How to Get a Backlink from Pinterest

A backlink from Pinterest isn't just about sharing a pretty image with a URL attached, it’s about tapping into a powerful visual search engine to drive sustained traffic back to your website. This guide breaks down exactly how to optimize your Pinterest presence to turn your Pins into valuable traffic drivers and brand builders that support your broader SEO goals.

Are Pinterest Backlinks Actually Good for SEO?

Let's clear the air on one thing right away: links from Pinterest are rel="nofollow". This tells search engines like Google not to pass "link equity" or "ranking juice" from Pinterest to your website. So, if your only goal is to get a traditional, authority-building "dofollow" link, Pinterest isn't your direct answer.

However, dismissing Pinterest would be a massive mistake. The SEO value of Pinterest backlinks comes from three powerful secondary effects:

• Massive Referral Traffic: A single successful Pin can drive thousands of engaged visitors to your site for months or even years. This traffic signals to Google that your content is valuable and relevant, which is a positive ranking factor.
• Increased Brand Signals: More people searching for your brand name or clicking on your website from Pinterest tells Google you are a legitimate entity.
• Content Longevity: Unlike a tweet or a Facebook post that disappears in a few hours, a Pin can be discovered and drive traffic for a very long time. It’s an evergreen asset.

Think of Pinterest not as a direct link-building tool, but as a top-of-funnel traffic and discovery powerhouse that fuels your entire marketing ecosystem.

Step 1: Your Pinterest Profile is Your First Backlink Opportunity

Before you even post a single Pin, your profile needs to be set up to send traffic and authority signals your way. This is your foundation. Get this right, and everything else you do will be more effective.

Switch to a Business Account (It's Free)

If you haven't already, convert your personal account to a Pinterest Business Account. This unlocks analytics, Rich Pins, and the ability to claim your website - all of which are non-negotiable for success. It's free and only takes a minute.

Claim Your Website

This is the most direct "backlink" you’ll get from your Pinterest profile. Claiming your website links your Pinterest profile *directly* to your domain. A checkmark icon will appear next to your website URL on your profile, adding a layer of authenticity. More importantly, it gives you access to detailed analytics for all Pins originating from your domain, a huge advantage for refining your strategy.

Pinterest gives you a few ways to do this, usually by adding an HTML tag to your site's header or uploading an HTML file to your server.

Optimize Your Profile for Discovery

Your profile is a landing page. Treat it like one.

• Profile Name: Use your business name, but consider adding a primary keyword if it makes sense. For example, "Bloom & Grow | Small Space Gardening Tips."
• Bio: You have 160 characters to tell users who you are and what you offer. Use keywords naturally to describe your niche and include a clear call-to-action, directing people to the link in your profile.
• Profile Link: This is the most prominent clickable link on your profile. Send it to your homepage, your main products page, or a targeted landing page. Make it count.

Step 2: Create Pins That Beg to Be Clicked (and Shared)

This is where the real work begins. Every Pin is an opportunity to earn a click - a visitor who lands on your website. Your success hinges on creating Pins that people can't resist saving and clicking.

Design Pins for Clicks, Not Just for Looks

A pretty Pin isn't enough, it needs to be an effective ad for your content.

• Use a Vertical Aspect Ratio: The ideal size is 1000 x 1500 pixels (a 2:3 ratio). Vertical Pins take up more screen real estate on mobile and perform significantly better.
• Add a Strong Text Overlay: Don't assume people will read your Pin's description. Use a bold, easy-to-read font to overlay the title of your blog post or content directly onto the image. This immediately communicates the value behind the click.
• Choose High-Quality Imagery: Use professional photos or graphics that are bright, clear, and on-brand. Avoid blurry, dark, or generic stock photos that blend into the background.
• Include Your Logo or URL: Add a subtle watermark of your brand logo or website URL on every Pin. This builds brand recognition and discourages content theft.

Craft SEO-Friendly Pin Descriptions

Remember, Pinterest is a search engine. Your Pin descriptions are how Pinterest's algorithm understands what your content is about and shows it to the right people. Write a few sentences that naturally include relevant keywords and tell the user what they will get when they click the link.

To find keywords, use the Pinterest search bar. Type in a broad term like "home decor" and look at the bubbles that appear with suggestions like "on a budget," "apartment," or "modern." These are topics people are actively searching for.

Always, Always Add a Destination URL

This sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how often it's missed. Every single Pin you upload should have a destination URL that links back to a *specific, relevant piece of content* on your site. Don't just link everything to your homepage. If your Pin is about "10 Indoor Plants That Are Hard to Kill," link it directly to that blog post.

Activate Rich Pins for Added Context

Rich Pins are super-powered Pins that automatically sync information from your website to your Pins. When set up, they add extra information below the Pin imagery, making them more informative and professional. There are three types relevant to most creators:

• Article Rich Pins: Show a headline, author, and story description.
• Product Rich Pins: Show real-time pricing, availability, and product information.
• Recipe Rich Pins: Show ingredients, cooking times, and serving sizes.

Setting up Rich Pins requires a bit of code validation on your site, but once it's done, all Pins from your verified domain will automatically become much more detail-rich, increasing their click-through rate.

Step 3: Advanced Strategies for Maximizing Your Reach

Once you've mastered the basics, you can move on to strategies that amplify your efforts and keep your Pins at the top of people's feeds.

Create Fresh Pins Consistently

Pinterest’s algorithm heavily favors *fresh content*. But this doesn't mean you need to write a new blog post every day. A "fresh Pin" is defined by Pinterest as a brand-new image or video that has never been seen on the platform before, even if it links to an old piece of content.

A simple workflow is to take one blog post and create 3-5 different Pin graphics for it using different images, different text overlays, or different colors. Schedule these to be published over several days or weeks. This keeps your content distribution fresh without requiring a massive content creation effort.

Share a Mix of Pin Formats

While standard image Pins are the workhorse, don’t ignore other formats:

• Video Pins: These capture attention quickly in the feed and are great for short tutorials, process steps, or showcasing a product in action. Just like standard Pins, they have a clickable destination URL.
• Idea Pins: These multi-page, story-like Pins are excellent for engagement and growing your followers. While early versions didn't have direct links, newer updates allow for linking, making them a powerful tool for driving traffic from tutorials and lists.

Share Your Pins to Relevant Group Boards

Group boards are collaborative boards where multiple creators can contribute Pins on a specific topic. Joining a few high-quality, relevant group boards can expose your content to a much larger, pre-existing audience.

You can find them by searching for your topic and "group boards" or by looking at the profiles of other creators in your niche to see which ones they belong to. Follow the board's rules for joining and contributing to avoid getting kicked out.

Final Thoughts

Earning valuable traffic and brand visibility from Pinterest boils down to a consistent strategy. It’s about more than just pinning, it’s about optimizing your profile, designing click-worthy content, using search-friendly descriptions, and strategically sharing across different boards and formats. By treating Pinterest like the powerful search engine it is, you can turn your pinning efforts into a reliable stream of engaged visitors back to your website.

Manually creating hundreds of "fresh Pins" and keeping track of your posting schedule can quickly become a huge time commitment. That's why we focused on making publishing simple within our tool. Inside Postbase, I can use the visual calendar to see exactly where I have content gaps and then drag-and-drop posts to build out a consistent schedule. Since our scheduler supports video and images natively, I don't have to fight the tool to keep my content feed feeling fresh for Pinterest's algorithm.