Blogging

How to Rank #1 for Both Pinterest and Google

SEO.

Search engine optimization is something you’ve probably heard floating around in Facebook groups or seen in your Pinterest feed.

It’s true –

The BEST type of traffic is search traffic. It’s also called organic traffic. People pop in their question or search a term, and BOOM – they go to a blog post for the answer.

It would be nice if they went to your blog, right?

Most users don’t look past the first results page on Google. And to be more truthful – they don’t go past the top three results on page 1 (after the ads). Ranking for the number one spot is nearly impossible for brand new bloggers.

But, not anymore.

Did you know there’s another SEO platform?

It’s Pinterest.

And it’s dominating search results. In fact, more and more are using Pinterest instead of Google to find the best chocolate chip recipe or to figure out how to make money as a new blogger and about a billion other search terms.

And if you can optimize your search strategy to rank in Pinterest, you can effectively start ranking on Google. When this happens, your blog traffic grows, your list grows and your income grows.

Twins Mommy isn’t yet three years old.

It’s considered a new blog still. And, you know what?

I’ve been able to rank #1 in both Google and Pinterest – twice!!

The best part though – you can do the same thing.

But, first, let me tell you my story of ranking on both Google and Pinterest and then help you do the same thing.

Note: any Google searches were done incognito, making the search not related to my browser behavior or history.

My Google and Pinterest SEO Story

I published my first Twins Mommy post on March 13, 2016.

I did not have a content strategy in place, so I wrote as much as I could in the beginning. The post that eventually ranked on Google was published on April 21, 2016.

So go ahead and reach for the stars. Tag an influencer or message them on Facebook. Reach out to them because you never know what can result from that!!!

Schedule Your Posts

Another factor Google looks at – I think! – when ranking content is how many shares it receives. Google has a party side too you know 🙂

That’s why I feel my post on how to grow your Pinterest followers ranked in Google – by the social shares it has received.

And the best way to get more shares is to schedule your posts with a social automation tool – like Tailwind. Tailwind has done wonders for my blog’s growth. I talk all about it in this post.

Whether you use Tailwind or some other tool, consider investing in one as a strategy to grow your blog.

It’s Your Turn

Figuring out SEO doesn’t have to be hard. You don’t need keyword tools and you don’t need to learn everything about SEO. If you have a mobile-ready blog, if you optimize your images and write valuable content, you will eventually start ranking.

This method does take time but remember – slow and steady wins the race!

Over to you – tell me your successes with ranking in Google and/or Pinterest! I want to hear them.

Remember to pin me!

