Mastering Pinterest Analytics: Measuring Success and Optimizing Performance
In our previous post, we explored Pinterest campaign objectives and how choosing the right ones forms the foundation of successful campaigns. Now, let’s dive into another critical aspect of Pinterest marketing: analytics and measurement.
Understanding Pinterest analytics isn’t just about tracking numbers – it’s about gaining actionable insights that drive optimization and growth. For aesthetic lifestyle brands, mastering these metrics can be the difference between mediocre results and exponential success.
Why Pinterest Analytics Matter
Before diving into specific metrics and tools, let’s establish why analytics are essential to your Pinterest strategy:
Performance Validation: Confirm that your Pinterest efforts are delivering tangible results
Strategy Refinement: Identify what’s working and what needs adjustment
Budget Optimization: Allocate resources to the highest-performing tactics
Content Direction: Understand which visual elements and messaging resonate most with your audience
Growth Forecasting: Establish baselines to predict future performance and set realistic goals
According to Pinterest’s internal data, advertisers who actively monitor and optimize based on analytics data saw a 35% increase in their ROAS on average (Pinterest Internal Data, January-May 2020). This isn’t just about measuring – it’s about creating a feedback loop that continuously improves your performance.
The Pinterest Analytics Ecosystem
Pinterest offers multiple analytics tools, each serving different needs in your measurement strategy:
1. Ads Manager Reporting
Ads Manager is your command center for paid campaigns, offering real-time insights into campaign performance with customizable dashboards focused on your chosen objectives.
Key Features:
Reporting Graph: Visual interpretation of performance metrics to identify trends
Reporting Table: Granular view of campaign performance metrics
Conversion Settings: Customizable attribution windows, date ranges, and data sources
Custom Columns: Create personalized views with the metrics that matter most to you
Date Range Filters: Compare performance across different time periods
Primary User: Marketing teams running paid Pinterest campaigns
2. Pinterest Analytics Overview
This tool provides a holistic view of your organic Pinterest presence, helping you understand audience demographics, content performance, and engagement patterns.
Key Features:
Audience Insights: Demographic data about your Pinterest followers
Content Performance: Which Pins and boards are generating the most engagement
Website Traffic: How your Pins are driving visits to your website
Primary User: Content creators and marketers focused on organic Pinterest growth
3. Conversion Insights
For businesses focused on driving website actions, Conversion Insights offers deeper analysis of how Pinterest influences customer behavior across devices and over time.
Key Features:
Conversion Funnel Analysis: Track the path from impression to final conversion
Cross-Device Insights: Understand how users engage with your content across multiple devices
Multi-Touch Attribution: See how different touchpoints contribute to conversions
Primary User: Ecommerce and performance marketing teams
Essential Metrics to Track
Pinterest analytics can feel overwhelming with dozens of available metrics. Here’s how to prioritize based on your campaign objectives:
For Awareness Campaigns
Impressions: How many times your Pins were seen
Reach: The number of unique users who saw your content
Frequency: How often the same user sees your ads
Video Metrics: For video content, track views and completion rates
Brand Lift (if available): Measure the impact on brand perception via Pinterest Brand Lift Studies
Pro Tip: When running awareness campaigns, focus on efficient reach rather than just total impressions. A balanced frequency of 2-3 impressions per week per user often delivers optimal results.
For Consideration Campaigns
Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of impressions that led to clicks
Cost Per Click (CPC): Average cost for each click
Engagement Rate: Combined actions (clicks, saves, close-ups) divided by impressions
Pin Saves: Number of times your content was saved to boards
Outbound Clicks: Clicks that led users off Pinterest to your website
Pro Tip: CTR for consideration campaigns typically ranges from 0.5-1.5%. If your CTR falls below 0.5%, it may indicate issues with your creative or targeting.
For Conversion Campaigns
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Revenue generated divided by ad spend
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): Cost to acquire a customer or conversion
Conversion Rate: Percentage of site visitors who complete desired actions
Add-to-Carts: Number of products added to shopping carts
Checkouts: Completed purchases
Average Order Value: Average amount spent per purchase
Pro Tip: Pinterest’s attribution window defaults to 30 days for clicks, 30 days for engagements, and 1 day for views (30/30/1). Consider adjusting this based on your typical customer journey length.
