How to write a good Pinterest description for your pins
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What are you REALLY doing if you own a blog or run a small business, but you’re sleeping on digital marketing, precisely amazing platforms like Pinterest?
Pinterest has a community of more than 400 million monthly users (that should be enough to convince you to create a Pinterest Business Account), with more than 60% women.
Also, 45% of Pinterest users belong to the income bracket of $100k or more. So there is a higher chance of finding your target audience on Pinterest.
Statistics are informative and valuable for convincing bloggers and business owners to start taking Pinterest and digital marketing seriously, but what’s more important is the how behind Pinterest marketing.
Everything is part of your content marketing strategy, from capturing vivid images or finding the right stock photos to doing the Pinterest SEO right.
However, beyond good graphics and relevant keywords, something that adds the most value to your prospect’s life is the Pin description.
Pin descriptions are those concise pieces of text beneath the image or Pin you’ve created.
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This is where the magic of words happens – you can briefly talk about your blog or business and subtly pitch your service or product.
A Pinterest description is more than just juxtaposing fancy words relevant to your brand or blogging niche.
When you’re putting in so much effort in creating the ideal brand or writing the best blog posts that appeal to your reader’s feelings, why not make a little more effort and write a winning Pinterest description?
Writing a good Pinterest description is necessary for Pinterest SEO. The better your SEO strategy, the more leads you’re likely to attract.
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This blog post will explain tips and best practices for writing stellar Pinterest descriptions. We will focus on how to write Pinterest descriptions that convert while you work on other business goals.
What’s a Pinterest description
If you’ve ever been on any social media platform, you might have seen those bits of text next to a media like an image or video.
That text, otherwise called a caption, is called a Pinterest description when beneath a Pin.
Although Pinterest is a visual search engine, and your emphasis should be on creating the most vivid and attractive images, writing good Pinterest descriptions should be a priority.
Pinterest descriptions talk for your brand or business when a prospect or lead comes across an image or idea Pin of yours.
The Pinterest descriptions add context to the shared media for your Boards or Pins. Pinterest descriptions give an idea to your prospect what your Board or Pin is about.
Suppose you’re a travel blogger and have uploaded an image of a beautiful scenic landscape with a text overlay that says something like “12 packing tips you must know”.
While the blog post’s title alone could attract leads to your blog, without a Pinterest description, your leads would be clueless about what the blog post is about.
A title alone cannot generate as many leads as a brief Pinterest description.
Within the description, you can talk about the blog’s target audience or the specific post. You can add a hook that makes the prospects want to click the URL and check out your blog or business.
This article will discuss two different Pinterest descriptions – for boards and Pins.
Pinterest Pin descriptions have varying formats, depending on the device that the app is being used.
If the user is on a desktop, the description would be placed toward the right of the screen. Similarly, the description would be beneath the graphic on a mobile device.
Pinterest descriptions for Boards are also helpful in letting your prospects and target audience know what each Board on your profile is about.
Creating Pinterest boards is a good way of organizing your ideas and essential graphics – it also leaves a good impression on the prospect or lead.
Now that we know what a Pinterest description is let’s see what makes it important and how to write one.
Why is a Pin description important
Now that you know what a Pinterest description is let’s uncover why these are important.
Though it’s evident that Pinterest descriptions are helpful for the viewers (the target audience for your brand), studies have shown that Pinterest descriptions are crucial for the algorithm.
In 2018, Pinterest analyzed more than 20,000 Pins, where everything from the design to the description was studied.
The findings suggested that mentioning important business details like the brand name in the first sentence of the Pinterest description has a higher chance of conversion for email signups, up to 54%.
Similarly, using clear and concise wording that includes a strong call-to-action may increase sales by 6% and email newsletter signups by 70% for businesses on Pinterest.
If these statistics do not convince you, know that Pinterest descriptions are crucial for disseminating your Pins and Boards.
When you write Pinterest descriptions, include business-relevant keywords linked to your site or brand so your target audience can find you.
Adding keywords allows you to use Pinterest SEO tactics necessary for increasing engagement and visibility on the platform.
The right keywords in your Pinterest descriptions will signal Pinterest to show your content to the right audience. For instance, relevant keywords for my business are travel blogs and travel tips.
Including these keywords in my Pin descriptions will ensure that people looking for travel content on Pinterest come across my content.
While keywords are essential for Pinterest descriptions, ensure not to overstuff them, as it can lead to spamming and Pinterest blocking your account or content.
