How to Increase Your Pinterest Traffic
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One of my blog goals this year, is to finally hit the 200,000 monthly pageviews mark. It’s mid-January and I’m already well past the 100,000 pageviews for this month only so far, and it’s all thanks to Pinterest. I never thought that I could hit my goal THIS quickly, but it looks like it’s happening.
So yes, blogger babes, today we’re talking Pinterest. Again.
I use Pinterest for many different things; like creating blog mood boards, generating blog post ideas, organizing my ideas, finding inspiration, etc. First and foremost, however, I use it as a tool to drive traffic to my blog.
I’ve been consistently getting about 120-130k pageviews a month for a while, but it was usually due to the fact that my posts were featured on other websites or newsletters every single week. So far in January, however, I didn’t have a single major feature, yet traffic-wise, this has been the best month yet and it’s only been a little over two weeks.
You also probably noticed that I haven’t been publishing new content as often as I usually do, and it’s mostly because I’m still grieving and trying to slowly ease back to my routine after losing my granny. I’m telling you this because a lot of people think that you HAVE to blog daily in order to be “successful” and that simply isn’t true.
I’m also not telling you any of this to brag. I’m telling you this because I want you to realize that you don’t need to rely on being featured on more popular blogs or websites if you want to grow your traffic. You can put in some work and make it happen all by yourself.
In October Pinterest announced that it has reached 150 million active users, by the way. I’d be silly no to take advantage of this now, would it?
Pinterest is different
Pinterest is very different from other social media platforms and that’s because it is not a social media platform- it’s a visual search engine. Think about it- when you log in to your Pinterest account and look at your feed, what do you see? Blog posts. It doesn’t matter if it’s a recipe, a hair tutorial, a blog-tips post, a photography guide, a nail tutorial, a DIY tutorial- they are all blog posts. THIS is why it’s such a great place for bloggers to be.
Unlike other platforms like Facebook or Twitter, where your content is only seen for a short period of time, your pins can get discovered and pinned at any time; even if your post was published years ago. Whenever I log in to Pinterest, I almost always see some of my photography posts from several years ago being pinned and shared.
How did I do it?
Well… there’s no simple answer to this. It’s a whole bunch of tools and strategies that when used together, bring amazing results. These are some of them.
Rich pins
If you don’t already use them, you need to sign up for Rich Pins- STAT! This post explains in-detail what Rich Pins are and how to set them up. In short, Rich Pins are Pins that include extra information right on the Pin itself. It includes things like source of the pin- your blog name, post title. Rich Pins work by displaying metadata from marked up pages on your blog.
Pinterest-Friendly Images
It’s all about the visuals when it comes to Pinterest! Long, vertical images do a lot better, in general, as they get more exposure. Pinterest users also love when there’s text added to your posts. Your images should be bright, clear and sharp. See this post to learn more about creating images that are Pinterest-friendly. I highly recommend getting a Photoshop subscription. It’s only about 10 bucks a month and it really helped me with getting the kind of images I really want.
Be active + Schedule your pins + Pin Consistently and Constantly
It’s one thing to have a “Pin it” button on your blog, and it’s another to grow your account. You don’t want to only rely on others pinning your content. You also have to remember to grow your following and be active on Pinterest. I try to schedule my pins using this tool and whenever I’m not consistent with it (like in the recent weeks when I needed a lot of downtime) I noticed that my account didn’t grow at a quick pace, as it usually does. This is why being active and pinning constantly is important. Tailwind is great for scheduling your pins as you can take care of your “pinning” during only a few minutes a week, and not have to worry about being active for the rest of the week, as your pins will go up automatically. I talked about Tailwind in more detail in this post.
Being consistent is also something to keep in mind. This is especially important for your Pinterest images. I use the same combination of colors, I don’t play around with fonts too much when creating Pinterest images and I always add my blog address to the bottom of my image. Being consistent will help you with branding and eventually, people will recognize your pins as yours, just by looking at them.
Be descriptive
In your profile, your boards, your pins- be descriptive! Use keywords like “beauty blogger” in your profile, if you have a beauty blog. If you have a board about shoes use words like: heels, stilettos, sandals, etc. This will help your boards get discovered. Avoid using hashtags. Makes sure all of your boards have selected categories and your featured image somewhat follow a certain color theme.
Join Group Boards
These can be a great way to gain some exposure. Use PinGroupie to find group boards to join, and always remember to follow the rules and avoid spamming.
Pin Valuable Content
There is a lot of spam on Pinterest, so make sure to only pin valuable content. Follow others in your niche. Know someone who shares awesome hair tutorials or great recipes? Follow them on Pinterest, pin their content. Remember that valuable, evergreen content that always stays relevant, helpful articles and blog posts are what Pinterest users love. Start pinning seasonal content in advance, create seasonal boards and remember to move them to the bottom once the season passes.
Optimize Your Blog for Pinterest
Do you have a “Pin it” button? Is your Pinterest account linked on your homepage and can be easily found? Improve your images, create a call to action on your images, stick to consistent branding. Make it easy for others to share your content.
Combining all of those have really helped me expand my blog and my audience. I get thousands of referrals from Pinterest alone, every single day, so if you haven’t looked into it yet, it’s definitely something to consider!
For more blogging tips, visit my “BLOGGING” section.