Leave a Reply

60 Comments

Thank you for the helpful tips! I’m a new blogger trying to figure it all out. I write about parenting and mom lifestyle. I had to reoptimize my site to mobile, do you know how long it takes for that to show up in stats? Thank you!Reply to Nicole
Hi Nicole, That’s great you created a blog! I’m not sure how long it takes but maybe you can contact your hosting provider? Good luck!Reply to Elna
Elna, really a very beautiful and informative post. I am a budding blogger and will implement your tips to grow traffic on my blog. Thanks so much for this information!Reply to Aditi
I have a post ranking on Google thanks to Pinterest traffic for sure. As a new blogger I need to try and replicate it again. Thanks for confirming the value of Pinterest!Reply to Leah
Thank you Elna Cain, for this blog post, since discovering your blog it has been my resource centre for all things blog related, thank you for giving out such amount of knowledge.Reply to Lois
Hi Lois, You’re welcome! So happy you found my blog helpful with blogging content 🙂Reply to Elna
Wow. Most informative post I have come across. Thanks a ton 😊Reply to Arti
Thanks for the marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed reading it, you could be a great author.I will remember to bookmark your blog and may come back in the future. I want to encourage you to continue your great writing, have a nice weekend!Reply to Geneva
Hi Geneva! Aww thanks so much! I am a freelance writer and write blog posts for big brands so thanks for that compliment!Reply to Elna
HI some of the great tips here to find, there are many bloggers they don’t know how the Pinterest will boost your blog traffic. btw all of the tips are helpful for me Thanks for sharing Regards FaisalReply to Muhammad
That is a lot of great information! SEO is one area that I struggle with because I feel like either I’m not doing enough of it or my keywords are the right words. This post has definitly given me a great new direction though, thanks for sharing!Reply to Teya
Hi Teya Thank you so much! Yes, understanding SEO is tough! It really took me many years to understand it and practice it and fine tune it. So I hope my posts speed up that process for newbies like you!Reply to Elna
Hello Elna, Thank you for such a helpful post! I’ve been running an online shop for almost a year now and just added a blog to it recently. I’ve really been stepping my game up on researching and implementing marketing ideas, and SEO has had me SO CONFUSED! It’s always dragged out and explained in such a long, ridiculous way that by the end I’m like “wait…what?!” Lol. But you made it SO EASY to understand and gave such simple tips for using SEO. I’m super excited to start trying it out with my posts and my shop, thank you again so much!Reply to Zalyssa
Hi Zalyssa, I’m so glad you found these SEO tips for bloggers helpful and easy to implement! Yes, there are easy things you can do quickly to help with your ranking potential! Have fun!Reply to Elna
Hi Elna, I just literally today started working on improving my Pinterest SEO. I tried a little bit previously but I don’t think I really what I should be adding to my pins. But I came across some tips recently to help me rank on Google. I created a post that I optimized to rank on Google and published it this week. I also created some pins that I published today and yesterday incorporating SEO, or at least I hope I did, LOL! I’ll have to update you and let you know if that post or my pins actually do eventually rank at all.Reply to DeShena
Hey DeShena! How exciting! I can’t wait to hear the results. Keep creating new pins and new content!Reply to Elna
Thank you so much for this post! This is the hardest part of blogging for me but you made it more clear. Now I’ve got to get to work!Reply to Belinda
Hey Belinda! You’re welcome! So glad you found some tips to help you grow your blog traffic!Reply to Elna
Hey Elna, Your posts are so, so, so super helpful! I’m learning more and more about Pinterest, every single day. I’ve realized that it’s good to look for trending topics on Pinterest. I search for pins that do really well and I’ve recently realized that writing blog posts based on topics that have lots of repins on Pinterest is a really good strategy. Thank you so much for sharing this post. I have a post that’s ranking on Google’s third search on the first page but it landed up there totally by accident and with no SEO. 😛 I was just lucky I guess but I realized that I could harness that gift by adding lots of related posts and linking to those in that particular post. That tip actually helped boost my blog traffic like crazy. Blogging is such a wonderful thing, you never ever stop learning. <3 Thank you for being such an inspiration. Looking forward to every email you send.Reply to Angela
Hey Angela, Thanks so much! Glad you found this post about ranking on Google helpful 🙂 Congrats on getting on the first search page on Google!Reply to Elna
