Biggest Pinterest Traffic Mistakes: Changing Your Perspective

The #1 Mistake People Make Re: Gaining Traffic From Pinterest

What do you think the biggest Pinterest traffic mistakes are?

Is it too many pins? Inconsistency?

Ugly pins? (I don’t know, I’ve had some hideous pins rank on Pinterest…)

Getting blocked? That happens. (You can read more about Pinterest suspensions here. It’s a detailed article over what you can do to get your account reactivated.)

Not having rich pins? Not advertising?

These are related to the biggest mistake… but…

The Biggest Pinterest Traffic Mistakes

The biggest Pinterest traffic mistakes include not thinking of Pinterest in a business first fashion.

You need to approach Pinterest and your account like it’s a marketing method from the very beginning.

If you do not approach it from a business perspective from the start, all these weird things start to happen.

So we’re going to talk about those weird things today.

Not Sold On Pinterest Yet?

Pinterest is a traffic machine.

On Google or other platforms, you can pay $2 or more per click. But on Pinterest, all of your clicks are free.

So from a business perspective, this is a huge missed marketing opportunity.

How To Stop Making The Biggest Pinterest Traffic Mistakes

#1 Have A Pinterest For Business Account

If you are going to be using Pinterest to e selling things to people eventually, you HAVE to have a business account per Pinterest’s terms.

People ask me all the time if you can turn a personal account into a business account, and you 100% can. I would recommend if you have an existing personal account to go ahead and make it a business account.

You can make some boards private if you need and you can start being consistent with your Pinterest following.

#2 Fill Out All The Details

I see people make this mistake, too: Not filling out all the info sections on your Pinterest profile.

Fill out your about section (near your name on Pinterest).

You can also max out your name on Pinterest. So, for example, instead of just saying AlisonReeves.co I say Alison Reeves//Blogging, Coaching, Entrepreneurship.

You can do the same thing with the description. Make sure to max out any text field to optimize for as much SEO as possible.

#3 Optimize The Location

Underneath the URL in your business account, there is a place to enter the location of the business. Unless you are a local business, the location isn’t really that helpful.

Instead, you could use the Location field to enter more keywords or enter more info about who you ate.

(I got this tip from Chelsea Clark. Thanks!)

Approaching Pinterest From A Business Perspective

Now that you know you need to think about Pinterest differently, you are going to have to change your approach. We are making business a priority and not necesarily cute pins.

Brainstorm Keywords

Open up a spreadsheet and start brainstorming keyword ideas.

Think of Pinterest as Google, but with a visual component.

Pinterest is a search engine.

You type something in and you find what you are looking for (hopefully.) Your goal is to help people find what they are trying to find. To do this, you need to use the keywords that they are using.

So, open a spreadsheet and have a plan for your keywords.

Build A Strong Foundation With Boards

When you start a board, make at least 20 boards to start off with. Don’t have an empty board and one with 2 pins.

Have 20 boards with relevant content. Boards should be topics relevant to what you do now or what you plan to do in the future.

(Eventually you want to rank for Google, but it takes a lot longer. Get the free Pinterest traffic first.)

No Boards Should Be Empty

Do the keyword research. Then use it to fill out all the information that you can.

Edit the description of the board with keywords so people can find you when they search.

Then pin a few pins to the board to let Pinterest know what the board is about. No boards should be empty.

Have Pins Going To Your Domain

You should be creating new pins that are going to your domain or your blog.

Use a free design app like Canva with Pinterest templates to create simple pins that are easy to read and simple. Make sure to use your keyword research to optimize the title and description of your pin.

Then pin your pin to relevant boards. Make sure they are relevant so Pinterest knows what your pin is about and can help people find it with keyword searches.

Have A Featured Board With Just Your Pins

This helps direct attention to your pis on your profile. It also serves as a great resource library for what you have created and pinned.

Create a board for just the pins you have made directing to your domain. Then set it as your featured Pinterest board.

People will usually find your pins through organic search. So you want to make sure if they come to your profile that they can easily find the rest of your pins.

Stop Making The Biggest Pinterest Traffic Mistakes

This article gives you a really great guideline to audit your Pinterest account.

Start brainstorming keywords and keep track of them. Then create 20 boards, don’t leave them empty and optimize every area that you can in your Pinterest profile from Name to Location.