Pinterest Best Practices 2021

In this post, we'll talk about Pinterest Best Practices 2021 and how to be successful with Pinterest this year.

2020 has indeed been a very unpredictable year for all Pinterest users. Pinterest has made so many changes to its algorithm that even experienced Pinterest managers didn't know what to expect. Many accounts were accidentally marked as spam or blocked, while other accounts were experiencing a rapid decline in traffic and experienced various glitches.

But there were also some positive aspects, such as Pinterest has been helping and supporting small businesses in promoting and selling their products through their Pinterest Merchant Program. There were also new features such as story pins and video pins, which helped increase the traffic to many accounts.

Based on my experience promoting and growing Pinterest accounts for both bloggers and e-commerce sites, I'm happy to share with you my tips and high converting strategies on Pinterest and Pinterest Best Practices 2021.

Pinterest Best Practices 2021

1. Create New and Fresh Content Daily. Want to be on top of the Pinterest game? You will have to work harder as Pinterest requires its users to create more and more "fresh" and inspiring content. This means fewer re-pins, more new pins. Try to create and publish at least 1 new pin per day, and after a while, you will see real results. However, for new accounts, re-pins are still acceptable at first, but try to decrease them later.
2. Less Hashtags - More Keywords. While you can use hashtags on Pinterest, they don't have the same power as keywords. Many accounts got into SPAM due to the use of a large number of hashtags, and Pinterest has repeatedly pointed out that keywords are the main tool for ranking, and hashtags do not play any role. I myself have stopped using hashtags for my clients' accounts since December 2020, and guess what?, traffic is growing pretty fast since I paid more attention to keywords.
3. Take advantage of all the new Pinterest features, such as Story Pins, Video Pins, and Standard Pins. I know that story pins are not yet available in many countries, but if you are the lucky one to have early access to the story pins, this is a gold mine for you. I found that traffic doubled by using story pins and link clicks have tripled by creating video pins. Pinterest wants to see an active and creative user, so try everything and see what works best for you.
4. Apply for the Pinterest Merchant program if you are an e-commerce business. Pinterest is very active in supporting small businesses. It creates all the conditions to make it more comfortable for e-commerce sites to promote products and services, and for users to buy them. Your first step should be creating a SHOP tab, and then, applying for the Pinterest Merchant Program. I noticed that in the first month after creating the SHOP tab, most e-commerce sites are making sales just with organic traffic, and after they became merchants, their sales doubled and tripled immediately. Incredible!
5. Followers don't matter on Pinterest. I know that most of you think that followers are 5 But since Pinterest is not a social network, believe me, followers are not your main goal. What's really matters are outbound links aka link clicks to your website. I have clients with 1.5k followers and 30k outbound links and 20k saves monthly. Isn't this a great example to stop worrying about followers?
6. Pay more attention to the account and pins optimization. Forget what worked for Pinterest even a year ago. This is a new year and new rules. Take advantage of the keywords by using them in the title, URL, bio, board name, board description, pin design, and pin description. Yes, all of these places are very important for ranking on Pinterest. Don't be lazy and fully optimize your Pinterest account now!
7. Use the scheduler for Pinterest. There are rumors that the scheduler has a bad impact on traffic and it is better to pin manually or pin through the Pinteres built-in scheduler. Ok, guys, this is the 100% myth! Pinterest not only encourages its users to use their official partners' schedules but for many of my clients' accounts, Pinterest traffic has increased by using a "smart" scheduler like Tailwind. Apart from that, I also pin manually from time to time.
8. Check Pinterest trends. Pinterest predicts the future, and now I know it for sure. Last year, Pinterest was 100% correct on 9 out of 10 predicted trends. Pinterest has a great tool that I use daily in my work - Pinterest Trends. It helps me create pins (content) that drive traffic and results. This feature is currently available for the US, Canadian, and UK markets. It's also a great place to look for additional keywords.
9. Explore Pinterest analytics deeper. I know that for some of you, analytics is a dark place. Trust me, I had the same fillings until I realized that using analytics the right way can help to get great results on Pinterest. 2020 has shown us that Pinterest account analytics, the same as Tailwind analytics are not entirely accurate, so in 2021 you need to learn how to use your Google Analytics to measure your Pinterest account success. GA is a great tool for checking Pinterest traffic, top pins and seasonal trends, ad campaign results, and analyzing your Pinterest marketing strategy.
10. Be patient and give your Pinterest account time to grow. Pinterest has always been a slow-growing network, but now we can confidently say that if you are a new Pinterest player it can take 3-6 months to start ranking on Pinterest, and this is normal practice.

All these are Pinterest best practices 2021 and are the main foundation for your success on Pinterest. Each business is unique and it will take time and effort to find what works best for you. If you do not know where to start or you need professional assistance, I am always happy to help you create a Pinterest marketing strategy for your business, audit your account, set up/clean up the Pinterest account, or provide my Pinterest monthly management services.

Just contact me and I'll help you succeed on Pinterest.