Selling on Pinterest: The Complete 2026 Guide for WooCommerce Stores

Pinterest is not a social network—it’s a visual search engine where people plan purchases. When someone pins your product, they’re saving it to buy later. This planning mindset makes Pinterest one of the highest-intent shopping platforms available. This guide covers everything you need to sell your WooCommerce products on Pinterest.

What is Pinterest Shopping?

Pinterest offers several commerce features that turn the platform into a shopping destination:

Product Pins - Pins that show real-time pricing, availability, and a direct link to your store. When users click, they go straight to your product page.

Catalogs - Upload your full product feed to Pinterest. Products automatically become shoppable pins that appear in search and recommendations.

Collections - Curated groups of products displayed together, perfect for gift guides, seasonal roundups, or themed collections.

Shopping Ads - Paid promotion that puts your products in front of people actively searching for items like yours.

All of these work together: your catalog creates product pins, which can be organized into collections and promoted through shopping ads.

Why Pinterest Works for E-commerce

High Purchase Intent

Pinterest users are planners. They’re not scrolling mindlessly—they’re actively searching for:

• Wedding inspiration (and vendors)
• Home renovation ideas (and products)
• Gift ideas (and where to buy them)
• Recipes (and the ingredients/tools needed)

97% of Pinterest searches are unbranded, meaning users are open to discovering new products and brands.

The Save-to-Buy Behavior

When someone pins your product, they’re creating a personal wishlist. Unlike a quick scroll past an Instagram ad, a saved pin represents genuine interest.

Saved pins convert weeks or months later. Pinterest’s long content lifespan means a pin from 6 months ago can still drive traffic and sales today.

Buying Power

Pinterest’s audience skews toward higher household incomes:

• 45% of US households with income $100K+ use Pinterest
• Users spend 80% more on retail purchases than non-users
• Average order value from Pinterest traffic tends to be higher than other social platforms

Organic Reach

Unlike Facebook and Instagram where organic reach has declined, Pinterest still offers significant organic discovery:

• Product pins appear in search results
• The algorithm surfaces relevant products in home feeds
• Pins can go “viral” and drive traffic for years

Pinterest Audience: Who Uses It and What They Buy

Demographics

Demographic	Pinterest Index
Women 25-54	Highest usage
Household income $100K+	Over-indexes
College-educated	Over-indexes
Parents	Over-indexes
Urban/Suburban	Higher than rural

While Pinterest started as predominantly female, male users have grown 40%+ in recent years.

What They’re Shopping For

Top shopping categories on Pinterest:

1. Home & Garden - Furniture, decor, DIY supplies
2. Fashion - Apparel, accessories, shoes
3. Beauty - Skincare, makeup, haircare
4. Weddings - Everything wedding-related
5. Food & Drink - Kitchen tools, specialty foods
6. Parenting - Baby products, kids’ items
7. Gifts - For all occasions
8. DIY & Crafts - Supplies, tools, patterns

Seasonal Behavior

Pinterest users plan ahead:

• Holiday shopping starts in September
• Summer planning starts in March
• Wedding planning averages 6-12 months ahead

Time your content to match this planning behavior.

Setting Up Pinterest for Business

Create or Convert to Business Account

1. Go to business.pinterest.com
2. Click “Join as a business” or “Convert existing account”
3. Enter your business name and website
4. Select your business type
5. Connect any existing personal boards (optional)

Claim Your Website

Claiming your website unlocks analytics and shows your profile on all pins from your domain.

1. Go to Settings > Claimed Accounts
2. Click “Claim” next to Websites
3. Choose a verification method:
   • HTML tag - Add a meta tag to your homepage (easiest)
   • HTML file - Upload a verification file
   • DNS record - Add a TXT record to your domain
4. Click “Submit”

Set Up Rich Pins

Rich Pins automatically sync information from your website to your pins.

