There has been a lot of buzz around Pinterest in the last few months. The reviews have been mixed, but mostly they have been positive. This study, Pinterest Drives More Traffic Than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn Combined [STUDY], offers the stats to back that Pinterest is the up-and-coming social site. It’s a great way for certain niches to share their more visual content. Artists, photographers and DIYers are flocking to Pinterest. So, if the site satiates your appetite…pin away. After all, who doesn’t need another social network to keep up with?
Do-follow to No-follow
Do-follow links allow the search engines to crawl the link and assign it value. Translation: the link may help your website rise in page rankings. No-follow links are ignored by search engines. Translation: other than visibility (readers can see the link and use it), the link has no SEO value whatsoever.
Less than a month ago, all the links on Pinterest were do-follow links. Now, as far as I can tell, only the links in the description are.
There is still an opportunity to get some link value from your description. However, the description can be changed when it’s repinned; therefore, the link can be taken out by anyone who repins your original pin. (Click on photos below to review my notes.)
Benefits Beyond Linking
Pinterest is still a great option for the right business. For instance, the Women’s North Face winter jacket shown in the pin above is a perfect fit for Pinterest. Many pinners have a board to showcase their fashion. This is a practical way for a company like WinterWomen to share their products.
Also, Pinterest is beneficial for branding and, as mentioned before, driving traffic to your website. In addition, I’ve found Pinterest to be helpful for link prospecting. For example, by typing in a keyword and searching through the pins related to that keyword(s), I’ve been able to find influential bloggers to interact and build relationships with. This can lead to guest blogging and other link opportunities. Again, this only works well for specific industries. But, because Pinterest is based on visualization, there are bunch of pinners that pin pictures from blogs.
Keep In Mind
Like all other social networks, the best way to be effective is by creating a well-balanced account. Don’t just pin your own products. The reason people create different boards is to exhibit their various interests. If you are trying to build followers, you are more likely to do that by having an assortment of content and repinning others’ content. That will help you to attract more eyes and gain more followers because your pins will be spread out in different categories.
Consider allotting a certain amount of time for pinning each day. As with most social sites, it can be time consuming (and addicting). I know from personal experience.
Feel free to express your own thoughts, opinions and experiences in the comment section – or follow me on Twitter at @ahilliardm.