Looking to drive traffic to your site using Pinterest? Have a small following? Don’t worry – you are in the right place!
If you are looking to increase your page views to your blog or small business, Pinterest is the answer! NO matter what size following you have! In this weeks podcast episode I talk about four ways to drive traffic to your site. I also slip in some SEO basics and a few tips on how to grow your following as well. Listen below and then check the show notes for more details.
There are over 175 million active users on Pinterest. That’s a lot of eyeballs on your blog or small business’ website. In order to get those viewers from Pinterest to your site, you need to:
- Create content people need
- Use the appropriate keywords
- Have an attractive pin
- Deliver on your promises
1. Creating content people need – In order to have people click to your site, you need to create that people are looking for or have a hunger for already. No one will be clicking on pins that they have no interest in.
It’s ok to write for yourself but sometimes those posts don’t get the most traffic. If you are transitioning your blog to a business, take the posts you already have and tweak them a bit to include content people need. Just a few extra paragraphs in an old post can benefit both you and your reader.
2. Keywords – Keywords are so important when it comes to Pinterest. It’s one of the best (and easiest!) ways to have your pin seen in searches. Have a text overlay on your pin image but use the description area to tell the viewer what the pin is about. You only get 150 words before the description is cut off so many sure to pack it full of keyword appropriate titles.
Using the keyword hack you can find words and phrases that people are searching for in a matter of seconds. Take those keywords and put them in your pin description AND your post. Adding them to your post will help with SEO (search engine optimization) as well.
3. Perfect pin – Once you have a viewer based on keywords, you want to hook them with your perfect pin. Your pin should draw them in enough that they want to click through to your site.
4. Deliver on your promise – When you promise something in your pin or description you want to make sure that once the viewer clicks over that you deliver on your promise. Say you have a post that talks about 10 easy dinner ideas for new moms that everyone will love. When people click onto your post that want to SEE 10 dinner ideas! Don’t have 5 and call it good. You are building or destroying a potential email subscribers trust. They may not click on anymore pins with your name on them if they feel burned at all.
All of this has to be done consistently! It’s not just one post that you repin over and over again. You need to continue to deliver great content and pins that you know your ideal reader needs. New content is good for Pinterest and Google so make sure you are adding new pieces regularly.
Once you get the reader to click over to your site you want to provide some sort of content upgrade or opt-in to get them on your email list. As much as I love Pinterest, there is no real way to retain these followers on the platform. Your ultimate goal should be to get those viewers onto your email list where you can start building a relationship with them.
See: Email basics for small business owners
An opt-in can be a simple printable, checklist or ebook of previous recipes. You want to provide something that they can use offline (or off your site). Use an email provider that allows you to automatically send your freebie to new subscribers. I love ConvertKit (affiliate link) but I know that you can do this is Mailerlite, MailChimp and Madmimi.
Keywords again are so important not only in your pin but also within your post. Having the keywords both places will help you rank higher and show that you are an authority on the topic. You want to make sure your post is AT LEAST 300 words long with headings and subheadings. Use appropriate links to larger sites to help you rank higher and also make sure you use NO FOLLOW links when anything is paid or sponsored.
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How to increase your Pinterest followers
It is AWESOME to have a large following on Pinterest, but it may not necessarily be a huge traffic driver for your site. You can have a smaller following but with the right keywords are able to drive traffic to your site. My personally suggestion is to focus more on your CONTENT then your followers anyways.
- Created content your ideal reader needs
- Have an ideal reader in mind EVERY time you pin.
- Make sure your profile is full of niche specific keywords and give the reader a reason to follow you.
- Example – “I pin easy recipes for the whole family!”
- Pin at LEAST 10 times a day.
- Pins are NOT in chronological order anymore so if you pin 25 times at once, no one will know.
- You want to pin your content AND others.
- By pinning content of others you are showing that you are an expert in your niche.
- Make sure all your personal boards are active.
- I recommend each board have at LEAST 100 pins and that you pin to it once a week or more.
- Be on the right group boards or Tailwind tribes.
- See: The benefits of a Tailwind tribe
The key to driving traffic to your site?
Target the right people with the right content that solves their problem.
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