Pinterest Shopping 101: Set Up and Optimize an Online Shop

Pinterest shopping is an in-app feature that allows brands and businesses to promote and sell their products on the platform. On the Pinterest feed, these product posts look just like regular pins, which makes them a highly effective tool for getting clicks and driving sales.

While getting started with Pinterest shopping is quite straightforward, there are some extra steps you need to take to ensure that your online shop is properly optimized for success. So, in today’s article, we’ll share a step-by-step guide to setting up your Pinterest Shop and provide expert tips to elevate your shop.

Let’s start!

What is Pinterest Shopping?

Pinterest shopping is a social commerce feature that allows businesses to turn their content on the site into lead-generation tools.

While integrating social media and e-commerce is not a novel concept, as evident in the popularity of Facebook or TikTok Shops, Pinterest may be the best platform for it for the following reasons:

• 89% of users already use Pinterest on their path to purchase
• Consumers are seven times more likely to purchase the pins they save
• Pinterest users spend 80% more when shopping compared to users on other social media apps

This means that utilizing Pinterest shopping in your online marketing strategy will make it easier for you to convert followers into customers since the majority of the app’s user base is already willing to make a purchase.

That said, unlike other social media sites with similar features, Pinterest shopping doesn’t support in-app purchases. This means that you still need a separate platform where the consumer can buy your products.

How to Set Up Your Pinterest Shop in 7 Simple Steps

To set up a Pinterest Shop, you need an external website or e-commerce shop where your audience can make the purchase.

Once you have that, you can follow these seven simple steps to get started with Pinterest shopping:

#1. Create a Pinterest Business Account

Since you’ll be using Pinterest for business, you need a business account to access key features like analytics and paid ads that will help you succeed. Fortunately, creating a Pinterest business account is easy, especially if you already have an existing profile.

To convert a personal account to a business one, simply log into Pinterest and click on your profile icon in the upper right corner. Then, select Convert to business.

Next, you need to follow the on-screen instructions and provide the necessary details about your business, including your name and category.

Afterward, click Done to save your changes.

#2. Claim Your Website

Now that you have a business account, the next step is to claim your website; this is crucial for Pinterest shopping, as it will help turn leads into actual customers.

To verify a website, simply go to Settings and tap Claimed accounts on the left menu.

Then, tap Claim beside Websites and choose from the three options that pop up.

When done, click Continue to link your website to your Pinterest profile.

#3. Join the Verified Merchant Program

With your account properly set up, you can start optimizing it for Pinterest shopping by joining the Verified Merchant program.

The application is free and open to all brands that meet the app’s merchant guidelines and the following requirements:

• Must have a Pinterest business account
• Must have a claimed website on their profile
• Must have the proper contact information and privacy, shipping, and return policies stated on the website
• Must have a data source for Product pins

#4. Add Your Products to Pinterest

Once you’re a Verified Merchant, you can add your products and a Shop tab to your Pinterest profile. You will also get a blue verified badge, similar to the Facebook verification badge, that signifies you are a legitimate business on the platform.

If you are using an e-commerce site like Shopify, you can automatically upload your products to Pinterest by downloading its app from the Shopify app store. Meanwhile, if you have an external website, you will need to manually upload your products to Pinterest through your data source.

You can learn more about the different methods of uploading products on the site in Pinterest’s Catalogs guide.

#5. Organize Your Shop

After uploading all your products, the next step is to organize your Pinterest shopping catalog to ensure a smoother shopping experience for your customers. While this step isn’t required, Pinterest doesn’t categorize your products in any way, so they will be shown on your profile in the same order you uploaded them.

Now, suppose a user visits your profile after seeing one of your Product pins to see what else they can purchase. If you don’t organize your Pinterest shopping tab, it will be difficult for the consumer to find related products, and they may end up not proceeding with the sale at all.

To organize your Shop, categorize your products into different groups by going to the Shop tab and clicking the Plus icon in the upper right corner.

You can also highlight a maximum of three groups at the top of your Shop feed. We recommend featuring groups with new arrivals or best-selling items, but this can be for any product category that you want to promote.

#6. Add Product Tags to Pins

You can add product tags to existing pins to promote them to viewers without seeming too salesy. To do so, simply click on the pin you want to use, then search your catalog for the relevant products. You can tag up to eight products per pin.

This Pinterest shopping tip can also be extremely useful for creators on the platform who do influencer marketing, as they can easily promote collaborations in their content while still maintaining their aesthetic.

#7. Install a Pinterest Tracking Tag

Lastly, we recommend installing the Pinterest tracking tag to help you monitor conversions and other important metrics. You can install the tag manually or integrate it with your choice of e-commerce platform. This step is crucial for businesses that plan to run Pinterest shopping ads.

5+ Essential Pinterest Shopping Tips

After setting up shop, these Pinterest shopping tips will help you achieve maximum visibility for your pins and increased leads and sales over time:

#1. Optimize Your Pinterest Profile for Shopping

If you will primarily be using Pinterest for marketing, then make sure to optimize your profile for shoppers. One way to do this is by organizing your Shop tab, as we discussed earlier, but another thing you can do to improve the user experience is to put yourself in the consumer’s shoes when creating pins.

