Let’s be real…
I’ve NEVER met a blogger who didn’t struggle with getting traffic in the beginning, despite following the best Pinterest hacks out there.
For some of us (me included), that process can take a little longer, even though I do this full-time.
As I want to get into Mediavine this year, getting oodles of pageviews has been on my bucket list for a long time. I’m finally committing the time to work on my Pinterest strategy and even invested in a well-regarded Pinterest course.
But, I always love learning from multiple people.
So, I did what any respectable person would do.
I asked 🙂
In my amazing Facebook group, I have access to lots of SUCCESSFUL bloggers all getting thousands of pageviews per month from Pinterest.
Here’s what they had to say!
9 Pinterest Traffic Hacks You Need to Try Today
You may have heard of some of these Pinterest hacks before, but I think it’s soooooo important to hear them again.
Just because you KNOW what to do doesn’t mean you are DOING what you need to.
And, getting a reminder lights a fire under your booty to take massive action.
Here are the Pinterest hacks my blogging friends had to say:
- Focus on Pinterest SEO in your pin descriptions and titles
- Utilize long-tail keywords to get found in search
- Have keywords, clickable images, and targeted traffic
- Use Tailwind board lists and virality metrics
- Keyword your boards and pin with relevance
- Focus on a strong “Pin It” CTA in your blog posts
- Schedule pins out in advance to free up time
- Use Google Analytics to inform your strategy
- Create new pins for popular posts
I even have a bonus Pinterest hack at the end from a legend I get to call my friend 🙂
Let’s explore these a little more!
1. Focus on Pinterest SEO in Your Pin Descriptions and Titles
“SEO makes such a difference.
I target at least 4-5 keywords per pin description and 1-2 in the title.”
~Courtesy of Joanie-Ann Daniels from Nourishing Time
2. Utilize Long-Tail Keywords to Get Found in Search
“Focus on SEO so you are in Pinterest searches, but you also need to focus on pin design. If your pin is meh, pinners will scroll past.
Your titles should have keywords and your descriptions should contain quite a few different keywords. I use most of my 500 characters in the description. Search Pinterest for your keywords, but utilize long-tail keywords from your SEO research.
The keywords in your description will get you found in Pinterest searches (this is your impression number). After you show up in searches, it’s up to your image and clickable headline to pinners to your blog.
Once I understood Pinterest SEO, my sessions jumped from 15,000 to over 40,000 in one month. I still consider my blog as a baby blog, but I hit $2,500 in ad income alone last month.”
~Courtesy of Jada Gorsha Aloisio from It’s A Southern Life Y’all
3. Have Keywords, Clickable Pins, and Targeted Traffic
“Keywords, clickable images, and targeted traffic with ads (clearly you didn’t expect me to leave that out 😉)
If I had to choose one, it would be hard because I think they all go together. However, if I had to isolate the keys to each of the three I would say…
- Keywords: targeting keywords that people search when they have a problem and your content/opt-in/product solves that problem
- Clickable images: compelling headline with a strong CTA (CTA is very applicable for targeted traffic with ads)
- I view ads from the lens that it lets you dictate how and where you want to show up so you can reach the most people who are willing to take action on your content.
I don’t believe in traffic for traffic’s sake. I believe in going for the conversion, always.
Even when the piece is simply meant to educate there can always be an action associated with it.”
~Courtesy of Monica Froese from Redefining Mom
4. Use Tailwind Board Lists and Virality Metrics
The next Pinterest hack comes to us in the form of a behind-the-scenes video!
A few highlights of the video are:
- Use Tailwind board lists to schedule the same pin across relevant boards
- Look at the virality metrics to see which boards you should be pinning to (especially important for group boards)
- Use board covers that have no text
- Remember that you’re a curator first and a creator second
- Include keywords in your profile name and bio
But, watch the video for the full scoop!
~Courtesy of Kelan Kline from The Savvy Couple
5. Keyword Your Boards and Pin With Relevance
“Keyword your boards pin a new image into the most relevant boards first.
So, if my pin is “how to start a blog,” I’d pin it in 2-3 boards of super similar name; start a blog, blogging for beginners, etc.”
~Courtesy of Lisa Pfeffer from LisaPfeffer.com
6. Focus on a Strong “Pin It” CTA in Your Blog Posts
“My #1 tip is to focus on your page rank by adding a strong “Pin It” CTA inside your blog posts.”
~Courtesy of Kristie Hill from KristieHill.com
7. Schedule Out Pins in Advance to Free Up Time
“Tailwind.
