Industry Trends: What’s Driving Pinterest Traffic In 2023?
Pinterest has never slowed down. Since its debut in 2010 the platform has constantly changed — introducing new formats, improving its algorithm, extending its capabilities for shopping and rearranging its content priority in response to the changing behavior of users and the demands of advertisers. And 2023 is shaping up to be among the most important years to date in Pinterest’s continuous growth.
For bloggers, content creators and companies that rely on Pinterest for traffic sources and a source of information, knowing the factors that drive the popularity of the platform and how it is affecting its users currently isn’t an option — it’s the difference between a plan which is growing or stagnates. Creators who are aligned with the current trend of Pinterest will experience rapid results. If they continue to follow the same path that was working in 2021 and don’t change their approach will see their growth slowing in ways that they are unable to explain.
This article explores the main market trends that will drive traffic to Pinterest in 2023. It outlines what’s changed, and what’s going to accelerate and the best way to place your content so that it can ride these trends, rather than ignoring them.
Video Content Has Become Non-Negotiable
If there’s one pattern that defines Pinterest in 2023 more than anything else this is its significant, algorithm-driven shift to video content. Pinterest has been advancing in this direction for many years. But in 2023, the priority of video content in the organic distribution and reach is now impossible to ignore.
Videos are receiving substantially more organic traffic than similar static pins in all areas. The algorithm incorporates videos more frequently in homes feeds and search results and in category browsing — so that those who make videos are reaching a greater audiences than those who do not even though their static pin strategies are similar.
The best part is Pinterest video content doesn’t need Hollywood production quality. Short-form videos between 60 and 6 seconds — which shows the preparation of a recipe or a room that is being arranged or a craft being put together or a method being demonstrated beats longer or more polished videos. The quality and authenticity of the video matter more than the level of production.
For chefs and food-related creators this trend is an opportunity. Videos of recipe process, techniques demonstrations as well as “watch me cook this” kind of videos are some of the most successful video formats available on Pinterest by 2023. Creators who recycle old Instagram Reels or TikTok content to make Pinterest video posts are making the most of this trend with little effort.
What to do: Commit to publishing at minimum one video pin each week. Begin with basic process videos that are shot on your phone with natural lighting. Repurpose video content that is short that you have on different platforms. Prioritize videos for your most valuable and most important content pieces.
Pinterest Shopping Is Transforming Buyer Behaviour
Pinterest has made substantial investments in its shopping capabilities in the past three years. And in 2023, these investments are making a difference in ways that have a significant impact on the patterns of traffic and opportunities for monetisation for creators.
The features for shopping on the platform include tagging products in boards and pins and a separate shopping tab in the business profile, real-time product availability and prices via merchant integrations, as well as an enhanced visual search engine that allows users to search for and buy items they find through pins.
The importance to creators lies in two ways. The first is that Pinterest users by 2023 will arrive to the platform with more commercial ambitions than they have ever had and aren’t just looking for inspiration, but are actively looking to find and buy items. Content that connects the purchase and inspiration — including products that are affiliate-linked, such as gifts guides and curated collections — is gaining incredible engagement and high click-through rates.
For creators selling their own items, Pinterest’s shopping system now gives an almost seamless way to go from discovering a pin to purchasing — a feature that was a lot less only two years ago.
What to do: Ensure your product recommendations are optimized with affiliate links, a clear price context, and clear calls to take action. If you’re selling your own items, make sure you set your shopping options on Pinterest and include products in your Pinterest pins. Create content that clearly bridges the gap between inspiration and buying purpose.
Idea Pins Are Building Audiences, Not Just Impressions
Idea Pins -Pinterest’s multi-page narrative-style content format are available from 2021 onward, but they will be demonstrating growing importance in influencing popularity and credibility of profiles by 2023. In contrast to standard pins, Idea Pins are designed to keep users on Pinterest instead of driving outbound clicks. However, the value of these pins for creators lies in their remarkable reach and follower-generation capabilities.
Creators who post Idea Pins consistently report significantly more followers than static pin strategies by themselves. In 2023 Pinterest is now able to add the possibility of including external links in Idea Pins — addressing the most important previously-known limitation as well as making Pinterest a more comprehensive traffic-generating tool than it was when it first launched.
For those who create food and recipes, Idea Pins are particularly natural, with step-by-step recipe walkthroughs, kitchen changes, ingredient guides and cooking method series fit perfectly into the format of multi-pages.
What to Do: Publish one to two Idea Pins each week in conjunction with your normal pin strategy. Make use of them to create step-by-step instructional content, transformation stories and series-style content that creates anticipation. Add outbound links as soon as the feature is now available.
Keyword Search Behaviour Is Growing And Becoming More Specific
Pinterest’s role in the role of a search engineinstead of a pure social media platform is growing more prominent in 2023. The platform is noting a steady increase in active searches by its members. Importantly, the way in which users conduct these searches is changing as users search with greater precision, shifting away from broad-based terms towards more deliberate, longer specific inquiries.
“Dinner recipes” is being substituted by “easy high protein dinner recipes under 30 minutes.” “Kitchen organisation” is being replaced with “small apartment kitchen organisation ideas on a budget.” This shift towards long-tail search behavior has profound implications for keywords strategy.
Creators who optimize their websites for broad competitive keywords are having growing difficulty getting their site to rank. Creators who are able to identify and focus on specific phrases that are exactly what their customers search are finding it much easier to rank well and often in areas that are less competitive with a higher engagement or purchase intentions.
What to Do: Revisit your keyword strategy to focus on long-tail keywords. Utilize Pinterest’s search autocomplete and Keyword Bubble features in order to determine the exact phrases your target customers actually use. Change your top-performing description of your pins with more precise and longer-tail keywords. Create content that addresses very specific questions that the users are searching for.
Niche Authority Is Outperforming Broad Content Strategies
An obvious pattern that is emerging in the 2023 algorithm behavior of Pinterest is the growing rewards for a niche’s authority over general content. Accounts that are constantly focusing on a specific area — such as such as sourdough baking, plant-based cooking and small kitchen organization budget meal preparationhave seen a greater distribution and a faster increase in their audience growth as opposed to accounts with a broad spectrum of related but unrelated topics.
This is a reflection of Pinterest’s advanced understanding of relevance to content and the intent of users. The algorithm has improved in identifying authority on a topicit recognizes accounts that regularly produce top-quality content in a specific area as well as rewarding these accounts with a preference distribution to the niche’s target audience.
For content creators using an expansive content strategy this suggests a strategic change in which they are focusing on smaller issues rather than broadening over many.
What to do: Audit your content and find your three most engaging, enthralling topics. Create a unified board structure around these subjects. Your content-creation efforts should be directed towards depth, not the breadth. You will establish yourself as an authority within your particular field instead of being a generalist in an expansive area.
Align With The Momentum
The main trends that will drive Pinterest traffic in 2023priority of videos, shopping integration, idea increase in audience for Pins and long-tail search behavior and a niche-specific authority reward All are heading in the same trend: Pinterest has become more advanced, more thoughtful and rewarding creators who can meet it on its own guidelines.
The creators that will experience the most significant Pinterest growth in 2023 and beyond will be those who use video, are aligned with the shopping intention of their customers, dive deeper into their areas of expertise know the exact search terms of their target audience and present with regularity and real expertise.
Pinterest’s popularity is real and is growing. It’s all about whether your strategy is in line with the trend.
