Why Most Pinterest Strategies Fail (Understanding Search Intent)

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:

Last week, I showed you how I identified 650k monthly search potential on Pinterestfor one of my websites. Remember my Baby 🐘 Website that was hit with a legal action?I can totally use this strategy to revive it! (once I get more time ahaha 😅)

But here’s the unpleasant truth: search volume alone won’t get you traffic.

Just because people are searching for something doesn’t mean they’ll click through to your website.

Today, let’s dive into the critical factor that determines whether your Pinterest strategy succeeds or fails: search intent.

👁️ Pinterest Is Not Google (And That Changes Everything)

Before we go further, let’s try to understand how people actually use Pinterest.

Unlike Google, where people are often looking for specific information or solutions, Pinterest users primarily engage in visual discovery and inspiration.

Pinterest’s algorithm determines relevancy differently from Google, focusing on visual content that inspires and engages users.

People come to Pinterest to:

Find inspiration for projects
Discover new ideas
Plan future purchases
Save concepts for later
Browse visually appealing content

This completely changes how search intent works on the platform.

🏆 The Pinterest Marketing Funnel (It’s Top-Heavy)

In traditional marketing, the funnel looks something like this:

Top of funnel: Awareness (broad, inspirational content)
Middle of funnel: Consideration (more specific information)
Bottom of funnel: Decision (product comparisons, purchase info)

On Pinterest, the distribution is heavily skewed toward the top of the funnel.

Inspirational content (the kind that sparks ideas and creativity) dominates the platform. This is content that introduces users to concepts, showcases possibilities, and generates excitement.

This is both good and bad news for us, website owners.

Good because top-of-funnel content is easier to create in volume (especially with AI 😜). Bad because not all inspirational content actually drives website traffic.

🤔 The Click-Through Paradox

Here’s where it gets tricky: not all Pinterest content types generate clicks equally.

Let me show you what I mean with a real example:

Remember that “patio ideas” topic with ***edited out** monthly searches I mentioned last week for my Baby 🐘 Website? Sounds amazing, right? 😅

☝☝☝ 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:

But look at what shows up for this search:

These are what I call “pure visual searches” – searches where users can satisfy their intent simply by looking at the pin itself.

The user sees a beautiful patio image, maybe clicks to enlarge it, possibly saves it… and then leaves. They have little incentive to click through to your website because they already got what they wanted: a visual representation of a patio idea 🤷‍♀️

Pinterest users are getting exactly what they need without ever visiting your site.

🛒 The Product Search Challenge

On the flip side, you might think product-focused searches at the bottom of the funnel would be better for generating clicks.

For example, “patio chairs” gets around 10,000 monthly searches according to PinClicks (an affiliate link).

But there’s a catch:
patio chairs on Pinterest

You see those little tags next to the image titles? These are product pins.
The majority of top spots for product searches are dominated by:

E-commerce product pins from major retailers
Pinterest Shopping Ads
Pins from established brands

This is how Pinterest makes money. They prioritize these types of pins, leaving little room for organic content from independent publishers.

🎯 So What Type of Content Actually Works?

If pure visual searches don’t generate clicks and product searches are dominated by big brands and ads, what’s left?

This is where understanding the nuanced middle ground becomes crucial.

The sweet spot on Pinterest is content that:

Provides visual inspiration
But requires more information than a single image can provide
Promises additional value on your website

This is what you need to feed to Pinterest.

🔮 What’s Coming Next

In my next newsletter, I’ll show you how to assess your existing content through the Pinterest intent lens.

I’ll reveal which content types Pinterest actually wants to distribute (spoiler: we will talk about “Best X for Y” posts that Google used to love!) and which formats are sitting in the untapped Pinterest traffic goldmine.

🛠️ Want to dive into Pinterest search volumes?

PinClicks is a good way to do it. You can use a 5-day trial to look around and see what it is all about. Then use my coupon Loc25OFF to take 25% off.

Hands down, this tool has completely changed how I approach Pinterest.
Instead of guessing what might work, I now have actual data to make decisions. It’s like having Ahrefs but for Pinterest (and a lot more affordable). I use it every day multiple times a day.

🔗 Worth checking out this week:

Pinterest CEO on Changing Consumer Habits: Insights on how economic factors are influencing Pinterest users

🤔 Now, a question to you…

Look at your content that used to be top-performing on Google.
Which pieces do you think would hit the Pinterest “sweet spot” for generating clicks? And which ones would fall into the “pure visual” trap?

Hit Reply, and let’s chat!

Otherwise, have a wonderful weekend ❤️

Nadya

P.S. Quick tip: When searching on Pinterest, pay attention to which pins make you want to click through. What promise did they make that the image alone couldn’t fulfill? That’s your template for success!