Do you know how to Maximize Pinterest Traffic with Rich Pins? If you are a Blogger, you are probably familiar with a little site called Pinterest. It is a HUGE traffic generator! But, if you aren’t using Rich Pins you might be missing out on some of that traffic.
What are Rich Pins?
You might not be familiar with the term, but if you have been on Pinterest you have probably seen them. Have you seen a recipe pin that includes the ingredients, preparation time and servings like this?
Or a travel pin that has a map of the location like this?
Those are Rich Pins. They are simply pins with additional information embedded into them. Here’s a comparison of a Standard Pin and an Article Rich Pin.
All of the extra information on the right will appear every time this post is pinned from the site and it will stay even when repinned.
The most common Rich Pins are:
- Article Pins – includes a headline, author and story description. Great for most general blog posts.
- Movie Pins – ratings, cast members and review. Great for movie reviewers.
- Place Pins – includes a map, address and/or phone number as applicable. Great for Travel Bloggers
- Product Pins – show product information such as description, price and where to buy. Great for online sellers.
- Recipe Pins – ingredients, cooking times and serving information. Great for food bloggers.
There is also an App Pin that is only available in the United States for iOS apps, which obviously is great for iOS app developers targeting the US Market.
Why should you care?
Extra information on pins from your page, with only the initial set up on your part, can only be a benefit to you.
That extra information makes it more searchable. Easier to find on Pinterest means more potential repins and more traffic.
The extra information in the Rich Pin stays intact even when it is repinned. People can still change the description for their pin if desired. But the ingredient list, for example, stays with any repin. And if people pin directly from your site it is added automatically to the new pin!
Information is updated automatically. If you make a pricing change on your site it will be reflected on any pin of that item in real time. Forgot an ingredient in a recipe? (raises hand guiltily) Just fix it on your site and all of the pins of that recipe will update automatically.
[bctt tweet=”Rich Pins have additional information embedded, making them more searchable #Pinterest #IBABloggers”]
Is it hard to set up?
No, but it can be a little tricky if the metadata isn’t already on your site.
First you need to have a Business Account, which, as a Blogger, you really should have already.
If Pinterest can easily find the metadata it needs for Rich Pins on your site then it is an easy process of
- submitting an URL from your site in the Rich Pins Validator
- click the button to apply when everything looks good
- then wait for Pinterest to send you an e-mail that you have been approved. It took a whopping 5 minutes to receive my confirmation.
- Once you get that e-mail, Pinterest will automatically convert pins from your URL to the new format.
Did I lose you at metadata? All that means is how your site tells other sites where to look for the information it needs. It is embedded in your header and tells sites like Facebook and Pinterest “this is where you find the title (or featured image, or description) in the articles on my site”.
If you need to fix the metadata on your site you need to be familiar with Open Graph or Schema. If you use WordPress there are plugins to help you. If that sounds beyond your technological comfort zone you might want to consider hiring a Virtual Assistant to help you. Or you can do as I do when I am in over my head with these types of things; bribe a techie friend with homemade cookies.
Get Started with Rich Pins Now
You will not know if your information is ready to be read by Pinterest until you try. More than likely your site is just fine. And it only takes a few clicks to find out. Head over to Pinterest’s developers page to read more and to get started today.