If Pinterest keyword research is still confusing, this complete guide on how to find your keywords on Pinterest will help clarify things! As a Pinterest strategist, Pinterest keyword research is the first step of any strategy I use for my clients. I’m showing you how to do your own keyword search, and why you absolutely need to use keywords on Pinterest! Grab a cup of tea, open Pinterest, and follow along to start your keyword search on Pinterest today!
This blog was first published in April, 2021. It has been updated to help you with Pinterest SEO in 2022 and how to perform Pinterest keyword research on Pinterest in 2022
Why you need to do Pinterest keyword research
Before we start going into details on your Pinterest keyword research process, you need to understand why Pinterest keywords are so important!
Pinterest is a search engine
I’m sure you know by now that Pinterest is a search engine. If you’re still wondering what a search engine is, it is a tool that allows people to search and locate information on the internet. They are multiple search engines on the web like Google, Yahoo and Pinterest is one of them. The search engine will rank internet content, based on an algorithm, to generate search results. One of the things a search engine uses to rank content is keywords. They’re words people are typing in the search bar, and therefore what people are searching for. Keywords are the way a search engine can determine the relevance of your content and match it with a search query. Pinterest is no different when it comes to ranking your content. That’s the reason you can’t skip using keywords if you want to rank on Pinterest!
How it works on Pinterest
Your content can appear in multiple places on Pinterest. They can be found in the search results, the home feed (for you and following), and in the “more like this” area. While the home feed results are usually determined by the recent search and interests of a user, if your pins don’t appear in the search results, they won’t be engaged with and have fewer chances to be introduced in the home feed. This is why we’re focusing on how to do your Pinterest keyword research for your pins to show up in the search results of the search feed.
How do you do search engine optimization on Pinterest
The act of researching your keywords and using them in your content to rank higher in the algorithm is called Search Engine Optimization. On Pinterest, optimizing your account will help the algorithm understand your content and your profile better. The way Pinterest understands your content plays a role in the way you’re ranked! This article doesn’t focus on Pinterest SEO since we are only talking about the “keyword part” of the Pinterest SEO strategy. However, it’s important to understand that thorough keyword research doesn’t only allow your content to rank, it will also help you do a better job at Pinterest search engine optimization!
In order to optimize your account and your content on Pinterest, it is important to know your audience and use keywords that they are actually looking for. This is why doing your Pinterest keyword research is the first step when you’re starting with Pinterest marketing!
Related:
Psst: Ready to optimize your Pinterest account but not sure how to do it? Download the Pinterest roadmap for the exact step-by-step to get started with Pinterest, ditch the overwhelm and start using Pinterest for your business today!
How to do your Pinterest Keyword research
Now that you know why you need to do your keyword research on Pinterest, I’m gonna give you three ways you can find your keywords on Pinterest. But first, doing your Pinterest keyword research is mainly finding them on Pinterest and storing them in a list where you can easily find them when creating your content! It is also important to note, that there are some other Pinterest SEO tools out there that can help you perform your keyword research, but in this blog, we’re looking at the free Pinterest keyword tool you can use!
The search bar
Drop down list
The awesome thing about Pinterest is that they don’t make it super hard for you to find keywords you can use! The first place you’d want to look at in the search bar and the drop-down list!
Type your base keyword and see what other keywords Pinterest suggests in the drop-down menu. Don’t hit the space bar just yet if you want to see the drop-down list. These keywords are the most searched ones at the time of your research. They’re based on popularity on Pinterest so it means that you definitely want to use them if they make sense with your content.
Guided search (if it is still available on your account)
If you’re one of the lucky pinners who still have access to the guided search then you can use the suggested keywords there as well. You’ll do the same!
Enter a keyword in the search bar and launch the search. Colored tiles will appear under the search bar.
These tiles are refined keywords based on the base keyword you searched.
You can then choose one of the tiles, click on it and refine your search even more with longer keywords.
Pinterest ads
Another way of finding keywords on Pinterest is to use the “create ad” option. Don’t worry, you won’t have to create an actual ad, you’ll just access the keyword planner tool. In order to find the keyword planner tool, follow these steps:
Go to “ads” > “create ad” > choose “consideration” > then scroll down and click on “continue” > choose “find new customers” as the targeting strategy > you should now have access to “keywords and interests”. Select “add keywords” and type in the base keyword you want to do research for. The keyword planner tool will give you related keywords that you might want to add to your keyword list.
Pinterest trends
You can access Pinterest trends at pinterest.com/trends or click on analytics on the top menu then select trends.
Pinterest is still adding new keywords every day to this tool. It might not populate the keywords you’d like to target if you have a small niche but it is super interesting because it allows you to see the search trends throughout the year. You can also compare up to 4 keywords at a time to see their relative search volume.
Type in a keyword and look at the related terms to see some suggestions of other keywords.
You can also take a look at the popular pins right under and see what keywords they’re using.