I use it only for pinning. I set my schedule for the month and then I don’t have to worry about it for a month or more.
It cuts out 5 or 6 hours a week of manual pinning.”
~Courtesy of Rachael O’Neill from The Crafty Baking Nurse
8. Use Google Analytics to Inform Your Strategy
“I have a strategy that I think works if you have 100 blog posts or more.
I believe that for whatever reason, only about 20% of your blog posts gain good traction on Pinterest (or in that neighborhood).
So…
I recommend running a 6-month report in Google Analytics of Pinterest traffic by article.
Here’s how to do that.
- Change the date to run for the past 6 months.
- Click on Acquisition > Social > Network Referrals
- Then click on Pinterest from the list of social networks.
You will see your articles from most traffic to least.
If you click on any of those URLs you will see which individual pins are bringing you traffic. I have been repinning those pins on a regular basis.
BUT…
I think there is a better strategy.
I believe it would be more effective to create new pins on a regular basis for your top 10-30 performing articles.
Like Google SEO, I honestly believe that the majority of Pinterest traffic will come from 10-20% of your articles.
Supporting the ones Pinterest has given you the green light on is better than hoping for articles to rank well.
Also…
We have been testing out manual pinning instead of Tailwind for a few months.
I might even get a Chrome App developed to make the process faster.”
~Courtesy of Rusty Moore from Visual Impact Fitness
9. Create New Pins for Popular Posts
“I started making new versions of my most popular pins.
Within a few weeks, I went from around 400 to 1,000 daily pageviews from Pinterest.”
~Courtesy of Shannon Cairns from The Frugal Foot Doc
BONUS. Leverage Board Co-Occurrence
“When I talk about board co-occurrence, people’s eyes glaze over.
This is why you can “not bother” with some of the best practices (like assigning a category to a board) and still get a really powerful board (yes, I’ve tested that and no, I’m not suggesting you do it).
Board co-occurrence is VERY powerful.
It’s an important part of my course (even though I never mention the words Pin2Vec or anything remotely scary like that LOL.)
It’s at the heart of why I insist we don’t pin our own new pins to a board until we’ve pinned 30 strong-ranking third-party pins and certainly why my course has such strong focus on where your first pin goes.
The FIRST time Pinterest “meets” a pin, the board it lands on (and the pins on that specific board) builds the first set of data the pin carries. Pinterest can not update it’s entire system every day, so the pin gets “temp data” from the board it lands on, the description etc.
It gets its REAL data up to a week or more later, but we all know that if a pin comes out of the gate dead, it basically stays dead, unless you get super lucky.
(A pin CAN take off years later, but it sure doesn’t happen OFTEN.)
That initial data is JUST as important as initial interaction — which, unfortunately, you can not control — except to nail pin design and clickability.
I also think it’s why Pinteresting Strategies WORKS even 4 years later and I don’t have to run any ads for sales for the course, LOL.
Spammers game the algorithm using board co-occurrence.
It’s a great strategy in the short term (and in limited niches), but ultimately I believe it will fail in the long run — as the algorithm is built on MORE than JUST board co-occurrence, forcing the spammer to always be creating + growing new accounts.
I actually think it might be less WORK to just not spam LOL.”
~Courtesy of Carly Campbell from Mommy on Purpose
Conclusion
Have you already opened up Pinterest? Which traffic hack are you going to try first?
Let me know in the comments below 🙂
In the meantime, here’s a quick summary of the Pinterest hacks we discussed:
- Focus on Pinterest SEO in your pin descriptions
- Utilize long-tail keywords to get found in search
- Have keywords, clickable images, and targeted traffic
- Use Tailwind board lists and virality metrics
- Keyword your boards and pin with relevance
- Focus on a strong “Pin It” CTA in your blog posts
- Schedule pins out in advance to free up time
- Use Google Analytics to inform your strategy
- Create new pins for popular posts
- Leverage board co-occurrence
Don’t forget to check out Pinteresting Strategies! I promise it’s an action-packed course with case studies you won’t want to miss.
Pinterest is one of those topics where you really do have to invest in a course (from whomever you want) to understand everything at play.
June Doran of This Simple Balance did and is now happy with the traffic she got.
Are you next?
Cheers to your business success!
Conclusion part is good!
Thank you!
Goodness. This just blew my mind. I’m 4 months into my blogging journey and Wow. Thank you a million times over for these Pinterest Hacks. That video was GOLD.
SO glad to hear this article helped you, Crystal! Feel free to share it and help someone else! Best of luck getting Pinterest traffic 🙂