Unlocking Local Success: Using Pinterest as your Local SEO Strategy in 2025
Back in 2018, we did a deep dive in Why you should add Pinterest to your brand and/or business marketing local SEO strategies. I am glad to report that the reasons have not changed today. If anything it is even more important with reach on platforms like Facebook, X and LinkedIn becoming tighter at the whims of the algorithms. So go ahead and check out that article as it will set the stage for the menu we have for you today.
| Why Pinterest for Business – a Deep Dive with Resources to get you started |
Pinterest prefers to be referred to and used as a visual search engine. It combines elements of social media images and video content linked to its search functionality. With over 335 million monthly active users and 200+ billion saved Pins, it offers a vast audience actively seeking inspiration and solutions.
In this article, I delve into whether Pinterest is still relevant as a search engine 2025. We shall look at Pinterest as a local SEO strategy and you decide if it’s good for your local or global business.
Why Pinterest as your Local SEO Strategy in 2025?
Pinterest has always focused on personalising people’s search needs via the content it shows you with the visual Pins and Search bar. Thus, we refer to it as a visual Search Engine.
Meaning that if you optimise your Pins and linked content, you are likely to show up in targeted searches on Pinterest. But I jump the gun here. Let’s peel back a bit.
Even though by far Google and YouTube have higher user numbers, Pinterest is unique in that it offers users a unique search experience by leaning into the social media angle mixed with a seamless search element. This uniqueness has kept it in the digital search engine game.
So, unless you are new to Pinterest, it will always give you a personalised user experience: showing you content based on your interests while adapting to your tastes as your search needs change.
So, if your business/brand isn’t using Pinterest, you are leaving money on the table. You could lean into its visual function esp. if your business lends well to images and videos, for instance Fashion, Food, Décor, Design, Cars, hospitality etc. lean into Pinterest’s visual advantage because it will provide users with detailed information and related visual suggestions which could be Your content.
Let’s dig deeper into Pinterest for your local SEO strategy this year.
See, even though the numbers have also dropped as the platform tries to stay relevant in digital search, over the years, Pinterest’s search engine functionality has provided our brand with an excellent platform to increase site visibility and drive targeted traffic. You can see how we started with Pinterest in a case study on How we doubled our Traffic in 90 days with Pinterest. This was back in the day, and the Pinterest gains have drastically dropped across the board for everyone. But you can still win
| How we doubled our Traffic in 90 days with Pinterest |
With that said, today I am going to share with you…
Five Unique Power Steps for Local SEO on Pinterest
- Optimise Your Pinterest Business Profile
You cannot taste the goodness of the menu, if you are not at the table. So, if you aren’t already on Pinterest, create a business account and ensure you optimise your profile. Or turn your personal account into a Business Account. Lots of YouTube videos to that effect.
What we did and encourage you to do is to use Google Analytics to understand user behaviour in your niche. Assuming you have an optimised website, check your analytics and see which Keywords perform best and use them in your Pinterest profile description, your Board titles and of course your Pins too.
This means that also your Pinterest username could include your business name, location, and even logo. But that’s not essential. What it can do is ensure an SEO-friendly profile and link and improves chances of your pins and content being discovered for users searching for your type of services or products locally.
See how we filled the about section with a brief intro and our website. This is an older Account and its still driving traffic to our www.juleskalpauli.com website
The idea is of course to drive traffic to your website, right? Because that’s your virtual-house. It is where you serve people your tea & cake – aka content. So, you better be serving view-worthy content. That’s what will have people pinning/saving your pins, sharing them and coming back for more over ad over.
So, while you optimise your profile, you better have optimised your website too. If you don’t know how, I got you covered here with White Hat SEO that works even today.
You can then create SEO friendly content that ranks and when you save your Pins you are raising the bar on people finding your content in their search efforts via both Google and Pinterest.
Now let us move to the next step in your Pinterest local SEO Strategy …
- Develop Localised Visual Content
Create high-quality, original images and videos aka visual content, that resonates with your target local audience. With AI dominating our screens lately, people are even more determined to find natural images leading to human created content.
So, be that genuine authentic provider and showcase your products, services, or local events through natural compelling images and videos. With lots of tools online, we still love this power platform for FREE images and short videos creation.
When we create our content and save it, we incorporate local landmarks, events, or region-specific themes to appeal to our target audience and improve relevance for local searches. Try it too.
Now, what would be the point of saving an image without a proper description aka alt tag? So add a description to your Pin image that offers an explanation why your product or service is better, more value and/or what your audience can expect to see or read when they click on it. Lots of people just state their brand name and the product name. Are you in it to serve or to just post? Do your homework and wow your audience.
Skip the hashtags, they are considered out-dated. Even Instagram literally penalises over use of hashtags at time of publishing this article. As a Pinterest strategy we no longer recommend it as best practice.
3. Implement Rich Pins with Local Focus
If you aren’t yet, then you best start using Rich Pins, particularly Product Pins, to provide additional information directly on the pin itself. For instance, if you are an author, you have saved your book on Pinterest wit your book cover as the image, right? Go ahead and click on that Pin and make it a Rich Pin where people can “Shop the look” and go directly to your book landing page or amazon page. I prefer the former because they get to subscribe for more info and you can drip on them until they buy. Or you release them aka unsubscribe them from your list.
