Pinterest for Bloggers 2024: How to Get More Traffic

I wrote a post regarding Pinterest a while ago and mentioned that it wasn’t working as well as it used to. You can read it here. 

Back in 2018, Pinterest was solid gold for Bloggers.

It was responsible for amazing traffic, and bloggers surfed that wave, gathering as much traffic as possible.

Then, in 2020, Pinterest had to please its investors so focused on more ad-revenue-heavy models that it left bloggers in the dust.

But last year, things changed.

I have no idea what Pinterest is up to, but my pins are finally picking up.

Social media traffic to all my websites (from their subsequent accounts) has increased!

And I’ve noticed a few things working in Pinterest so I want to share those tips.

In this post, I want to cover:

• What Pinterest strategies are working right now in 2024
• How long will it take to get your pins working for you
• What metrics to keep track of

This post includes all my Pinterest research from the past 3-4 months. So, it may be pretty heavy and overwhelming.

Some tips may not work for you – so please don’t feel like you need to try everything.

I am including EVERYTHING that worked for me – s0 feel free to try and experiment with what you like.

Bookmark this post to come back to it.

But before that, really quick:

This post includes affiliate links to products I truly (from the bottom of my heart) recommend, meaning at no extra cost to you, I may earn a small percentage which I will use to pamper my poor pups.

1. Study your niche properly on Pinterest

First of all, it’s very important for you to study what’s going on when you are on any platform.

So, study your niche.

Back in the day, it was easier.

You could see the number of repins and pin-clicks under a pin – but Pinterest removed that statistic. (there is a way to see this, but you need this tool, and it’s only a 1-time fee; I’ll explain more about this later)

So, now we have to rely on other methods.

Here’s what I suggest:

Follow some big bloggers/influencers in your niche and start repining a few pins to some boards.

You should have at least 4-5 boards on your Account.

Yes, repinning is bad, they say, but I am repining on all accounts, and I don’t see it as a problem at all – I feel as a community, we are supposed to support each other.

But when you start pinning from other people in your niche, Pinterest will show you more high-performing pins.

They will show you the pins that are known to work!

And once you realize what pins work – use that to your advantage.

You can either jump on the bandwagon and create a similar post around the topic (make the post authentic and your own of course) and then pin those pins to your boards.

This shouldn’t be an issue because you’re now pinning in the same niche!

So, it’s fine; mix pins from others and yourself.

2. Don’t worry about your pinning schedule at the beginning

In the beginning, you won’t have many blog posts on your blog – I know this.

So here’s the thing: you can make between 3-5 pins per blog post; more than that, you’re adding unnecessary noise.

Pinterest doesn’t like it much.

So, it’s okay if you have 2 posts and you’re pinning 5-8 pins each day during the first week.

Then as you keep adding more content, you start making more pins – you can increase your pinning frequency.

Instead of pinning 1 pin a day, make it 2 a day.

I do not pin more than 3 pins a day.

If I do more, I schedule it with Pinterest’s automatic scheduler.

I’ll make 18 pins (3 pins for each of my 6 posts) and schedule it on Monday from Monday to Friday.

I try to make things as simple as possible since I run multiple businesses.

This works, try it.

You aim to eventually get to a point where you can pin 3-5 pins daily.

3. Pinterest takes time to work

It takes weeks or months for pins to get traction.

And it widely varies for every single niche.

For my relationship niche, the pins took a long time to work.

However, I’ve noticed that visual niches have it relatively easier.

They do better.

They genuinely do better.

Look at this simple teddy bear drawing tutorial I did that blew up within a few weeks. 

However, there are more intricate drawings I did that never took off. That’s how Pinterest works – the people want what they want.

Things like weddings, planning, art, cooking, etc. these things take off easily because Pinterest is a very visual platform.

People like eye candy.

They like saving stuff they like visually, so yes, it works.

For more information-heavy niches, it will take time to garner that level of followers and traction – I’m not going to lie.

4. Make GIFs

I posted one of these, and in less than 24 hours, I got 20 clicks. P.S. I only have 5 followers on this account.

