How To Use Pinterest To Increase Traffic To Your Blog

So you've written a few blog posts and want to try and capture some new readers. You're stumped about what to do next — and then it hits you: Pinterest. It turns out that Pinterest is perfect for making inspiration boards and excellent for search engine optimization. That's right; if you use Pinterest correctly, it can boost your traffic dramatically. Read on to learn how.

Create A Board To Capture Traffic

Pinterest's search is based on the title you give your posts. Creating a board for each of your articles will help people find them later. For example, if you did a post on "How To Find Your Niche For Your Blog," you should name your board something along the lines of "How To Find Your Niche For Your Blog. "If you enjoy what you're writing about, this could become a series. In that case, come up with a consistent theme for all of your boards — for example, all under the blog post's name — and name each accordingly.

Add An Image

Some think adding an image to every post will take too much time. However, if you include an image on every board, your posts will likely appear in Pinterest's search results. Not only that, but it will make your boards look more complete and exciting. So the next time you create a board, find an image that fits with the title — or theme. For example, if the post is about blog traffic hacks, then use a picture of a computer screen filled with lots of traffic stats. Pinterest lets you add any content to your boards — so use these images wisely to capture your target audience's attention.

Use Promoted Pins

Promoted Pins are what Pinterest calls its ads. The ultimate aim of any advertiser is to get as many people as possible interested in a product or service. Advertisers use this tactic by contacting other members of the same industry, who, in turn, pass the message on to their friends. You can build a massive ad campaign by promoting your pins, which can be seen by all your followers and passed on to even more people. You do this by creating a board for each article you write and then pinning each article to that board. Your posts will be found by a relevant audience, which is exactly what you want.

Use The Right Titles

The title of your post is one of the most critical things on your page. This is how people will find your content on Pinterest — so make them work for it. Include keywords that people might use if they search for that topic in the results sidebar. For example, if you're writing a blog post about SEO, include the word "SEO" in your title. However, don't just stick it in the middle of your title — Pinterest won't index those properly. Instead, put it at the beginning or end of your title. It should read something like "SEO: How To Get More Traffic From It.

Build Your Networks

As you'll soon learn, your reach and influence on Pinterest are based on your connections to other members. The more people you have in common with and follow (known as your "following"), the more likely it is that you'll appear in their searches, increasing your visibility. So start following other pinners that share similar interests to you — using this as an opportunity to find new readers and interact with them by repinning and liking their posts. As you follow other members, they'll be able to follow you back, which will make your boards appear in their searches. Also, if they do the same with you, it will appear in your search results. A mutually beneficial relationship indeed.

Make It Shareable

Images are the most shareable content online. That's because people like pictures — instead of long posts with several paragraphs of text. If people scroll through Pinterest and come across your images, they will be much more likely to click on them than something that's mainly textual. So next time you add an image to your board, try to include some eye-catching call-to-action. This could be a message asking people to comment, like the post, or even backlink your blog. These simple actions might not seem like much, but they can make all the difference in driving traffic back to your blog posts.

Getting your blog posts on Pinterest is easier than you might have thought. And using a strategy like this is simply a matter of being consistent and using the service properly. All it takes is a small-time commitment from you to create boards and pin your posts, and it'll pay off tenfold in the long term.