Easily Grow Your Traffic with Pinterest!

Not only is Pinterest addictive to just be on, it can also boost your websites daily traffic significantly. During my first year blogging I had no idea just how helpful Pinterest could be for blog exposure. At the time, I did use Pinterest for my personal use but I rarely used it for blog promotion.  Once I began seeing traffic come from the few posts I had added to Pinterest I realized how quickly it could increase my readership & daily traffic.

Create an Interesting Account

While this is pretty basic Pinterest 101 it has to be said, creating an interesting & engaging profile on any social media account will always encourage others to follow you.  Start by choosing an image that best represents you and blog, writing a catchy statement about what you’re all about, and adding links to your website and other social profiles.

A very important aspect of creating an engaging pinterest account is your actual boards. Focus on creating good titles, descriptions that tell pinners what your board is about, and selecting images that have a flow from board to board. For titles, try to make them simple and informative. For example, if you have a board on only vegan recipes than don’t just label it “Food” – instead try something like “The Best Vegan Recipes”. Then you move on to the description which will simply just expand upon the title, like this “Easy & Delicious Vegan Recipes!”.

The images you select to be the cover for your boards should have some sort of consistency. Branding is all about consistency, and your Pinterest boards should be no exception. If your blog is all about pinks and cream tones, then try to find images for your boards that have those colours in them. I promise you’ll find them quickly.

Comment on Popular Posts in Your Niche

When you’re on Pinterest, go to the search bar. Search for topics within your market, and seek out the posts which have the most re-pins, likes, and comments. When you see a lot of comments on a post, take that opportunity to join in on the conversation.

Here’s the thing: That post has been (and will be) viewed by many Pinterest users. By joining in on the conversation you’re increasing your visibility to those who have researched a topic that you specialize in. Best of all, if you can you can even sneak in a comment or two referring to your own guides to let those Pinterest users know that you have the information they’re interested in.  If you stay consistent with this you’ll find that you will drive more people to your account which will eventually impact your website’s traffic.

Get Your How-To Posts on Pinterest

So first things first, write lots of helpful how-to posts! These posts always receive more attention on Pinterest because people love to find information that helps them in some way. When you’re writing a post be sure to ask yourself: How can I turn this into a “How To” post?  When you’re able to spin your content to be advice that is useful to your readers you’ll find that your posts gain more traffic, they are easier to market, and your Pinterest will blow up.

One thing to be sure of when you add your “how to” posts to Pinterest is that the images convey that it’s a “How to..” and not just the caption. You want your image to instantly grab people’s eyes so that they will proceed to read the caption so you want your message to be loud and clear on your picture.

Add a Pin-It Button to your Blog Images

When it comes to things that you want your readers to do, you want to make it easy and effortless for them. You don’t want them jumping through any hoops just to pin your post! Adding a button to your pictures that appears when the mouse hovers over the image saying “PIN IT!” will encourage readers to pin your posts to their boards. This is such a great way to get promotion and have your content reach a broader audience.

Create Beautiful Rich Pins

For all my blog posts, I like to create a rich pin or two in order to best market the post on Instagram. Here are two examples of my pins:

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Wait – what are rich pins?

Rich Pins are pins that show more information when clicked on to. So, for example, a recipe that has been pinned may just have the description you added to it, but if you apply for rich pins on Pinterest then Pinterest will grab more information from your site and make it available on the Pin. These sorts of pins help engage users.

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For posts like the ones above, I used Canva to create them. Canva is an excellent and easy-to-use tool to create beautiful pins. Canva has a Pinterest template which is the optimal size for Pinterest, too (735 px x 1102 px) so you don’t have to worry about your pins being too small, wide, or long for Pinterest.

If you are a bit overwhelmed with idea of making your pins from scratch then don’t worry. Here’s a way to find beautiful Pinterest-ready templates:

Step 1: Go to Canva

Step 2: Click “Find Templates” on the Bottom Left Corner

Step 3: Type in “Pinterest Graphics”

Step 4: Pick a Template

These type of pins are great for showcasing guides, tips, and recipes.

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** For fashion posts, be sure to upload clear images. Also, take note that the most re-pinned style posts are ones that do not include a person’s face, so be sure to post some images without your face to optimize your pin’s likeliness to be re-pinned. 

Contribute to Group Boards

One of the best-kept secrets of optimizing your Pinterest traffic has to be Group Boards. Group Boards are run by a group of Pinterest users who all add their images to one specific board. The boards often offer a larger audience for your Pins and can drive quite a bit of traffic to your website if used continuously.