If Pinterest keyword research is holding you back from using Pinterest in your digital marketing strategy then this complete guide on how to do keyword research on Pinterest is about to make your life a whole lot easier.
You see, Pinterest keyword research is actually one of the easiest keyword research methods to carry out and in no time at all, you can advance in your Pinterest SEO strategy to start seeing a huge increase in website traffic from Pinterest!
Now, before we dive into the Pinterest keyword research tutorial, there are just a few things you need to know to ensure you get the best results from your Pinterest marketing strategy.
Why do you need keywords on Pinterest?
Despite being labelled as a social media platform, Pinterest is actually a lot more like a search engine in the way it functions. Users search topics they are interested in on Pinterest and they are served with a feed of relevant pins to the search. Each pin is then linked to an external website.
This means that in order to show up on relevant Pinterest searches, you need to include keywords in your pins.
How many keywords should you use on Pinterest?
There is no set number of keywords to use on Pinterest. Instead, you should focus on including keywords organically within your pin content in order to see the best results. Despite what you may read online, keyword stuffing is an out-of-date practice on Pinterest and will often put your pin out of favour with Pinterest’s search engine.
Where should you put keywords on Pinterest?
There are several places you should include your keywords on Pinterest. On your Pinterest pins, you should include your keywords in:
- Your pin graphic (i.e. text on your graphic)
- Your pin title
- Your pin description
On your Pinterest profile, you should include your keywords in:
- Your profile name
- Your profile description
- Your board names
- Your board descriptions
How To Do Pinterest Keyword Research
Now that you’re clear on everywhere you need to include your keywords and why they are so important for your Pinterest SEO strategy, let’s dive into how to do keyword research on Pinterest!
Before we get started, I recommend opening up an Excel or Word document so you can make a note of all the keywords you find during your keyword research. That way when you come to optimise your pins you can just refer to the document and take out the keywords you need.
For all of this tutorial, we will be using native Pinterest features to carry out our keyword research because these are the only tools you need to find the best Pinterest keywords for your pins.
You don’t need external tools to do this, especially not paid ones!
The Pinterest Search Bar
The first place we are going to start is the Pinterest search bar. This is the best Pinterest keyword tool you’re going to find so it’s always wise to start here before looking elsewhere.
Type your “seed keyword” into the search bar. A seed keyword is a starter keyword related to your business, for example, I might use “web design” or “SEO”.
Once you’ve typed in your seed keyword, do not hit enter.
Instead, take a look at what is appearing below the search bar once you’ve entered your keyword:
These keywords are the most searched keywords related to your seed keyword. Typically, they will be based on what is trending so you may find it includes the current year or, depending on your seed keyword, particular styles that are popular on Pinterest.
This means I can confidently use these keywords on Pinterest knowing that Pinterest users are searching for these terms:
- Pinterest SEO strategy
- Pinterest SEO
- Pinterest SEO tips
- Pinterest SEO 2022 (I expect this will become 2023 soon!)
- Pinterest SEO for bloggers
Guided Search
Pinterest’s Guided Search appears like it’s being phased out by Pinterest, so not all users have access to this feature. However, I still have it on my account so for the sake of this tutorial I have included it in case you do too!
From the Pinterest search bar, this time you can hit enter on your keyword and let the search results appear.
If you see the coloured boxes below the search bar like in this screenshot, then you’ve still got access to Guided Search:
Guided Search features common phrases that are searched alongside your seed keyword. You’ll notice this result includes suggested searches from the Pinterest search bar method already, but it offers a few more relevant keywords to your search.
From this, I can add the following to my list of Pinterest keyword research:
- Pinterest SEO checklist
- Pinterest SEO hacks
- Pinterest SEO strategy 2022
- What is Pinterest SEO
You’ll notice I didn’t take all the suggestions from Guided Search here and that is because searches related to Etsy or in German wouldn’t be relevant to my content in this instance.
Pinterest Trends
We’re moving away from Pinterest’s main search feature now and diving into a seriously under-utilised part of the platform which happens to be an amazing and free Pinterest keyword tool.
If you’re looking for even more keyword ideas, this is going to blow your mind.
Pinterest Trends is a newer feature that allows you to find keywords ideas that are trending on the platform. This is particularly helpful for seasonal content and gauging search volume for your chosen keywords. Something we’ve been lacking up until this point!
The features here used to be found under Pinterest Ads but they’ve since moved it over to an independent section so you can use this to find relevant keywords without creating dud ad campaigns. Like Pinterest Ads, you will need a Pinterest Business account to access Pinterest Trends.
As you can see, when typing in my original seed keyword here, the keyword ideas from Pinterest aren’t as relevant but instead show trending related keywords.
Let’s try a different seed keyword and see what comes up!
At the time of writing this, we have less than one month until Christmas and as you can see, we’ve been given plenty of Pinterest keywords to work with here!
I’ve selected three to dig a little deeper into the stats.
Pinterest Trends are a little bit behind with data, but from the information they’ve provided, I can see that last year’s traffic for all of these keywords shot up towards Christmas, with “Christmas nails acrylic” being the most popular.
I can also see that at the beginning of November this year, the searches started to creep up again. With this information, I would confidently be adding “Christmas nails acrylic” to my Pinterest keyword research list, as well as “Christmas nails short” for an extra boost.
Based on its fairly low performance in 2021, I would give “Christmas nail ideas” a miss.
On Pinterest Trend reports you can also see the demographics behind each search and popular pins within those searches, both of which will help you with designing your pins for the best results.
Although it didn’t serve me well on my initial seed keyword, this is the best Pinterest keyword tool for seasonal content and industries which have emerging trends that crop up often. It’s a must-have for your Pinterest strategy if any. of those apply to you!
Final Pinterest Keyword Research Tips
I feel like we’ve been on a real journey here and I’m confident that you should be able to smash your Pinterest keyword research out of the park with these methods! That being said, I do have a few final Pinterest keyword tips for you to help you succeed with your Pinterest strategy!
Don’t keyword stuff
I know I’ve mentioned this already but it’s often advised by out-of-date content marketers so I feel it’s worth mentioning again. You must include your Pinterest keywords organically throughout your content. Do not just list out your keywords or try to cram too many in. The algorithm will know and you won’t be rewarded for it!
Optimise your Pinterest account
I mentioned including your Pinterest keywords in your profile name, description and boards further up this blog post and it’s important you take the time to do so. This is a “set it and forget it” task that is well worth taking the time to do as you will have optimised your entire Pinterest account, not just your pins.
Consider your target audience
It’s important you think about who you want to find your pins as this will allow you to choose the right keywords for your overall Pinterest strategy.
For example, earlier in my Pinterest keyword research, I could have chosen to include “Pinterest SEO for Etsy” in my keyword list earlier on in my research, but it’s not going to generate traffic to this blog post because I don’t mention Etsy. Ultimately, it’s a waste of a keyword and that space could be used by a far more relevant keyword.
And there you have it! That’s everything in my brain on Pinterest keyword research! I hope you’ve found these methods useful and I can’t wait to hear all about your success on the platform.