For product rich pins:

1. Add Open Graph or Schema.org product markup to your WooCommerce product pages (most themes include this)
2. Validate your markup using Pinterest’s Rich Pin Validator
3. Apply for Rich Pins (one-time process)
4. Pinterest reviews and approves (usually within 24 hours)

Once approved, all product pins from your site will include real-time pricing and availability.

Creating Your Product Catalog

The catalog is where all your products live in Pinterest’s system.

Access Pinterest Business Hub

1. Go to business.pinterest.com
2. Click on “Ads” then “Catalogs”
3. Or navigate directly to your business dashboard

Catalog Requirements

Your product feed must include:

Field	Required	Description
id	Yes	Unique product identifier
title	Yes	Product name
description	Yes	Product description
link	Yes	Product page URL
image_link	Yes	Main product image URL
price	Yes	Price with currency
availability	Yes	in stock, out of stock, preorder

Recommended fields:

Field	Purpose
brand	Brand name
google_product_category	Product categorization
product_type	Your category hierarchy
additional_image_link	Extra product images
sale_price	Discounted price

Generating Your Feed

Using a WooCommerce plugin:

1. Install a product feed plugin like Product Feed for WooCommerce
2. Create a new feed with Pinterest as the channel
3. Map your WooCommerce fields to Pinterest’s required fields
4. Generate the feed and copy the URL

The plugin handles format conversion and ensures compatibility with Pinterest’s requirements.

Feed format: Pinterest accepts XML (RSS 2.0) or CSV/TSV formats. XML is generally more reliable for scheduled updates.

Uploading Your Catalog

1. In Pinterest Business Hub, go to Catalogs
2. Click “Create catalog” or “Add data source”
3. Choose your feed format (RSS/XML recommended)
4. Enter your feed URL
5. Set update frequency (daily recommended)
6. Review and submit

Pinterest will process your feed (takes a few hours for initial upload). Check back for any errors or warnings.

Catalog Processing Times

Catalog Size	Initial Processing	Updates
Under 1,000 products	1-2 hours	Minutes
1,000-10,000 products	2-4 hours	Under 1 hour
10,000+ products	4-24 hours	1-2 hours

Shoppable Pins and Collections

Once your catalog is live, products become shoppable pins automatically.

Product Pin Features

Each product pin shows:

• Product image
• Title
• Current price
• In-stock status
• Your store name
• Direct link to purchase

When prices or availability change in your feed, pins update automatically.

Creating Collections

Collections group related products for discovery:

1. Go to Pinterest Business Hub > Catalogs
2. Click “Create collection”
3. Name your collection
4. Add products (manually or by filters)
5. Choose a cover image
6. Publish

Effective collection ideas:

• “Gifts Under $50”
• “Spring Home Refresh”
• “Wedding Guest Outfit Ideas”
• “Back to School Essentials”
• “Bestsellers of 2026”

Collections appear on your profile and can be promoted as ads.

Shopping Spotlights

Pinterest occasionally features product collections in Shopping Spotlights—curated editorial features. Having well-organized collections increases your chances of being featured.

Pinterest SEO: How People Discover Products

Pinterest is a search engine. Optimizing for search is crucial.

How Pinterest Search Works

Users search using keywords. Pinterest returns:

1. Pins with matching titles/descriptions
2. Pins from boards with matching names
3. Related pins based on engagement patterns

Keyword Research for Pinterest

Use Pinterest itself:

1. Type a keyword in Pinterest search
2. Look at the suggested completions
3. Note the category tabs that appear
4. These are actual search queries users make

Pinterest Trends: Go to trends.pinterest.com to see trending searches by season and category.

Google Keyword Planner: Pinterest users often search similarly to Google users. Cross-reference for ideas.

Optimizing Product Titles

Include relevant keywords naturally:

❌ “Blue Dress” ✅ “Navy Blue Maxi Dress - Summer Wedding Guest Outfit”

❌ “Wooden Cutting Board” ✅ “Large Walnut Cutting Board - Handmade Kitchen Gift”

Optimizing Descriptions

Write descriptions for both users and search:

• Include primary keywords in the first sentence
• Add secondary/related keywords naturally
• Keep descriptions 100-300 characters
• Include a call to action

Example: “Handwoven rattan basket perfect for organizing blankets, toys, or laundry. This boho storage basket adds texture to any room. Sustainably made with natural materials. Click to shop now!”

