Many of us have heard of Pinterest but there are still some who have yet to sign up. You may be asking yourself questions such as, ‘How is Pinterest useful to me?’, ‘Can Pinterest help me in terms of SEO?’ Well, today we are going to discuss some of the basics of Pinterest and give you a little history on this company and how quickly it is growing.
We think Pinterest is something that could be extremely beneficial to your brand and a wonderful way to continue to get your name out there even faster than before.
What is Pinterest All About?
Pinterest isn’t your typical website. One cannot simply register an account and then log in. You need to request an invitation. The quickest way to become a member of Pinterest is to ask someone who is already a member to invite you. Not know anyone who is part of the site yet? You can then choose to request an invite from someone you do not know via sites such as Facebook, Twitter or even an online forum. The site has doubled its users from the end of 2011 (from about 4 million to over 8 million) so there is a pretty high chance you’ll be able to find someone to invite you.
How Big is Pinterest? Any Traffic?
As of April 2012, Pinterest has grown to be the third most popular social website. I’m sure many of you can guess the two on the list that come just before Pinterest. That’s right, Facebook and Twitter. As many of you have probably already been told, Facebook and Twitter are amazing ways to get your name out there and truly expand your brand overall. So, can you imagine what you could do with all three?
Things Are Getting Exciting Here – Tell Me More
‘Pinning’ on Pinterest is one of the easiest things you can do. It’s like ‘ReTweeting’ something on Twitter or ‘Sharing’ on Facebook. Google loves social networking sites; and likes to see new links going to your website. It has become increasingly simple to get your brand recognized lately and word spreads fast on sites such as Pinterest because all it takes is a simple click of the ‘repin’ button and your pin has the potential to be viewed by everyone who is following the person who shared your content. As you can imagine, the more people that decide to repin; the more traffic you are going to receive.
Say you have a new blog post and you want to share it with the rest of the world and increase your traffic. All you have to do is ‘Pin’ a link to your latest blog entry to your Pinterest account and you’re on your way. Be sure to comment on other peoples’ pins as well, not only the ones that relate to your niche. Show the world who you are and you are going to stand out from the crowd. The more active you are on Pinterest, the better. You want people to remember your page and come back to see what you have pined most recently.
What About SEO?
SEO is all about creating great content and letting the world know that it’s there for them to see. Traffic will start rolling in if people know about your work through various sources of promotion. This can either be through self-promotion or sharing, retweeting and so forth of your friends, family or site viewers/members. Pinterest can send you additional traffic and if your website is good, the links will follow.
There is no definite proof that Pinterest ‘pins’ get any SEO weight in Google’s algorithms. But that’s unknown for twitter mentions or Facebook likes too. Some companies have tried to tie retweets and SEO but I believe the retweets just helped them generate more links.
We aren’t going to promise you instant results, but you’d be surprised what a little love and care can do when it comes to your SEO. Getting your name out there takes time, but if you use Pinterest along with the two other social networks properly; you’re going to definitely notice increase in your traffic. Even if things aren’t happening right off the bat, do not give up. This is something many people do and it’s a big mistake. Getting attention takes time, motivation and plenty of patience.