I have been reading as much as I can on Pinterest, keywords and getting traffic. I was averaging about 50 visitors a day from Pinterest and 100 one day. My people reach on Pinterest is growing but this week I noticed that my website visitors dropped by 70% (According to Pinterest analytics). I just don’t get it. I taught since my people reach was growing then my visitors would grow also but instead my traffic has dropped to almost nothing.Reply to Michelle
Hi Michelle, I wouldn’t worry about your website metric in Pinterest Analytics. It’s not very accurate at all. Look at your Google Analytics instead!Reply to Elna
I love reading your posts about using Pinterest for SEO ranking. I truly believe it works. Thanks for all the tips.Reply to Mary
Hi Mary, Thanks so much! Glad you found some good SEO Pinterest tips!Reply to Elna
I repinned your blog post using these hashtags #pinterestmarketing #pinterestseo #pinterestmarketingtips. Curious to see the advantage of hashtags in 2018.Reply to Mary
Thank you so much!Reply to Elna
Hi Elna! What a detailed post, I love it! I recently started a new blog and a new Pinterest account and I must say it has become much more difficult over the past two years to grow on Pinterest. I had a previous account which I sold together with my business which had around 8000 followers and that one grew organically and without so much effort. With my new account, I am only at 500 followers after 6 months and I am not getting much traction with my repin rate either. Your point about “problem-solving” is spot on. Thanks again for the awesome tips! SeverinaReply to Severina
Hi! Growing Pinterest followers is a challenge now than it was years ago. I found the best way is by using Tailwind!Reply to Elna
Great information around SEO Elna. Like you said search traffic can be tricky because of the constant changes and updates.Reply to Alvern
Hi Alvern, Thank you so much! Yes, traffic is tricky and you need to diversify your traffic streams to ensure longevity in this blogging world!Reply to Elna
Omg you have no idea how much this has helped me! I’m pretty new to Pinterest and I’m still trying to wrap my head around using it for my blog. Lol let’s just say I’m new to this all. I’ve been trying to not just aimlessly pin stuff now and push out more of my content this week. I reached out to a few blog boards and lovely people and got added to some boards yesterday! Yayy! You’re doing a lovely job and your blog is super informative. I hope trying more of your stuff works some more for me. Thank you! 🙂 xx Lena | https://lenadeexo.comReply to Lena
Hi Lena That’s amazing! I LOVE hearing a story like this. Congrats on getting on some great group boards! That’s where it all starts for traffic building! Good luck and have fun strategically pinning!Reply to Elna
I really like your blog! Thanks for the content!Reply to Vickie
Hi Vickie! Thank you so much. So glad you liked the post and I hope it helps with your Pinterest traffic and SEO ranking!!Reply to Elna
I loved your post! It has really motivated me and has sort of given me a guide to which direction I should head next as a blogger. Keep writing great content!Reply to Claudia
Hi Claudia, Thank you so much! It means so much to me hearing from followers like you! I’m so glad this post will help you with your blogging journey!!!Reply to Elna
Thanks for sharing!!! Your content has helped me so much! I always look forward to seeing what new post you have. I followed the tips from your course, Ready Set Blog for Traffic, and already increased my Pinterest followers by 10!!! Keep up the great work!!Reply to Kenya
Hey Kenya! Yay!!!!! So happy to hear this. So glad Ready Set Blog for Traffic helped you!Reply to Elna
Elna! You always have the BEST posts! When I read your posts I ALWAYS learn something new! As always thanks for sharing!! No surprise your trending!! You rock Elna! Keep kicking @ss!!Reply to Jeannie
Hey Jeannie! Aww thanks so much 🙂 Love that you enjoyed this post and crossing fingers it will help you rank on Google 🙂Reply to Elna
Hi Elna, Another great post 🙂 I just got your Google cheat sheet. A while back did you offer a download for headline ideas….or am I just imagining that?…lol. If so, can you point me to it so I can get it? Thanks!Reply to Carrie
Hi Carrie, Thank you so much! I hope you get some great tips for the Google ranking checklist! As for headlines I like Co-Scheduler’s headline analyzer https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzerReply to Elna
Great post! I’ve started to think more about SEO since we’ve been talking about it so much more in the other FB group! This is definitely helpful…taking some notes 🙂Reply to Kristin
Hi Kristin, Thanks so much! Yes in the “other” FB group 🙂 ha… SEO is important but my honest opinion is that new bloggers shouldn’t worry about finding the right keywords. It takes time to rank in Google as you can see from this post (up to a year). Write valuable posts and you can eventually rank.Reply to Elna
Needed this! I have only been blogging for a month now and it can be frustrating not having many stats to know what’s working. But from your post, I know I need to be patient and consistent. I just want everything right now 😉 thanks for breaking it all down – it’s really helpful!Reply to Caitlin