Overall, here are two reasons why you should invest some time and effort in creating Pin descriptions:
- A good Pin description ensures your Pin surfaces whenever a relevant keyword is searched for
- Good Pin descriptions ensure a high click-through rate. A good Pin description that is descriptive and informative will compel your reader or viewer to check out your blog or online store
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What’s a good Pinterest description
So now that you are familiar with what a Pinterest description is and why it’s essential for visibility and SEO let’s find out what differentiates a “good” description from a mediocre one.
Whether your Pinterest description is for a Board or a Pin, you must follow certain ground rules to ensure it reaches your target audience.
Ideally, your Pinterest description shouldn’t be too long, and neither should it be too short as if leaving it up to the reader’s imagination.
For the sake of metrics, a Pinterest description, whether for a Board or a Pin, should be of 500 characters at most.
Five hundred characters are roughly fifty to hundred and twenty-five words, or three to five sentences.
I recommend using the entire character limit if you can, however, make sure the Pinterest description is natural and doesn’t seem forced.
Second to the character limit is the context of your Pinterest description. Ensure that your Pinterest description is as descriptive and informative as it can be.
A brand that fails to facilitate its customer or client’s queries precisely shouldn’t expect to gain much traction.
For writing good Pinterest Pin descriptions, make sure your text has the following:
- A hook
- A middle
- Strong call-to-action (CTA)
As the name suggests, a hook draws your target audience’s attention toward your Pin or Board. It can be a catchy sentence or phrase that your target audience is likely to resonate with.
When writing this “hook-worthy” sentence, include your main keywords. If the hook is your first sentence, include a few keywords, but don’t overstuff it.
Some Pinterest description examples to help you begin are:
- X essential tips for ____
- Are you [question]?
- Do you struggle with ____? Here’s how to ____
Next, we have the middle segment of your Pinterest description. This is where you give a brief account of your Pinterest description.
The middle part gives the reader an overview of what product or service you’re offering. Include at least five relevant keywords.
Lastly, don’t forget to include a CTA in your Pinterest description. A CTA compels your reader or target client to make that final buying decision after seeing your product images or thumbnail for the blog post.
CTAs increase clickthrough rates and conversions. Some Pinterest description examples with good CTAs are:
- Learn more by…
- To find out more…
- To make ____ more exciting…
To summarise, the most critical part of your Pinterest description is the number of keywords that you include.
Keywords are crucial for visibility and Pinterest SEO, and to make sure your Pin shows up in the top searches.
How to write Pinterest board descriptions
Now that we have covered Pinterest Pin descriptions let’s write a Pinterest board description.
Pinterest marketers and business owners often find it easy to figure out Pin descriptions, but they struggle with or don’t know how to write Pinterest board descriptions.
A Pinterest board description is as important as a Pinterest Pin description since Pinterest Boards appear in keyword searches as well.
1. Find target keywords
Before you start writing a Pinterest board description or any of your Pin descriptions, you must do your keyword research.
Start by typing in your main keyword. For my business, it’s “travel.” So, suppose I want to do research before writing a Pinterest description.
In that case, I’ll type “travel” in the search bar and see what other Pinterest users are looking for.
Pinterest also has an autosuggest feature to help you with its SEO. You can also look at keywords that are included in high-ranking Pins or Boards relevant to your niche.
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2. Placing keywords in the right places
Now that you know how to search for writing a Pinterest description, it’s important to understand where to place those keywords.
As mentioned numerous times, you want to avoid overstuffing your content with keywords because that would mark your account or content as spammy.
Spammy accounts or content enter the blocklist and don’t gain traction.
To avoid overstuffing and potentially getting your account blocklisted, I suggest adding the keywords naturally within your Pinterest description.
Also, ensure you add the keywords to your Pin graphic and Pinterest Pin and Board description.
When adding the keywords on your Pin graphics, it’s tempting to add flamboyant cursive fonts, but please avoid those. Pinterest bots also index the text on Pins, so you want to ensure it’s readable.
3. Introducing the main SEO keyword early
As if this wasn’t obvious enough – add your main SEO keyword early within your Pinterest description. If you’re starting the Pinterest board description from a hook, add a keyword early on.
As a blog writer, it’s easy and tempting to go off the track, but remember that you have only 500 characters for a Pinterest description.
And you have the added pressure of making the Pinterest description descriptive, informative and SEO-worthy!
4. Utilize the full character count in the title and description
Try to use the entire 500-character limit for a Pinterest description if you can.
