Blog Tips: How to Use Pinterest to Increase Your Traffic
During the last couple of months, I’ve been spending A LOT of time focusing on Pinterest.
In addition to growing my profile, I also took some time to update some of my archived content. I started adding some new, Pinterest-friendly/optimized images, re-promoted some of my older content, set up rich pins for my blog and joined a few group boards.
I didn’t notice anything major happen during first couple of weeks, but after a while, my Pinterest referrals went up. About 80% of questions I get in emails from other bloggers, are related to Pinterest. Most frequently asked question is: how do I use Pinterest to grow my blog? I sort of already answered this question in this post, but today, I’ll tell you how you can use Pinterest to Increase your traffic.
PIN IT BUTTON
You want to make it easy for others to share your content on Pinterest. This is why having a “Pin it” button is a must. This allows your readers to save your posts on Pinterest, which gives you exposure and means that more people can discover your content. You can build your own “Pin it” button, buy a custom one or use a plugin. Pinterest recommends hoover buttons, which allow users to save any images on the page.
GROUP BOARDS
I mention Group Boards quite a lot and that’s because I personally gained a lot of exposure since I started using them. Joining group boards is a great way to use Pinterest to increase your traffic. There are a lot of Group Board for Bloggers out there and they’re a great way to connect with other bloggers, gain exposure and show some support for others. You can use this website to search for different Group Boards. I recommend joining a few and share your content regularly (but without being spammy!). I still accept new contributors to my Group Board– feel free to request an invite if you want to join us (you do have to follow both me and the board in order for me to send you an invite, make sure you include your Pinterest link in your email)
CREATE A BUSINESS ACCOUNT
Creating a business account is also something that will help you grow your blog. You’ll be able to verify your website, which will allow Pinterest users to see that your blog is a trustworthy source. You’ll also have access to Pinterest Analytics which give insight to not just your Pinterest profile, but also activity from your blog. You can see which pins do the best, which earn you most blog clicks and shares, etc. Another benefit of creating a business account, is that you’ll be able to promote your pins- whether it’d be to grow your Pinterest profile, or to create a traffic campaign and get new visitors to your blog.
Pinterest Business account gives you access to analytics, tracking both your Pinterest profile and blog growth/referrals.
KEEP IT ORGANIZED
Growing your Pinterest profile and increasing your traffic go hand in hand. While the main goal is to get others to save and share your content, you want to share it as well. The more followers you have, more exposure your posts get. Keep your profile organized. Don’t just pin images from your own blog. Share a fun recipe you came across, a workout video you loved or a helpful article you found. A LOT of content that’s currently on Pinterest is re-pinned content. Meaning, people keep pinning and re-pinning the same things. If you pin something fresh and new, your pin has a chance of going viral, giving your profile some exposure. Make sure to categorize your boards- it makes it easier for others to find them. Change your board covers from time to time, don’t be afraid to delete some pins that aren’t performing too well.
INCLUDE PINTEREST-FRIENDLY IMAGES
It’s no secret that Pinterest is a very image-driven platform- it’s all about the visuals. If you want Pinterest to bring you some serious traffic, you have to commit. Commit to including pin-worthy images, in every single one of your blog posts. Remember that unlike Facebook or Twitter, Pinterest has a very long shelf-life. This means that a post you published a few months or even years ago, can go viral at any time. This happened to me with several of my posts. Most recently, it was this one. I noticed that even though that particular post was published back in July, all of the sudden it started getting a ton of views towards the end of August and beginning of September. Most of the referrals came from Pinterest. Turns out that post was re-pinned and shared over 40,000 times. Why? Because: a) it provided some value to my readers and b) that particular image was very Pinterest-friendly.
Sooo…..what exactly does that mean?
Both the shape and the size of images matter quite a bit. Pinterest users loooove tall images. The optimal Pinterest image would be around 735px wide and 1102px tall. I don’t always use these particular dimensions, but I do prefer taller images and avoid featuring square images. Usually I’ll use one image as a “feature” image and add a Pinterest-friendly version at the end of my post. This involves adding some text or creating some sort of a list like in my self-care post. When Pinterest displays pins, their width is fixed, but the height is not. This means that if your blog images are tall- they automatically get more exposure. Tall images are also more likely to get re-pinned.