Hi Caitlin! Thanks for stopping by and yes, you need to be patient. Getting ranked in Google for a new blogger can take 6 months to a year. So, for now, write valuable blog posts and get to know your audience!Reply to Elna
Thanks Elna for the great blog post! My goal for February is to learn all about Pinterest so I can start getting more organic traffic to my own blog. I’m trying to soak in as much information about it as possible, so your post was really helpful 🙂Reply to Liz
Hi Liz, You’re welcome! I’m so happy you are going to try Pinterest! Yay! Make sure to check out my 12 days of Pinterest tips!!Reply to Elna
Hi Elna, When it comes to quality content creation and value, your name is always there. I’ve seen these posts on Google and I was like, her content is meant to be on Google! You’ve made some excellent point here. I’m definitely looking forward to following some tips on content to rank. ArfaReply to Arfa
Hey Arfa, Love your blog btw! Thanks for stopping by. I hope these Google ranking tips are helpful!Reply to Elna
I really enjoyed reading your posts and I find it rewarding that finally Google ranks posts that contain value! Your posts are one of a kind and what I can learn from you is that quality is better than quantity, and that’s what every one of us should strive to achieve through her blog!! Keep shining! xo, SilvyReply to Silvy
Aww thanks Silvy! You just made my evening! I’ll do my best to wow you and my audience with more posts! 🙂Reply to Elna
Hi Elna, Great content on your blog and, just as important–great presentation & design! You are correct that SEO is a scary term for a lot of bloggers, and to be honest the SEO industry makes it seem a lot more complicated than it really has to be. Re: your “feminine stock photos” post that ranks #1, did you know that it *also* ranks #1 for two additional keywords that actually get *more* search volume than the “feminine stock photos” keyword? What that’s showing is that they keyword “styled stock photography” — which you also rank #1 for — is actually bringing you *more* search traffic than “feminine stock photos”. Pretty cool. And as you mentioned, links are THE most important ranking factor in Google. One small thing I want to nitpick in your post is the correlation between ranking in Pinterest and ranking in Google. As far as I know, Google does not take ANY consideration into social media performance when it comes to their algorithm. In other words, just because you perform well on Pinterest, doesn’t mean you’re going to rank in Google. But you’re right, it’s smart to optimize for both. Alright, I could chat for hours talking about this stuff. Just wanted to add my $0.02. Keep up the great work! P.S. By the way, getting a link from Neil Patel is a BIG freaking deal!Reply to Mike
Hey Mike! Thanks for stopping by! Pretty cool rankings is right…maybe I should take up photography as a hobby! I do find that social signals help, even if indirectly. I’ll often search Pinterest looking for great examples when I’m writing for clients. If I reference someone, they’re getting an unsolicited link from an authority site. I’ve also seen increased social “chatter” improve rankings. All in all you’re right, it pays to be well-rounded.Reply to Elna
YAY for making the cut on this blog post. I love telling you when your stuff is trending, because you’re one of my favs! 🙂 I love this post, and had no idea I could look at back linking in my Google analytics! So that was interesting to see (and something I’m going to start working on asap)! I think I also plan to create new pin graphics with actual questions on them. My posts answer questions but I’d like to explore this idea some more! As always, great content! Thanks Elna 🙂Reply to Amanda
Hey Amanda! No, thank you for letting me know about my trendy pins! I never know! Thanks for stopping by! Yes, I haven’t looked at my backlinks in like a year! ha..but it is fun to see. Yes, try that Pin graphic strategy! I did that for a bit and may do it again. I’m just a sucker for writing copywriter headlines on my pins!Reply to Elna
Hi Elna My journey with Pinterest has just begun. You, like other successful bloggers I follow strongly advise about the importance of Pinterest SEO. This post excellently lays out the process to follow if you want to rank with Google. As a new blogger, I ‘m sponging it all up. Thank you Elna for never failing to extend my blogging education with every single post.Reply to Poovanesh
Thank you so much! Yes, soak it up mama!!Reply to Elna
I’m still trying to figure out how to get more organic traffic and it’s a little more difficult than I thought it would be. Pinterest is definitely my #1 traffic source right now, but I’m still working on perfecting my keywords.Reply to Dyana
Hi Dyanna, I know what you mean. That’s why I don’t focus my SEO strategy on Google. It’s just a byproduct of focusing on Pinterest and creating valuable posts. Good luck and I know you’ll succeed!Reply to Elna