Product pins allow you to include pricing, availability, and direct links to purchase pages.
For a local business, this can be gold and help in streamlining the buying process for your visitors while even driving foot-fall to your local physical location and/or online store. How cool is that?
To create a Product Pin, you click on the little padlock on your existing pin image illustrated below (by the way, grab your copy on Amazon, you will thank you later).
Then you add the product link via the URL option and save. It should look like the image below.
Assuming the link you added has your product information, when people click on that pin image, they will be redirected to your product page. And be able to make an informed decision to buy, share, or save for later.
In addition to product pins, Pinterest’s rich pins also come in 3 other categories i.e.:
- Recipe Pins,
- Article Pins and
- App, making 4 Categories.
We strongly believe that Pinterest rich pins totally enhance your search experience. Because they also offer extra product context, such as details, pricing, and availability. To any business esp. ecommerce sellers, this is invaluable as it encourages user interaction and can lead to buying decisions.
4. Use Pinterest’s Geotargeting Function
We are focusing on Local SEO today and so this is my favourite step.
If you run a small flower shop in Anfield, Liverpool, then this is what I would do. I would take beautiful images of my bouquets, flowers, wreaths, and various flower arrangements. Then I would add “Anfield” in my pin titles and descriptions words like:
- Anfield Flower Shop
- Things to do in Anfield Liverpool
- Liverpool Flower Shop
- Best Flower Shop Anfield
- Liverpool Shopping
Understand that you can replace the words “flower” and “Anfield” with whatever you sell in and your local city/town name.
I would also encourage you to take advantage of the Pinterest Ads also known as promoted pins, to target users in your specific local area. This means you will be using some of your marketing budget (I assume you have one, right?)
My recommendation is that instead of just using Google ads (which can be pretty complicated and costly tbh), you can pay to have your best performing Pin linking to your products/services or content that leads to that promotion. Moreover Pinterest allows you to set your ads budget as soon as you set up your Business Hub. Running an advert with your best performing pin will further boost its placement on the feed, increasing its reach and visibility. Meaning more click-throughs and desired results for you.
Go ahead and use the main keyword that the pin-image is about on your text overlay. Example of what is meant by overlay by this article pin below. Feel free to save if for future ref.
You will notice in a lot of local searches the pins are square and they just don’t render well in Pinterest. Don’t be one of those pinners using square or wide images! 
By adding Pinterest Ads to your small business marketing strategy, you will be making data-driven, informed decisions on whether you should continue with them based on the return on investment – ROI, or return to the less certain traditional advertising via radio, newspapers and/or magazines.
The world has gone digital, so I would use both for maximum results. And Pinterest is less saturated than Google ads. According to Shopify in 2023, around 45% of households in the US with household incomes over $100k actively use Pinterest. Your customers are on this platform. Ensure you installed your conversion tag – similar to Facebook Pixel to track your results – click throughs, sales, subscriptions etc.
What is even more exciting, you can super target all your Pinterest ads to be served ONLY in your locality, town, region. Thus, targeting potential customers who fit your ideal customer. This targeting is like “interest and demographic based targeting” on Facebook yet way easier and more result driven.
If you are serious about Local SEO then I would delve deeper into local inbound marketing to further ensure domination in your local area and niche. You will definitely get a ROI like a gift that keeps giving.
Doing the above will allow you to reach potential customers who are actively searching for your products or services within your locality.
5. Collaborate with Local Influencers and Businesses
Of course, this is easier said than done and requires trust as well as building solid relationships with complimentary local businesses. For instance, as a web designer, you can network and collaborate with Plugin developers, App developers, Graphics designers. We at K-Web Social are a one stop shop for various services including
- Graphics design,
- Website development and Maintenance
- Content Development and Ghost Writing
- Local SEO
If you are a Florist you could collaborate with venue hire providers, corporate directors, event planners, funeral directors, etc.
You can also engage with your local Pinterest community by following and collaborating with other local businesses and influencers. Create group boards or joint promotions to expand your reach. This not only increases your visibility but also strengthens your local network, potentially leading to valuable partnerships and an increased local customer base.
By implementing these strategies, as a local business you can harness the unique power of Pinterest to enhance your Local SEO strategy and customer getting efforts, drive targeted traffic to your websites, and attract more local customers. Remember to consistently monitor your analytics and adjust your approach based on performance data to maximise the effectiveness of your Pinterest local SEO strategy.
If you are like our boutique local business, the you don’t have as large of a potential customer base as bigger corporate competitors. That said, you have a much smaller boat to go fishing. So, imho it is very possible to for instance reach ALL the Flower lovers in your local area without a huge budget or fancy schmancy plots.
And that’s why I created my Pinterest Growth Academy course for small business owners – sharing ONLY what you need no fluff.
MORE RESOURCES FOR YOU:
The Art of Pinterest Profits – A Full Illustrated Book – Order Your Copy here
Get a Pinterest Makeover – Learn More
So, I bet you are chomping at the bit to go leverage your Pinterest for local SEO right now! If that is you, do go right ahead, we are rooting for you. But first Like our post, share your views in comments below, Pin this Post, and Share on Social media…
As always You deserve more
Julie Syl Kalungi
Live. Learn. Love
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