UPDATE (01/23/12): It was only a matter of time before Pinterest went the way of most sites and stopped their links from passing weight. As of today, Pinterest has made the links on all pins “no follow” meaning that they no longer contribute SEO value. This does not, however, make Pinterest less important for brands. Showcasing and curating content, and engaging with users through Pinterest can still be a major benefit for brands. The tips and ideas below are still valid, excluding the section on SEO Benefits.

WHAT IS PINTEREST?

Pinterest is digital bookmarking website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections, and discover collections created by friends and other users.

Pinterest popularity has sky rocketed in the past few months—Pinterest has 3.24 million unique visitors per month (Compete.com, December 2011).

Other interesting Pinterest demographics:

• Pinterest is used primarily by women (54-70% of user base, as estimated by comScore).
• According to Alexa, Pinterest appeals more to educated Caucasians under the age of 35 who have incomes between $30,000-100,000.
• Approximately 77% of visitors are in the United States.

WHO SHOULD USE PINTEREST?

Pinterest is not right for every brand. However, if your brand has stunning imagery and develops unique products, Pinterest might be a good fit for you. Following are some verticals that can leverage Pinterest:

• Apparel  – men’s, women’s and children’s
• Food/beverages, especially recipe driven
• Architecture
• Interior design
• Wedding themed
• Technology
• Sports
• Healthcare
• Personal Care
• Home Improvement/DIY Accessories
• Pets
• Kids products/toys
• Travel

SEO BENEFITS

Currently, the links that are included when someone pins a page are “do-follow,” meaning that they count for SEO value. Other large social media sites—Facebook, Wikipedia, etc.—started off with do follow links, but eventually implemented “no-follows” in an effort to deter spamming. We cannot predict whether Pinterest will also make this change as they grow; for the time being, however, the current set-up provides legitimate SEO value. Following is an example of the link placement:

The link does not contain optimized anchor text but instead contains the domain name, linking back to the original page.

As the search engines become more sophisticated in associating page text with outbound links, we anticipate that including a description containing key phrases associated with the page, such as “wire Christmas tree” for the above example, the search engines may attribute that text to the link in some capacity. Therefore, when pinning your pages or others, include a brief description of what the image is. However, do not force keywords, just let the text naturally describe the image and by doing so some variation of the keyword should fall in place.

The key to making Pinterest work for SEO needs is to create the type and caliber of content that users naturally want to pin. If you are the only one pinning your pages, that does not show favor in the Pinterest community. If the images and content are desirable and compelling, the process should happen organically by having an engagement strategy in place and following a few best practices outlined below.

HOW TO GET STARTED

1. Create a Pinterest profile for your brand; add a logo, short description and links to your website and Twitter account
2. Create boards and start pinning; maintain active profile by pinning brand products and other relevant images that customer would be interested in; see Best Practices for more tips
3. Re-pin, like and comment often
4. Add pin buttons to your product pages, allowing users to easily pin something to their boards: http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/
5. Add a “Follow us on Pinterest” button to your website (near other social media links and/or on your community page): http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/

BEST PRACTICES & TIPS

Pinning

• For each original image you pin, you must add a description, which should contain key phrases in an authentic way.
• You can tag any of your followers in this description by using the “@” symbol followed by their name, similar to how you tag on Facebook.
• When re-pinning, the original description is automatically carried over; however, you can write a new one if you’d like.
• Be conscious of the boards you are pinning to. Selecting relevant boards helps others become more engaged with your brand’s content and Pinterest activities.

Boards

• Each board you create must be linked to category already on Pinterest.
• You can allow others to contribute to your boards, but they must already be one of your followers.
• Each board should have a theme, all content posted to that board should relate to the theme, which creates a better user experience and increases likelihood of others following your boards.
• Create boards for product types, styles/trends, seasons/holidays, or other categories that are relevant to brand.

Liking and Commenting

• Likes and comments are not carried over when a pin is re-pinned.
• Comments should be relevant to the pin.
• Refrain from including advertising or self-promotion in comments.

Image Quality

• Since Pinterest emphasizes pictures over text, having high quality photos is important.
• Make sure your photos can be pinned; sites in Flash do not allow photos to be pinned.
• Ensure that photos are tagged correctly on your site, so that they index properly within Pinterest.

Tagging Others

• As previously mentioned, you can tag any of your followers in this description by using the “@” symbol followed by their name.
• When re-pining content, including a tag is a good way to recognize the user who posted the content before you.
• Tagging is also a way to show that your brand is engaged with content already on Pinterest.

Following Others

• Because Pinterest does not currently have a large brand presence, it is recommended that brands only follow users who follow them.
• To avoid being seen as “that spammy company that ruined Pinterest,” brands should not seek out users to follow.

Self-promotion

• Self-promotion is severely looked down upon on Pinterest; therefore, you should mix relevant non-branded imagery into your pins and engage with other pins that make sense to your brand.
• Do not pin your corporate logo or other purely marketing imagery; this will certainly not generate engagement.

Content Inspiration

• Search Pinterest to get ideas for creating new branded content.
• Make note of which pins receive the most comments, likes and re-pins to understand what content might have the most success on your assets.

Blogger Outreach

• Several bloggers have already added Pinterest to their repertoire of social media assets they update on a daily basis.
• Search for relevant terms in Pinterest and sort through boards to identify any bloggers.
• Connect with bloggers through any contact information provided in profile or on connected website.

Look Book/Wish List

• Create a board that is a gift guide or look book with prices and tags for each product.
• Encourage customers to add these items to their holiday wish lists and share with family/friends.
• Use for various holidays, events, seasons and life occasions (e.g., Christmas, Valentine’s Day, weddings, summer vacation, back to school, etc.).

OTHER BRANDS ON PINTEREST

View other brands that are actively using Pinterest, each in unique ways.

• Food/Beverage –Whole Foods, Little Debbie
• Retail –Nordstrom, West Elm
• Travel –Travel Channel
• Publishing/Media – Today Show, Real Simple Magazine, HGTV
• And, of course, Location3 Media.

Happy pinning!