Board Strategy

Organize your boards around search terms:

• Name boards with keywords (not clever puns)
• Add keyword-rich board descriptions
• Use 5-10 boards for your main categories
• Create seasonal/themed boards

Free vs. Paid: Organic Reach vs. Shopping Ads

Organic Pinterest

Pros:

• No ad spend required
• Long content lifespan (pins last months/years)
• Builds compounding traffic over time
• Establishes brand presence

Cons:

• Slower results (takes months to build)
• Less control over who sees your products
• Requires consistent content creation

Best for: Long-term brand building, stores with strong visual content, businesses with patience to grow organically.

Pinterest Shopping Ads

Ad formats:

Format	Best For
Standard Shopping Ads	Promoting individual products
Collection Ads	Showcasing product groups
Carousel Ads	Multiple images/products
Video Ads	Demonstrations, tutorials

Targeting options:

• Keywords (search targeting)
• Interests (behavior-based)
• Demographics
• Actalike audiences (similar to lookalikes)
• Retargeting (website visitors)

Pros:

• Immediate visibility
• Precise targeting
• Performance tracking
• Scale quickly

Cons:

• Ongoing cost
• Requires campaign management
• Results stop when you stop paying

Best for: Product launches, seasonal pushes, scaling proven products, retargeting cart abandoners.

Recommended Approach

Start organic, add paid strategically:

1. Months 1-3: Build catalog, create content, optimize for SEO
2. Month 3+: Test Shopping Ads with proven products
3. Ongoing: Use organic for brand building, paid for specific goals

Success Metrics and Benchmarks

Pinterest Analytics

Track in Pinterest Analytics:

Metric	What It Measures
Impressions	How often your pins are seen
Engagements	Saves + clicks + reactions
Pin clicks	Clicks on the pin image
Outbound clicks	Clicks to your website
Saves	Times your pin was saved
Engagement rate	Engagements ÷ impressions

Benchmarks

Metric	Average	Good
Engagement rate	0.5%	1%+
Save rate	0.2%	0.5%+
Click-through rate	0.2%	0.5%+
Outbound click rate	0.1%	0.3%+

Conversion Tracking

Install the Pinterest Tag on your WooCommerce site to track:

• Page visits
• Add to cart
• Checkout
• Revenue

This data feeds into Pinterest’s conversion optimization and helps measure true ROI.

FAQ

Q: How long does it take to see results on Pinterest?

Pinterest is a slow burn. Expect 3-6 months to build meaningful organic traffic. Paid ads can produce faster results but require budget.

Q: Can I use the same images as my website?

Yes, but consider Pinterest’s vertical format. Images should be 2:3 ratio (1000x1500 pixels) for best performance. Create Pinterest-specific versions of key product images.

Q: How often should I pin?

Consistency matters more than volume. Start with 5-10 pins per day. Use a scheduler to spread them out.

Q: Do I need to create new content constantly?

Not necessarily. Unlike Instagram where old content disappears, you can re-pin your own content. Fresh pins (new images of same products) do perform better though.

Q: Should I link to product pages or collection pages?

Link product pins directly to product pages. Create separate pins for collection pages if you want to drive category traffic.

Q: What’s the difference between a pin and a product pin?

A regular pin is any image you upload. A product pin specifically comes from your catalog and includes shopping information (price, availability, direct purchase link).

Q: How do I handle products that go out of stock?

Your product feed should update availability automatically. Pinterest will stop showing out-of-stock products in Shopping Ads and may reduce organic distribution.

Q: Can I use Pinterest if I sell services instead of products?

Pinterest works best for physical products, but service businesses can use it for content marketing. Create pins linking to blog posts, portfolios, or lead magnets.

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Start with Google Shopping (Free)

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