How to Install a Pinterest Tag

Ready to see exactly how your brilliantly curated Pinterest boards translate into actual website traffic, leads, and sales? Then it’s time to install the Pinterest Tag. This guide will walk you through the entire process, step by step, whether you’re using Shopify, Squarespace, Google Tag Manager, or want to do it manually.

What Is the Pinterest Tag and Why Is It So Important?

Think of the Pinterest Tag as a small but mighty snippet of code that acts as a bridge between your Pinterest account and your website. It’s a lot like the Meta Pixel (formerly Facebook Pixel) or the tracking code for Google Analytics. Once you add it to your website’s code, it unlocks a whole new level of understanding and marketing power.

Here’s what it does for you:

• Conversion Tracking: This is the big one. The tag tells you when someone who saw or clicked your Pin takes a specific action on your site - like making a purchase, signing up for your newsletter, or adding an item to their cart. You stop guessing and start knowing what content actually drives results.
• Audience Building: The tag allows you to create custom audiences for retargeting campaigns. You can serve ads to people who have already visited your website, abandoned their shopping cart, or viewed specific product pages. It's a powerful way to bring warm leads back to your site.
• Performance Insights: You gain detailed insights into your marketing funnel. You'll see which Pins and campaigns are most effective at moving people from discovery to conversion, helping you optimize your content and ad spend for what truly works.

Simply put, without the Pinterest Tag, you're flying blind. You might be getting website clicks, but you won't know if those clicks are turning into a valuable business outcome. Installing it is the first real step to building a performance-driven Pinterest strategy.

Step 1: Get Your Pinterest Base Code

Before you can install anything, you need to grab your unique code from your Pinterest business account. This initial piece of code is called the "base code," and every website action the tag tracks will build on it. Don't worry, finding it is straightforward.

Here’s how to locate your base code:

1. Log in to your Pinterest business account.
2. Click the Ads dropdown in the top-left corner and select Conversions. If you are brand new to this, Pinterest may show you a welcome screen to guide you.
3. You'll be directed to your Tag Manager dashboard. You should see a prompt to install your tag. If you already have a tag created, you can find it listed here. If not, click the Get Started button or Create Tag.
4. Give your tag a name (usually just your website or business name). A pop-up window will appear with your unique Tag ID and the full base code snippet.

Your base code will look something like this. The specific numbers in yours will be different, as they are unique to your account.

<,!-- Pinterest Tag -->,
<,script>,
!function(e){if(!window.pintrk){window.pintrk = function () {
window.pintrk.queue.push(Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments))},var
n=window.pintrk,n.queue=[],n.version="3.0",var
t=document.createElement("script"),t.async=!0,t.src=e,var
r=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0],
r.parentNode.insertBefore(t,r)}}("https://s.pinimg.com/ct/core.js"),
pintrk('load', 'YOUR_UNIQUE_TAG_ID', {em: '<,user_email_address>,'}),
pintrk('page'),
<,/script>,
<,noscript>,
<,img height="1" width="1" style="display:none," alt=""
src="https://ct.pinterest.com/v3/?tid=YOUR_UNIQUE_TAG_ID&,amp,event=init&,amp,noscript=1" />,
<,/noscript>,
<,!-- End Pinterest Tag -->,


Keep this tab open or copy your Tag ID and the base code to a safe place. You'll need them in the next step.

Step 2: Install the Base Code - Three Simple Methods

Now it’s time to add the base code you copied to your website. The goal is to get this code to appear in the <,head>, section of every single page of your site. Luckily, you don't have to do that manually for each page. There are several ways to do this, ranging from super simple to a little more hands-on.

Method 1: Partner Integrations (Shopify, Squarespace &, More)

This is by far the easiest method. Pinterest has direct integrations with many popular e-commerce and website platforms. These partnerships manage the code installation for you - all you typically need is that unique Tag ID you just found.

For Shopify Users:

1. From your Shopify dashboard, go to Online Store >, Preferences.
2. Scroll down to the Pinterest Tag section.
3. Paste your unique Tag ID (just the number string, not the whole code snippet) into the field.
4. Click Save.

That's it! Shopify automatically adds the base code across your store and even pre-configures key events like `AddToCart`, `Checkout`, and `ViewCategory` for you. It's incredibly efficient.

For Squarespace Users:

1. From your Squarespace dashboard, go to Settings >, Advanced >, Code Injection.
2. Copy the entire base code snippet from Pinterest (including the <,script>, tags).
3. Paste it into the Header section. This will add the code to the <,head>, tag on every page of your site.
4. Click Save.

Other platforms like BigCommerce and WooCommerce also have dedicated apps or plugins to make this process just as simple. Always check your platform's app store or documentation first!

Method 2: Using Google Tag Manager (GTM)

If you're already using Google Tag Manager to manage marketing and analytics scripts on your site, adding the Pinterest Tag is a breeze. GTM is a fantastic way to keep your site's code clean and manage all your tags from one dashboard.

