A 20 step checklist to help you skyrocket your Pinterest Traffic

Pinterest is a visual search engine.  After google, Pinterest will be the top source of traffic for your website.  SEO typically takes between 9 and 12 months to kick in.  Pinterest allows you to drive traffic from when you hit publish on your post to months after.

Some speculate that Pinterest traffic’s shelf life is 24 months.  Pinning images to your Pinterest boards should be a weekly habit and below you will find a 20 step checklist to guide you through the process.

BEFORE YOU PIN TO PINTEREST

1. Structure your blog post so that it provides a solution for the reader.

Readers are looking for solutions. The reason why they are on Pinterest is because they are collecting knowledge that is going to help them in a facet of their lives. When you write your blog post, ask yourself, what is the trajectory that you want to take your readers through?

Visitors to your article tend to scan the article first – before they decide to read the full article.  I always ask myself if all the reader did was to scan it – would they be able to understand the message you are relaying in your article?  Therefore break up your content into easy to read headers.

An easy way to communicate this to your readers is through your blog title and H1 Header.
– Is it catchy
– Does it quantify how it will solve the problem they are seeking
– Is it short enough to display in Google Search (63 characters)

If you want some ideas on titles – read this blog article that lists 190 catchy headlines.

The typical structure I use is to have the H1 Header, as the top header and then all the other supporting Headers will be H2 and I will end the conclusion with an H3 Header.

After each blog article is complete I submit my article to Google for crawling.

Also in your Pinterest set up – make sure your website is connected to your Pinterest account so that rich pins are enabled. You may be able to do this yourself or you might need help from your webmaster. Pinterest has a section to walk you through how to do this.

2. Create a meta description which is the snippet that will capture the reader’s attention

I use the YOAST plug in to edit the meta description that Google will use when displaying my article. Typically it will answer the reader’s question. If you don’t use Yoast, it will be the first sentence or two of your blog article.

I learned how to write my meta description from Brandon Gaille.

The meta description is what readers look at to decide if they will click through. It provides clues if your article is relevant and actionable to their search query.

– Use the right number of characters in the meta description (156 characters)
– Is it actionable?
– Is it unique to competing articles? (Conduct a simple google search to see what the meta descriptions are to the topic you are covering)
– Does it make the reader want to click through to read more?

3. Make sure the page load speed is as fast as possible for your page

There is nothing worse than clicking through to an article and experiencing a slow page load speed. A potential reader will often not wait and click back to leave your article before it even loads. The easiest way to increase page load speed is to make sure your images are not bogging down the system. I use TinyPNG [TinyPNG – Compress PNG images while preserving transparency] to decrease all my photos so that they are as close or smaller than 100KB in size.

Also make sure all of the images in your post have the correct file names, title + alt tags. If you want to learn more, do a search online about about SEO image optimization.

4. Consider a social sharing plug in that will encourage more social media shares

I use Social Warfare [Social Warfare: Your Ultimate Social Sharing Arsenal] so that I would have the graphics that encourage readers to pin to Pinterest or to share to social media. I installed this plug in – in August and have not had any problems with it. That said some bloggers have reported that updating the plug in caused their blog to crash. Be sure to do your research.

I also like that within the plug in I am able to create and upload additional images and descriptions that will be used when readers share to Facebook or Twitter.

An alternative that other bloggers are using is Tasty Pins.

Both of these platforms also enable you to add images to your blog post that are only visible when a reader clicks the Pinterest Icon on your article. You can learn how to do this through code as well. I happen to not know any code so the plug in has been extremely useful for me.

Social Warfare Features

Now you’re ready to start Pinning

5.  Create two Pin-able graphics

There are many free options that allow you to design images with graphics on them. I happen to use Canva. [Amazingly Simple Graphic Design Software – Canva].   It’s easy to use and it’s free.

They also offer templates which are useful if you aren’t graphically inclined. In the past Super Tall photos/graphics were performing better than the standard size.  The standard pin image size today is 800 by 1200px or even 600 by 900px. The template within Canva is 735 by 1102.  I used to create the super tall pins but have heard that Pinterest will no longer be favoring those so now I just use the default size offered by Canva.

Keep in mind content trumps design. If the solution you are offering the reader is what they are looking for, then the reader is more apt to pin, save, or click through to your article.

As you create your graphic, decide on a two to three standard design elements that you will use for your blog or website. In this way readers will come to recognize when a pin-able image comes up in their feed.

Test the different designs to see which does well.

I also recommend that at least two images on the article are pin-able. One can be hidden if you like. But you should have at least two options that clearly indicate this would be a graphic that belongs in someone Pinterest collection.

6. Create white space in your Pin-able image

Understand that readers are scrolling through their Pinterest feed rather quickly. Design your image so that it has white space around the text so that it’s easier for the reader to spot. You want to capture their attention in less than a second as they scroll through their feed.

