When measuring Pinterest success, there are key metrics to watch to measure Pinterest success and growth – and some numbers you can ignore!

What Metrics to Watch to Measure Pinterest Success and Growth

Many entrepreneurs utilizing Pinterest as a marketing tool get caught up in tracking the wrong analytics.

Let’s Break Down The Numbers

• Monthly Viewers – how many people see a pin. That could be your own pin you saved or someone else’s pin you saved.
• Followers – how many people follow your Pinterest account.
• Impressions – how many times a pin (yours or someone else’s you saved) appears on the Pinterest feeds and search.
• Website Sessions – according to Google, “a group of user interactions on your website within a specific timeframe.” Meaning this number is reflective of people landing on your website.

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Does Monthly Viewers Indicate Pinterest Success and Growth?

Monthly viewers is the number that many Pinterest users get caught up with because it is displayed prominently on the profile page. 

However, this number does not equal Pinterest success or growth. I like to think of monthly viewers as an indicator of the health of the Pinterest account. For example, if you had a Pinterest account with 25,000 followers and 12k monthly viewers, I would interpret that to mean the account is inactive. On the flip side, if you had 250 followers and 900k monthly viewers, I would see that as an active account.

Many brands and sponsors put a lot of weight into the monthly viewers number. This metric should not be used to measure Pinterest success and growth, even with brands putting a higher weight on accounts with 1M+ monthly viewers.

As a Pinterest Marketing Strategist, I manage accounts that have 10M+ monthly viewers and ones with 103.9k monthly viewers. Can you guess which account is getting more website sessions? The latter one.

Other Metrics that do not Indicate Success and Growth on Pinterest

Followers and impressions on Pinterest are two other metrics that do not indicate Pinterest success and growth.

Unlike Instagram, followers on Pinterest do not serve a huge purpose. Sure, some of your saved pins will show up in the “following” feed, but not a lot of Pinterest users even use that feature. Considering many Pinners use the app from a phone, they are typically going straight to the search feature and not going to the “following” feed. However, I would not discount this number. It’s still an indicator that your content is relevant to your audience. If this number is going down or staying stagnant, it is time to reevaluate your Pinterest strategy.

Again, impressions are how many times a pin–yours or someone else’s you saved–APPEARS. There is a huge difference in appearing vs. being noticed. Impressions do not track how many eyeballs landed on that pin. It tracks how many times that pin showed up. And y’all, that pin might not even be your own content. 

If you notice that your impressions are super low, it might be time to create new Pin graphics to catch some eyeballs. But this is a number that you should not be tracking as a key performance indicator on Pinterest.

What Really Matters When Measuring Success and Growth on Pinterest?

Traffic. Clicks. Conversions. In a nutshell, all of this can be tracked through website sessions. If you are not getting sessions (eyeballs) on your website, whether it is a blog or an e-commerce platform, then that is when you know you need a Pinterest strategy overhaul.

Pinterest is a visual search engine. When a platform user searches for omething, Pinterest returns with search results. Those returns are pin images. When the Pinterest user sees a pin image that catches their eye and it looks like it can solve their problem, they will click it or save it to return to it later. Sometimes they will both click it and save it.

Those clicks drive traffic (website sessions) to your website. This is the KEY to success and growth on Pinterest. Generally, you can expect to see a 1-3% growth month over month (MoM) on the platform. Sometimes this varies, such as with seasonal content or other variables out of our control. However, a 1-3% growth MoM is a sign that your Pinterest is healthy, successful, and growing.

If you are new to using Pinterest strategically for your business, I suggest comparing year over year (YoY) traffic. For example, you might be getting about 500 sessions from Pinterest in the last 30 days. Compare that to the YoY numbers and you can see that you may have had 25 sessions the previous year in the same 30 day time frame. That would put you at a growth of 425 sessions, which is a 1,900% increase!!! That is a huge success!!

Success and Growth on Pinterest Takes Time

Pinterest is a VERY slow-burning platform. If you are not seeing overnight success, do NOT be discouraged. Look at those website sessions month over month and year over year. Do not start looking and comparing daily numbers because you’ll just drive yourself crazy.

Now that you know which metrics to watch to measure Pinterest success and growth, I want you to track them – and do not compare to your business bestie’s numbers. EACH ACCOUNT IS DIFFERENT. With Pinterest, your only competition is your previous month.

Want to learn more about Pinterest strategies? Check out Nicole's website, Saunders Says!