Let me be honest... I took a long break from Pinterest. Like over a year maybe. At the end of 2014 I started getting more strategic with my business Pinterest account. I updated the photos of a few top blog posts and pinned the new versions.

Spending no more than a few hours ended up doubling my blog traffic and increasing my Pinterest referrals by 750%.

Instead of capitalizing on this and improving more, I settled and focused on other areas. (Oops.)

But after digging deep into my stats and testing out new tips, I'm loving the platform again.

Fast forward to today, Pinterest makes up 85% of my social referral traffic and about 36% of my total website traffic.

Join me over the next few weeks as I share everything I've learned.

It's time to up your Pinterest for Business game, too!

HOW TO Optimize your Pinterest account for business

Why use Pinterest for business?

93% of Pinterest users say that Pinterest has influenced their purchase decisions 1
84% of Pinterest users say they're the primary decision makers in their households 1
Pinterest users are looking for advice and inspiration to plan projects (from personal to business) 1

5 Tips to Set Up + Optimize a Pinterest Business Account

What you'll learn in this post:

Should you have separate personal and business Pinterest accounts?
How to create a new account or convert an existing account to Business
How to confirm your blog URL in your Pinterest Business account
How to add a Pinterest Save Button to your website
How to write a bio for your Pinterest business account
How to decide what Pinterest boards to include
How to best organize your Pinterest boards

1 | Create or convert a Pinterest Business account

One of the most frequently asked questions I get for Pinterest is, should I have separate personal and business Pinterest accounts?

Consider a few of the following questions:

Are any other social channels for your business a mix of personal and business content? (Or do you plan for them to be?)
Is your personality a big part of your brand?
How many followers do you already have? Are they mostly family and friends?

There's no one right answer to converting an existing account or creating a new business account.

For example, if your personality is a big part of your brand, and you already have a lot of followers, it's probably easiest to just convert your existing account.

If you have an active personal account that's not aligned with your business, it'll be easier to create a new account.

1a | How to convert an existing Pinterest account to a business account

Here's a shortcut to convert an existing account to business.

If you want to change your username, you can do so under your profile settings.

Converting to a business account will not change any of your current information such as boards, pins or bio.

1b | How to create a new Pinterest business account

Creating a new account is super easy (click here). Choose a username as close to your business name as you can.

2 | Link + confirm your website URL

If you haven't done so already, add your blog or website URL to your Pinterest bio.

Next you'll want to confirm your website. This helps your account and pins look more professional.

If you're using WordPress, you should be able to confirm your Pinterest account under Tools on your dashboard.

If for some reason you don't have that option, you can use a handy plug-in to add the meta tag.

I recommend having the Yoast SEO plugin installed anyway, but you can also use it to verify your Pinterest account.

How to Verify Pinterest for Business with Yoast SEO Plugin

3 | Add a Save Button

Make sure your blog images have a save button.

Adding a Save or Pin-it button makes it easier for others to pin images from your site. Being able to add your content with one click will increase the likelihood extremely.

Once you set up your website analytics for Pinterest, you'll also be able to better track what's being pinned from your site.

4 | Write a bio for your audience

Keep your bio short and consistent with your bios on other social networks.

What's the benefit to the visitor? What do you help people accomplish or overcome?

Example of a Good Pinterest Business Bio

PRO TIP: Include a link to your freebie opt-in, like Melyssa does above. It's not an active link, but it's easy to copy and paste.

5 | Create + Organize your boards

Think about your pinner's interests. What do they care about and what will they want to see when they come to your board? Tailor your pins for them.

If you're a lifestyle blogger, create boards for the different categories of lifestyle that you are blogging about and what your audience would be interested in.

Examples for Lifestyle Pinterest Boards:

Decor
DIY products
Gardening and sustainability
Fashion
Family
Travel
Recipes

Examples for Business Pinterest Boards:

Office design
SEO and web design
Marketing
Social Media
Networking
Client experience and appreciation
Work- Life balance

Your boards should be listed in order of relevance to your audience. The mobile app is now showing boards according to most recent activity, but desktop users will still see them in the order you choose.

PRO TIP: Have a board specifically for your own blog posts and content. When you create a new pin, add it to your own board as well as the board categories it falls under. This makes it easy for new visitors to see all of your pins in one place and allows you to pin on more than one board.