Pinterest is good for affiliate marketing. Its visual appeal, long shelf life, and rich pins feature can increase link clicks. Through its search engine functionality, content remains discoverable long after initial posting. It's also suitable for SEO like incorporating keywords into pin titles and descriptions. Pinterest's active user base makes it an ideal platform for targeted, high-intent marketing.
According to a Reddit user, Pinterest is one of the best ways to market affiliate products. Pinterest allows you to use your direct affiliate link on the pin itself. They also suggest using the tool Pin Generator to generate pins directly from affiliate websites like Amazon and ShareASale. It also offers templates, stock images, text overlays, and customization options.
However, Pinterest affiliate marketing has several drawbacks. Pinterest has strict rules about linking. Your pins should offer real value beyond just promoting a product. The platform's algorithm also prefers new content so older pins might not show up as much. You will need to create new pins if you want to earn consistent income from affiliate commissions.
In this article, I’ll explain more in detail why Pinterest is good for affiliate marketing. I’ll also give tips to promote your affiliate marketing on Pinterest. At the end, I’ll show you another way to make money online that may be better than Pinterest affiliate marketing.
6 Reasons Why Pinterest is Good for Affiliate Marketing
1. Pinterest Has a Strong Visual Appeal
Pinterest is a visual platform, and compelling images drive clicks to affiliate products. When people use Pinterest, they're drawn to visual content that pops up on their feed. According to Forbes, 91% of consumers prefer interactive and visual content.
You can increase clicks and sales by making standout pins and organizing them into well-thought-out boards. Each pin shows your affiliate products. They perform better when you use high-quality images, keep a consistent style, and add brand elements.
According to Gia Anahs who runs the Glowithgia channel on YouTube, the visual nature of Pinterest makes it an ideal platform for promoting aesthetically appealing products like home decor, crafting items, and clothing. This enhances the potential for viral content and high conversion rates. Gia also advises to a keep a consistent aesthetic across all your pins to improve brand recognition.
2. Pinterest Has a Long Shelf Life
Pins have a long shelf life. They will continue to drive traffic to affiliate links long after you post your content. It’s because Pinterest acts like a search engine that displays pins based on relevance instead of posting time. Affiliate marketers can see returns on a pin for months or even years.
Scott M. Graffius, project management practitioner, found that Pinterest posts last about 3.75 months. This is longer compared to YouTube (8.8 days), Instagram (20 hours), Facebook (105 minutes), and X (24 minutes). Pins containing your affiliate link can continue to show up in users' Discover pages even without active promotion or paid ads.
Video pins, Shoppable pins, and Rich pins are the trends in affiliate marketing on Pinterest. Affiliate marketers can dynamically present products through the use of Video pins, like Idea pins. Shoppable pins allow users to make purchases directly from Pinterest. Rich pins provide real-time updates like pricing and product availability.
3. Pinterest Has a Targeted Audience
Pinterest users are more open to discovering new products and interacting with your affiliate content. They use the platform to actively seek ideas, inspiration, and specific products to purchase. You get a targeted audience with a clear intent of buying.
Heather Farris, who runs Pin Profit Academy, says that while majority of Pinterest's audience is in the "awareness phase" of the buyer journey, they're also very receptive to discovering new things. She explains that this behavior influences the types of pins that perform well on the platform. These include thought-provoking videos or images, list-based content, or how-to guides.
Pinterest also offers audience targeting. Audience targeting allows you to connect with a particular demographic. According to Pinterest Business, 42% of their global user base are Gen Z, and they use the platform specifically to find information about products or brands.
You can target users who have visited your website. You can also focus on people from a customer list you upload, like emails or Android ad IDs. Another option is targeting individuals who have interacted with Pins from your verified domain.
4. Pinterest Has High Engagement
Pinterest has a high user engagement, which means higher chances of getting clicks to your affiliate links. According to Sprout Social, Pinterest sees a 50% year-over-year increase of buyable items being saved to boards. Users engage with pin content to find new brands and products to buy from.