Even though Pinterest displays a pin description under most images, adding text on top of your image is something that can take your pins to the next level. Pinterest users want to know what to expect when they click on a particular image.
What can you do to fix this?
Pinning and sharing your content is great, but the ultimate goal is to have others pin and share your content so that your audience can grow organically. Go through some of your older, popular content and make sure that your images are optimized for Pinterest. If they’re not, you can add a new image here and there. This can be a little time-consuming, depending on how much content you’ve published. You don’t have to do it all at once though. Think about it- you spend a lot of time and put a lot of effort into creating your content. By the time you hit “publish” you’re probably already thinking about your next post. If there is a post you’ve published in the past that you’re particularly proud of- make sure it gets the attention it deserves.
I love using both PicMonkey and Photoshop for adding text and editing my blog images.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I’ve been focusing on Pinterest quite a lot over the last couple of months. As a result, I went from 600 to nearly 9,000 followers since January which also means that Pinterest is sending me a lot more traffic. I’ll be sharing an in-depth post on how I grew my profile very soon. SO, if you guys have any Pinterest-related questions- ask away and I’ll make sure to include the answers in my upcoming post.
67 Comments
Aleksandra // bunniesaremagic
September 7, 2016 at 3:10 amMy Pinterest account is tuck atm, although I have changed nothing – all the referrals went down, all the repins went down and all the new followers went down for seemingly no reason o.o
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 7, 2016 at 9:09 amThat happens sometimes. Sometimes there’s one particular pin that becomes popular and brings constant traffic but it dies down a little after a while.
Jenni
September 7, 2016 at 5:00 amArgh, Pinterest is the one that I struggle with the most! I’ve read so many posts on how to increase your traffic, and the one thing they always say is tall photos. But I just can’t get the hang of tall photos for some reason, for me it’s more natural to shoot horizontally… xx
http://www.shakespeareandsparkle.com/
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 7, 2016 at 9:09 amI’m quite the opposite haha ;)
Grace
September 8, 2016 at 2:43 pmI agree! I also never know how much to write for each photo, or WHAT to write! Describing the photo just seems really boring..!
http://www.countryweekender.com
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:40 amIf you sign up for rich pins, you won’t have to describe photos. The description will be automatically pulled out from your blog post to which the photo belongs.
Lauren Victoria
September 7, 2016 at 5:07 amGreat tips! I always need to have a read of posts like this to remind myself of some tips and tricks I need to do be doing to help generate traffic to my posts. I think I’ve slowly yet finally nailed my following and repin growth in the past week or so, I just need to work on people checking out my content instead. Thanks for writing this post x
Lauren | itslaurenvictoria.blogspot.co.uk
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 7, 2016 at 9:14 amThanks Lauren, glad you enjoyed this post!
Ambar Syed
September 7, 2016 at 6:06 amSuch great tips Paula – I really need to start using Pinterest more!
– Ambar x
http://www.herlittleloves.co.uk
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 7, 2016 at 9:14 amThanks Ambar! :)
mika
September 7, 2016 at 6:11 amI honestly have the hardest time with pinterest! Firstly, they changed their whole layout… I feel like such a grandma, I have no idea how to add my own photos onto pinterest without sourcing the photo from an already uploaded place (ie instagram, twitter etc???). I used to be able to just upload from my desktop image but now I can’t even seem to upload regular photos (unless that’s the point now??? you can’t do that anymore idk??), I am just SO dumb for pinterest so I’ll try to work with it someday… I’ll keep your posts in mind for when I do! It just seems way too difficult to navigate and their site for me doesn’t seem very user friendly, I am just overwhelmed hahaha I feel accomplished when I can at least re-pin something! I’m super granny I swear…
xoxo
http://www.hellohimawari.com
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 7, 2016 at 9:22 amHaha :) I know, I couldn’t get used to the new layout for the longest time, it was so annoying. Oh no you can totally upload images from your computer! You just have to go to your profile and click the big “+ ” sign and select whether you’re uploading the image from your desktop or a website.
