Free resource · one page, no fluff

Ten checks to run before every pin goes live.

Pinterest is a search engine, but most pins are written like captions. This is the list of things Pinterest actually reads on a pin — including the three tied to the image itself that almost nobody uses.

One email with the PDF attached. Unsubscribe whenever — no sequence, no pitching.

The one-page Pinterest SEO Checklist: ten numbered checks in two groups, a before-and-after pin example, and a five-row scoring table.

What you'll learn

Four things that change how a pin performs.

The six places Pinterest reads your keyword

Title, first sentence, the image itself, the file name, alt text and the destination URL. Once in each is enough — and repeating it reads as spam.

Why the first sentence carries the description

The most-skipped step on the list. Say your phrase once, naturally, in the opening line, then stop. A pin description is two sentences, not a blog post.

The check almost nobody does

Pinterest reads text inside images. Putting your keyword on the pin graphic is the difference between a pretty pin and a findable one.

What a good pin actually scores

Eight out of ten is good. Below six, fix items one to six first — keyword placement does most of the work on its own.

Inside the checklist

One page. Ten numbered checks.

Two groups: the six places your keyword belongs, then the four signals that tell Pinterest what the pin is about rather than just what it repeats. Each one says what to do and why it matters.

A detail of the checklist: checks one to six — pin title, first sentence of the description, text on the image, image file name, alt text and destination URL — each with a short explanation.

A before and after

The same pin written twice — once the way most pins are written, once so it can actually be found. The difference is not the design.

A scoring table

Five rows: pin, target keyword, board, score out of ten, what's missing. Print it and run your next five pins through it.

Print-ready

One page, designed to be printed and ticked off by hand. No app, no login, nothing to sign up for beyond the email it arrives in.

Who made this

Written by someone who does this for a living.

I'm Kayla. I've spent thirteen years in digital marketing — twelve as an SEO specialist, web content manager and web developer, and I'm currently an email marketing director, still doing SEO and development work alongside it.

This checklist is the short version of what I'd tell you if you asked me why your pins weren't getting found. It's also the scoring engine inside the Clearly Pinterest Planner, which runs all ten checks automatically — plus image ratio, thumbnail legibility and seasonal timing.