When was the last time you clicked on the “Analytics” button in the top left corner of your Pinterest account? If you answered never, you’re not alone. If you’ve clicked on it but then quickly clicked back off because it felt too overwhelming, you also aren’t alone.
In today’s post, I am going to break down how to use and understand Pinterest analytics in a way that makes you excited to check your numbers monthly, rather than making you want to bury your head in a pillow and cry (okay, maybe a little dramatic).
How Do I Navigate Around the Pinterest Analytics Dashboard?
First of all, in order to see the analytics button on Pinterest that I was referring to, you need to make sure you have a business account setup. If you haven’t set up your business account yet, you can head over to this blog post where I break it all down in 7 easy steps.
Once, you have your business account setup, you are going to want to click on the “Analytics tab in the top left hand corner and then click on “Overview.”
On the left hand side, you are going to notice that you have a ton of different options to select from. Don’t let this overwhelm you! The more familiar you get with this page, the more comfortable you will get with checking your numbers monthly.
Speaking of monthly, I only like to check client accounts on a monthly basis. Checking them more often than that won’t really serve you. Pinterest is a slow burn. It is unlike IG where you get that instant like or comment so don’t spend your time daily watching things ebb and flow like a hawk.
Please note that if you are running ads, you are going to want to be in your ads dashboard a lot more often, but for the purposes of this blog post that centers around organic traffic, plan to check in each month.
After the month ends, usually about 2-3 days after, I like to go in and look at the previous month. For example, in the screenshot above, I went to my account on October 3rd to look at the date range of September 1st-September 31st. From here, this is where the fun begins.
For “content type,” I like to look at all (unless I’m running ads). I then make sure I have clicked on my claimed account and choose all for device, source, and format.
What Metrics Should I Be Looking At?
The next step is to move over to the middle of your screen where it reads “Performance Over Time.” Click on the drop down arrow and you will see that there are a ton of metrics you can select. I recommend checking out Outbound Clicks, Saves, and Impressions.
I want to note that Impressions are mostly just a vanity metric; however, the reason I track this for my clients is to make sure that our pins continue to rank in search. If we have a high number of impressions, it means that we are using the right keywords and are showing up in searching. If we aren’t getting any impressions, it’s time to refine our keyword strategy. If you want to learn more about keywords, read this blog!
After I look over the key metrics and record them in a spreadsheet, I like to scroll down and look at top pins. This area is super helpful in knowing what to pin more of and what to pin less of. I mostly look at Outbound Clicks and Saves.
If I see that a particular pin is doing really well, I advise my clients to make more of that kind of content. I also like to create pins that look similar as it may be that they clicked on the pin due to the pin image rather than the content. Or it could be both.
If you find that a certain type of content of pin images never seems to rank, it is probably time to move on and try something new.
How Can I Use Pinterest Analytics?
As mentioned above, I like to keep track of each of my clients’ Pinterest analytics in a spreadsheet. This way we are able to track trends month over month. Our goal is to increase traffic 2-5% month over month. However, we have to account for seasonal dips, especially around the holidays.
Pinterest analytics can tell us a lot about our business. If we are getting a lot of clicks but not getting a lot of conversions, it might be time to reevaluate our sales funnel(s). You can also see if traffic is coming from Pinterest but then quickly bouncing. That might indicate that your content isn’t resonating with your audience or they don’t see it as very valuable.
I also like to track data coming from Google Analytics but that’s for another day.
If you are still feeling like you need some additional guidance on how to track Pinterest analytics or just help with your Pinterest strategy in general, sign up for a FREE discovery call today.
Happy Pinning!
Chelsea