Corbin White of Zoco Marketing says that there's a cumulative benefit to engagement on Pinterest. As more pins get higher views, they collectively drive more consistent traffic and engagement over time. Corbin notes that you only need a few pins to rank and perform well at the start. These will help boost your profile’s overall authority, which makes it easier for your other pins to rank.
To leverage Pinterest ads for affiliate marketing, select products that align with your audience's interests to increase engagement. Create visually appealing ads highlighting the product benefits. Use vibrant images or videos along with compelling call-to-actions like "Shop Now" or "Learn More" to encourage clicks.
5. Rich Pins on Pinterest Get Instant Views
Rich pins give customers more details about your affiliate product to encourage their buying decision. They're a special type of Pinterest pin that automatically updates information from your website onto your pins. These include current prices, product descriptions, and availability. Sprout Social says that 93% of users turn to Pinterest when planning their purchases.
According to digital marketing coach Neal Schaffer, rich pins enhance content promotion on Pinterest. These pins automatically update with current information from your website. It improves the likelihood of clicks through enhanced user experience. The metadata associated with rich pins helps Pinterest better index and serve the content to relevant searches.
Rich pins are available in different formats, including Product pins, Recipe pins, and Article pins. Product pins are great for affiliate marketing because they show up-to-date pricing and product details. This helps users make informed decisions directly on Pinterest. Recipe pins display ingredients and cooking times, perfect for food bloggers. Article pins include headlines, authors, and a short description, which can attract traffic to blog posts with affiliate links.
6. Pinterest is Suitable for Search Engine Optimization
Pinterest acts as a search engine where users can search keywords related to your affiliate products. This increases the visibility of your offers. When users pin your content to their boards, it also creates backlinks that improve your site authority.
Pinterest marketer Katie Grazer shares that Pinterest is not just a social media platform, but a visual search engine. She notes that you can apply SEO "hacks" to improve the visibility of pins, attract more views, followers, clicks, and sales. Katie recommends pinning new content to the most relevant Pinterest board first to utilize the "keyword juice" and help the Pinterest algorithm recognize and rank the pin. This strategy has helped her gain over 35,000 clicks from just a single pin.
To improve your SEO on Pinterest, start by using keywords in your pin descriptions, titles, and your profile. Include these keywords naturally in your pins and board descriptions. You can search for relevant keywords within your niche on Pinterest's search bar.
Use high-quality, attractive images because eye-catching pins get more engagement. Regularly update your boards and pin new content to keep your profile active and engaging. Doing these optimizes your profile for affiliate marketing on Pinterest.
6 Tips to Improve Your Affiliate Marketing Success on Pinterest
How Does Pinterest Compare to Other Platforms for Affiliate Marketing?
Pinterest works better than other platforms for affiliate marketing because of its strong visual appeal and SEO-like discovery features. This makes it ideal for promoting products with lasting visibility. Pinterest pins can drive traffic for months unlike Facebook posts or Instagram reels.
FEATURES
Visual Appeal
Extremely high. Focused on images and videos.
High. Mix of text, images, and videos.
Extremely high. Primarily images and videos.
Content Lifespan
Long. Pins can drive traffic for months or years.
Short. Posts quickly lose visibility.
Short. Posts are quickly buried in the feed.
Audience Engagement
High for niche, visually driven content.
Varies. Generally good for broad engagement.
High, especially for trendy and visual content.
Target Audience
Predominantly female. Interested in DIY, fashion, and home decor
Broad demographic reach
Younger audiences focused on lifestyle and aesthetics.
SEO Capabilities
Strong. Acts as a visual search engine.
Limited SEO impact.
Limited SEO impact.
Affiliate Link Policies
Allows direct affiliate links with proper disclosures.
Restrictions on some affiliate practices.
Restrictions on some affiliate practices.
Ease of Promoting Products
High due to visual nature and user intent.
Moderate, depending on ad strategies.
High, especially with features like shoppable posts.
Adaptability for Ads
Excellent, with customizable targeting options.
Excellent, with customizable targeting options.
Good, but limited compared to Facebook.