I love using the phone app, it’s so much easier to use than the browser version!
Hannie Arden Blaise
September 7, 2016 at 6:55 amI tried getting into pinterest for my blog but ended up lacking at making it more “professional”. Thanks for these tips!
Hugs, Hannie | Missing Wanderer
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 10:03 amIt can take a while to get used to and figure out what works best for you and your blog.
Darina
September 7, 2016 at 7:43 amI have to focus more on Pinterest, because I love this social media so much. Thank you for these tips!
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 10:03 amI’m crazy about Pinterest, it’s definitely my favorite social media outlet!
Dominique
September 7, 2016 at 8:42 amlovely
xxx
http://www.dominiquecandido.com
Elizabeth Hisle
September 7, 2016 at 9:37 amWould you ever consider a tutorial on how YOU edit and text in Photoshop? Yours always looks so effortlessly beautiful, and for the life of me I can’t get mine to look good. Every time I try to add text to things just end up looking fake and cheesy. Definitely better to have no text than bad text but I’d like to take things up a notch and still keep things looking soft and natural. I need to use Pinterest more, but I feel kinda stuck.
http://waltzandwillow.com/
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:42 amYes, I’ll definitely work on one soon!
Sauniya
September 7, 2016 at 10:35 amGreat post!! I’m pretty new to Pinterest so this had been really helpful.
Thank you for sharing :)
xo
Sauniya | Find Your Bliss
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:42 amThank you!
Jordan Kelsey
September 7, 2016 at 10:54 amYou definitely are the best at explaining these kind of things and have really pushed me to invest my time in Pinterest! I have never really thought of it as being able to gain great exposure but It must be a great way with people re-sharing your content all the time. Thanks for your great tips always, one of my favourite bloggers!
Blog || Instagram
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:42 amAw thank you so much Jordan, you’re so sweet! :)
Mammafulzo
September 7, 2016 at 12:11 pmThis is really helpful, I have been using Pinterest a lot more and have noticed I do get a lot of traffic from it x
Zoe ♥ MammafulZo
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:42 amThanks Zoe!
Andrea
September 7, 2016 at 3:14 pmThis post is so detailed! I love it. Thank you so much. Pinterest is an amazing way to bring in lots of traffic. I definitely need to spend more time utilizing it!
http://www.thebeautydojo.com
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:44 amThank you Andrea!
Beauty Journal
September 7, 2016 at 3:15 pmThis was so informative and helpful. Loved it. Thanks for sharing !
-Karishma
http://yourbeautyjournal.com/
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:44 amYou’re welcome Karishma, thanks for stopping by!
Kim Petersen
September 7, 2016 at 3:18 pmAgain, super awesome tips Paula. I’ll admit I’ve always felt anxiety about Pinterest, like it’s just too much all at once, but you make it sound easy enough! Great post, always love your helpful tips! XO -Kim
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:44 amThanks Kim!! <3
Katie S.
September 7, 2016 at 4:22 pmThese are amazing, thank you so much for sharing!! I’ve been working on consolidating my folders so I don’t have so many. And I’m definitely going to have to seek out some group boards! Getting used to blogging not really being a solo sport is taking some time to sink in lol
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:52 amBlogging community is really amazing. There are so many supportive people and it was something that was a little difficult for me too at first- I didn’t like networking and connecting with others haha – that’s probably why I suck at Twitter! :P
itsjessiejane
September 7, 2016 at 4:51 pmReally really helpful – thank you!! X
♡ itsjessiejane ♡
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:52 amYou’re welcome!
Dagmara Klich
September 7, 2016 at 4:53 pmEvery time I read your Pinterest related post I’m determined to start working on mine profile, yet it hasn’t happened, haha! Not enough hours during the day ;) I think I should download the app on my phone, it might be easier to find a few minutes every day to do something on it. x
Mummy’s Beauty Corner
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:53 amI know! That’s how I feel about social media in general. Like there just isn’t enough time. Pinterest is actually the easiest for me and not very time-consuming. The phone app is a life-saver!