So, this is good!

Please note:

• Do not come for me if gifs are not possible for you – in my opinion, any and all information may be useful to you, so please read this with an open mind. If it’s impossible, please skip and go to the next point.
• Yes, I have 5 followers on this brand-new account – I am keen on seeing how far I can grow this new business.
• Yes, I am too jobless and I’m making GIFs.

This may not be an option for most people – I get it.

But I want to share EVERYTHING that’s worked for me.

As an Artist, I make gifs sometimes; I have to since Instagram has moved to reels, and I am but a small pawn in their game.

So, I saved the video as a gif and put it on Pinterest.

I then link to Instagram so that I can direct followers to my account – (because the purpose of this new business is to build a brand)

And it seems to be taking off.

Also, if you like cute drawings and comics, you can follow me on Instagram here. 

5. Promote your free downloads heavily on Pinterest

Make different freebies.

And test different pin designs on those freebies.

Like Shakira says, Tryyy everrrrryyyyythingggg. 

People love freebies – and not only will this get you more saves and clicks, but it will also get you more traffic and more email subscribers.

Why are email subscribers good? Because you want to be able to save that audience incase social media or SEO behaves wonky.

So, I made a calendar for my drawing blog (www.drawcartoonstyle.com) and promoted it on Pinterest.

See the traction it got:

What to note about the pin:

• It’s a long pin (long pins work)
• It’s got the words “free” and “printable” in it (people like free stuff)
• I put it on Pinterest 5 months before 2024. So that it gave Pinterest time to do its magic. Most people want calendars in December and January.

6. Pin from your shop to Pinterest directly

This is pin stats for a week. Again, I have only 5 followers in this small account, but please see the number of saves and clicks. 

If you have a shop where you’re selling themes, printables, clipart, photos, etc, pin it on Pinterest.

Make an account and pin it directly to Pinterest from Etsy or Shopify.

You can even consider Pinterest ads to get more sales – but test them and see if they’re valuable and profitable for you.

I haven’t tried ads yet, so I don’t know if it will work for my niche since my products are all below $5.

But if I do, I’ll tell you about it.

However, I have found that when I’m pinning my products, I like to put in key phrases that people might type into the listing on Etsy directly so that Pinterest picks it up when you pin it from the Etsy site.

Again, my motto is to try everything:

• Pin blog posts
• Pin random images/reels from your Instagram/TikTok
• Pin your products from Etsy
• Build an overall brand presence
• Use keywords and phrases in the description and the title that you want people to use when searching for you.

7. Make some posts around trending topics on Pinterest

I already covered this before, but I want to highlight 2 examples.

In my relationship blog, I noticed that a certain topic was doing well on Pinterest – every creator was talking about this topic, so I jumped on board.

I covered the same topic but made the post very deep – from a unique angle to capture the audience that came to my blog.

And I tested out multiple pins (pins with photos and illustrations)

And it worked. See the stats for yourself:

I wanted to believe it was a coincidence.

So, I went into my drawing blog Pinterest account and did something similar.

I noticed that people often pinned drawings of mushroom frogs.

So, I made a drawing tutorial on how to draw one and posted that 1 pin on Pinterest.

And boom – it took off.

8. Use the Pinterest Keyword tool (paid)

I use the Pinterest Keyword tool to help me with what people are searching for.

It gives great keyword suggestions, and I’ve been using this tool for over a year now, so I can safely vouch for it.

I LOVE IT.

What I like:

• It’s only a 1-time fee. You pay for it once and you own it forever.
• It sits on your desktop, it’s not an online site. It’s an app that you can open and do your research on.
• You can look for popular keywords, popular trends and see which pins are getting more clicks.

You can look at popular pins in your niche and study why they’re doing well and replicate that:

Please check it out here. 

I only talk about this because this is a one-time purchase and they keep updating the tool to include more and more features.

With this tool, it showed me that people were searching for topics like “how to draw flowy hair,” and when I searched, I saw nobody had covered it, so I made my own tutorial and created that pin.

BOOM!

It did well!

