Help! I’m not seeing results from Pinterest! I’ve been doing everything right, but I have hardly any clicks or sales to show for it.
Does that sound familiar?
Before you start Googling “how does the Pinterest algorithm work” or “why aren’t I getting clicks from Pinterest” or even “should I run Pinterest ads?” read this blog first.
There are a lot of different reasons why your Pinterest marketing isn’t seeing success the way you thought it should. From poor Pinterest SEO to an unoptimized Pinterest marketing funnel, there are dozens of different Pinterest mistakes you could be making.
While I don’t recommend Googling medical symptoms (been there done that), if you’ve got a metaphorical Pinterest tickle in your throat, let me help you diagnose it.
These are some of the most common reasons you might not be seeing results from Pinterest.
What Results to Look for from Pinterest
One of the most prevalent reasons you feel like you aren’t successful on Pinterest is that you haven’t actually established what success looks like for you on the platform. Before starting your Pinterest Business account, sketch out some general goals for your efforts.
I’m not talking actual numbers or time frames, but general outcomes you hope to see as a result of marketing on Pinterest.
Here are some examples of possible results from Pinterest:
- Increased brand awareness
- Email subscriber growth
- Low-ticket product sales
- More website traffic
- New social media followers
- Client inquiries and projects
If you’ll notice, not all of these Pinterest results have a direct impact on your revenue. Does that mean they aren’t meaningful? Not at all!
Service-based business owners often make the mistake of only counting the number of 1:1 services booked directly from Pinterest as a conversion. In fact, there are multiple other types of conversion that are important to consider.
The decision to click from a pin to your website is a type of conversion. Joining your email list and/or downloading a lead magnet is 100% a conversion! These are the kinds of “micro-conversions” that get your audience primed to say yes to you when they’re ready to make a bigger investment down the line.
So before you say “I’m not seeing results from Pinterest,” make sure you know what results you’re actually looking for, first.
(Need a starting point? These are the Pinterest analytics I recommend you pay the most attention to!)
Reasons You Aren’t Getting Good Pinterest Results
Okay, you’ve defined what Pinterest success looks like to you, but you still aren’t seeing it. What gives?! Let’s start with the most likely culprit…
You aren’t prioritizing Pinterest SEO
As business owners, we tend to be quick to jump to blaming the algorithms or our own content strategies when our marketing efforts aren’t converting to sales. We increase how much we post, we test different designs, we buy caption prompts and templates… all to no avail.
Sometimes the answer isn’t more content, but instead more visibility on that content.
In order for your audience to engage with your content and take action, they have to see it first! And the primary way users see content on Pinterest is by SEO. Most Pinterest users are opening the platform with an intent in mind. They head to the search bar first and scroll through the results, which then dictates what other content they get shown.
As a business marketing on Pinterest, your job is to use the words and phrases your target audience is searching on Pinterest throughout your content so that your pins show up in those search results. That’s what we call Pinterest SEO (simplified).
You might have a visibility issue on Pinterest if your impressions are really low and they don’t seem to be improving much. To fix this, make sure you’ve done your Pinterest keyword research (tutorial here). Once you know what keywords to use, make sure you’re using them across your entire Pinterest profile and throughout all of your pins!
You aren’t creating the right content for your Pinterest audience
On the flip-side of the previous point, sometimes the problem actually is with your content. Not every type of content is appropriate for Pinterest. To figure out what content you should be pinning, you have to first start by understanding your Pinterest audience.
To sum it up concisely, Pinterest users:
- Are looking for information and/or inspiration
- Don’t care about you or your brand (yet)
- Are ready to take action (if the action matches their intent)
You might not be seeing results from Pinterest if your content doesn’t check all of those bullet points.
If you don’t have the kind of valuable, clickable content that’s going to draw Pinterest users in, even the best Pinterest hacks can’t make people click.
Another common, related Pinterest mistake is that your content is too focused on you. Pinterest users are largely unfamiliar with who you are. They care more about how you can help them achieve their goals or solve their problems than your expertise or successes.
Ditch the clever analogies, story-first marketing, and “I” language for something that’s focused on your target audience and clear about the benefits offered.
A clear sign that you might be struggling with your content strategy on Pinterest is if your pins are getting impressions, but they aren’t getting pin clicks or outbound clicks. Your SEO is working, but there’s a disconnect between your content and your audience.
Refine your designs to make sure they’re capturing attention in the feed and see if there are ways you can reframe your content to make it more Pinterest-friendly.
You aren’t asking for the conversion
If your on-Pinterest results look fine (impressions, saves, and clicks), but you aren’t seeing conversions to email list subscribers, inquiries, or purchases, it’s time to look at what’s going on OFF of Pinterest.
One of the biggest reasons you aren’t seeing conversions from Pinterest traffic is that you aren’t telling your website visitors what to do next. That’s right, we’re talking calls to action, baby!
The hardest part of seeing results from Pinterest marketing is getting users to go from the platform to your website. And you’ve already done it! So don’t waste that user interest by not including a call to action.
Every blog post needs a call to action. Heck, every page on your website should have some conversion-driving CTA. Whether that’s promoting your services or linking to your lead magnet opt-in, give your readers options!
You have to ask (or tell) people to convert, not just expect them to read your mind.
You aren’t making it easy to take action
And if you are asking your Pinterest audience to join your list or buy your products, you might be making it too difficult. In my opinion, the best marketing advice boils down to “make it easy.” A potential client’s attention is valuable, so don’t let slow page speed, complicated links, or unnecessarily long questionnaires get in the way of conversion.
You aren’t nurturing the relationship long-term
The average amount of time it takes for a potential client to convert after first discovery on Pinterest is 6-9 months.*
*This isn’t a real, scientific average, but based on what clients have reported, this seems to be pretty typical!
Rarely will someone discover your content on Pinterest and immediately reach out to book with you. That’s just the nature of the platform and the audience.
But that means the other parts of your marketing funnel need to be optimized to nurture that user beyond your Pinterest content. If Pinterest is where they discover you, the rest of your online presence has to step in to continue nurturing the relationship.
Things like consistent social media presence, an active email list/newsletter, and consistently providing valuable content and lower-ticket opportunities all help build a potential client’s trust in you as a service provider. Ultimately, that trust and long-term relationship can turn into wildly successful business partnerships for both you and your client.
If you suspect your marketing funnel is where your Pinterest results are falling short, there are a few things you can do.
First, grab this Pinterest Funnel Audit to see exactly what parts of your funnel need a bit more attention.
Then, because email marketing tends to be the part most people get tripped up on, check out these resources:
Getting results from Pinterest depends on many different factors
These are just a few of the most common reasons you’re not seeing results from Pinterest. In actuality, your lack of Pinterest success could be due to any combination of them, or something else entirely! And the worst part? There’s no real way to know with 100% certainty.
I tell you this as a Pinterest manager who sells Pinterest services because I believe in transparency above all else. No one knows all the answers, and no one can give you the exact perfect strategy to guarantee success. I don’t, and you should be wary of anyone who does.
So while you can definitely book a Pinterest audit to see if my expert eyes can spot and tweak any of these common mistakes, Pinterest is a long-term game of experimentation. But it’s still one that’s well worth playing, if you ask me.