7. Decide on the colors you will be using for your Pin-able images

I’ve read articles saying pink or red perform better. While there might be a lot of truth in that statement, be sure to search Pinterest for the niche you’re in. Some niches are ALL using pink or red and so adding your pins to a sea of pink or red images will not make you stand out.

8. Decide on your font set.

Some fonts pop up more in Pinterest. Decide on the fonts you will use for every image you create.

9.  Use Original Images

Stock photos do not do well.  Make sure you use original images for your pin-able graphics

10. Brand every image

Ensure every single image has your website address. Make sure the style is in line with your brand’s identity.

11. Ensure your descriptions support your pin-able image.

Very similar to the meta description – make sure your Pinterest description is:
– Is actionable?
– Is it unique to competing articles? (do a simple google search to see what the meta descriptions are to the topic you are covering)
– Does it make the reader want to click through to read more?

12. Add hashtags to your description

Think of keywords and how a searcher might be looking for information. Add one to three hashtags that put your article in the right category for that piece of content.

13. Create boards that are in your niche

Set up your boards to cover all the topics you will be covering. If you are stuck on how to do this, look at who the leaders are in your niche. Success leaves clues.  Analyze how they set up their boards and decide what elements influence your own decisions.

14. Create one or two boards that support your main boards

I follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of my boards are specific to topics I write about while the other 20% are boards that support the general niche I’m in. For example if you are a dog blogger, your one board might just be CUTE PUPPIES even though you never write about cute puppies but it allows you to pin content that your readers might be interested in as well.

On the flip side of this, if your blog is about dogs, do not create boards that are completely unrelated to your niche. So any fashion, or interior design boards do not belong as part of your board collection. If you do so choose to pin those kind of images, make your board secret so that readers are not confused when they come to visit your account.

15. Follow other accounts in your niche

I follow the 80/20 rule when it comes to deciding what to pin. I pin my own images first. And then I pin other articles that I feel my readers will find valuable.

I always click through to ensure that the article I am pinning is of substance and is to a secure website. This is very important because sometimes pins might be click bait to another article that isn’t relevant to their search. If you are directing and sharing non relevant articles your readers will lose trust.

16. Consider Tailwind as a scheduling app

Tailwind changed my life on Pinterest. In August my monthly impressions was at 13K per month. Today the first week of December my Pinterest monthly impressions are at 221K

Please note that I receive a referral credit for every account that signs up via the link I provided.

My referral link to Tailwind is as follows: [Tailwind: Pinterest & Instagram Scheduler, Analytics & Marketing Tool]

You are able to sign up for a free trial and continue your membership if you find it valuable.

I share some screen shots of how my Pinterest traffic skyrocketed since I started using Tailwind.

17. Upgrade your Tailwind membership to include Smart Loop

Pinterest discourages and even penalizes spammy behavior which in a nutshell is pinning the same pins to Pinterest from your website or blog.

Tailwind has a new feature that allows you to re-pin key pin-able images but a new pin is created in Pinterest so that you are not penalized for spammy behavior.

18. Join Tribes on Tailwind

The best way to find content to pin if you don’t have enough of your own, is to join Tailwind Tribes. These tribes share content within your niche and has useful AI to show you if you have already pinned an article to the tribe or not.

Stats that show my Pinterest traffic before Tailwind in August – 13K impressions monthly

Stats that show my Pinterest traffic using Tailwind first week of December – 221K impressions monthly

Pinterest Stats the last 30 days

19.  Review your analytics

Each week review both your Pinterest Analytics, Your Activity Boards, and your Tailwind Analytics to fully understand which pins are performing best.

I also typically review other website’s Activity section if it’s available to have a better grasp of what content is trending with other bloggers.

20. Schedule an hour or two each week to fill your Pinterest queue

Every Monday I sit down to fill my Pinterest queue with pins that will cover me for the week.

My workflow is as follows:
– Pin my own images first for any new blog articles I have written that week. If your blog is established, I would tackle the best performing articles first, to create pins for those articles to pin to Pinterest.
– Pin images from my Instagram. There is functionality inside Tailwind to pin images from your Instagram to Pinterest. It also shows you which images have been published and which are scheduled.
– Pin images from articles that I have validated to provide value …. to my readers from other websites. In essence you’re curating articles that you are vouching for. Your readers will be looking at your pins overall and evaluating if the content you offer or recommend provides value to their areas of interest.
– Analyze not for impressions but for click through rates and saves.
– Check your Google Analytics to validate traffic from Pinterest.

Pinterest will drive traffic to your blog and website when utilized strategically

Pinning content that provides solutions to readers will exponentially skyrocket your pinterest traffic.  This process needs to be done on a regular basis and part of your workflow.  Ensure you have a holistic approach and understand that it starts by preparing your blog post all the way to analyzing your analytics to see the best conversions.

Happy Pinning!