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Last updated on January 24th, 2025
Whether you’ve been DIYing your
You’ve probably seen those ultimate guides that dive into every single metric on
Instead, I’m breaking it down to the top 5 metrics that actually matter for creators and bloggers so you can take action and see real results.
Here’s what you’ll find in this guide:
- The top 5 metrics you need to know
- How to interpret them when they’re low
- Practical tips to improve them
- How to prioritize metrics based on your goals
- Which metrics aren’t as important as you might think (and why)
Without further ado, let’s get to it.
Finding the Analytics Hub
To see your analytics dashboard, you need to have a business account.
If you don’t have one already, set up that business account first, and then come right back here.
Once you get that out of the way, you can find your analytics hub in the top left-hand menu under “Analytics Overview.”
Now, let’s dive into the specific metrics.
The 5 Pinterest Metrics That Matter
Let’s break down these metrics by walking through how an average
1. Impressions
Say you’re looking for a gift for Mother’s Day. You type “Mother’s Day gifts” into the search bar and press enter. All the pins being displayed in your search results are counted as Impressions.
Definition: Impressions are the number of times your Pins are displayed on users’ screens, whether in search results, home feeds, or category feeds.
If impressions are low: Your Pins aren’t ranking well in search results, likely because they’re not keyword-optimized.
Tips to improve:
- Ensure your keywords are placed throughout your pin titles, descriptions, and board names. If you’d like to know all the 10 spots where keywords should be used – check out this keyword guide.
- Use relevant keywords that align with your content. For example, a blog post about traveling to Finland for the first time could use keywords like – Finland travel guide, Finland travel checklist, winter outfit essential for travel, best hotels in Finland, etc.
2. Pin Clicks
Let’s say a Pin catches your eye while you’re scrolling through the search results. When you click to enlarge it, that’s a Pin Click.
Definition: Pin clicks measure how often users click on your Pin to see it in more detail.
If pin clicks are low: Your Pins aren’t visually engaging enough to stop the scroll.
Tips to improve:
- Use bold, contrasting colors and readable fonts.
- Add compelling text overlays that create curiosity or highlight benefits.
- Avoid blending in – make your Pins stand out by analyzing what others in your niche are doing and doing it differently. One trick I like to use is to add animations to my pins so that they stand out amongst a sea of static pins.
3. Outbound Clicks
If you’re interested enough to click through to the pin’s URL to learn more, that’s an Outbound Click.
Definition: Outbound clicks are the number of times users click on your pin to visit the destination website (like a blog, shop, or YouTube channel).
If outbound clicks are low: Your Pin copy isn’t compelling enough, or it’s not targeting the right audience.
Tips to improve: Using the Mother’s Day example:
- Get more specific: “Mother’s Day Gifts for Budget Shoppers” instead of generic ones like “Great Gifts for Mom.”
- Spark curiosity: “The #1 handmade custom gift to show your mom you care – click here to get it!” Doesn’t that make you even a little curious to find out what that gift is?
4. Saves
Let’s say you find a Mother’s Day Pin that catches your interest.
But, you’re not ready to click through to the website—maybe you’re short on time, so you want to save it for future use on your own
Definition: Saves indicate interest or intent to revisit your content. These are a great metric for engagement.
If saves are low: Your content isn’t resonating enough with your audience.
Tips to improve:
- Experiment with different formats, like video or animated Pins.
- Refine your copy to connect emotionally or solve a specific problem for your audience. Remember to get specific with your copy – see the example above.
5. Engagement
Think of all the actions you can do with a pin – click on it, click through to the site, save, comment, like, etc. All of these combined give you the engagement metric.
If engagement is low: Since it’s a combination of metrics, focus on improving the four metrics above to boost overall engagement.
And that’s all you really need to know. Seeing it from the user’s perspective makes these terms easier to understand for me instead of trying to memorize their definitions, so I hope it did the same for you.
Now, let’s go into which metrics you should focus on based on your goals.
Which Pinterest metrics to focus on
This depends on what your goal is on
Brand Awareness: Focus on Impressions to get more eyes on your content.
Website Traffic: Prioritize Outbound Clicks, as they directly drive visitors to your site. This is my #1 metric as I mostly use
Revenue: Prioritise conversion insights and return on ad spend – conversion insights are only available to verified merchants. This isn’t covered in this article as I’m not a part of the verified merchant program so for more info on this, check out this article.
Pinterest metrics that aren’t that important
Monthly Views
Monthly views aren’t as important as you may think. Sure, having 10M+ monthly views looks impressive and gives you “street cred”, but they don’t translate into direct revenue for your business.
Why? Because they don’t reflect how many people actually click through to your site or buy your products. And monthly views fluctuate ALOT because
Monthly Views vs. Impressions
- Impressions: These show how often your content appears on
Pinterest , whether it’s in the home feed, search results, or category feeds. - Monthly Views: This is the total number of times any Pins associated with your account have been seen over the past 30 days—including third-party Pins you’ve saved from other creators. This is why including pins from other creators in your content schedule can quickly improve your monthly views, but it doesn’t help to get people to your site.
While both metrics measure visibility, Impressions give you a clearer, real-time view of how well your Pins perform. In contrast, Monthly Views are more of a broad overview of your content’s overall reach.
Followers
From what I’ve gathered from listening to
Even if your follower count drops—like when
The takeaway here is to focus on the quality of your followers and how engaged they are rather than just aiming for a big number. A smaller, engaged audience will consistently outperform a large, uninterested one.
Conclusion
So there you have it – the most important metrics for most creators and bloggers to focus on.
If you’d like a system where you can track the metrics mentioned above in one place, then check out Pin Planner OS – it’s exactly what I use to stay consistent on
Let me know in the comments below which metric you’ll prioritize next for your content strategy.
RELATED READING:
- Everything you need to know about organising your Pinterest boards
- 9 Pinterest mistakes that could be hindering your growth
- 8 Pinterest marketing questions you should be asking yourself for sustainable growth