Brooke
September 7, 2016 at 5:03 pmThanks for the great tips!! This is so helpful! :)
Brooke | http://www.beautydecorandmore.com
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:57 amGlad you liked it Brooke, thank you!!
≈ CARMEN ≈
September 7, 2016 at 6:07 pmSuch a great post. I’m also focusing on building my Pinterest presence so it’s fun to read how other bloggers use the platform. :]
// ▲ itsCarmen.com ▲
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:57 amThanks Carmen!
Noirette Diary
September 7, 2016 at 9:11 pmI recently started to share my posts on Pinterest too and I’m glad I did, I don’t know what took me so long, it’s a great tool!
| http://www.noirettediary.com |
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:57 amYes it is!
Biana Perez
September 7, 2016 at 9:34 pmSuch a great and detailed post girl!! I need to get better at pinterest – I always forget about it!
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:57 amThanks Biana!
Tess_Sequins are the New Black
September 8, 2016 at 12:24 amGreat post! You’re always so helpful :)
xx Tess | Sequins are the New Black
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 9:57 amAw thanks Tess!
Wildfire Charm
September 8, 2016 at 12:57 amThank you for these in depth tips! Pinterest is indeed very useful x
http://www.wildfirecharm.com
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 10:00 amYou’re welcome!
Mango
September 8, 2016 at 1:00 amI never knew Pinterest had so many options, I used to only pin my posts and never thought about them again, I never knew it could be such a great oportunity. This is a great post, really helpful, I’ll be putting these to test!
Cy | Dulce de Mango
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 10:00 amOh with over 70 million users it’s a great place for bloggers! Definitely take advantage of it! :)
Lily
September 8, 2016 at 4:03 amI recently made an effort with my Pinterest and actually did all of these – i’ve noticed such a difference in my impressions and views now x
http://www.pintsizedbeauty.com
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 10:01 amThat’s awesome Lily!
Kiss & Make-up
September 8, 2016 at 4:22 amI am not active on Pinterest myself, but I do have the pin button on all my blog photos.
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 10:01 amThat’s a good start!
Grace
September 8, 2016 at 2:42 pmPinterest is amazing for lifestyle, but unless you’re selling a lifestyle product – very hard to generate capital through it.
http://www.countryweekender.com
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 9, 2016 at 10:02 amI personally use it mainly for growing my audience.
Mikéla Davelyn
September 9, 2016 at 12:28 pmAll of these are great tips! Changing to a business account has helped me so much. I just love Pinterest!
xo, mikéla / simplydavelyn.com
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 13, 2016 at 2:24 pmI do too! :D
Serena
September 12, 2016 at 6:16 amThank you so much for this! It was soo helpful! I need to work on Pinterest. I’m neglecting it :( x
http://www.serenbird.com
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 13, 2016 at 2:25 pmThanks Serena!
The Gossip Darling
September 13, 2016 at 11:52 amFor some reason, Pinterest is something that I just can’t figure out. None of my traffic comes from there :(
I am going to try these tips!
Mel | http://www.thegossipdarling.com
Paula @ thirteenthoughts.com
September 13, 2016 at 2:26 pmDid you try adding some images with text? That seemed to really help me.
The Gossip Darling
September 13, 2016 at 3:20 pmThank you so much!! I am downloading photoshop asap and I’m going to try. :)
Sarenabee.com
September 26, 2016 at 1:27 pmJust added a Pinterest button to my blog, didn’t know it would make such an impact, glad I found your site. Def now a bookmark <3
Are you still accepting requests for your group?
http://www.sarenabee.com
Danielle Fairhurst
November 12, 2016 at 4:56 amI’ve just started working on my Pinterest profile and trying to build a following there. I’ve been making my blog images pinnable and trying to pin other content etc. It’s slow going at the moment but hoping these tips will help. Thank you!
Dani x | flourishingfreelancer.com | brighteyedandbewildered.com