If you thought you could escape keywords by focusing on Pinterest rather than SEO and Google, then you’re wrong. As a blogger, you need to know how to find Pinterest keywords and use them properly when pinning and in your account.
The problem for many bloggers – myself included when I was just starting out on Pinterest – is that I didn’t know how to find and use Pinterest keywords properly.
I was haphazardly filling out Pin titles and descriptions without thinking about search intent and Pinterest SEO.
Once I started to implement Pinterest keywords properly, I saw a great increase in my pins being indexed and discovered by Pinterest users.
So how do you find Pinterest keywords and how do you use them to get results?
We’ll answer these questions in this post:
- What are Pinterest keywords and SEO?
- Why do we need to Use Pinterest Keywords?
- How do you find Pinterest keywords?
- How to use Pinterest keywords
- What words are not permitted on Pinterest
In the end, you’ll be able to find the best Pinterest keywords and be ready to optimize your Pinterest pins and account like a pro.
DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you click on a product or service, and decide to purchase it, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. All recommended products and services are based on my positive experience with them. For more information, please read my Disclaimer.
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What Are Pinterest Keywords?
Pinterest is a visual search engine, much like Google. It has its own SEO.
Pinterest keywords are the search terms and specific phrases that are used by Pinterest users to find content.
They can be short – one to two-word keywords, that are difficult to rank in searches. Or longer than 3 to 8 keywords, which are more often used by Pinterest users.
They are what Pinterest uses to organize content on topics to serve users the results they are seeking.
| RELATED: How To Easily Optimize Blog Posts For SEO And Improved Ranking
Why Do We Need To Use Pinterest Keywords?
Before we delve into the topic of how to find keywords on Pinterest, you need to know why you need them in the first place!
Pinterest catalogues pin content to ensure it can deliver user searches. The AI that Pinterest uses can scan several things:
- Pin titles
- Pin descriptions
- Text on Pinterest pins
- Images used in Pinterest pin designs (so relevancy is important)
So, it’s important to provide the right blend of information to ensure your content is best understood and indexed by Pinterest.
| RELATED: How To Grow Blog Traffic – 3 Strategies That Work!
How To Find Pinterest Keywords
I’ll be honest, it’s quite easy to find the best Pinterest keywords for your pins.
It’s just an extra step that you need to take, which takes a bit of extra time.
But the results are great.
Here are the easiest ways to find keywords for Pinterest:
- In the Pinterest search bar
- In the Pinterest search bar, but specifically for video pins
- In the Pinterest keyword tool
- Pinterest trends tool
1. Finding Keywords In The Pinterest Search Bar
This is the easiest way to find keywords on Pinterest. It’s the way I use 99% of the time.
All you need to do is enter a keyword (best to do a broad keyword with 2 to 3 words) and see what is automatically generated.
For example, here’s what comes up for “blog post ideas”.
PRO TIP: If you’re looking for blog post ideas for content that Pinterest users are seeking, this is the best way to find it!
If you’re writing blog post ideas for beginners, you may want to play around with the wording. Next, try “blog post ideas for beginners” and see what pops up as a more specific keyword.
This is a great way to determine what specific terms are used. In this case “blog post ideas for beginners tips”.
You’ll want to somehow incorporate that into your pin title or description.
Find Pinterest Keywords In The Video Search Bar
Much like the steps for the “All Pins” search bar, you can use the specific search for Video pins to find keywords in Pinterest.
The difference is that for most general keywords you’ll have results with keywords in “bubbles” overtop.
When you click the bubble it takes you to more pins specific to that topic. It may also show more “bubbles” with more specific keywords.
Finding Keywords In Pinterest Using The Keyword Tool (Ad Planning)
When you have a Business Account, the benefit is that you can create ads.
Pinterest ads have their own keyword planner tool that helps you identify specifics to promote pins.
This tool is also very useful for figuring out Pinterest keywords for regular pins.
Here’s how to use it (it’s a bit difficult to get to it… so follow along as best as you can).
