Pinterest vs Google: Why Repurposing a Website Works (On One But Not The Other)

This is a newsletter I sent to my subscribers last week. I publish the newsletters on my website; however, I edit out some information from the public versions.

If you’d like to receive these updates in your Inbox in unedited form, sign up for my newsletter:

Ooops! While preparing my next newsletter, I found out that I never sent the previous one last Saturday 😱
I did schedule it… but somehow, it stayed in the Draft status And I was too busy Saturday morning to notice that I never saw it in my Inbox (yes, I am my own subscriber 🙃).
Apologies for that.

Here it is!

1️⃣ My Newsletter Is Now a Podcast!

As I already mentioned in the previous post, I’ve started converting this newsletter into podcast episodes! While they’re already on my blog, I’m also creating YouTube videos from the content.
If you have not yet, check out the first episode (based on the previous newsletter):

Why YouTube instead of just blog posts?

Videos create multiple discovery opportunities – YouTube search, suggested videos, and the ability to repurpose clips across platforms.
Plus, video content builds a stronger audience connection through visual and audio engagement. The same content in multiple formats means more chances to reach new audiences!

Now, back to the news!

🔄 Why Repurposing Works on Pinterest (But Would Kill You on Google)

Last week, I shared my vacation epiphany: I’m keeping my 🐮 Website instead of selling it and repurposing it into a different niche.

But wait… wouldn’t changing a website’s topic tank its performance?

It absolutely would… on Google.

But Pinterest plays by completely different rules, and understanding this difference could save you from abandoning valuable assets.

📊 A Tale of Three Pinterest Accounts

My Pinterest journey with three different sites has been a rollercoaster 😭

Two sites had a rough start on Pinterest. My second site eventually improved, but my newest one (that I had high hopes for) did a complete nosedive.

Meanwhile, check out how my 🐮 Website is performing despite not having a new pin in 6 months:

Still getting steady traffic with zero effort! Pretty impressive, right?

There’s just one problem: its RPM is absolutely terrible 😔 It’s only ***edited out***.

☝☝☝ I left out some details from my original newsletter. If you’d like to receive these updates in your Inbox in unedited form, sign up:

That’s what I want to fix with this repurposing.

🔍 The Fundamental Difference Between Pinterest and Google

Here’s the key insight that makes this whole strategy possible:

Pinterest does not care if your website covers multiple unrelated topics.

Pinterest only cares that each pin accurately represents the content of the specific page it links to.

Google, on the other hand, crawls your entire site looking for topical relevance, authority signals, and content consistency. A sudden pivot would trigger all sorts of red flags.

🧠 Why Pinterest Won’t Panic at Your Pivot

When you publish a new pin, Pinterest only crawls:

The pin itself
The specific landing page the pin links to

It doesn’t say, “Wait a minute, this website used to be about gardening, and now it’s about crypto! Something fishy is happening!”

Instead, it asks:

Does this pin accurately represent its landing page?
Is this account historically trustworthy?
Do users engage with this account’s content?

On Pinterest, your account’s authority and engagement history matter far more than maintaining topical consistency across your entire site.

💡 How to Use This to Your Advantage

This opens up fascinating possibilities:

You can pivot a site with strong Pinterest distribution without losing that algorithmic advantage
You can test new niches without building new accounts from scratch
You can leverage the engagement history of established accounts

With Pinterest’s recent algorithm update measuring 160x more user interactions (which I mentioned last week), having an established account is more valuable than ever.

🧪 An Honest Disclaimer

Full transparency: while I understand the theory perfectly, I’ve never actually done this before!

This will be my first time repurposing a Pinterest-successful site into a completely new niche.

It makes perfect sense on paper, but we’ll find out together if it works as well in practice.

I’m excited to be the guinea pig so you can learn from my successes (or failures) 🐷

🔮 What’s Coming Next

In my next newsletter (which my subscribers have received already and my YouTube fans can already see 😉), I’ll share my complete repurposing game plan:

My approach to the content creation process
How many pins I’ll create
My pinning frequency strategy
Board structure for the new niche

🔗 Worth checking out this week:

Pinterest Partners with LTK for Expanded Affiliate Shopping

Pinterest is expanding its partnership with LTK (formerly LikeToKnowIt), making it easier for creators to monetize with affiliate links. This is huge for anyone using Pinterest as part of their affiliate strategy.

Instagram’s AI Ban Wave Raises Platform Risk Questions

Instagram is experiencing a wave of user bans due to AI detection issues. Could Pinterest follow suit? While Pinterest has been relatively AI-friendly so far, this reminds us of the platform risk all content creators face. One more reason to diversify traffic sources!

🤔 Now, a question to you…

Do you have any older websites or social accounts that are still getting traffic despite neglect? Could they be candidates for repurposing rather than selling or abandoning?

Write a comment – I’d love to hear your experiences!

Have a great weekend – and see you next week ❤️