Understanding Pinterest’s Attribution Model
Pinterest uses a multi-touch attribution model that recognizes different user interactions with your content:
Click Attribution: Highest priority – counts conversions from users who clicked on your Pin
Engagement Attribution: Second priority – counts conversions from users who engaged with your Pin (saves, close-ups) but didn’t click
View Attribution: Lowest priority – counts conversions from users who viewed your Pin
This model helps you understand the full impact of your Pinterest presence, not just direct clicks. According to a study by Neustar, “paid impressions on Pinterest were 30% more effective than online display ads at driving sales” (Neustar, Meta attribution study, US, Q1 2020-Q1 2022).
Setting Up For Success: Tracking Implementation
To capture accurate analytics, you’ll need proper tracking implementation:
Pinterest Tag
The Pinterest tag is essential for conversion tracking and audience building. When properly implemented, it allows you to:
Track conversions back to specific campaigns
Create retargeting audiences based on site behavior
Optimize campaigns toward specific conversion events
Implementation Options:
E-commerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, Adobe Commerce)
Tag managers (Google Tag Manager)
Manual implementation via developer
Critical Stat: Advertisers who improved their tag health saw an additional 35% increase in their ROAS on average (Pinterest Internal Data, January-May 2020).
Pinterest API for Conversions
For advanced tracking, the Pinterest API for Conversions provides server-side tracking that:
Reduces reliance on cookies and browser tracking
Delivers more accurate conversion data
Captures conversions across devices
Implementation Requirement: Requires developer resources but delivers significant benefits:
Real-World Result: KaDeWe’s implementation of the Pinterest API for Conversions alongside their existing Pinterest tag resulted in a 133% lift in Pinterest attributed checkouts and a 57% improvement in checkout cost per acquisition (Pinterest Internal Data, 2022).
Advanced Analytics Strategies for Aesthetic Brands
Once your basic tracking is in place, consider these advanced strategies:
1. Audience Segment Analysis
Break down your performance data by audience segments to uncover insights about which demographics respond best to your aesthetic content:
Age and Gender: Which demographic groups engage most with your content?
Interests: What other topics do your best customers care about?
Geographic Location: Where are your most engaged users located?
Pinterest’s audience insights can reveal surprising correlations – perhaps your minimalist home decor performs exceptionally well with urban millennials interested in sustainability.
2. Creative Performance Analysis
For aesthetic brands, understanding which visual elements drive engagement is crucial:
Color Palettes: Do warmer or cooler tones perform better? (Pinterest data shows ads with warmer tones saw 2x increase in click-through rate)
Image Composition: Do lifestyle shots outperform product-only images? (Pinterest has seen a 32% higher CTR driven by lifestyle images)
Text Overlay: Does adding text to images impact performance?
Video Motion Rates: Ads with higher motion rates saw up to 2x increase in view-through rate
Create a systematic approach to testing these elements across your campaigns.
3. Multi-Touch Attribution Analysis
Aesthetic brands often have longer customer journeys, with Pinterest playing a key role in discovery before purchase happens elsewhere:
First-Touch Attribution: Understand which content initiates customer journeys
Last-Touch Attribution: Identify which content drives final conversion decisions
Linear Attribution: Distribute credit equally across touchpoints
Position-Based Attribution: Weight first and last touchpoints more heavily
Consider using Pinterest’s attribution window settings to better match your customer journey length.
