How to Write Pinterest Pin Titles That Rank

Do you know what to title your pins? And do you know what belongs on the pin image versus what belongs in the actual title field on Pinterest?

Your pin title is doing two jobs at once. It tells Pinterest how to rank you, and it tells a human being whether to stop scrolling. Most people are writing for one of those two.

What a Pin Title Actually Is

When you go to create a pin, the title field sits right at the top. It runs up to 100 characters, and about 40 is a good working minimum.

A good one does four things. It adds context, sparks emotion, complements the description that follows, and carries your keywords.

There are three main components to content on Pinterest: the pin image, the pin title, and your call to action.

Here's the part people skip. Pinterest reads the text sitting on your image. Being a visual platform means the design carries weight, and the words on top of that design get read through visual search. So your title lives in two places, the title field and the graphic itself.

How to Write Pinterest Pin Titles That Rank: Spotify

How to Write Pinterest Pin Titles That Rank: Apple

1. Include Keywords, Then Stop

If I search "destination wedding" on Pinterest, the pins that come up have that exact phrase in the title. When you leave that phrase out, Pinterest has a hard time knowing how to rank you.

Pinterest operates closely to the way Google does. It's reading for the search intent of its users, so give it the words those users are typing.

Then stop. Keyword stuffing on Pinterest behaves exactly like keyword stuffing in a blog post or a meta description. Repeating the same phrase over and over in hopes of ranking higher works about as well there as it does anywhere else. One or two keywords, used once in the title and once in the description.

2. The First 30 Characters Carry the Weight

Titles can run to 100 characters. Pinterest displays roughly the first 30 of them in search results.

Go search something and look at what shows. "How to plan a destination..." and then it cuts off.

So lead with the part that has to land. The other 70 characters still matter, and they show up once someone opens the pin. But the first 30 sit under your image in search, doing the work of grabbing attention alongside the graphic. Be clear and concise right from the start, and keep your title from getting chopped mid-thought.

3. Give Each Pin Its Own Words

When the text on your image, the title, and the description all say the identical thing, your own content ends up competing with itself for the same spot in search.

Write something unique for each pin.

And test your phrasings, because there are more ways into a topic than you'd guess. Search "affiliate marketing" and look at what else surfaces: make money affiliate marketing, affiliate marketing without a blog, most profitable niches, affiliate programs, affiliate for beginners. Those are all different keywords reaching different people. Try them and watch which ones pull.

4. Skip the Salesy Words

Avoid "click" in your titles. Tailwind has reported that including it can limit your reach on Pinterest. I'll be honest that I've never seen Pinterest confirm that directly, so hold it loosely.

Here's what I'll say as a user myself. "Click now" and "buy now" slide right past me unless I'm already sold. What stops me is emotion.

So take a step back and think about it differently. Educate, inform, create a sense of wonder, give someone a reason to care. Numbers and lists do this well. "5 things you should never do if..." pulls people in, and you can follow it in the description with something like "I bet you didn't know number two."

Compare "let's manifest" against "7 of the most powerful money affirmations ever," or "feeling stressed? try this instead." Those second ones pinpoint why someone should care.

5. Write Title Case for Humans, Keywords for Pinterest

Use title case. It makes your pins look structured and visually appealing, and it draws the eye.

That's the thing to hold onto here. Title case serves the user. Keywords serve Pinterest. You're writing for two audiences in one line of text, and both of them need something from you.

Ask yourself what this user wants to see, and what Pinterest needs in order to classify your pin correctly and put it in front of that user.

Final Pin Drop

Five rules, quickly. Include keywords. Prioritize the first 30 characters. Give each pin its own words and test different phrasings. Skip salesy words like click and buy now. Write in title case so you're speaking to the algorithm and the human at the same time.

Your title is small real estate doing enormous work. Give it the words people are already typing, and the emotion that makes them stop.

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