17 Pinterest Mistakes I used to make + How I Grew my Monthly Website Traffic

Stop doing these 17 things to Explode your Blog Traffic with Pinterest

1. Focusing On Monthly Views

Do you feel like all your Pinterest pinning efforts have been going in vain? But do you know it could be that you are making these silly Pinterest mistakes without realizing it? I know how frustrating it is to look at that monthly views stats and its stagnant, or worse, decreasing on a daily basis.

It’s demotivating, to say the least, but don’t get overworked over Pinterest monthly views. It is just a vanity metric that doesn’t reflect the traffic that is being driven to your website by the platform.

Also, if you are experiencing little to no growth on Pinterest despite all your efforts and it’s been at least a year, it could be that you are not implementing proper Pinterest marketing strategies.

You can use this list of Pinterest mistakes to audit your account and make the necessary changes.

Related: How To Start A Successful Side Hustle Blog

17 Pinterest Mistakes That You Need To Stop Making

1. Pinning Random Content

The biggest mistake some creators make is treating Pinterest like they do their Instagram and Facebook accounts. They use it for sharing and saving photos for inspiration, for finding recipes, home decor and gift ideas.

While all of that may be nice, as a creator Pinterest wants you to create more content that links to your own website.

Therefore you should be creating helpful, high-quality content for regular users on the platform. That can be done by creating pins for new articles or for older blog posts. Each new pin that you share to Pinterest is considered a fresh pin.

2. Using Random Profile Pictures

Using random profile pictures or none at all is one of the most common Pinterest mistakes people make.

That does not give a good look especially if you are a blogger/influencer and you are the face of your business.

If you are a brand, you may want to use a logo as your profile picture. However, if you are a creator, it is best to use a head-shot photo of yourself.

Very few people who click to read your blog post will view your Pinterest profile. But on the odd chance that they do, it would be really nice to have up a picture of your face that they can identify with.

Related: How To Set Up Shopstyle Collective On Your Website

3. Poorly Written Bio Description

What if I landed on your beautiful pin graphic then came to check out your profile, only to see no information about you or what you do. Do you think I will be inclined to click through to your website or even follow you? Chances are I won’t!

Your profile description is a great place to utilize Pinterest SEO. It is important to write a description including 2-3 relevant keywords about what you do and who you help.

End with a call to action such as “click to download my free printable”. There is a 160 character limit so keep it brief.

4. Not Using Vertical Pins

I cringe whenever I see square images trying to compete with vertical pins on my Pinterest feed. Vertical pins convert better and Pinterest recommends a 2:3 ratio.

For example (600 x 900 pixels) and (900 x 1200 pixels). Personally I experiment with both sizes and they do really well.

5. No Calls To Action On Pins

There are no incentives to drive clicks to your website such as with the use of emotional words and a call to action.

Pinterest is an image based search engine, therefore, it is important to include relevant keywords on all your graphics. This also helps Pinterest to better understand what your pin is about so that they can show it to the right audience.

But for the human side, you need to use emotional, attention grabbing, and powerful words that will invoke curiosity and make them want to click to read your article and even save it for later.

To test out how visual search works, click on any image on Pinterest, and you will see a small search icon at the bottom right as pictured below.

If you click on the icon, an image search is done for similar graphics or keywords on Pinterest.

As an example, here is one of my pins before and after the visual search.

Before Visual Search:

After Visual Search:

After the visual search is done you see similar keywords to what is on the pin, appear. Such as blog, affiliate marketing, money, money blogging, marketing, income reports, etc.

Sometimes if you are using the same stock photos as others, you will also see them appear in visual search next to your pin.

This is a perfect example as to why you need to be using keywords that describe what your blog posts is about and how it is going to help the reader.

6. Not Capitalising On Hashtags

Pinterest rolled out a new feature a while back where you can add hashtags to your descriptions. This helps your post show up under that particular hashtag within the first couple minutes of posting.

There is no use going back to older pins to add hashtags because it won’t be effective as adding them when you are now posting to the platform.

Although your post may disappear under the hashtag search shortly after, using them is a great way to get your post seen by more eyes immediately after posting.

If nothing else, hashtags is a great way to add more relevant keywords to your pin description. This is one of the Pinterest mistakes that can cause you to lose out on more organic reach.

7. Incorrect Use Of Stock Photos

You are probably asking how is incorrect use of stock photos even possible. But did you know that lifestyle photos work better for some topics?

I love using stock photography because they help you stand out from the crowd. But you should definitely test out using various types of stock photos for each pin. As well for different topics and niches.

For instance if you’re pinning about “how to save money”, it is best to use a photo that is directly related to money and savings. It makes more sense as opposed to using a photo of somone working out at the gym for instance. When you article is about saving money tips.

But I also understand that it may not be possible to find closely related stock photos for every topic. In that case, you can use a contrasting colour over the pin to make the image less visible.