1. In your Google Tag Manager workspace, click on Tags >, New.
2. Give your tag a clear name, like "Pinterest - Base Tag."
3. Click into the Tag Configuration box, and a list of tag types will appear. Search for and select the Pinterest Tag template. It’s a pre-built template, making your job easier.
4. Paste your Tag ID into the corresponding field.
5. Under Event to Fire, leave the default selection, which is Base Code (no event). We’ll handle specific events later.
6. Now click into the Triggering box below.
7. Select the All Pages trigger. This tells GTM to fire the base code on every page of your website.
8. Click Save on the top right, and then click Submit to publish your changes.

You’re all set. GTM will now deploy the Pinterest base code across your site for you.

Method 3: Manual Installation

If you're not using a partner platform or GTM and are comfortable editing your theme's code directly, you can install the tag manually.

The process involves finding your website's main theme or template file that contains the <,head>, section of your HTML and pasting the base code there.

1. Access your website’s source code files. For WordPress, this is often in Appearance >, Theme Editor >, header.php. For other platforms, it might be in a file named theme.liquid or a similar template file.
2. Locate the opening <,head>, and closing <,/head>, tags in the file.
3. Copy the entire base code snippet from Pinterest.
4. Paste it just before the closing <,/head>, tag.
5. Save your changes.

Fair warning: Be very careful when editing theme files. It’s always a good idea to create a backup of your site before making any changes to the code. A small mistake can sometimes cause display issues on your site.

Step 3: Track Specific Actions with Event Codes

With the base code installed, you're tracking page visits. But the real power comes from tracking specific actions visitors take. This is done with event codes - small additions to the Pinterest Tag that fire on specific pages or when a button is clicked.

For example, you want to know when a sale happens. You would add the Checkout event code to your post-purchase "Thank You" page. This tells Pinterest, "A visitor who came from one of my Pins just completed a purchase."

An event code snippet is a small piece of JavaScript. For a purchase event, it looks like this:

<,script>,
pintrk('track', 'checkout', {
value: 100,
order_quantity: 1,
currency: 'USD'
}),
<,/script>,


You would place this code directly underneath your main base code, but only on the confirmation page that a user sees after a successful checkout.

Here are the most common event codes you'll want to use:

• AddToCart: Fires when someone adds an item to their shopping cart. Best placed on the cart confirmation pop-up or on the cart page itself.
• Checkout: The big one! Track completed purchases, sign-ups, or form submissions. This goes on the "Thank You" or "Order Confirmation" page.
• Signup: Use this when someone signs up for your email newsletter or creates an account.
• Lead: Tracks when someone submits their information through a lead form. Perfect for service-based businesses.
• ViewCategory: Fires when someone views a product category page.
• PageVisit: This is automatically handled by the base code 'page' event, but you can also use it to track visits to specific high-value pages.
• Search: Fires when someone uses the search bar on your site.

Manually adding event tracking can be a bit more involved, but if you're using platforms with partner integrations (like Shopify) or GTM, many of these are configured automatically or can be set up easily with custom triggers.

Step 4: Verify Your Tag Installation

Once you’ve installed the code, the final step is to make sure it's working properly. This will save you a lot of headaches later on.

There are two quick ways to verify your tag:

1. Use the Pinterest Tag Helper Chrome Extension

This is the fastest and most reliable method. Search for "Pinterest Tag Helper" in the Chrome Web Store and add it to your browser. Once installed, navigate to your website.

• Look at the Icon: You should see a small red Pinterest icon in your browser's extension bar. If it has a number on it, that's a good sign! It means the extension has detected the tag.
• Click and Inspect: Click the icon. A dropdown will show you details about the tag(s) it found on that page. It should show your base code (usually as an "init" and "page visit" event) and tell you if it was successfully installed. If you see a green checkmark, you're good to go. If not, it will often provide a hint about what went wrong.

2. Check Your Pinterest Ad Manager

You can also confirm your tag's status directly within Pinterest. It can sometimes take a few hours for data to start showing up, so be patient.

• Go back to the Conversions or Tag Manager section in your Pinterest Ads dashboard.
• Look for your tag's health status. You’re looking for a status of "Active" or a green icon indicating that Pinterest has successfully received data from your tag.
• You should eventually begin to see data populated for events as well if you have them configured.

Final Thoughts

Installing your Pinterest Tag is a game-changer for turning your Pinterest presence into a repeatable, measurable source of growth. From tracking sales and leads to building high-intent remarketing audiences, this small piece of code is the foundation of a sophisticated and effective Pinterest marketing strategy.

After you have your Pinterest conversion data and know what kind of content performs best on the platform, what can you do with these insights to grow your social channels? To better help you, we built Postbase, our own simple and modern social management tool that will let you easily schedule content and manage your different profiles seamlessly. We support all of the latest features on each social platform natively and that includes: carousels, videos, stories, reels, and more. Everything is also in an easy-to-read calendar view so you know exactly what you publish and where it is being published.