Pinterest Keywords: How to Find Them and Where to Put Them
Pinterest keywords are the words people type into Pinterest search, and they decide which searches your pins can show up for. Find them in three free places: the suggestions in Pinterest’s search bar, the Pinterest Trends tool, and the words your own readers use. Group them into clusters (one main term, its supporting terms and long-tail phrases), then put them where Pinterest reads them: the pin title, the description, the board name and the page the pin links to.
Why don’t your pins show up in Pinterest search?
You make a pin, write “Easy dinner ideas!” as the title, add a pretty image and wait. A month later it has a few dozen impressions.
Pinterest works more like a search engine than a feed. If the words on your pin don’t match what people search, Pinterest has no reason to show it, however good the image is.
What does skipping keyword research cost?
Every pin you make without a keyword is a pin competing for nothing in particular. You spend the same time designing it, and it gets a fraction of the reach.
It also costs months. Pinterest rewards pins that keep matching searches over time, so a keyword mistake made today shows up as missing traffic next season.
Where do you find Pinterest keywords?
| Source | How to use it | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Pinterest search bar | Type your topic and read the suggestions that drop down | Real phrases people search |
| Related searches | Search a term and read the related terms Pinterest suggests with the results | Refinements of the main term |
| Pinterest Trends | Free tool at trends.pinterest.com or from a business account | Rising terms, seasonality, weekly and yearly change |
| Your top pins | Analytics: which pins get impressions | Keywords already working for you |
| Your readers’ words | Comments, emails, reviews | How your audience describes the problem |
Pinterest Trends doesn’t cover every term or every country. If a keyword isn’t there, the search bar suggestions are your next check.
How do you group Pinterest keywords into clusters?
One cluster per topic you want to rank for. Each has three layers, tagged by what the searcher wants.
| Layer | Example (meal prep blog) | Intent |
|---|---|---|
| Pillar term | meal prep | Learn |
| Supporting terms | meal prep for beginners, healthy meal prep, meal prep lunch ideas | Learn, plan |
| Long-tail phrases | high protein meal prep for the week, meal prep containers for work lunches | Plan, buy |
Map each cluster to one board and one or more pages on your site. The board carries the pillar term; each pin targets one supporting term or long-tail phrase.
Where do you put keywords on Pinterest?
| Place | How |
|---|---|
| Pin title | The main keyword in the first words, written for a person. Limit: 100 characters (other platforms’ limits are in social media character limits) |
| Pin description | The keyword and one or two related terms, in natural sentences. Limit: 500 characters |
| Board name | The pillar term, plain (“Meal Prep for Beginners”), not clever |
| Board description | A sentence or two with the cluster’s main terms |
| Overlay text on the image | The promise, often with the keyword |
| The linked page | Title and headings that match the pin |
| Profile name | Your name plus your main topic |
Write for the reader first. A description stuffed with keywords reads badly and doesn’t help. Pinterest pin descriptions has examples, and Pinterest board ideas has 25 searchable board names.
When should you use seasonal keywords?
Early. Searches for seasonal topics start rising weeks before the date, so pin seasonal content about 45 days or more ahead. Pinterest Trends shows when each term starts to climb; plan your calendar from that curve.
How do you check whether your keywords work?
Look at impressions per pin after a few weeks. Pins with impressions are matched to searches; pins without them need a different keyword. Pinterest analytics covers what each number means and the fix for each pattern.
How does Nexin build a Pinterest keyword plan?
Nexin is a content assistant inside Claude and ChatGPT. Her Pinterest module has a keywords job with two modes:
- Keyword cluster: clusters for a brand or a single URL, with pillar terms, supporting terms and long-tail phrases. Each is tagged with intent (learn, compare, plan, buy) and mapped to a board and a destination URL. Each keyword is labeled verified or unverified, depending on whether a search tool was used.
- Seasonal calendar: a pinning calendar that starts seasonal topics about 45 days or more ahead. It sets a cadence you can keep, rotates destination URLs and reserves slots for fresh pins on old posts.
The pins job then writes titles and descriptions from those clusters, and the check tool holds every title under 100 characters and every description under 500. For the bigger picture, see Pinterest marketing tips; for the blog posts your pins point to, the SEO blog post template.
FAQ
Are Pinterest keywords the same as Google keywords?
They overlap, but Pinterest searches lean toward ideas and plans (“living room ideas”, “weekly meal plan”). Check Pinterest’s own suggestions rather than assuming.
Do hashtags work on Pinterest?
Keywords in titles, descriptions and boards do the work. Hashtags matter far less on Pinterest.
How many keywords should one pin target?
One main keyword and one or two related terms. A pin that targets everything matches nothing well.
Is there a free Pinterest keyword tool?
Pinterest Trends and the search bar suggestions are free and come from Pinterest itself.
How long until keywords show results?
Often several weeks for a new pin. Give it time before you change the keyword.
A keyword plan for every board, mapped to the pages that sell. Nexin’s Pinterest keywords job builds clusters and a seasonal calendar from your brand file, inside Claude or ChatGPT.
Start your 14-day free trial of Nexin Pro. After the 14 days it’s $19 a month; cancel before then and you pay nothing.