8. Unappealing Graphics

You do not have to be the best graphic designer to create appealing pins. But you do need to make the effort to create aesthetically pleasing, pins that will get you those clicks.

Sometimes you pins may get a lot of impressions but zero clicks. Poor pin design can be a contributing factor. As well as, the copy does not convey what the post is about. The topic could also be too narrow or doesn’t speak to a specific pain point.

Play around with different copy, designs, fonts, elements and test them out to see which ones perform best. Once you find one or a few that works, replicate them with slight modifications for other posts. The thing is, you want to find out what works for your account and repeat those steps.

Canva Pro also has a ton of stock photos options and I personally like using Pixistock Stock Photo membership for lifestyle stock photos. You can also check out free stock photo sites like Pixabay, Pexels and Unsplash.

9. Not Investing In Tailwind

One of the biggest Pinterest mistakes I made when I started blogging was not investing in Tailwind much sooner than I did.

If you are not familiar with Tailwind, it is a scheduling tool that also comes with other benefits such as connecting with other bloggers in your through Tribes.

Tribes is similar to Pinterest group boards, except there are pinning reciprocation rules. So that for every pin you post to the group, you must repin 1 or 2 from others.

You can also use Tailwind to analyze both your Pinterest and Tailwind analytics to see which boards and pins are performing and or underperforming. But for your general Pinterest analytics it is recommended that you use Google Analytics since it is the most accurate.

10. No Text Overlay On Images

The best ways to increase clicks to your website is by using text overlays on images. Even if you are a fashion blogger/influencer, you should try posting with and without text.

The reason being, pictures without text tends to get more saves while those with text tends to get more clicks. While saves are good, the more important of the two is getting clicks to your website.

So definitely experiment with your account to see which works better and by all means stick to what works.

Grab My Pinterest Templates For CANVA

11. Publishing Unbranded Pins

There are many different ways you can brand your pins. Such as using the same brand colours and fonts for all your pins. You should also include your brand logo or domain name at the lower end of the graphic. If you need help with pin design you can grab my done for you Pinterest Templates for CANVA, which will cut down on the time you spend creating new pins.

12. Random Board Names

Giving your board random names has to be one of the biggest Pinterest mistakes I see a lot. One that I also made at the beginning stages of my blogging journey when I did not know better.

Not having proper, niche-specific names for your boards can be detrimental to your Pinterest growth. You want to give your Pinterest boards proper titles like: Blogging Tips For Beginners, Affiliate Marketing or How To Save Money.

Instead of using names like “I Love” or “Inspiration”. The title of your boards should consist of a mixture of broad niches like “Women’s Fashion” and sub niches like “Fall Outfits“. You should have at least 5 boards created for each niche of your blog.

The reason for having keyword specific board names is so that Pinterest knows exactly what that board is about. Plus these are the type of words that the average user uses in search. So it helps with your SEO and gives your boards a chance to come up in searches.

Additionally, you should have a best of board for ONLY your pins. For instance, my best of board would look something like “Best Of She Loves Blogging”.

For your other general boards, you are also going to publish your pins to them, as well as high quality pins from others.

13. Analyze Analytics

Check your Google analytics weekly or monthly and create new pins for top performing pins. Each time you create a new pin, switch up the design, colours and font styles.

Overtime, you’ll want to check your analytics to see which pins are bringing the most traffic.

14. Not Manual Pinning

Even if you are using a scheduler like Tailwind, manual pinning at least 10-15 times per day is recommended. Pinterest still wants to see that you are also actively using their platform and are not solely relying on a scheduler.

15. Re-pinning Others’ Content

Pinning more of others’ content than your own is one of the biggest Pinterest mistakes some people are making. As a creator or business, the ultimate goal is to increase your blog traffic.

In order to do that, you need to pin more of your own content otherwise it’s going to take you a much longer time to find success on Pinterest.

16. Inconsistency: Pinterest Mistakes

If you want to gain traction on Pinterest you need to pin consistently. It may not be possible to pin every single day but you should stick to a schedule. Try batch creating 20-30 new pins once a week then publish 5-10 each day throughout the week.

17. Re-pinning Your Old Pins Multiple Times

With every new Pinterest update they keep alluding to the fact that new pins get first priority. Therefore re-pining the same old pins multiple times to the same or different boards, would not bring the desired clicks.

Be sure to grab my done for you Pinterest Templates for CANVA to make creating pins less painful.

Conclusion

There you have it, 17 Pinterest mistakes that most people make, plus strategies that you can start implementing on your account right away.

If you really want to take your Pinterest Marketing strategies to the next level, I highly recommend taking this Pinterest course.

It has helped me tremendously and now my blog traffic has grown to over 30k monthly views. Half of which comes from my Pinterest alone.

Last Updated on May 15, 2024 by Shevy