Pinterest is a great way to reach a whole new audience and drive traffic to your blog.
By following a few easy steps, you can maximize your blog’s visibility and even help with your SEO.
1. Convert Your Account to a Business Account
Business accounts look the same as personal accounts, display your blog address and most importantly, allow you to access analytics including basic traffic data, along with the most recent, re-pinned and clicked pins. You can also view the metrics according to a specific timeframe to see how they match up with corresponding posts. Check out this post from HubSpot for more details about converting your account.
2. Replace the Title of Your Photos with Compelling Text
When people pin photos from your blog, the only text that automatically appears under each photo on Pinterest is the file name. To create compelling text that will drive people to your blog, you need to edit the title of the picture after you upload it to your blog. If you’re using WordPress, you can do this by clicking on the edit box that pops up when you click on the picture. Right Mix Marketing provides a step-by-step guide for changing your text on WordPress.
Something else important to keep in mind — Pinterest photos are indexed by Google, so your descriptions can help with your blog’s SEO. Blue Fountain Media suggests using the Google Keyword Tool to determine the most searched for key words and including relevant ones, mentioning your brand or blog name in each post and avoiding hashtags since they haven’t become mainstream on Pinterest.
3. Link Your Photos to Your Blog Post
Each photo included on your blog should link back to a specific post so that when people pin it and click on the link, they will be taken directly to your site.
If you need to include an external link to accompany the photo, do so in the blog text so that when people read your post, they know where to find more information.
4. Don’t Take It Personally
While Pinterest is a great opportunity to collect information for yourself, if you really want to use it to drive traffic to your blog, you need to create board names that apply generally to other people, according to a post from The Social Craft. For example, instead of Jake’s Birthday Party, name it Kids’ Birthday Party Ideas, and make sure you add a large variety of photos. Pinterest allows users three private boards, which are great for more personal projects.
Let us know if you have any other suggestions. Happy pinning!