However, the potential risks of affiliate marketing on Pinterest are related to its algorithm changes and strict content policies. Frequent changes in the algorithm can suddenly decrease the visibility of your pins. This affects traffic and engagement without prior warning.
Pinterest enforces strict guidelines on affiliate links and the overall quality of pins. Non-compliance with these guidelines can lead to penalties. This includes reduced visibility or even account suspension. Relying on high-quality visuals may also require significant resources. This could be a barrier for marketers without access to professional design tools or skills.
How Profitable is Affiliate Marketing on Pinterest?
Affiliate marketing is highly profitable on Pinterest, bringing in between $0.05-$5 per click, per Ahzam Ansari. You can earn $50 a week if you get 100 clicks per day. If you get 1,000 clicks, you earn a gross profit of $500-5,000. However, getting to a rate of $5 per click means you might need to pay more in ads to get more users to engage with your content. In this case, your net profit will be lower.
Converting users from paid Pinterest content costs $6-10 per thousand impressions or cost-per-mille (CPM). You will need to spend around $60 to $100 if you invest in paid ads on Pinterest. If your goal is to receive 1,000 clicks per week, you would need 100,000 impressions with an average click-through rate (CTR) of 1%.
Ahzam also shares that some Pinterest affiliates are not paid based on the sale of a product. They are paid through a commission from the merchant who sells the product through Pinterest. You won't earn any profit if you don't generate sales, even if you get high traffic to your pin content and affiliate link.
You can earn about $8 from a $100 purchase in certain niches according to Santrel Media. This is because some affiliate programs offer commission rates ranging from 1% to 8%. With consistent, he adds that you could eventually earn up to $20,000 per month. Some niches he recommends with high earning potential are gardening, fashion, home decor, and cooking.
Dave Nick on YouTube says an account with zero followers was able to attract 4,000 monthly views due to the strategic use of trending content and viral pins. He also adds that an account with 24,000 followers was able to generate 7.7 million views per month, potentially earning at least $10,000 a month. This suggests that well-optimized Pinterest accounts in popular niches with high engagement rates can yield substantial income through affiliate marketing.
What are the Best Niches for Pinterest Affiliate Marketing?
This is because Pinterest users often search for inspiration and practical ideas that they can incorporate into their lifestyles. Home decor items visually enhance living spaces and are popular among users looking to beautify their homes. Fashion and clothing pins allow users to explore the latest trends and assemble their perfect outfits.
Beauty products benefit from the visual format of Pinterest, where tutorials and before-and-after photos help demonstrate product effectiveness. According to The Pull Agency, you’re 82% more likely to reach a beauty enthusiast on Pinterest compared to other social media platforms.
DIY crafts attract a large number of Pinterest users who enjoy crafting and are always on the lookout for new projects. According to Rankupper, DIY and craft items are the most popular category on Pinterest.
Is There a Better Way to Make Money Online Than Pinterest Affiliate Marketing?
Local lead generation is a better way to make money online than Pinterest affiliate marketing. Pinterest affiliate marketing often requires continuous content creation, relies heavily on fluctuating platform algorithms, and demands constant engagement to drive sales, which can be unpredictable and labor-intensive. These factors can make affiliate marketing unpredictable and labor-intensive.
Unlike Pinterest affiliate marketing, local lead generation doesn’t rely on constant content updates or algorithm changes that affect visibility and engagement. Instead, once your lead generation site is ranked and optimized, it requires much less maintenance and doesn't face the typical content saturation or rapid decay of visibility that social media content does. This stability allows for more predictable revenue streams, which it easier to scale without the same level of ongoing effort.
The local lead generation model offers a more stable and passive income stream. By setting up websites that generate leads for local businesses, you can earn money each time you refer a customer. These businesses are willing to pay $5-$1,000 per lead. You can then scale by expanding into other niches. For example, I created 50+ local lead gen websites. Together, they generate $52,000 per month.
Consider local lead generation if you want to build a passive income stream that leverages simple websites to serve unmet needs within communities. This model offers an effective way to bridge local demand with the right services, while providing you with a steady source of money online.
