Pinterest SEO Checklist
Pinterest SEO & Discoverability Checklist
A complete, actionable checklist to harness Pinterest's power as a visual search engine. Optimize every aspect of your presence to drive traffic, leads, and sales.
Your Optimization Progress
Profile Foundation
Why it's Crucial
Your Display Name is a primary signal to the Pinterest search algorithm. It tells users and the platform what your profile is about at a glance and is a top factor for ranking in account searches.
Instead of just "The Cozy Home", use "The Cozy Home | DIY Home Decor & Organization".
Why it's Crucial
Your bio is fully searchable. It's your chance to tell Pinterest's algorithm exactly who you are, who you serve, and what kind of content you provide, using the same terms your audience is searching for.
Start with a clear "I help..." or "Your go-to for..." statement. Weave in 3-5 of your top keywords naturally. End with a clear call-to-action directing them to your claimed website.
Why it's Crucial
This is essential. A Business Account gives you access to Pinterest Analytics to see what's working, the ability to claim your website, and access to features like Rich Pins, all of which are critical for SEO and traffic generation.
Why it's Crucial
Claiming your site tells Pinterest you are the official source of content from that domain. This gives your pins more authority, provides you with detailed analytics on what's being pinned from your site, and adds your logo to every pin from your domain.
Board SEO
Why it's Crucial
Board titles are a major ranking factor. Pinterest uses them to understand the context of the pins within them. Avoid "cutesy" or clever names; be literal and descriptive.
Instead of "Dreamy Spaces", use "Minimalist Living Room Ideas". Instead of "Yummy!", use "Healthy Weeknight Dinner Recipes".
Why it's Crucial
This is your opportunity to give the algorithm more context about your board. Use full sentences and naturally incorporate 5-10 long-tail keywords related to the board's topic.
Why it's Crucial
While a smaller signal, categories help the algorithm confirm the topic of your board, leading to better content recommendations for users interested in that category.
Why it's Crucial
This immediately shows new visitors what your profile is about and directs them to your most valuable content. It also puts your most important keywords (in the board titles) front and center.
Pin SEO
Why it's Crucial
The Pin title is the most important piece of text on a pin. It's displayed prominently in the feed and is heavily weighted by the search algorithm. Use your most important keyword here.
Why it's Crucial
This gives the algorithm context. The first 50-60 characters are most important as they appear in the feed. Use this space to tell a story, explain the value of the pin, and include long-tail keywords. You can also add 2-3 relevant hashtags here.
Why it's Crucial
Rich Pins add extra, bolded information (like blog post titles, product prices, or recipe ingredients) directly to your pin, making them more useful and clickable. This is a massive trust and context signal for the algorithm.
Add specific meta tags to your website (article, product, or recipe tags) and then validate your site with the Rich Pin Validator in your Pinterest settings.
Why it's Crucial
Pinterest is a VISUAL search engine. Alt text is your chance to tell the algorithm exactly what is in your image, which helps it rank in visual search results and serve your pin to users who have engaged with similar images.
Strategy & Analytics
Why it's Crucial
The Pinterest algorithm heavily favors "fresh" content, which it defines as a new image that has never appeared on the platform before. You can link to the same URL, but the image must be new. Creating multiple pin variations for a single blog post is a key growth strategy.
Why it's Crucial
The first board a pin is saved to gives it the strongest contextual signal. This initial categorization helps the algorithm understand the pin's topic and distribute it to the right audience from the very beginning.
Why it's Crucial
Pinterest is highly seasonal and trend-driven. This tool shows you what users are searching for and when, allowing you to create and schedule content to meet that demand, resulting in massive visibility boosts.
Why it's Crucial
Your analytics show which of your pins are driving the most impressions, saves, and outbound clicks. This data is invaluable for understanding what your audience wants so you can create more of it.
Discover more from Shaynly
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.