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Using Pinterest to improve your websites Search Engine Rankings

by resonantpaul

Last updated: 02/01/2012
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Pinterest, Internet Marketer's new favourite tool.

Pinterest has blown up in popularity over the past 6 months (a 40-fold increase, in fact!). Why is it gaining such popularity and how can this be put to use to your advantage in social media marketing and search engine optimisation terms?

Pinterest is the latest big social sharing site on the web. It's like a cross between Tumblr and StumbleUpon. Let me elaborate...

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that allows you to "pin" images, video and content which you think is interesting. People can see this content "pinned" on your virtual pinboard. If a user likes your image (or video or page) they can "like" it, in a similar fashion to a Facebook like. If a user really likes your content then they can "repin" the content to one of their boards. In this way it is similar to reblogging on Tumblr or bookmarking a page on StumpleUpon or delicious.

The pinboard metaphor is a clever one to use and it works really well. The question is why is it of use to internet marketers?

Contents at a Glance

Pinterest as a SEO tool
Optimising your Pinterest content
How exactly is Pinterest a Social Media...
Pinterest Quick Tips:
PROOF that Pinterest works
More articles, blog posts and views on t...

Using Pinterest to gain backlinks

Where Pinterest sets itself apart from other social networking sites, is that all links are currently dofollow links. These are important and useful for building backlinks to your site.

It is not just a case of building a Pinterest account for the sake of it though. Content matters.

Let's look at the demographics; 59% of Pinterest's userbase are women between the ages of 25-44. Generally businesses and brands with a strong aesthetic and visually pleasing images tend to create the biggest amount of "buzz" on Pinterest. Industries thriving on Pinterest at the moment are wedding planning, fashion, interior design, gardening, architecture, cooking, etc.

This audience could tend to change but as of early 2012 this demographic is only growing. If your business has some good imagery and photography then Pinterest could be a very effective tool due to the power of social media and sharing socially.

Optimising your Pinterest content

Optimising your Pinterest content is crucial!

Think of your Pinterest content as any other web content. It must be optimised effectively for both the user and, of course, the search engine.

The description area is your chance to highlight your keywords concerning your content. Try to keep it light and fun, remembering the general ethos of Pinterest.

The follow link is obviously very important. Keep it relevant to the image! You'd be surprised how many people post an alluring image which was simply a ploy to get the user to click-through to something completely unrelated. Yes, it gets the click but they are not going to stick about.

How exactly is Pinterest a Social Media Marketing tool?

Social media is huge. Practically every business and brand has a presence on either Facebook or Twitter nowadays.

However, a huge proportion of businesses are not using social media marketing effectively.

Success on Pinterest is very much like other social networks. You must keep the conversation going and build rapport - this way you can gain a following on Pinterest and as more people follow you, your content will be shared more often (if you keep it interesting and fresh) which means more eyes on your product and more click-throughs to your site.

Pinterest Quick Tips:

- Use eye catching imagery

- SHARE! Share your pins on Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon

- Make friends. Follow people, comment on their content and they will return the favour

PROOF that Pinterest works

Mashable recently posted an article with a very telling infographic that shows Pinterest becoming a big player in driving significant amounts of traffic for businesses in certain industries.

In particular, 5 specialist apparel sites traffic rose 389% from July - December 2011 through Pinterest alone!

Source: http://mashable.com/2012/01/29/pinterest-retail-infographic/