Pinterest Image SEO: How to Rank Pins and Drive Traffic

Pinterest is a visual search engine — not just a social media platform. Over 500 million people use Pinterest to search for ideas, products, and inspiration. Optimising your Pinterest images for search can drive significant, long-lasting traffic to your website.

How Pinterest Search Works

Pinterest's search algorithm considers: Pin description keywords, Pin title, Board name and description, Website domain quality, Engagement (saves, clicks), Image quality and recognition.

Pinterest vs Google Image Search

Factor	Pinterest	Google Images
Alt text importance	Medium — description matters more	Very High
Traffic longevity	Very long — pins resurface years later	Ongoing while ranking
Buyer intent	High for products and DIY	Variable
Image size	2:3 ratio performs best	Any ratio

Pinterest Image SEO Best Practices

Use 2:3 image ratio (1000x1500px) — takes more space in feed, gets more saves
Add text overlay to images — tells searchers what the pin is about at a glance
Include keyword in file name before uploading
Write keyword-rich Pin description — 150-300 words performs best
Use 2-5 relevant hashtags in descriptions
Create keyword-rich Board names — "Vegetarian Dinner Recipes" beats "Yummy Food"

Alt Text on Pinterest

When you save an image from a webpage, Pinterest pulls the image's alt text as the default description. This means well-written alt text on your website automatically populates good Pinterest descriptions when people save your images — compounding your SEO work across both platforms.

Two birds, one stone: Write great alt text on your website using our free generator. When visitors save your images to Pinterest, the alt text becomes the Pin description — good for Pinterest SEO automatically.

Generate Alt Tags, Titles & Keywords Instantly

Our free AI-powered tool generates complete image metadata in one click. No subscription. No credit card.

Try the Free Tool →