How Pinterest Shares Affect SEO in 2024? Pinterest might not be the first platform that comes to mind when you think of SEO, but it plays a surprisingly influential role. While Pinterest shares, or "pins," don't create dofollow backlinks, they offer several indirect benefits that can boost your SEO efforts and drive organic traffic.
How Pinterest Shares Affect SEO |
How Pinterest Shares Affect SEO?
Let’s break down exactly how Pinterest shares impact SEO and why you should be leveraging them.
1. Driving Targeted Traffic
Pinterest is a visual search engine that operates similarly to Google but focuses on images and visuals. When users share your content by re-pinning it, they create additional touchpoints for potential traffic. Unlike other social platforms where posts get buried in a feed, Pinterest pins have a longer shelf life and can generate traffic for months, even years, after being pinned.
More traffic, especially targeted traffic from Pinterest users, signals to Google that your website is valuable and engaging. High-quality traffic with low bounce rates can help boost your search engine rankings. Even though Pinterest uses nofollow links, Google still recognizes the surge in traffic from a trusted platform like Pinterest and considers it when determining your site’s authority.
2. Increasing Brand Exposure and Authority
Every time someone shares your pin, it amplifies your content’s visibility. The more your content gets re-pinned, the greater the exposure. As more people interact with your pins, it establishes your brand as an authority in your niche. This increase in brand recognition can indirectly improve your SEO, as authoritative brands tend to receive more backlinks from other reputable websites, which are crucial for domain authority.
Additionally, high engagement rates on Pinterest, like frequent shares, comments, and click-throughs, send positive signals to search engines that your content is relevant and useful, further enhancing your SEO profile.
3. Backlinks via Pinterest Pins
Pinterest shares, or pins, create nofollow backlinks—meaning they don’t directly pass on SEO juice. However, this doesn’t mean they’re useless. Nofollow links are still valuable for a couple of reasons:
- They diversify your backlink profile. A healthy backlink profile includes a mix of dofollow and nofollow links. Nofollow backlinks from a trusted platform like Pinterest add credibility to your site’s overall link profile.
- Pinterest backlinks often lead to organic backlinks from other sources. When your content circulates widely on Pinterest, bloggers, website owners, and influencers may discover it and link to it in their own content. These links, unlike Pinterest pins, may be dofollow and provide direct SEO value.
4. Image Optimization for Visual Search Engines
Pinterest is built around visual content, and optimizing your images for Pinterest can have a dual benefit. Optimized images that rank well on Pinterest can also rank in Google Images, giving you an additional traffic stream. To maximize the SEO impact of Pinterest shares, ensure that your images are optimized with descriptive file names, alt text, and keywords.
By optimizing your pins and images with relevant keywords, you're creating opportunities for your content to rank both on Pinterest and in traditional search engines. When users share your optimized images, they increase the chances of your content being found in image search results, giving your SEO an extra push.
5. Social Signals and SEO Correlation
While Google has stated that social signals (likes, shares, comments) aren’t direct ranking factors, there’s a strong correlation between high social engagement and improved rankings. When your content is widely shared on Pinterest, it generates more social proof, which can lead to higher trust and better perceived relevance in the eyes of search engines.
Moreover, as your pins spread across Pinterest and bring in traffic, Google sees this activity and interprets it as a sign that your content is valuable and engaging. Even though the links are nofollow, the social activity surrounding your content can still contribute to your overall online presence, and higher visibility often results in more backlinks from other sites.
6. Building Long-Term SEO Benefits
One of the key advantages of Pinterest is the longevity of its content. Unlike other social media platforms where posts lose traction after a few hours or days, pins on Pinterest can generate traffic over long periods. A well-optimized pin can continue to bring traffic to your site for months or even years after being shared.
This steady flow of traffic can support your overall SEO strategy, as consistent traffic growth shows Google that your content remains relevant over time. The more consistent your traffic, the better your website performs in search rankings.
How Pinterest Shares Affect SEO in 2024 |
How to Maximize Pinterest for SEO: Tips
- Use Keywords in Pin Descriptions: Treat your pin descriptions like meta descriptions. Include keywords naturally to help Pinterest understand what your content is about, improving its discoverability on both Pinterest and Google.