Don’t overstuff the Pinterest description with keywords, but don’t make it too brief or concise so that the reader is left in ambiguity.
You want them to know enough to keep them hooked on whatever you’re offering – advice through a blog post or a one-of-a-kind product or service.
5. Make sure your title and description are on-brand
To make sure your brand or business is consistent, include the name of your blog or brand in every title and Pinterest description.
Typically, Pinterest Business accounts use a separator like this | to differentiate between the brand name and the rest of the Pinterest description.
Mentioning your brand’s name or tagline in every Pinterest description improves brand recognition. It leaves a good impact on your viewer or target audience.
It also protects in case someone tries to copy your description or Pin. It’s also common for the source to get lost when Pins are repinned multiple times.
However, if the brand or blog name is in the Pinterest description, the Pinner is likely to see where the Pin originally came from.
6. Use natural language
Keyword stuffing or writing content that doesn’t make your reader feel welcome is the opposite of natural.
Natural writing also protects against being blocklisted since it won’t be spammy or seem like it’s written just to get views and clicks.
When working on a Pinterest description, write as if you’re talking to a friend or someone who’s asked for your advice or help (because that’s what you’re technically doing with your blog or business – helping other people!).
7. Write for your target audience and Pinterest
Building on to the previous point, when writing a Pinterest description, ensure you understand your target audience and their pain points.
If you’re unaware of what your target audience is looking for on Pinterest or the internet, in general, you won’t be able to cater to their needs adequately.
Essentially, writing blogs is to add value to people’s lives through your words. Similarly, with a brand or business, you’re solving problems that your target audience might not even know existed.
Therefore, do your due diligence when researching your target audience before writing a Pinterest description.
You want to use words and phrases they might be familiar with and ideas they would like to check out.
9. Avoid clickbaity and overused words
Lastly, when creating Pinterest descriptions, make sure not to use spammy and clickbaity words.
These phrases and words are so overly used that they’ve become redundant and would make the Pinterest algorithm think of spamming.
Avoid such words, as they are a waste of space and character count.
Pinterest description examples
We have covered everything you need to know about writing the best Pinterest description.
Whether it’s for a Board or a Pin, researching your target audience, and keywords and choosing the best combination of words that aren’t spammy or clickbaity is the way forward to writing good descriptions.
To get you started, here are a few examples of stellar Pinterest descriptions:
1. Pinterest Pin Description
5 mistakes you’re making with your blog content
📈 Wondering what mistakes you could be making when it comes to blog content?
Hit play and find out!
💡 P.S. For more blogging tips, click the website in my profile!
See how this description includes a natural CTA “click the website in my profile” along with a hook “for more blogging tips” to incentivize the reader or viewer to check out the blog.
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2. Pinterest Board Description
Anita Hendrieka – Travel Blogger + Blog Coach·Welcome to my Pinterest strategies for bloggers board! Here you will find pinterest marketing strategies, tailwind pinterest marketing, pinterest marketing tips and pinterest marketing for beginners,! I’m a blogger of 10 years and I help struggling bloggers to grow their blog in 90 days organically without overtime or overwhelm. If you’re struggling & are ready to GROW your blog then click the link in my profile.
This description is for my “Pinterest strategies for bloggers” board. I have started the description with a warm welcome to keep the tone of the text natural.
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Next, the description gives a glimpse of what the Board is about, and of course, I have included keywords relevant to the Board.
I have also given a background of my experience in Pinterest marketing to give readers an incentive or a hook to stick around for valuable advice from someone who’s experienced.
Frequently Asked Questions
You want to include as much relevant information as possible while still focusing on keywords. Keywords are the most important because that’s how people will find your pin. So try to phrase as much of the relevant information about the pin’s intent using keywords.
You have a 500 characters limit, and you should use as much of it as you can to fit in applicable keywords. But put the most important info at the front of the description to draw people in.
Hashtags are not necessary on Pinterest descriptions as they’re not as widely used on the platform. However, hashtags are searchable on Pinterest if you want to use them. But make sure you do your research first to see if the hashtag is widely used on Pinterest.
Writing Pinterest descriptions isn’t something that should keep you up all night. Of course, it’s an integral part of Pinterest marketing, whether that’s for your business or blog. However, with these tips and examples, I am sure you’ll know where to begin and what to avoid when writing a Pinterest description. If you have any further questions on Pinterest descriptions, let me know in the comments below!
Other articles you will love:
- The Best Names for Pinterest Boards
- How to Make Money from Pinterest
- How to Become a Pinterest Virtual Assistant
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