SEO Tips: 10 Search Engine Optimization Tips for Pinterest

Pinterest is the newest social media addiction- but many don’t know how it can also be used for your business.  Since Pinterest allows search engines to crawl their site and the huge amount of data users have pinned there, boards can show up in Google search results. By simply using the right SEO on your company profile, you can make sure your Pinterest page gets the attention it needs from your consumers.

Here are 10 tips to get you rocking:

1. Share your own content: Uploading your own images provides more value than solely re-pinning other’s images. To be most effective, you should do a healthy mixture of both.

2. Keyword target file names: Be sure to approach file naming from a search engine optimization prospective. “keyword-phrase.jpg” will rank better than “March2012_00011.jpg”.

3. Diversify your pinning: Pinning from a variety of different sources will make your Pinterest boards more compelling and re-pinning, liking, and commenting will definitely affect where your images appear.

4. Add a link: For every image you upload, be certain to edit the pin to add a link. The added link is “nofollow” and, therefore, shouldn’t be given weight according to standard nofollow rules, but this link allows the Pinterest user to click your image for the source. Conversely, links in the description are currently followed, so be sure to add your link to the description as well so Google can follow it and give the URL weight.

5. Description, description, description: Pinterest allots 500 characters for descriptions, and SEOs all over would be remissed if you were not taking advantage and using all 500 characters to give a keyword-dense description, commentary, or explanation of your pinned image. Note that you can edit descriptions of both images you have pinned or re-pinned.

6. Follow the leader: Take time exploring Pinterest to see what types of images catch your eye and what types of content effectively persuade you to engage with them, and then upload similar types of images and content. The more your images are shared and engaged with, the better it will be for your search engine optimization goals.

7. Don’t fall into the advertising trap: Remember that Pinterest is a social media platform. You’ve got to be involved in the conversation. Comment, like, and re-pin other user’s images to help increase your followers, because it’s likely that search algorithms will incorporate how engaging your social media platforms are in the near future.

8. Keyword target board names: This SEO tip is on the same line as keyword target file naming. Create an array of boards with keyword focused names. “Charleston beaches” will serve you better than “Places I love”.

9. Add the website buttons: Give the people what they want when they want it. Add the “Follow” and “Pin It” buttons to your website now. If the buzz around Pinterest fades and people stop using it, you can easily remove the links then instead of waiting to see if Pinterest is here to stay and missing the current opportunity.

10. Be yourself: Pin what you like and be kind to others.

Top 5 Tips to Take Advantage of Social SEO

2013 has seen a huge shift in search engines using social media when gauging a website’s rankings in search results. As search goes social, there is a new concept of social SEO that has been emerging, albeit gradually. With the competition to grab webspace growing by the day, search engines have started looking at ‘holistic’ ways of determining a website’s popularity, and social signals seem to be a pretty good indication.

Social media activity is therefore being seen as genuine measure of a business’s online reputation – it’s hard to fake Shares, and Re-posts on social networks. Though one can buy Followers and Likes, with new tools emerging to detect fake/inactive followers on Twitter, it won’t be long before search engines start getting more discerning, too. Needless to say, fake likes and followers don’t help your brand’s social engagement cause much.

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So, what your business needs are effective social media strategies that can help you with your SEO:

1. Brand your posts: Don’t just restrict yourself to having an account on each of the major social networking sites – share information on them too. And when you post stuff on these networks, make sure you feature your brand name on as many posts as possible. It helps build a better brand identity among your fans and also makes Google’s search algorithms recognize your brand name as keywords when deciding your website’s rank.

For instance, whenever you post anything new on Twitter, make sure you use the hashtag (#) followed by your brand name.

2. Feature your social accounts on your website’s homepage: Google needs to recognize the interconnecting of your website and your social accounts. You can make Google’s job easier by including links to your social accounts on your homepage, which it can recognize when crawling. This way, Google can associate your social activity with your website and help you improve your rankings. It also lends credibility to your social accounts.

3. Be present on Google+: This may sound a tad bit selfish on Google’s part, but if the most popular search engine has its own social network, you have no choice but to focus some of your social SEO efforts on building a Google+ profile for your company. Google has been found to give higher rankings to businesses that have an active presence on their social network, so if you haven’t already, please get started!

4. Get indexed faster by being active on Twitter: Twitter profiles and posts tend to get indexed faster by search engines than most website pages. So, if you want your blog posts and new pages to get indexed faster, make sure you share their links in the form of tweets through your Twitter account. Tweet about your most recent PR event or the latest product you have launched, and feature links to your website in these tweets for faster indexing.

5. Build your followers: More is definitely merrier and this works in the case of social networks, too. Having a large fan base on your social accounts just helps build your brand’s credibility. It’s not surprising then that Google will rank your site higher if you have more Facebook fans or Twitter followers. Also, a higher number of followers would just increase the likelihood of your content being shared and re-posted across social networks to a greater extent!

These tips should help you gain maximum leverage from social SEO in 2013! Good Luck!

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