Pinterest has become one of the top search engines online, especially for specific industries. Those industries include food, decor, family, retail, DIY, craft and entertainment. One of the unique features of Pinterest is that it is a search engine on its own, but you can also search for Pinterest items on other search engines such as Google. Therefore, it is not surprising to realize that writing for Pinterest (yes, it is not all pictures) needs to include keywords and SEO techniques.
SEO for Pinterest
If you have been a writer for the Internet for more than six months, then the terms SEO and keywords are quite familiar to you. SEO for Pinterest has much in common with SEO on writers websites, blog posts or web pages. So what do you need to know?
- SEO is important for Pinterest. It doesn’t affect the images, but it does affect the pin description, board title and description and profile information. Pin descriptions are extremely important. If you use descriptive keywords in your pin description, it will make it more searchable on Pinterest and also on Google.
- Sure, you can add hashtags, but use them sparingly. No one likes to look at a hashtag-filled description.
- If your board is about Christmas, then use words that are related to Christmas on your pins. Delete any pins that don’t fit the board personality.
- Recheck your boards every six months or so to see if any of the links are broken. Too many bad links makes your account look bad.
Searching on Pinterest
In the last year, Pinterest has revamped their search mechanism and made it much better. It is very well maintained and fun to use. You can put in keywords, and many broader topics have search tags that pop up at the top of the screen to help you break down your topic.
Recently, I got a new crockpot, which I had never used before and needed a recipe for brisket. It was so much more fun to search on Pinterest than on Google. I immediately found several recipes on Pinterest and then narrowed them down by going to each website. In case you are interested, the brisket turned out amazing.
Pinterest makes searching fun! In the areas that Pinterest users focus on, Pinterest is my first choice for search.
Where Pinterest Differs from Google
Remember the dog in the movie “UP” who got distracted easily? (Squirrel!) Pinterest reminds me of that often. It is full of lovely images with labels to help you find what you are looking for. When you search on Google, you primarily search using words. On Pinterest, pinners have learned how to make pins that stand out using formatting and labels on images. Users pin what looks cool, colorful or fun. While this doesn’t have anything to do with SEO, it is one way that Pinterest gets away from standard search techniques.
As a writer, you need to look carefully at the text used on your pins. Since you have so little space to write, what you include is critical.
Writer Bio: Paula A is a freelance writer available for projects at WriterAccess.
