Using Pinterest For Business and SEO

A new social site has been gaining popularity over the past several months: Pinterest. If you like looking at images and you find inspiration in pictures as opposed to reading status updates and articles, then this site if for you. If you’re not familiar with Pinterest, Rob Lammle of Mashable shares a beginner’s guide to this hot new social network.

Using Pinterest For Business

From a business and SEO standpoint, there are quite a few opportunities for businesses to market their brand using Pinterest, but just like any social network, it must be done tactfully and organically. Spamming the site with just pictures of your company’s products is not going to get you followers. However, sharing quality images and participating in the community by “liking” other images that you genuinely find of interest is a good start to making connections with others who may be attracted by what you have to offer. Just like Twitter, people can follow you, so it’s a great way to build a “list” of potential customers.

As a business research tool, Pinterest can be used to see what is popular with a particular target market. Look out for images that get many likes and comments and use that information for potential marketing campaigns. Companies like Nordstrom are already using Pinterest to share what their customers might be interested in...

Pinterest is also a great way for people to see what your company has an interest in. People can follow everything that you pin, or they can follow a specific board that you created. You also have the option of allowing people to pin stuff to one of your boards, so this is an opportunity to build a community around your brand.

Using Pinterest for SEO

As of right now, outbound links from Pinterest are “no-follow”, so make sure to include links to your website, Facebook, and Twitter pages from your profile box for search engine optimization benefits. You also have the option to include a description for each board you create, so if you want to be discovered in search engines, use keyword phrases for a board that contains your business products or services.

Just like a blog or any social networking profile you manage, Pinterest is a site that you have to be actively engaged in to see any type of business or SEO benefit. Based on what we’ve experienced so far, we see no problem getting addicted to it!