength and amplification of your brand across the web.

Tips to build Pinterest-focused editorial links:

• Identify top blogs in your niche through Ahrefs or Buzzsumo
• Pitch roundup posts, best list articles, or buying guides with your pins/products included as recommendations. For example, reach out to a parenting blog editor asking them to showcase your crochet baby blanket pin among their favorite items for new moms.

Other link building tips:

• Use HARO to source relevant backlink opportunities from expert roundups or lists
• Comment on niche websites linking to your related pins
• Create linkworthy resources like guides, quizzes or tools that sites may naturally embed
• Build a relationships with influencers in overlapping content areas to swap cross-promotions
• Identify possible broken links on high domain authorities to replace with your own content

The key is ensuring any links you earn are:

a) Contextually relevant — from sites matching your topic and intent b) Naturally acquired — not artificial or paid c) Varied anchors — using your targeted keywords as the anchor text

This combination signals the highest quality and impacts search visibility.

While link building requires significant manual outreach, every new relevant linkage can compound visibility. So it may be worth the effort if you have bandwidth.

Expand Keyword Research

We touched on initial keyword research for singling out a specific main phrase to optimize around. This ensures your pins have high relevance for at least one primary target.

However, most topics contain a cluster of related long-tail variations that real people may use in their search queries.

Finding these allows you to expand the relevance of your content across more searches.

For example, around our crochet baby blanket pins, secondary keywords could be:

• easy chunky crochet baby blanket pattern
• how to add tassels to crochet baby blanket
• thick yarn crochet baby blankets for boys

Mine these types of latent phrases through:

• Ubersuggest
• Google Autocomplete
• Search term report in Pinterest Analytics
• Competitor pin analysis

Then incorporate new variants appropriately into your pins and boards over time.

Analyze Performance Data

We touched briefly on checking saves and other metrics after publishing new pins. But robust analytics analysis takes this further to uncover key optimization insights.

Be sure you switch your Pinterest account from personal to a free business profile.

This unlocks advanced reporting like:

• Pin impressions
• Close up rates
• Top traffic drivers
• Most engaging content format
• Follower demographic data
• Content publishing trends

Combining metrics from Pinterest, Google Analytics, and your website/store admin offers a 360-degree view.

Audit reports frequently and make data-backed decisions on topics to expand, pin formats resonating best, advice to double down on, etc.

Build a Content Production Strategy

As Pinterest becomes more competitive, maintaining visibility means having a consistent content engine.

Rather than episodically creating pins when the mood strikes, architects structured publishing frameworks around topics and pin types that perform based on past analytics.

Map out an editorial calendar detailing:

• Optimal posting days/times
• Keyword targets to expand into
• High potential pin formats (Idea pins, cinemagraphs etc.)
• Gap analysis on underperforming categories
• Campaigns to boost engagement

Also examine what competitors are posting and outpacing them through pin volume, quality and innovation.

Execute quarterly strategy reviews to ensure your roadmap stays aligned to the latest Pinterest algorithm shifts and community trends.

Tracking Pinterest SEO Results

After deploying optimization efforts, tracking measurable progress provides critical accountability.

Key metrics to follow monthly include:

Saves — Are your overall saves increasing on pins and boards? Which pieces of content getting the most?

Impressions — Getting a wider reach exposes more potential for engagement

Click-Through-Rate — More people clicking from Pinterest to your site indicates positive relevance.

Rank Tracking — Are target keywords ranking higher in search over time? Use software to monitor.

Website Traffic — Ultimately you want more overall visitors, so assess Pinterest’s referrals segment in analytics.

Conversions — Any uptick in desired goals like email signups, purchases for ecommerce stores? Watch the trend lines.

Review areas lacking traction and continue testing adjustments to your approach. SEO is never a fully completed process as the algorithm evolves.

Common Pinterest SEO Mistakes to Avoid

We’ve covered a ton of optimization best practices at this point. But it’s equally important to know what not to do regarding on Pinterest, as that can actually damage visibility or get your account restricted.

Some key Pinterest SEO mistakes to avoid:

• Keyword stuffing excessively
• Overly promotional pins that lack real value
• Mismatched pins and boards
• Minimal original content
• Spammy links or captions
• Fake engagement tactics
• Irrational levels of daily pinning

Keep your strategy focused on solving user needs first with relevant content and ethical growth tactics. Don’t cut corners chasing shortcuts. Stay aligned to Pinterest’s community guidelines and best practices highlighted throughout this guide.

Alright, let’s wrap things up with some super helpful FAQs!

Pinterest SEO FAQs

Do more total pins directly increase reach?

No. Merely having more pins does not guarantee more impressions or engagement by itself. Pinterest shows users the most useful content first — irrelevant overpinning could actually decrease visibility as it dilutes your overall quality and topic clustering potential.

What’s better — native pins or rich pins?

Ideally utilize both across different assets. Native pins crafted directly inside Pinterest allow for full customization during upload. Rich Pins dynamically pull content from webpage markup for quicker curation but less control. Have a healthy mix of both pin types.

Can I schedule pins for optimal timing?

Absolutely. You can bulk upload pins in advance through tools like Tailwind or BoardBooster and schedule them to automatically publish during peak times for your audience. Stagger pins throughout weekdays/weekends and track when your fans are most active.

How often should pins/boards be refreshed?

I recommend keeping your boards reasonably active to indicate they are still relevant — try adding 1–5 new pins per week depending on the topic. For pin frequency, anywhere from 5–15 pins daily tends to be a solid range depending on your capacity.

What’s the ideal number of boards to have?

There is no universal “right” number here as it depends on your business model and topics. Generally having at least 10 fully fleshed out boards aligning to important keywords/categories ensures good diversity. But some brands manage successful Pinterest profiles with 20, 50 or even 100+ boards as well.

Conclusion

That sums up our epic 9,500+ word guide going deep on everything you need for Pinterest SEO success!

To quickly recap:

• Content gets discovered via search, home feed, and watch
• Optimize pins, boards, profile by relevance signals
• Provide in-platform value
• Curate topics matching user intent
• Analyze metrics — refine based on performance
• Steadily build over time

The key is thinking about helpfulness first, while leveraging best practices for targeting and visibility. How can you solve your audience’s needs in a delightful way?

Pinterest offers incredible potential to drive free traffic, leads and sales if you meet those user needs better than competitors.

Now with a complete understanding of how Pinterest SEO works in 2023, the rest comes down to consistent execution of the strategies covered here.

Best of luck! Let me know if you have any other questions.