When you think about search engines, Google probably comes to mind first. You may also think of Bing, MSN, and maybe Yahoo. But you probably aren’t thinking about two of the biggest search engines out there. YouTube and Pinterest. You may not think of them as such, but at their core, that’s what they are.
Think about this, for example.
What do you do when you’re looking for a tutorial for fixing something around your house or a music video? You go to YouTube and you search.
What if you’re looking for inspiration for your daughter’s fifth birthday party? You probably search for relevant pins and create a Pinterest board based on what you find through those searches.
It’s not just you. Everyone uses these sites as search engines because that is what they have become over the years. Massive search engines.
Why not start treating them as such and use them as a source of evergreen traffic? Here are some thoughts.
Beyond Google: Using Pinterest and YouTube as Search Engines
The question then becomes what to do with this new insight.
I’m going to assume that you have a basic understanding of search engine optimization. The idea is to apply the same ideas when you create pins or upload YouTube videos.
Create the content with a purpose. Start with a particular key phrase in mind. Use this word or string of words to name your video file or image. Of course, you want to also make sure the content applies to the keyword.
Now that you have your content, it’s time to upload it to YouTube or Pinterest.
Use the keyword (or key phrase. I will use the two terms interchangeably) in the title and description on the site. You can also use them in the appropriate tags. Of course, you want to write the title and description for your visitors first. But if you can work your keywords in, great. And don’t forget to take advantage of channel and board titles and those descriptions as well.
From here you can help your new content in several different ways.
Your best strategy is to create fresh, optimized content on a regular basis. Encourage engagement via other social media channels. Respond to and encourage comments. All of this will help your videos and pins become more searchable.
As your channel and boards grow, so will your audience. Not every video and every pin will rank well and get you lots of exposure on those channels.
SEO on YouTube and Pinterest optimization is a bit of a gamble. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t. That’s okay. Each piece of content you produce will help you in the long run.
Remember to add a call to action and link that leads back to your website so you’ll be generating a steady stream of evergreen traffic as well. Not to mention those valuable backlinks!
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