How to Optimize Your Pinterest Profile For More Views

Nov 20

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Grab your getting started with Pinterest checklist here!

Pinterest is pretty simple right? Create content. Share pretty pins. Save pins you like. Carry on.

It really is an amazing tool for getting in front of your potential new clients because while it still seems to get lumped in with other social media platforms, it’s a search engine.

Which is great news if you’re like me and being social all the time exhausts you, ha!

Because you can be super successful with Pinterest without having to be on it All. The. Time.

The thing is, you do have to put some work into your profile in the beginning to make sure you don’t scare off potential clients when they find it.

Plus you want to make sure it’s completely optimized so that when they don’t know they’re searching for you, you show up!

Let’s get to it!

This is for you if…

You are just getting started with Pinterest and want to make sure you set up your profile right from the get go
You’re ready to start focusing on Pinterest and need to know how to optimize your profile for the best results

Pinterest Profile Name

Okay okay, seems obvious, right? But truth is you need to optimize this part of your profile. Just having your name or business name here isn’t enough. Because people don’t know they ‘re searching for YOU, remember.

I am one who things personal branding is the way to go. Branding yourself first and what you do second. Which means your Pinterest profile name will show your name first, and what you do second. Simple right?

For example: Delana Simmons | SEO & Organic Traffic Strategist

If I just have my name there, I wouldn’t show up in any searches for SEO, Pinterest, SEO consultant, or Pinterest consultant. And because people probably aren’t looking for me specifically, yet, I want to be sure I pop up in those searches.

Now, if your business has an actual business name (rather than using your personal name), you’ll still want to do something similar to this. Because again, people won’t know they are looking for YOUR business. So you need to have keywords in your name that helps you to show up in results.

This might look like:

Create and Go | Start a Blog + Make Money Blogging

They have tons of info on blogging, but you’re not going to look up Create and Go specifically. You’ll search for things about blogging, like start a blog or make money blogging. And guess what, they’ll pop up in those results!

Pinterest Profile Bio

Just under your name on your profile is room for a short bio. Keywords, keywords, keywords. Describe what you do, super short and sweet, with lots of keywords.

Because the same goes for the bio as goes for everything else around here… Pinterest is a search engine. So any opportunity you have to put keywords that tell people what you do, the better. And Pinterest will pull from the profile bio when giving search results.

So this is a great way for your profile to show up, rather than only pins!

Grab your getting started with Pinterest checklist here!

Pinterest Board Names and Descriptions

Now it’s super easy to just add a new board, start pinning to it, and go.

Don’t do it.

Spend some time on your boards. Make sure they are relevant to your business and on brand. Hide any boards that aren’t. Yes, all the Pinterest craft, food, and birthday party boards. You can keep them. You can pin to them to your heart’s desire. Just keep them hidden. Your public boards should show off your business expertise and anything related to that.

That being said, if you look at my Pinterest profile, you’ll see a few non-business boards. There’s a Disney one, an Avengers one, and an Orange Bird one. Personally, I think it’s okay to have a couple of boards that show some personality.

Disney, the Avengers, these are two of my favorite things and I often mention them or relate to them in some way in other pieces of content. And basically anyone who knows me KNOWS how much I LOVE Disney. So it’s also part of my brand personality.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, make sure ALL of your boards have descriptions, also using keywords.

Remember: Everything on Pinterest is searchable. Make sure you show up. Use every opportunity to add keywords to your profile because the more consistent you are with this, the more consistently you’ll show up in search results.

Update February 2021: I have hidden my personal boards since originally writing this post. I don’t think, ultimately, that there is anything wrong with having a couple of personal boards visible that share more about your personality with your ideal client. I found that getting saves and clicks from those pins drastically skewed my statistics away from what I actually wanted to see, which is how my pins are doing. So I don’t think personal boards are detrimental to having a successful Pinterest profile for business. But I think you do need to keep an eye on them and make sure your business pins are getting circulated too. They’re the important ones!

Board Covers

Now I’ll be honest here, this won’t play a huge role in searchability but, when people land on your profile, it makes a huge difference in the impression you make.

Pinterest board covers automatically show the most recent pins that were saved to that board. Custom board covers give your profile a streamlined and cohesive look.

This is more about branding your overall Pinterest profile than it is about showing up in search results. But remember, you want to make a killer first impression for anyone who lands on your profile so they’ll follow you and keep coming back.

Update February 2021: Board covers are completely up to you. As I’ve updated my branding and added new boards, I’ve decided not to continue using them. I think they can give your Pinterest profile a nice, cohesive look, but they ultimately don’t play into how discoverable your content is. So, if you have time and want to create them, go for it! I recommend using your time to create content to add to Pinterest instead. 😉

Pin Titles and Descriptions

Here we are to the FUN part! Your pins! This is where you get to be creative and try different things. So I’ve got a couple tips for you here.

Create multiple pin images for one piece of content. Different people connect with different types of images and wording so this is where you can play with different options to see what people respond to the most. Plus it lets you put the same piece of content out there multiple times so you always have new stuff for Pinterest without constantly creating new content.

Use keywords in your pin title. Searchability, remember. Plus this is the first thing pinners and potential new clients will see. So make sure it’s eye catching and interest grabbing.

Use keywords in your description. I mean, I’ll stay it again. Searchability!!! Are you seeing the theme? Pin descriptions are so super important. And so many people skip this part. It’s the key place Pinterest looks for what your pins are about!

So if you have a blog post about training dogs, but you don’t put that in the pin description, you won’t show up for someone who’s searching for dog training pins. If that’s what’s happening…what’s the point?

Recap

Well, I hope you read the whole thing! But if you need the abbreviated version, here goes:

Make your profile name searchable by adding what you do.
Add a short + sweet bio that tells people what you do using keywords they will search for you with.
Make sure your boards are related to your business and don’t include random Pinterest recipes and crafts. And add a keyword heavy description to every single board.
Add customized covers to your boards to give them a cohesive, branded look to impress new visitors.
Add keywords to your pin titles and descriptions so they show up for the people looking for them.