Some more tips to note:

• I include a lot of information on the pin – note that the pin shows that this is a drawing tutorial and will take the reader from learning how to sketch the complete colored form.
• Be descriptive, use multiple keyphrases in your Pin Description and Pin title. Carly covers it in her course. 

9. Pay attention to your Pinterest Traffic in Google Analytics

Pinterest monthly viewers are not a metric that you should be fussing about because it does not help you in any way.

These impressions/monthly viewers also include the impressions from the third-party pins that you are pinning to your profile.

This is a pure vanity metric.

What actually matters is your blog traffic – the link clicks because that helps your blog grow.

Nothing else.

Where can you find these?

In Google Analytics, head on over to Traffic Acquisition > View Traffic Acquisition > Adjust the date to see how much traffic you are getting.

Now click on Session Default Channel Group and click on Session Source.

Then you’ll see how much traffic Pinterest is giving you.

This is the main metric you should care about. 

Apart from this, you should also pay attention to the Pin metrics (link clicks, not saves) and boards that work for you.

So by seeing your traffic every month, you can experiment with what is working and what is not.

Carly’s course Pinteresting Strategies (use the code PINNING5 to get a $5 discount) explains in detail which metrics you need to keep tracking and how often you need to do this.

It’s updated, and all her information works RIGHT NOW.

This is the only Pinterest course I will discuss because I have taken several others, and nothing else works.

Consistency is also very important.

A few months, I pinned a pin to just 1 of my own boards using Pinterest (manually) and within a few days, the pin took off.

Now, almost a year later, the pin is bringing me a lot of traffic, and my extremely old pins are bringing in traffic too!

This means that Pinterest favors old pins!

I used the strategy from Carly’s eCourse.

I am not kidding when I say that this course works. I am seeing a lot of my old pins taking off recently after using her strategies:

My pins are in different niches across different types of accounts.

Her Pinteresting Strategies eCourse (use the code PINNING5 to get a $5 discount) delves into which manual pinning method will suit you based on your progress as a blogger.

You don’t need Tailwind or anything else.

Just her method and it’s a fine method.

She also dissects her own Pinterest strategy, and she tells you exactly how many pins you should pin per day and when you should move on to more advanced techniques.

If you buy this eCourse and follow her strategies, you can stop worrying about Pinterest and just spend 10-15 minutes a day on it. It’s a huge time-saver.

None of her methods involves Tailwind.

11. Don’t rely on Pinterest completely

Yes, this post is about Pinterest.

But it shouldn’t be your sole traffic source.

Please learn SEO so you can rank on search engines as well.

Use both – Pinterest and SEO side by side if you want to grow your blog traffic and rank on Google.

If you are looking for more help on blog traffic and SEO, you can check out my SEO traffic eBook that will help you with both.

I delve into SEO and explain it so anybody can understand.

Now if you are already implementing every single strategy there is, and still not seeing results, keep reading.

Why are my pins not gaining traction? Why isn’t Pinterest working?

When I add a new pin, I don’t see it hitting it off like it used to. This is normal. Please accept it and make peace with the fact that Pins don’t take off immediately.

It takes a few months of continuous pinning to see results.

It’s the new algorithm Pinterest is on.

It can take a few weeks for a pin to start taking off. Carly covers this point extensively in her eCourse. 

This sounds ridiculous, but it’s true.

Some of my old pins, which I pinned 1-2 years ago, are taking off now and bringing me traffic.

This is why you need to be super consistent. I promise your consistency will pay off in a year. 

12. Make use of seasonal pins

Pins take time to take off – like I mentioned before.

So, 3 months before Christmas, pin your Christmas pins to your Christmas posts.

Start pinning for Valentine’s Day in December itself.

What I pinned for Christmas in December 2022 took off even in December 2023.

I can see that the pins get traction during Christmas time, and it works.

Notice how I drew the same frog but made him more Christmas-ey because that’s how variations work.

It is a similar post but with different variations.

