Pinterest isn’t just for DIYers or for people searching for recipes. If used correctly, using Pinterest for photographers is a great source of traffic and visibility for your photos. Whether you just started a website or have had one for years, driving traffic to your website is a mission. We all want more traffic and it’s frustrating when we have amazing content but no one is seeing it. While Google is a major source of website traffic, getting your website to rank higher can take a long time. If you want to drive traffic and fast, try using Pinterest.
When you think of Pinterest you think of recipes and do it you self projects, but Pinterest is really a search engine when you think about it. Unlike Twitter or Facebook where your content is only visible for a limited time and then disappears, your content on Pinterest will remain and can be found in their searches.
Of course just pinning something doesn’t mean traffic is just going to start flowing to you website. Like everything else in social media it takes time, but the benefits of using Pinterest far outweighs the cons.
Using Pinterest for photographers can yield such amazing results. I average 40k impressions a month on Pinterest. A lot of my social traffic is driven by Pinterest.
Pinterest Keyword Research
Similar to using Google for your SEO keyword research, you can use the Pinterest search bar to find what people are searching for. For instance if you have a photos from your trip to Colorado in the fall, you can type in, “Colorado fall,” and then the search bar populates keywords people have been searching for in regards to Colorado in the fall. The importance of keyword research is you take those keywords and place them into your pin whether as the title or in the description of the pin.
Creative Images to Capture Your Audience
Yes, having the right keywords goes a long way in helping traffic get to your website, but your photos need to capture the eye of the user. Unlike Google which displays text primarily in their search results, Pinterest uses imagery. This is your time to shine as a photographer. Pinterest for photographers is like free advertising. The better the photo the better the chance someone clicks on it and potentially clicks the link to your website.
Create Boards to Pin to
We’ll stick with the fall in Colorado topic to talk about creating boards on Pinterest. Create boards with the keywords you found during your research and start adding your pins to these boards. Be descriptive with the keywords in both the board name and description. Sure having it say, “Colorado,” is obvious as to what the board is try going a bit further. Best times to visit Colorado in the fall or Where to find the best fall colors in Colorado are a better title as it narrows down for the user even more what your boards are about.
Start Pinning
Maybe you have 100 posts or even 10 posts, start creating pins for them and adding them to your boards. Take your time and craft compelling graphics along with creative copy for the title and description and don’t forget to sprinkle in those keywords. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of keywords. And don’t forget to add links back to your website or blog. Getting people to view your work on Pinterest is half the battle.
Create pins weekly. Pinterest, like Google, rewards fresh content. So keep creating and keep pinning!