Getting your image pinned on Pinterest is an excellent way to get radical traffic to your blog. If you’ve ever wondered how to get your blog name tied to that image, read on!
Disclaimer: I have tested this many times and found this content to be accurate – if you find differently, let me know and I will update this post!
Pinterest is just one of the many ways to increase traffic to your blog. If someone pins your photo on a Pinterest board, you can literally see your site stats spike astronomically overnight because of one simple pin.
That’s often a dream of many new and seasoned bloggers!
Want to live the dream?
It’s simple.
Brand your images with your website name so that any time the “Pin It” button is pressed, your post name and website name automatically appears as the text below the photo – branding that pin not only with the image & a linkback to the recipe, but also your blog name & the mastermind behind it!
There are two ways you can do this:
- the name of the image itself (this is the way I do it)
- adding your blog name to the Alternative Text field for the image in your Media Library in WordPress
Here are a few file naming examples for your images to achieve this:
- Chocolate Espresso Hazelnut Buttercrunch Candy | Inspiration Kitchen.jpg
- Peanut Butter Banana Pumpkin Smoothie – Inspiration Kitchen.jpg
My preferred method of naming my photos is to use the vertical bar ( | ) as a separator between the file name and my blog name because it keeps a clear, linear separation between the two. I love when things are clean and simple! The vertical bar is typically found on the same key on the keyboard as the \ backslash key.
If you opt not to re-name your image to something descriptive, alternatively you can add text to the Alternative Text field for the image in the Media Library, and this will append that text to the Pinterest pin.
The other reason I name my photos in this fashion is so that if anyone saves the image to their computer (to remember the recipe and post for later), the filename includes my website name. Of course, they can rename it, but it gives them (and me) an opportunity for them to come back and visit!
The down-sides are:
- it takes a bit more time to rename your photos
- its more difficult to map the original image to the re-named image
- (this may not seem important until some big company wants to buy the exact RAW format version of the smaller .jpg image you’ve posted!). I personally keep track via an Excel spreadsheet of all my posts!
- (this may not seem important until some big company wants to buy the exact RAW format version of the smaller .jpg image you’ve posted!). I personally keep track via an Excel spreadsheet of all my posts!
The up-sides are:
- search engines often use the file-name (and alternative text) as an algorithm for finding your images to display in search results
- you, the author (and your blog!), are branded as the original source of the image and your recipe!
I hope you find this post helpful!
Cheers,
Kristi
Marcie says
I love all of our helpful tips! Have a wonderful thanksgiving!
Kristi says
Thanks Marcie! It really makes me happy to hear that they are helping people – so thank you for commenting!!! It’s so much appreciated!
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods says
I couldn’t agree more with your tip Kristi! It may take a little more time, but it is worth the effort. I thought I was organized, but if you have a spreadsheet…you are amazing!! I’ve yet to master xcel. It seems to take me forever to put something together! lol
Kristi says
Thanks Cindy! I’ve learned so much over the past year and I love passing on the tips I’ve learned. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Melanie @ Carmel Moments says
Thanks for sharing. I do try to typically do this but then I get lazy. I need to step it up a notch again!
Kristi says
It’s easy to get lazy! It’s happened to me many times. 🙂 Have a Happy Thanksgiving Melanie!
Judit + Corina @WineDineDaily says
Thank you for sharing Kristi! Have to follow your tips the next time we pin.
Happy Thanksgiving:)
J+C
Kristi says
Thank you! I am so glad you stopped by and visited. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!
Josefine {The Smoothie Lover} says
What a great tip! I’ve heard about renaming the file, but I’ve never thought of adding the blog name. Thanks!
Kristi says
Great Josefine! I’m so glad you found it helpful! Good luck!
Consuelo @ Honey & Figs says
It was so helpful indeed! Thanks for the lovely post 😉
Kristi says
So glad you liked it! I love helping others – so I’m glad to hear you find it helpful!
Samina | The Cupcake Confession says
Kristi!!!! This is so informative!!!!! I NEVER rename my photos and they’re always in the form of some random numbers! I’m going to follow your instructions every time I use Pinterest now! 🙂 Thanksssss! xx
Kristi says
I’m glad to help Samina! I’ll look forward to pinning your photos now – so you get credit! Have a wonderful weekend!
Kelly says
What a great post, thanks so much for the helpful tips Kristi! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy the rest of the weekend 🙂
Kristi says
Thanks Kelly! I’m glad you found it helpful!
Kristi says
I’m so glad you found it helpful Kelly! Have a great weekend!
[email protected] says
I really need to get in the habit of doing this! Thanks for the tips!
Kristi says
You’re welcome! Hope it works for you!
Shelley @ Two Healthy Kitchens says
Awesome info! You’ve been rockin’ the tutorials lately, no doubt! 😀
Kristi says
Thanks Shelley – I love to help others with what I’ve learned over the last year. I want to pay it forward! Happy holidays!
Aimee / Wallflower Girl says
Thanks for sharing the tip! I am going to pin this and try it out later 🙂
Kristi says
Let me know how it works for you Aimee! If I need to update the instructions I will. I did test it several times. Good luck!
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says
I am all about the Pinterest “branding” as you call it! I feel like I was a little slow to hop on board this train…
I think whether your strategy will work or not depends on the particular Pin It plugin that you have. On mine I would change the name and the alt text until my fingers froze up, and it still wasn’t adding the details into the Pinterest Description box. And then I realized that all I had to do was change the settings in the plugin itself from my WordPress Dashboard. You could select a combination of data and also the order in which the info is displayed. It has limited options for the order but at least it’s something and I don’t have to type all the data in myself.
Kristi says
Cool! What plug-in are you using Lindsey? Because I don’t use a plug-in for that purpose, so I’m very interested!
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says
The Plug-in (once installed) is called Pinterest Pin It Button for Images. Here’s a link if that helps! http://wordpress.org/plugins/pinterest-pin-it-button-for-images/
I am super impressed that you aren’t using a plug-in! I would have no idea how to do it without one!
Kristi says
The one I have is called Pin It Button for Pinterest. But, what it does is: Add a hover Pin It button for Pinterest to your images. It’s the little red “P” you see on my site now. Maybe they’re the same thing, just a bit of a different name. 🙂
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says
They sound pretty similar! But I always wondered how other people got that cool “P” button verses mine which is so blah!
Kristi says
Yours is not ‘blah’. 🙂 And I have to tell you – those cookies look divine! Pinning!
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says
Aww thanks!
Gin says
Really helpful Kristi, thank you!
Kristi says
Thanks Gin! I’m so glad you found it helpful. Cheers!