Measuring Success Beyond Direct Conversions
For lifestyle brands, the value of Pinterest extends beyond immediate purchases:
Brand Lift Studies
For larger campaigns, Pinterest Brand Lift Studies measure how your ads affect:
Aided Brand Awareness: Recognition of your brand when prompted
Pin Awareness: Recall of specific ad content
Message Association: Connection between your message and brand
Brand Favorability: Positive perception of your brand
Action Intent: Likelihood to take action in the future
Conversion Lift Studies
Pinterest Conversion Lift (PCL) Studies measure:
Sales Lift: Percentage and value of purchases driven by your campaign
Absolute Conversion Impact: Number of conversions influenced
Conversion Lift: Increased lift in conversions
Additional Insights: Campaign elements that drive performance
Optimizing Based on Analytics Insights
Collecting data is just the beginning. Here’s how to turn insights into action:
1. Creative Optimization
Refresh Underperforming Visuals: Replace ads with CTR below benchmark
Scale Winning Concepts: Expand successful creative themes
Apply the 4Cs of Creative Effectiveness: Update your content based on Pinterest’s framework:
Context: Design for mobile, use vertical formats, keep videos short
Content: Tell relevant stories, keep it real, start strong
Craft: Optimize layouts, use strategic motion
Color: Balance brightness, evoke emotion with color palettes
2. Audience Refinement
Expand High-Performing Segments: Create similar audiences based on top performers
Adjust Demographic Targeting: Focus on age groups showing strongest engagement
Keyword Expansion: Add related terms to successful keyword sets
Interest Layering: Combine interests that show strong performance together
3. Budget Allocation
Funnel Distribution: Adjust budget across awareness, consideration, and conversion campaigns based on performance
Dayparting: Allocate more budget to high-performing days or times
Seasonal Adjustments: Increase investment during peak performance periods
ROAS Thresholds: Set minimum ROAS targets for continued investment
4. Landing Page Optimization
Page Load Speed: Ensure fast loading for mobile Pinterest traffic
Visual Consistency: Maintain aesthetic cohesion between Pins and landing pages
Clear CTAs: Provide obvious next steps for Pinterest visitors
Mobile Experience: Optimize for the predominantly mobile Pinterest audience
Common Analytics Pitfalls to Avoid
Even experienced marketers can fall into these common measurement traps:
1. Attribution Window Misalignment
Problem: Using attribution windows that don’t match your customer journey length.
Solution: Analyze your average time to conversion and adjust attribution windows accordingly. Pinterest supports windows of 1, 7, 30, or 60 days for clicks, engagements, and views.
2. Ignoring View-Through Value
Problem: Focusing only on click-based conversions misses Pinterest’s powerful visual inspiration role.
Solution: Include view-through attribution in your analysis, especially for awareness and consideration campaigns.
3. Platform-to-Platform Comparison
Problem: Directly comparing Pinterest metrics to other platforms without context.
Solution: Recognize that Pinterest users behave differently – they scroll 1.5x slower on Pinterest compared to similar platforms and are in a discovery mindset rather than a social one.
4. Overemphasis on Last-Click
Problem: Giving all credit to the last touchpoint ignores Pinterest’s role in discovery.
Solution: According to Neustar’s study (referenced above), last-click models under-credited the contribution of Pinterest paid activity by nearly 30%. Consider a multi-touch attribution model instead.
Case Study: Optimizing Performance for an Aesthetic Home Decor Brand
To illustrate these principles in action, consider this real-world example:
Brand: A mid-size home decor brand specializing in minimalist Scandinavian designs.
Initial Challenge: Despite beautiful imagery and quality products, their Pinterest campaigns were delivering inconsistent results with a ROAS of 1.2.
Analytics-Driven Approach:
Tracking Implementation:
Implemented both Pinterest tag and Conversions API
Set up Enhanced Match for better cross-device tracking
Audience Analysis:
Discovered strongest performance among urban millennials interested in sustainability
Created custom audiences based on this segment
Creative Testing:
A/B tested lifestyle vs. product imagery
Found lifestyle images of products in use drove 2.3x higher CTR
Attribution Analysis:
Extended attribution window to 60/30/1 to better capture long customer journey
Discovered 42% of conversions occurred 31-60 days after initial engagement
Results:
133% increase in attributed conversions
57% improvement in CPA
ROAS increased from 1.2 to 3.7
The key insight? Analytics revealed that their audience needed more time to make purchase decisions than their original attribution model captured, and they responded much better to contextual lifestyle imagery than to product-only shots.
Conclusion: Analytics as Your Strategic Compass
Pinterest analytics isn’t just about measuring past performance – it’s your strategic compass for future decision-making. By systematically tracking, analyzing, and optimizing based on data, you create a continuous improvement cycle that builds on each success.
For aesthetic lifestyle brands, Pinterest offers an unparalleled platform to connect with visually-minded consumers actively seeking inspiration. When you combine Pinterest’s visual discovery power with rigorous analytics, you create a marketing engine that not only performs but continually improves.
Whether you’re focused on building awareness, driving consideration, or generating direct conversions, let analytics guide your Pinterest strategy toward increasingly better results.
Ready to transform your Pinterest presence with data-driven insights? Click below to schedule a free discovery call with C15 Labs today, and let’s create an analytics strategy that drives measurable business results for your aesthetic brand.
Stay tuned for our next blog post, where we’ll explore The MECE Approach: Structuring Pinterest Campaigns for Maximum ROI!