- Create High-Quality, Shareable Content: Ensure your visuals are eye-catching and relevant. The more appealing your pins, the more likely they’ll be shared, driving more traffic and helping your SEO.
- Encourage Re-Pinning: Add Pinterest share buttons on your website to make it easy for visitors to share your content. The more shares you get, the more backlinks and traffic you’ll generate.
- Optimize Your Pinterest Profile: A well-optimized Pinterest profile can drive more traffic to your site. Use keywords in your board titles and descriptions, and regularly update your pins with fresh content.
How to Optimize Pinterest Pins
Pinterest not only provides the benefits already mentioned for small businesses but is also very user-friendly. However, don't let this lead to a false sense of confidence or sloppy pinning habits. Begin by considering these strategies to drive more traffic from your Pinterest account. Here are some tips on utilizing SEO effectively on Pinterest:
1- Establish a Pinterest Business Profile
A business Pinterest account is entirely free and provides access to Pinterest analytics, offering valuable insights into user behavior. Additionally, it allows the use of Rich Pins and other extra Pinterest features. The steps to set up a business profile on Pinterest are straightforward and simple to follow.
Claim your business website on Pinterest
After setting up your business profile, the next step is to claim your business on Pinterest. This process informs Pinterest that the business you are associated with is genuinely yours. It involves verifying ownership of a specific domain by adding a snippet of code to your website. Simply follow the provided instructions for claiming your website on Pinterest, and you'll gain access to all the benefits of a business account.
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2- Select Your Username Wisely
Choose a straightforward username that closely relates to your business. If your full company name fits within the character limit, it's ideal to use it. If not, be strategic in selecting a username by maintaining relevance, incorporating key keywords, and ensuring it's easy to remember and spell. Aim to make it as close to your business name as possible, allowing users to find you easily if they're specifically searching for your business. Remember, the username is limited to 15 characters, so make sure to utilize them wisely.
3- Optimize Your Profile
Search engines often go beyond crawling just your content; they also examine basic information in your profile. For instance, search engines can view your username, making it all the more important to choose a relevant name. They may also look into sections like "About," where you have the opportunity to inform visitors about who you are and what you do. Similar to how we described outlining your company, you're not just informing your audience but search engines as well. Incorporating target keywords in this section can significantly enhance optimization efforts.
To optimize your images effectively, include a detailed meta description to ensure ADA compliance and assist search engines in understanding them. It is crucial to optimize all the content you create for your website, Pinterest profile, and the pins you craft and share.
4- Utilize high-quality images
Pinterest operates as a visual social media platform, which means you'll need to use high-quality images. Avoid posting low-resolution pictures and resize your images to fit properly on the Pinterest platform. Although there is no restriction on image height, the platform does limit the width to 554 pixels, so make sure your images are formatted to comply with this requirement.
Select image file names that are more descriptive
When sharing pictures online, it's important to optimize them properly. Search engines analyze the text linked to images, so avoid using an auto-generated file name. Instead, select a descriptive file name that incorporates relevant keywords for your image.
Include detailed image descriptions
When crafting an image description, it's important to be concise yet descriptive within the 500-character limit. Aim for keyword-rich content that remains natural and engaging, avoiding keyword stuffing. Ideal descriptions range from 200 to 300 words, as research indicates this length promotes more engagement in terms of re-pins and comments. Therefore, strive to balance detail and brevity, ensuring your description is informative and appealing without exceeding character limits or feeling forced.
Image Sizing
Pinterest thrives on mobile devices, with users appreciating the convenience of scrolling and pinning with just one hand. When it comes to choosing the right size for your Pinterest images, it can be challenging to determine which ones will captivate users and encourage them to pin your posts. On Pinterest, longer images tend to perform better. For the newsfeed, a 2:3 aspect ratio is ideal, and an optimal pin size is 1,000 pixels by 1,500 pixels. While you don’t want your images to be excessively large, opting for bigger images rather than smaller ones is generally more effective.
5- Exploring Different Types of Content
Pinterest, known for its visual appeal through diverse images, offers more than just attractive pictures. With an array of content types available, it's worthwhile to leverage these for your advantage. Consider integrating blogs, videos, infographics, e-books, and products into your Pinterest strategy. By weaving these elements into your visuals, you create more interactive opportunities for users on your Pinterest business profile.
