Stop Sleeping on Pinterest: The Power of Social Referral Traffic
A new year calls for fresh starts. With the entrance of new goals and dreams, vision boards help to guide our way through another year. However, when we think about making a digital vision or mood board, only one place comes to mind: Pinterest. If you’re not a crafter, designer, or bride-to-be, you might have been sleeping on Pinterest thanks to its reputation, but what if we told you that it’s incredibly powerful in something called social referral traffic?
We’ll break it down. To start, there are three major types of traffic online. The first is organic traffic, where visitors click on your link by looking up keywords and clicking on your link found on the never ending list of search engine results. If you’re not already a leader in your field or geographic region, it’s hard to get noticed. Secondly, there’s social traffic, which is the kind of traffic that most businesses are focused on right now. As the name suggests, visitors are redirected to your site based on your activity on Facebook, Instagram, and any other platforms you’re using. To round things all up, there’s social referral traffic, which is the lesser known sibling of this trifecta, but just as powerful. Social referral traffic means that your visitors are coming from third-party sites that “refer” you. This includes Linkedin, Behance, and of course, Pinterest.
For starters, a huge reason why Pinterest great at Search Engine Optimization is actually a search engine itself – which is why it’s great at referring. While Google, Bing, and Yahoo are normally what comes to mind when you think about search engines, platforms like Pinterest, Twitter, and Youtube also have algorithmical powers of their own, but with a stronger visual identity. While these social platforms behemoths themselves, it’s understandably easier to go viral on Pinterest instead of Google.
Your content, one way or another, can also trickle into the search results on Google too! More often than not, when you’re doing your own research for new recipes, nail styles, or typography tips, chances are you’ve come across a cool photo, and its listed source is from Pinterest. This happens because Bing and Google are always on the hunt for “fresh content”, which is determined by its quality (the higher the better, obvs), relevancy, and the amount of engagement (likes/shares) it’s getting. So when you pin on Pinterest, you’re also getting a helping hand from other search engines with a single pin!
Another reason why Pinterest is such a strong social referral tool is that it gives your business so many opportunities to direct traffic to your own website. With Pinterest being very business friendly by allowing you to spice up your own pins with prices, alt text, long tail keywords, and hashtags, this platform is your digital marketing playground. Furthermore, the stronger your visual identity your boards/pins are, the more likely pinners will trust your brand and website! If you’re a visual magician, we highly recommend you hop on this site ASAP.
What are your thoughts on Social Referral Traffic? Will you give Pinning a go? Let us know!