The Pinterest trends tool is not my favorite when it comes to actually find your keywords since they don’t have all of them. However, I would still recommend using it to know when your keywords are trending! This way you can note when you should publish the content using this keyword and make the most of the traffic trends!
How to find the best keywords on Pinterest
Now that you know where to find your Pinterest keywords, it is important you’re choosing the right keywords for your audience!
How long should be your Pinterest keywords?
You want to make sure that the keywords you are using are not too broad or too small. If you’re going too broad, it’s gonna be harder to rank for them because they are more competitive. On the other hand, if you’re going too small the volume of searches won’t be enough to drive traffic. So we’ll look into how to find the best Pinterest keywords for your content!
How to know what Keywords to use?
First, make sure you’re brainstorming your main content topics. In order to do that, make a note of your blog categories or write down your core topics. From there, write down smaller categories. You’ll use them as your “main keywords” and they are the start of your keyword research. So for example, as a Pinterest strategist, I am talking about Pinterest, that’s my core topic. From there, I can talk about Pinterest marketing, Pinterest workflows, Pinterest images, Pinterest SEO, etc… I’ll use them as base keywords to see what people are looking for when it comes to these subtopics.
Once you enter your base keywords, if the drop-down menu shows you a good amount of keywords under, it means that the search volume is good enough for you to target these keywords. If the drop-down menu doesn’t show any keywords, it means the search volume is pretty small. You’ll need to assess if it is worth targeting that keyword for your niche. If you have a small niche, a small volume of search isn’t necessarily bad if it brings you qualified traffic!
If you found your keywords with the Pinterest keyword planner tool, you will see an approximate volume of search. It can help you make a decision when it comes to what keyword to target. You can also cross-reference this keyword with some other keyword research tools outside of Pinterest.
While you’re doing your keyword research, make sure you’re keeping track of them! I’d bet that most Pinterest managers use a spreadsheet to keep track of all the keywords they’re targeting.
How to use keywords on Pinterest
Once you’ve done your keyword research, you’ll want to make sure you’re using your Pinterest keywords the right way! Remember when using your keywords on Pinterest, never keyword stuff! Always use your keywords in sentences.
You’ll need to use your Pinterest keywords on:
- Your profile name: Choose the main keywords that describe your content or your business the best.
- Your profile description: Choose multiple keywords to describe what you do. Make sure to write sentences, keyword stuffing is never a good option.
- Your board titles: Use main keywords or two or three terms keywords to name your boards. Do not use cute board names! Board names are searchable. It means that the keywords help people find your boards. It is also one of the places Pinterest uses to determine what your content is about.
- Your board descriptions: You can use some long-tail keywords in your descriptions to let people know (and Pinterest) what they can find on the board. Use the descriptions, as Pinterest also uses them to retrieve information about your content.
- Your Pin titles: Pin titles are important for Pinterest to categorize your content so use keywords related to your blog there.
- As well as in your Pin descriptions: Same as pin titles, Pinterest uses the descriptions to understand what your pin is about. That’s why you want to make sure you’re using relevant keywords there.
- Your Pin overlay: Pinterest can analyze your image. Adding a keyword on your Pin overlay will increase the confidence level of your pin when it comes to that keyword for Pinterest.
If you want to increase the confidence level of your content, even more, make sure you’re adding your Pinterest keywords to the following places as well:
- Add your keywords in the URL of the landing page
- In the title and subtitle of the landing page
- As well as in the text of the landing page
You now know why Pinterest keyword research is a vital part of your Pinterest marketing strategy and with these Pinterest keyword tips, you’re all set up! Anything you do on Pinterest is searchable and you want to give your content the best chances to be seen! If you’re doing your keyword research right, you’re setting yourself up for success and for your content to be found!
If you’re lost when it comes to Pinterest keywords or how to start marketing your business on the platform, check out my Pinterest strategy consultation! We can work on creating your keyword list, optimizing your profile, establishing a personalized strategy!
Other topics you might be interested in:
- How to Start Using Pinterest For Your Business
- Why You Need to Market Your Coaching Business on Pinterest in 2021
- 9 Tips to Create click-worthy Pinterest Pins
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[…] How to do Pinterest Keyword Research in 2021 […]
This was a really interesting read. I’m just starting to learn about Pinterest keywords and there’s one aspect of this topic I’m not quite sure about. Do you have to use the exact word order when using these keywords phrases in pin titles, descriptions, etc. like you do on Etsy?
Hi Geoff! I’m so glad you found it interesting and so excited for you to start using Pinterest keywords more strategically! Pinterest is pretty smart so you don’t have to use the exact order of your keywords for the algorithm to pick up the keywords you want to rank for, same with plurals. I always like to try out though to see which one works best as long as it makes sense in a sentence, you’re good to go! Hope that helps!!
Can not you just update your content ?
Hi Nada, I am not sure I understand your question. Can you elaborate for me to answer, please?
This is so detailed and SO HELPFUL. THANK YOU!!!
[…] creating your pins, be sure to include relevant keywords in the title and description so that people can easily find them when they’re searching […]