The Power of Pinning: Value of Pinterest on Your SEO Efforts

Pinterest has been quite a hit in the social media world.  According to a July 2017 study by eMarketer, there are 69.0 million Pinterest users. This is more than Twitter but less than Facebook, but traffic isn't the real story. The value of the base is that 60% of users log onto the site daily! With Google’s recent algorithm changes, it has become much more important to integrate social media and search engine optimization into a holistic approach.  Google’s over-optimization penalty will regulate sites that may generate traffic from unnatural links, keyword stuffing, and paid directories.   Many hotel site owners have seen a drop in rankings as a result of this new algorithm change.   If you have seen a decline in rankings and a decrease in traffic due to black-hat SEO practices, there is a way to recover and get your site ranking again. The road is through social media.

Social media has a growing influence on SEO. We must take advantage of the most highly used social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, & Pinterest.  Combining your SEO efforts with social media can impact your overall business strategy as it increases brand exposure and traffic to your site.  Furthermore, by incorporating social media into your SEO strategy, you won’t have to fear being penalized by Google.    So why might this be you ask? Social media will naturally produce more quality backlinks to your site.   Businesses who reach out to potential customers and clients through Pinterest can create a valued community of users who share similar interests, much like Facebook and Twitter.  Therefore, Pinterest has become a valuable marketing tool for SEO for the following reasons:‍

Link-building Advantage

Pinterest is a social sharing site that enables users to “pin” images or/and videos they either find on the internet or upload themselves.  These images or videos can then be re-pinned by other users creating a cycle of interactions.  Furthermore, with Pinterest’s strong domain authority, your pins will yield more search engine results.  Businesses should be mindful that uploading their photos and videos on Pinterest is not sufficient unless you link the image back to your website.  This will ensure that you generate more traffic to your site from these pins.  Using Facebook and Twitter in conjunction with Pinterest can also strengthen your online presence and build your brand as your pins will also appear on Facebook walls and Tweets.  Another helpful SEO tip to implement when using Pinterest is to add keywords to your boards as it relates to your pin.  This will enhance your site’s visibility on search engines with these keywords.  Lastly, adding a “pin it” button to your blog can also increase backlinks to your site.‍

Advances Local Search Results

Optimizing your broads and pins can significantly improve your local search engine results.   By using local keywords in your boards, you are driving more relevant traffic to your site.  Adding a short description of each picture will allow Google to index better the images uploaded.  Additionally, similar to Facebook, businesses should never keep their profiles static. They should keep the interaction and conversation going by commenting on other photos and repinning them.

Like other social media sites, Pinterest creates a global platform of influence and inspiration. Pinterest allows you to market your brand through eye-catching photos creatively. So let your pictures be worth a thousand words using Pinterest.