As a consumer, what do you need to see on a profile to encourage you to purchase?

For some, this can be consistent branding and an appealing Pinterest shopping aesthetic. Meanwhile, others may want to see a business’ complete details, such as their products and contact information, to make them feel more at ease about making a purchase on a social media site.

#2. Use Rich Pins

Aside from shoppable pins, you can use rich pins to promote your products in an engaging and informative way. Rich pins automatically sync data from your website to your published content on Pinterest, providing your audience with the most up-to-date information about your products.

There are three kinds of rich pins you can make:

• Product rich pin. These include information about a product’s price, availability, and description.
• Recipe rich pin. These pins feature a recipe along with its list of ingredients, diet preference, and serving size. Recipe rich pins can be helpful for creating a Pinterest shopping list, as all the ingredients of the dish are already listed on the pin.
• Article rich pin. As the name suggests, this type of rich pin features a published article and comes with a catchy headline along with a short blurb about the article.

#3. Analyze & Monitor Metrics

Low sales are just one of the indicators that your current Pinterest marketing strategy isn’t effective; to gain a complete overview of your performance and improve results, it’s important to track and analyze your metrics. Fortunately, the native Pinterest analytics tool offers a comprehensive look at your KPIs to help you pinpoint the areas that need improvement.

For instance, if you have high impressions but low clicks, this can mean that while your pins showed up on the feed, they didn’t grab your target audience’s attention. You can improve this metric by creating more visually appealing or unique content.

Meanwhile, if you see your pins being clicked but not saved, then their text may not be as informative or engaging for the viewer. This can be remedied with proper audience research and some content adjustments.

#4. Try Pinterest Shopping Ads

If you want your pins to rank on the platform and translate to sales, consider trying Pinterest shopping ads. These are a type of Pinterest ad that allows you to target a specific demographic by age, interest, or gender, ensuring high visibility on the feed.

Pinterest shopping ads are quite versatile and can be images, videos, or collections pins, which helps them stand out on the feed. However, running ads can be expensive, which means they may not be the best option for small businesses or those just starting on Pinterest.

#5. Leverage Pinterest SEO

Another way to boost your content’s discoverability (for free) is by leveraging Pinterest SEO in your strategy. This involves using relevant keywords in your pin titles and descriptions to improve their ranking in search results.

Fortunately, you can easily find the right Pinterest keywords to use in your content right on the platform. Head over to the Pinterest search bar and enter a broad phrase related to your business. If you are a skincare brand, you can type “skincare” or “dry skin” in the search bar, and the app will automatically generate a list of relevant long-tail keywords.

Then, you can tailor your content to meet these keywords while promoting your business. For instance, the “dry skin” search results included “dry skin remedies for face” and “dry skin care.” So, if you offer any products for dry skin, then try making a series of pins highlighting how they can address this concern.

#6. Post Quality Content Regularly

Maintaining an active profile will keep your content visible and help you get followers on Pinterest, so it’s vital to post quality content regularly. That said, it can be difficult to run a business, constantly create content, and remember to actually post, so consider utilizing Pinterest schedulers like Publer to streamline your workflows.

With Publer, you can create and schedule Pinterest pins in advance to avoid accidentally neglecting your profile during busy months. Our tool also comes with a variety of features to speed up content creation, including VistaCreate and Canva integrations and AI Assist for crafting pin titles and descriptions.

4 Best Practices for Pinterest Shopping Success

In addition to the tips we discussed above, here are four best practices for Pinterest shopping to ensure success:

• Constantly update pins. Ensure that your content stays relevant and interesting by constantly updating pins with new images, titles, and descriptions following the current Pinterest trends. Most users on Pinterest use the app for inspiration, so having timely content will help boost your visibility on the platform.
• Engage with your community. Responding to or liking comments will help you build a relationship with your audience, which can translate to better brand trust and loyalty over time. Regularly interacting with your followers can also encourage more engagement, which is a positive ranking signal for the Pinterest algorithm.
• Create themed images and boards. Creating Pinterest shopping images specifically revolving around a specific theme or holiday will help spark inspiration in the viewer and make them more inclined to purchase your product. By curating these images on a Pinterest board, you can reach more audiences and improve your overall engagement.
• Utilize user-generated content. According to Tintup’s 2023 State of Social & User-Generated Content, consumers trust user-generated content (UGC) more than any other type of content on social media, so try to encourage your customers to share their photos and reviews of your products on Pinterest. This will help you build credibility and increase conversions.

Key Takeaways

• Pinterest shopping is a feature that allows brands and businesses to sell products on the platform.
• To set up a Pinterest Shop, you need to be part of the Verified Merchant program. This will allow you to add your products and create a virtual storefront on the app.
• Some essential Pinterest shopping tips to keep in mind are to use Rich pins, leverage Pinterest SEO, and post quality content regularly.
• Constantly updating pins, engaging with the community, creating themed boards, and utilizing UGC are the four best practices for Pinterest shopping success.

Ervin Kalemi

Founder & CEO

With over 10 years of experience in software development, entrepreneurship, digital marketing, and social media, I strive every day to bring the best solutions that will empower your business's online presence. Currently working on Publer and Kibo.