- Click Ads / Create Campaign
- Click Manual Campaigns / Get Started
- On the left-hand side, you’ll see a box, click New Ad Group
- Click Reconnect with Users or Find New Customers
- Scroll down to Interests and Keywords; make sure it’s enabled
- Click Add Keywords
- In the search bar add a general keyword (2 to 3 words maximum)
- You’ll get a list of ideas popping up
- Click to add the most relevant ones to your list on the left-hand side
- You may want to take a screenshot of all of those that work for you or copy and paste them into a separate document.
PRO TIP: If you choose a broad keyword, like in this case “blogging”, you’ll get a much longer list of top keywords for this topic.
How To Find Pinterest Keywords Using The Pinterest Trends Feature
Pinterest Trends is an excellent place to find inspiration for Pinterest keywords. In particular, you can find trending keywords.
To get to the Pinterest trends pages, you need to do this: Click Analytics, and then Trends.
You will find a page that looks something like this:
When you enter your keyword in the “Search for keywords trending on Pinterest” bar, you’ll get the results for that keyword in the country you’ve selected.
This is what came up for “blogging” in the US:
But this is not what you’re really seeking.
It doesn’t work for all keywords, but for the top topics, you’ll find what keywords and topics are trending.
Here’s what shows up, like a Google search prompt, when I tried “cookies”.
Now, when I take the “cookies recipes” and type in “cookie recipes” in the search, I get more keywords!
You can keep going and drilling down even more to find which keywords are being used, and which ones are trending.
It’s one of the best ways to find keywords and hot topics that will help you when you write great blog posts!
How To Use SEO Keywords On Pinterest
Now that you have learned how to find keywords on Pinterest, where do you add them?
- To the pin title: try to keep them to the beginning of the title
- In the description in a natural way as part of your text. You can add more than one keyword. But don’t stuff them!
- In your text on your Pinterest pin design (remember, Pinterest AI can pick this up!)
- In your profile name (e.g. one of my keywords is “Blogging Tips”)
- Add keywords in your profile About section
- Include keywords in your board descriptions that are relevant to that board
Here’s how I’ve used key topic keywords in my profile:
PRO TIP: Keep a list of your published blog posts in Google Sheets or Airtable (my favourite free project management tool), along with the keywords you’ve found in separate columns. You can create pins for different keywords and see how you can get more than one pin indexed with more than one keyword. This increases your chances of somebody finding your content.
What Words Are Not Allowed On Pinterest?
Not all keywords are allowed on Pinterest, and they are related to topics that are not permitted on the site.
The best place to find these is in PInterest’s advertising guidelines, specifically its Prohibited Content Guidelines.
Be careful with health and wellness topics, as they may run afoul of Pinterest’s prohibitions around medical and health messaging.
Boost Your Pin Success!
Now you know how to find Pinterest keywords in several ways:
- In the Pinterest search bar (all pins)
- In the Pinterest search bar – for video pins
- In the Pinterest Keyword Tool (ads)
- Through the Pinterest Trending Pins tool
And you now know where to add them to optimize your profile and pins.
If you’re looking to create gorgeous pins fast, I’ve got 10 free Pinterest templates that you can use:
When you start considering Pinterest SEO, you’ll find your Pinterest marketing results will improve.
Need to learn more about Pinterest?
Check out these helpful blog posts:
- How To Get Started With Pinterest: A Beginner’s Guide
- How To Use Pinterest For Blog Growth
- How To Design Clickable Pinterest Pins
- Pinterest Tips And Tricks For Blogging Success
QUESTION: What is your favourite way to find the best keywords on Pinterest?
Very interesting and I’ll be trying these tactics myself. it’s so hard to figure out the SEO algorithm. thanks for the info!
You’re most welcome and yes, it’s always a fun challenge to find the best keywords. When you do, it’s like hitting paydirt!
Pinterest is an app that drives quite a lot of traffic to my blog, but I have no idea how to use it properly. To be honest, I had no idea Pinterest Trends was even a thing (or at least I didn’t know I could utilize it). I have bookmarked this post as it’s a really useful guide for a newbie like me! I’m getting to know and love Pinterest! xxx