How Do I Write a Description on Pinterest?

I often get asked how to write Pinterest descriptions that help my audience rank their pins in search. Today I want to show you the method I have been using for years to rank my pins in search & drive enough curiosity to get them to click on my pin to my website. It’s not as difficult as it seems but it does take some thinking about what drives you audience to click plus technicalities.

Let’s dive in.

Why Are Pinterest Descriptions Important?

I used to say I never read Pinterest descriptions and to be honest I still don’t. I remember back when I originally started using Pinterest I would change the description right before pinning an image to my board to make a small comment about that pin. Almost like a note to self.

I have found now when you pin other peoples content you can’t actually change the descriptions.

But why? Why are descriptions important?

Just like Google meta data in search results where you can see a snippet of what the content is about the same is true on Pinterest.

Your pin description has 2 jobs.

The first job is to tell the algorithm who to serve your pin up to in search or recommended.

The second job is to inform your audience as to why your pin will help them with whatever it is that they are needing.

People are enticed to make a pin click (formerly a closeup) to see the pin in larger view by the image.

That’s when the description & title can really take the lead and encourage the pinner to click through to take further action.

What Makes a Good Pinterest Description?

There are 4 key components of a good description in my opinion. These are great for user experience as well as telling the platform what your pin is actually about.

A good Pinterest description is informative and sells your offer as the solution to the pinners needs in that moment.

Your first job was to stop the scroll with your image and the second job is to bring enough context to the pin with the description to drive a second click to the site.

A good description includes these 5 things:

1. A hook
2. Relevant keywords
3. Descriptive details
4. Strong call to action
5. Full sentences readable by humans

Additionally, you may want to include your brand name if you are positioning branding to drive conversions.

This will help your pinner to further visualize your content, product or service in their life.

How Many Keywords Do I Use?

Heather, how many keywords do I use? This is a burning question I get often.

Well how many can you use and still sound like a human without feeling gross?

I typically teach the 5x5x500 method.

• 5 keywords
• 5 sentences
• 500 characters

But if you are able to use more keywords that are natural sounding and are relevant then use them. Just don’t make it seem like the bad delivery of an ad. It should always be natural.

How Many Characters Can You Have in a Pinterest Description?

All descriptions on Pinterest give you 500 characters which is more than enough space to tell people what your pin or board is about.

Use it wisely but all in all you should be able to utilize this easy enough.

Do Hashtags Work on Pinterest?

This is a heated topic in many Pinterest expert circles. Some people say yes definitely use them and others are saying no don’t use them.

I have been in both camps and while I don’t personally use them myself this is a decision you need to make for yourself.

When I search for a hashtag on Pinterest I’m noticing are pins surfacing to the top that are related to the hashtag but those descriptions don’t use the hashtag itself.

To show you what I mean here are 2 examples side by side using the hashtag #chickennoodle.

Hashtag search results for #chickennoodle

Hashtags used but not #chickennoodle

No hashtags used

So what does this mean?

Pinterest treats the usage of hashtags just like keywords in search results. Here’s proof of the same search result using the same keyword just without the # sign in front of it and a space for natural language patterns.

I searched for chicken noodle and here is what I got.

Notice the exact same search results with the ad placement varied in each search.

So in my mind it would make more sense to use long-tail keywords that include the short-tail word you’d use for the hashtag.

For example:

#chickennoodle used as chicken noodle soup recipe

How Do Boards Work on Pinterest?

Boards are how your pins are stored on Pinterest and they are what make the platform unique.

Your pins are placed on your Pinterest boards as a reference point to your content.

But it’s so much deeper than that.

Why Are Boards Important?

Your Pinterest boards are important to the overall delivery of your pins because they help the algorithm deliver your pins.

Most people don’t see the board in search results but they see the pin.

What’s going on behind the scenes of that pin is what we like to call indexing.

Your pin optimization sends signals to the algorithm when it should be served and who it should be served to.

Your pin should be pinned to a well optimized and relevant board first. This gives even further information about your pin and who it should be shown to.

What is the Formula for Writing Pinterest Descriptions?

I’m glad you asked! I’ve been using this same method for years and when you structure it like this it’s easier to create those natural sounding descriptions.

I use these 4-5 components in my descriptions:

1. Hook to solve search intent
2. Keywords in the beginning of the description
3. Supporting details
4. Brand name (optional)
5. Call to action

It looks something like this…

Do you have a podcast marketing strategy that includes Pinterest? If you’re a podcaster not using Pinterest do the research to confirm your audience is searching for your podcast topics there. Using a Pinterest marketing strategy to grow your podcast is a great way to get more listeners & audience members without hustling on social media. Using Pinterest as one of the ways on how to grow your podcast audience could be really beneficial for your business with how long pins last on Pinterest.

This could be translated into something like this…

(Hook to grab attention and solve intent) + (brand name) + (additional supporting details) + (call to action)

Now when you’re writing your descriptions you want to include those supporting details like pricing, sizing, scent, etc.

How to Input Your Pinterest Descriptions (Pinterest & Tailwind)

Now that we know how to write our descriptions we need to know how to input them. I’m going to assume 99% of people reading this know how to input a Pinterest description but for the 1% of you that don’t… let’s go over it.

On Pinterest you will simply click create > create pin and inside the pin builder is where you input this information.

On Tailwind you will upload your pin to drafts or click the extension on a webpage and in that screen that pops up optimize your description there.

Pinterest

Add your pin title, description, URL, alt-text & image in this builder.

Tailwind

Add your pin title, description, URL & image in this builder.

Create a Pinterest Strategy

If you’re ready to take this further and create a Pinterest strategy that works for your brand grab our Pinterest Strategy Guide to get the basics or enroll in Pin Profit Academy to go deeper.

 

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