How to Use Pinterest for Bloggers (Step by Step)

Pinterest is one of the few places where a blog post can keep getting found long after you’ve published it. It isn’t quite social media. It’s closer to a visual search engine, and that changes how you use it.

Here’s how to use Pinterest for bloggers, step by step, from setting up your account to making pins and checking what works, without pinning all day.

Related: The Weekly Pinterest Checklist Every Blogger Needs for Consistent Traffic

Why Use Pinterest for Your Blog?

Pinterest can send readers to a post for a long time after you publish it.

People use Pinterest to search for ideas, tutorials and solutions, so a helpful pin can match what they’re looking for. Pinterest says Pins can gain traction hours, days, months or even years after you publish them, and that fresh, original Pins are better than repeatedly saving other people’s content. See its guide to Pin performance and distribution. There’s no promise of results, but it’s a good fit for a blog that publishes helpful, searchable posts.

How to Use Pinterest for Bloggers, Step by Step

To use Pinterest for bloggers properly, do these in order and don’t skip the setup.

Step 1: Set Up a Pinterest Business Account

A business account gives you access to the Business Hub and Pinterest Analytics. According to Pinterest’s business account guide, you can create a new business account or convert a personal one, which keeps your Pins and followers. Business accounts are always public, so check your personal account is public before converting.

Related: Pinterest Account Setup Checklist

Step 2: Claim Your Website

Claiming your site tells Pinterest it’s yours. Pinterest says claiming lets you see how often content from your site is saved, and Pins saved from your site link back to your profile. You need to own the domain and be able to edit its source code. In your business settings, go to the claim option next to Websites, choose a verification method, enter your URL and verify. The methods include an HTML tag, an HTML file or a DNS TXT record. See Pinterest’s claim your website guide.

Related: How to Claim Your Website on Pinterest

Step 3: Create Keyword-Led Boards

Boards are how Pinterest understands your topics. Name each board with a clear phrase your reader would search for, write a short description that uses it naturally and start with a handful of boards that match your blog’s main topics, not dozens.

Related: Pinterest Board Strategy

Step 4: Add a Save Button and Enable Rich Pins

A Save button lets readers pin your images straight from your posts. Rich Pins sync extra information from your site. Pinterest says article Rich Pins use your page’s headline, description and author, and that you add the metadata to your page’s head, with syncing taking up to 24 hours once it’s in place. Pinterest also notes that listicles and image-heavy pages don’t count as articles. Details are in Pinterest’s Rich Pins guide.

Related: How to Set Up Rich Pins on Pinterest

Step 5: Create Pins That Fit Pinterest

Pinterest recommends a 2:3 aspect ratio, such as 1000 x 1500 pixels, in its Pin specs. In Canva, search for Pinterest pin templates, add a clear title, keep the text readable on a phone and use your brand fonts and colours. Make a few different pins for each post.

Related: How to Design Pinterest Pins in Canva That Get Clicks

Step 6: Write Titles and Descriptions People Can Find

Pinterest matches pins to searches using the words in the title, description and board. Put the phrase your reader would search for near the start of the pin title, then add the promise, and use a description that opens with the problem or outcome and uses your keyword naturally. Skip filler and repeated boilerplate.

Related: 7 Pinterest SEO Tips to Optimise Your Pins

Step 7: Link Every Pin to the Right Post

Send each pin to the post it promises, and make sure the page loads quickly on a phone. A pin that promises a guide but lands on a shop page sends people away. Also create fresh pins for older posts when you update them.

Related: How to Turn One Blog Post Into Pins (Without Making Copies)

Step 8: Check Pinterest Analytics

Look at impressions, saves and outbound clicks, and note which pins and posts send readers to your blog. Make more pins like the ones that earn clicks, and don’t worry about tiny day-to-day swings.

Related: How to Use Pinterest Analytics

Set Up Your Profile So It Reads Like a Search Result

Your profile is the first thing a new visitor sees, so make it clear in a few seconds.

Add a clear profile photo, use a display name and bio that say what you help people do, and include the words your reader would actually search for. Instead of just your name, something like “Your Name | Blogging Strategy + Pinterest Tips” tells Pinterest and your reader what to expect. Keep it natural, because you’re writing for people first.

Make Your Blog Posts Pinterest-Ready

Pinterest sends readers to your post, so check the post before you pin it.

• A clear, specific headline: does it say what the post is about and who it’s for?
• A strong opening: the first lines should speak to a problem your reader feels.
• At least one vertical image: something that works well as a pin.
• A next step: tell readers what to do after reading, such as join your list or read a related post.

A clear, useful post is more likely to keep the readers Pinterest sends you.

A Simple Pinning Routine You Can Keep

Learning how to use Pinterest for bloggers doesn’t mean being on Pinterest all day. You need a repeatable routine.

1. Each time you publish, make a few different pin designs for the post.
2. Spread them out, publishing over the next few weeks instead of all at once.
3. Revisit your best posts every few months and make fresh pins for them.
4. Check Analytics once a month, and make more of what earns clicks.

Pinterest and Affiliate Links

Pinterest for bloggers can support affiliate income, as long as the pin sends people to a helpful post.

Send pins to a blog post that explains or reviews the product, not straight to a sales page, and disclose any affiliate links clearly in the post. Read Pinterest’s current rules on affiliate links before you use them in pins.

Related: How to Make Money Blogging with Affiliate Marketing (Even with Zero Traffic)

Pinterest rewards helpful posts and clear titles, not pinning all day.

Want ready-made pin layouts? Grab my free Pinterest Template Pack and swap in your own text and photos.

Pinterest for Bloggers: Mistakes to Avoid

• Skipping the business account and claim: you miss analytics and attribution.
• Writing for people but not search: keywords matter on Pinterest.
• Linking pins to the wrong page: match the pin to the post.
• Making the same pin repeatedly: vary the angle, headline and design.
• Expecting instant traffic: treat the first months as groundwork.

Key Takeaways

• How to use Pinterest for bloggers starts with a business account and a claimed website.
• Use keywords in boards, pin titles and descriptions, because Pinterest works like search.
• Make vertical 2:3 pins and link each one to the post it promises.
• Check Pinterest Analytics, and give it time.

Pinterest for bloggers is slow, quiet work. Set up properly, make a few good pins for each post and let Pinterest do the rest. 🌶️