What you need to be paying attention to on Pinterest + Pinterest Resources:

You’ve now learned what Pinterest wants you to focus on and what are the best Pinterest strategies to follow in 2022. Here are a few more things you need to keep in mind.

1. Your pin titles

Your pin titles matter a lot and if they are good, you will get engagement as people will interact with your pins.

I never cared about it much, because it didn’t matter back in 2015-2018.

But now more than ever, Pinterest titles matter. Pay attention to your pin design and how you write your pin titles. I highly recommend this resource – Pinterest Title Traffic Hacks to learn more about crafting Pin titles that get people to click!

This was the first Pinterest eBook I purchased from Carly and once I saw how thorough and helpful her explanations are, I didn’t hesitate to invest in her eCourse.

This eBook (which includes videos) contains:

• How to use Buzzwords that tap into strong emotions (examples and videos included)
• What kind of hierarchy do you need to be using so that your pins become instantly readable
• How to use subheadings to get more clicks
• Some neat hacks on leveraging seasonal content and using multiple titles

and so much more… This only costs $27, so if you’re struggling to make clickable pins, check out this resource. 

I’ve even printed this eBook and use it daily to write my own pin titles.

2. Your pin design

Tall pins fare extremely well on Pinterest. Wide pins? – Eh, not so much.

When I initially started blogging, I only created wide pins. I barely got 2-3 repins even though my blog posts were worded with a lot of thought.

After careful observation, I noticed that the pins that did really well on Pinterest were tall.

Now, I make sure that all my pins are 1000 x 1500 pixels or 1000 x 1800px.

If you have a unique template, people will recognize your pins the moment they see them. How do you create the perfect pin? Read the following tips to create clickable pins.

• Make sure your pins are always the same dimensions. (for example: 1000 x 1500 px)
• Don’t use more than 2-3 fonts.
• Include your blog name.
• Create lighter pins with more reddish or yellowish tones. Darker pins that have blue or green tones don’t get pinned too often.

3. Your pinning frequency

As discouraging as your Pinterest statistics may be, please dedicate 10-15 minutes a day to Pinterest. Think of it like eating chocolate cake every day.

You won’t see its ill effects right now, but do it for 1 year at a stretch, and you may be prone to diabetes.

This may not have been the best example, but you get the point. It adds up.

These pins that you are pinning now will take off slowly, and your consistency will reward you.

Give it time, young grasshopper.

Final words:

I understand that I’ve covered a lot of points.

If you’re hell-bent on making Pinterest work for you and use manual pinning, I highly suggest that you invest in this Pinterest eCourse for a steal. (use the code PINNING5 to get an additional $5 discount)

It has helped me understand what Pinterest strategies I need to keep focusing on and what strategies I needed to abandon completely. She also gives you a strategy to repin your pins that are doing well. I tried this method and it helped me increase my clicks!

Additionally, it helped reassure me and answer several of my nagging doubts.

P.S. I tend to ask a lot of questions and have a lot of doubts.

It’s extremely cost-effective and includes many more strategies you can implement immediately. If Pinterest is bringing you a good amount of traffic each month or your ratio of Pinterest Traffic is higher than SEO traffic, then yes, please consider it.

Check out the eCourse here. (use the code PINNING5 to get a $5 discount). You won’t regret this purchase.

Lastly, if you are in the blogging and online business niche, you can follow my Pinterest account to ensure you are updated with my latest blogging tips and resources.

Please note that this post covers Pinterest for bloggers specifically.

Aaaaaand, that’s all for now.

If you made it through this entire tutorial, you’re officially up-to-date on what is currently working on Pinterest in 2022 and what Pinterest strategies you should be using!

Please leave a comment below if you have doubts or questions and I’ll be more than happy to answer them asap.

You may also like:

• Pinterest for Bloggers: Everything you need to know about the major algorithm update
• What to do if you feel like quitting your blog?
• 33 Easy hacks to get more traffic to your blog!
• 10 new blogger tips every blogger must implement
• 7 deadly mistakes you’re making setting blogging goals
• Why every blogger needs a sales funnel and how to set one up
• 17 Reasons why your blog is not making money + how to fix it

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