Tag Archives: Pinterest

A basic guide to Pinterest

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What is Pinterest?

Launched in March 2010 by Ben Silbermann, Pinterest is rapidly becoming the most creative way to showcase your products.

Mimicking a photo board Pinterest is an online photo sharing website. Allowing users to upload their own content as well as like and ‘re-pin’ the collections of others, Pinterest uses visuals to create connections and share interests.

Pinterest terminology

— Pin: A pin is an image added to Pinterest. You can link to an image from a Web site or upload an image from your computer. You can add your own captions and keywords to any pins, making them more relevant to your company.

—Repin: Once something is pinned, it can then be repinned by other Pinterest users.. If you see something you like on Pinterest.com, you repin it to share it with your own users, this is how content spreads virally.

—Board: This is where your pins reside. You can have separate boards for different subjects. For example, the Colin Harris Pinterest page has boards for: Web Development, social media and Northumberland.

 Advantages of using Pinterest

  • Through Pinterest you can: crowd source, demonstrate expertise, showcase products and run competitions
  • Perhaps the best use of Pinterest is to paint a clear picture of what you want that you can’t express in words. For example you can create and showcase mood boards for projects, even modifying privacy setting these so only certain users can access them.
  • Pinterest users’ likes and interests are easily view-able for all to see.
  • Pinterest is a great way to showcase your work. For example, the Colin Harris Pinterest page has a board containing screenshots of websites we have produced.
  • Pinterest can act as a great platform for a focus group.
  • You can link your Pinterest account to other social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. Signing into Pinterest through Twitter or Facebook will link your timeline to your Pinterest posts. This will allow your friends and followers to see the content you upload to Pinterest, providing a link to your page.
  • Pinterest allows you to interact with others of similar interests
  • With over 11million users Pinterest has seen skyrocketing popularity and was in fact the fastest site ever to break through the 10 million unique visitor mark
  • Pinterest appeals to multiple vertical markets
  • Research states that Pinterest is now 2-3x more engaging than Twitter
  • A great way to source inspiration on similar projects
  • Easy to use

 

Evaluating your Pinterest account

  • Quantify your number of followers
  • Quantify your number of repins
  • When looking at your traffic sources report in analytics Pinterest will show you which piece of content generated the referral click and allows you to click through and see that item. These analytics make it easier to identify what pins and pinboards people are engaging with the most (likes, comments, repins) and what is driving traffic back to your website, allowing you to focus on interacting with these people and producing more relevant content.

To take a peek at or follow our Pinterest account click on the Pinterest ‘P’ in the bottom left hand corner of the screen.

By Colin Harris

How Pinterest can boost your SEO

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Launched in March 2010 by Ben Silbermann, Pinterest is rapidly becoming the most creative way to showcase your products.

Mimicking a photo board Pinterest is an online photo sharing website. Allowing users to upload their own content as well as like and ‘re-pin’ the collections of others, Pinterest uses visuals to create connections and share interests.

Below are some useful tips to use Pinterest to boost your search engine ranking.

  • Due to its soaring popularity Pinterest is a great platform for link building. It has a first-rate domain authority. The more popular a domain name, the more likely it will appear in search results therefore the more items that are posted with a link to your website the better your rankings.
  • There are two Pinterest widgets available, the Pin it button and the Follow me on Pinterest button. The Follow me on Pinterest button will simply allow people to follow your collections (similar to following a person on Twitter) whereas the Pin it button allows users to pin the content to one of their boards, this should be used within your web content.
  • Pinterest is a picture dominated platform; therefore make sure you choose a visually appealing image. Images that motivate, trigger social interaction and stimulate conversation are more likely to be repinned or commented upon as well as drive traffic towards your site.
  • Pinterest gives more in depth information than with other social media sites such as Facebook. For example, Facebook will simply show you a referral path whereas Pinterest will show you which piece of content generated the referral click and allows you to click through and see that item. These analytics make it easier to identify what pins and pinboards people are engaging with the most (likes, comments, repins) and what is driving traffic back to your website, allowing you to focus on interacting with these people and producing more relevant content.
  • Pinterest allows you to display your activity on other social media sites such as Flickr, Twitter and Facebook. Signing into Pinterest through Twitter or Facebook will link your timeline to your Pinterest posts. This will allow your friends and followers to see the content you upload to Pinterest, providing a link back to your page.
  • Your website should be optimized to focus on keywords which are relevant to your own business. Make sure your content title and photo captions on Pinterest contain your keywords as Google now indexes individual Pinterest profiles and boards.

By Colin Harris