Did you know that Pinterest can still be one of the biggest traffic sources in 2021?
Finding a Pinterest strategy in 2021 that works can be tricky.
If you lookup “Pinterest strategy” you’re bound to find the following suggestions:
- Join group boards
- Post infographics
- “Use this color, not that color”
The list goes on. These aren’t bad ideas, and they still work. But, social media is ever changing. And while Pinterest might not feel as “social” as Instagram or Twitter, its algorithm also goes through major shifts.
And so, the advice has CHANGED.
In 2021, Pinterest can still be a driving source of traffic for your blog.
Why should you still use Pinterest in 2021?
- It’s free.
- It’s very user friendly.
- You don’t need fresh content to post.
- You can link to as many sources as you want (your blog, Instagram, or shop).
Pinterest provides evergreen traffic, so you can see results even YEARS after posting. I get thousands of monthly impressions off a pin from 2018.
Which numbers matter on Pinterest?
First, let’s go over what all these terms mean:
Impressions: the number of times your Pins or ads were on screen.
Outbound Clicks: the number of times someone clicked on your pin and was brought to it’s destination (presumably your blog or social media).
Saves: the number of times your pins were saved to a board.
Followers: how many accounts follow you (duh).
Impressions, saves and followers are great.
The secret to Pinterest is NOT followers or saves. It’s outbound clicks.
More outbound clicks = more traffic.
More outbound clicks = higher ranking on Pinterest.
More organic traffic = higher ranking on Google = gold!
How to use Pinterest in 2021 to grow your blog traffic:
- Repin old content. You don’t need a new blog post to make new pins! You can create new pins for old or updated articles.
- Consistency. As with most social media sites, you now need to post just about every day to see consistent results. Tailwind can help you schedule pins.
- Idea pins. This is the most important key to growth in 2021. Think of them like Instagram stories. They’re pins in a multi-page format. They are stickied to the top of your Pinterest profile. Launched in May 2021, they’re just something you have to do to keep impressions up.
About the Algorithm
If you follow any content creators or influencers on Instagram, you may have heard them mention if they’re not on “stories” every day, their posts don’t get shown to as many people.
I know that my numbers were slashed in the past year.
This is becoming true for Pinterest as well. Idea pins are the way to go as far as boosting traffic and getting those clicks. They’re controversial because they aren’t able to be linked to your content. The hope is that someone views it and goes to your profile, and then clicks through to your site.
As annoying as this detail is, the algorithm loves idea pins.
Re-pinning old posts, being consistent and creating idea pins is what has gotten my numbers back in the green!
Do you use Pinterest to drive traffic to your blog? Have you noticed any changes in your Pinterest account in the past few months?
Let me know below.
O.