Pinterest limits re-pinning the same post to four times a month. However, you can link to the same content multiple times using different visuals. While your audience appreciates diverse pins, they won't engage with the same blog post excessively, even with varied images. Although Pinterest doesn't penalize multiple pins to the same link, it's advisable to create 3-6 unique pins per content piece. This approach maintains a balanced strategy that satisfies both your audience and Pinterest's optimization algorithms.
6- Pin your own content
With Pinterest, there's no need to attach a link to your website with every image. By using the Pin It button, your pin will naturally include a link back to your site when you upload a picture. Additionally, after establishing this link, other Pinterest users can create more backlinks by sharing or re-pinning your content. Therefore, it's crucial to pin your own content rather than solely re-pinning others'. This strategy not only strengthens your brand image and boosts brand recognition, but also directs users to your website to purchase your products.
7- Look at SERPs
You can also look for additional tips online as you start utilizing Pinterest to your benefit.
SEO focuses on discovering what people are searching for and assisting them in answering their questions or fulfilling their requests. If you're unsure about which topic to explore next, try conducting a basic search for related terms linked to your business. This can reveal popular search ideas that resonate with your audience within your industry. While this approach doesn't provide quantitative data on whether those keywords will rank higher, it offers a valuable starting point and guidance for expanding topics. These insights are freely available and can significantly enhance your marketing and SEO strategies.
8- Keyword Research
Keyword research in SEO is a significant element that spans various sectors. Although Pinterest has its own search algorithm, integrating keyword research into your content remains crucial. Google searches can funnel traffic to Pinterest, so implementing an effective keyword strategy can help attract external visitors, provided your content is outstanding. When it comes to Pinterest articles, concentrating on long-tail keywords, which often have higher search volumes and face less competition, might be more beneficial. Ultimately, it's about maintaining a balance that attracts quality traffic to your Pinterest page and ultimately to your website.
9- Use Hashtags
Hashtags have become a popular tool on Pinterest to help users discover more posts or pins related to their interests. Creating hashtags relevant to your content, business, or niche can expand the reach of your pins. However, it's important not to overdo it; aim for 5-8 hashtags to keep it effective without overwhelming. Incorporating keywords into your hashtags can further optimize your pins and enhance their value on Pinterest, making the tags more precise.
10- Adding a "Save" button to your pins
When users have the option to save pins to their boards, it enhances the visibility of your content and optimizes traffic flow to your website. This increases interaction with your Pinterest page, attracts more followers, and boosts the exposure of images and content on your profile. To implement the "Save" button, you can use HTML. This button can either be displayed by default or appear when a user hovers over the top-left corner of a picture. If you're experiencing significant traffic from Pinterest or notice strong customer interest in saving your images to their boards, adding the "Save" button might be a strategic move.
Adding Value to Pinterest
Pinterest is no longer just a platform for discovering craft and fashion inspiration. It has evolved into a significant social network, offering great potential for business growth. By effectively utilizing Pinterest, you can expect an increase in website traffic and improved conversion rates when you invest time in optimizing your presence there.
At Boostability, we offer cost-effective SEO services designed to enhance your small business's social media initiatives. Every five minutes, we assist a small business in achieving a first-page placement on Google search results. Join forces with us to foster the growth of your small business! Feel free to contact us with any inquiries or if you'd like to consult with one of our digital marketing specialists.
Wrapping Up: The SEO Power of Pinterest Shares
While Pinterest shares don’t provide traditional dofollow backlinks, they offer numerous indirect SEO benefits, from driving consistent, targeted traffic to increasing your site's authority and visibility. By optimizing your content for Pinterest and encouraging shares, you can tap into a powerful source of organic traffic that supports your overall SEO strategy.
Tools like Pinterest Backlink Creator DivDev can help streamline this process, allowing you to focus on creating great content while the backlinks and traffic follow naturally.
FAQS
- Does Pinterest affect SEO?
Yes, Pinterest can affect SEO by generating backlinks and increasing visibility.
- Does Pinterest help Google ranking?
Indirectly, through increased backlinks and traffic, it can improve ranking.
- Does Pinterest increase website traffic?
Yes, it can drive significant traffic to your website.
- Do Pinterest pins show up in Google search?
Yes, Pinterest pins can appear in Google search results.