So how much do Pinterest ads cost?
If you have never run a campaign on Pinterest before then it’s important to know how much advertising on Pinterest costs so that you can plan your budget accordingly.
Pinterest ads are not pay-per-click instead they work in an auction style and you can expect to pay between $0.10 to $1.50 per click or per engagement and the average cost of getting 1,000 impressions is around $2 to $3.
There are a lot of other things that come into play to determine the cost of Pinterest ads but on average these are the costs you should be having in your mind when running Pinterest ads.
Let’s look at more details related to Pinterest ads to give you a clear and complete breakdown of the Pinterest ads system.
What Are Pinterest Ads?
Pinterest advertising is simply paying Pinterest to promote your product or service in front of those people who would be interested in buying or engaging with them.
As Pinterest is a visual platform you will need exceptional videos and images to make your content stand out from the rest and get engagement.
With Pinterest ads, you can target people based on their interests, demographics, and psychographics. This makes reaching your target audience and getting more sales is extremely easy.
Are Pinterest Ads Worth It?
85% of people who use Pinterest weekly have made purchases from Pinterest by coming across a product pin.
Compared to other platforms like Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest gives a 2x better ROAS (return on ad spend) so if you are using meta to promote your products then you might have to rethink your decision.
Pinterest shoppers spend 2x more compared to those on other social media platforms. If you have a high-ticket product then Pinterest might be the place for you.
With half a billion users Pinterest is the best platform out there to promote your products and get sales. The user base on Pinterest is increasing every year and if you start Pinterest marketing before your competitors you will definitely get a Head Start and sales too!
Should you advertise on Instagram or Pinterest?
Instagram is a great platform for getting sales and getting in front of your target audience but compared to Pinterest it lacks a few major things.
Firstly, people come to Instagram mainly for entertainment so they do not have a strong intent to buy products. Have you ever opened Instagram to look for products to buy? I never did.
Pinterest operates as a search engine and people are actively looking to explore new products and ideas. Even though the user base of Pinterest is lower than that of Instagram the buying intent is much stronger on Pinterest compared to Instagram.
The second thing is your product. Some products like home décor, fashion, and DIY tend to perform better on Pinterest while products like software or technology have a very thin user base on Pinterest.
If you have products that cater to women then I would definitely recommend you to use Pinterest.
Last but not the least is engagements. If your goal is to build a community around your brand and engage with your customers then I would go with Instagram because I have rarely seen anyone commenting or having a discussion in the Pinterest comments.
How Much Do Pinterest Ads Cost?
There are different types of costs associated with Pinterest ads. These mainly include cost per 1,000 impressions, cost per conversion, and cost per click.
While every industry might have different costs let me give me a rough estimate:
Cost Per 1,000 Impressions
This measures the cost of getting 1,000 people to see your Pinterest ad. While there is no fixed number the cost per 1,000 impressions ranges between $0.10 all the way up to $5.
The cost differences are for a number of reasons that we will discuss in the next section.
Cost Per Click
The cost per click is the amount charged when someone clicks on your Pinterest ads. The average cost per click on Pinterest can go from $0.10 all the way up to $3.
A new account might see higher costs per click in the beginning but that will drop as the Pinterest ads optimize over time.
Cost Per Conversion
Cost per conversion in simple words is the amount you spend to successfully get a purchase or a lead from Pinterest. These numbers are usually higher compared to others because Pinterest’s algorithm has to test different audiences to find your ideal customers.
The costs per conversion on Pinterest ads usually start from$2.00 and go all the way up to $16
How does Pinterest charge you for ads?
Pinterest charges you on the basis of different things that we just discussed.
These costs can be higher or lower depending on the following factors:
1. Targeting
Pinterest ads work on an auction basis so if you are targeting certain interests that a lot of brands are going after your costs will be high.
This is because you will be competing against hundreds of different advertisers and each advertiser is willing to pay a certain amount to get on the user’s feed.
When Pinterest tries to show your ad they will have to spend more than the competition to get you impressions and clicks.
2. Ad Relevance
Ad relevance ıs determined by the engagements on your ad. If your ad does not resonate with the interests or targeting you have selected the algorithm will keep on testing by showing your ads to different people.
This will result in higher costs for your Pinterest ads. This is why it is important to select the right keywords and targeting when launching your ads.
3. Ad Placement
You can have your ads shown in different sections such as home feed and search results etc. Ad placements can have different competitions and thus the costs may increase in some placements for you.
4. Ad Objective
Different ad objectives will have different costs. For example, if you want to get higher impressions regardless of the sales then you will have lower costs because it will be easy for Pinterest to show your ads around to people.
If you are looking for engagements then your costs might increase as now Pinterest has to find specific people who will likely engage with your ad.
How Much Should You Spend On Your Pinterest Ads?
You can start Pinterest ads with a budget as low as $5 per day. There is no one-size-fits-all all strategy for your Pinterest ad spend.
I would recommend you to start with a small budget something like $5 – $20 per day. This will allow you to test your ad creatives and your messaging.
Once you have an ad creative that people are engaging with you can gradually start spending more and creating the same kind of creatives to attract more people.
Generally, small businesses spend below $1,000 on their Pinterest ads and achieve their objectives.
How to Get Started with Your Pinterest Advertising?
Compared to other platforms getting started on Pinterest ads is simple.
I would still recommend you to hire somebody or take a few courses before running your own Pinterest ads.
Imagine showing women’s clothing brands to boys who are 16 years old. That won’t work, will it?
To get started with Pinterest ads you will need:
- Make sure you have a Pinterest business account.
- Make sure you have a list of keywords related to your category.
- Make sure your product has demand on Pinterest or people are already promoting the same product on Pinterest.
- Choose the right objective. If you want sales choose a conversion campaign, not brand awareness or consideration.
- Connect your product catalog to Pinterest. This will sink all your product data from your store to Pinterest.
- Create visually appealing ads that your target audience will stop to see and engage with.
What are the different types of Pinterest ads?
There are different kinds of ad formats on Pinterest and before choosing one you should have an image that properly fits into the format. This is really important from the user experience perspective.
Standard Ads
These appear as standard pins but have a “promoted by” tag beside them. They have an aspect ratio of 2:3 and blend in with the rest of the pins.
If you don’t want your ad to feel like an ad (confusing right?) then this is the go to option for you.
Shopping ads
If you want to make your viewer’s purchase journey shorter then you can use the shopping ads. They include product tags and users can know directly from your ad about the price and availability of each product in the image.
They have an aspect ratio of 2:3 and are best to promote multiple products in a single pin.
Standard-width video ads
Standard-width video ads are the same size as regular Pins and can be up to 15 minutes long. These ads auto-play in users’ feeds, making them a great way to capture attention with motion and sound.
These have the same aspect ratio as your regular pins
Maximum-width video ads
If you have a product that requires detailed explanation then these ads are for you. They cover the entire two columns of the screen and can be up to 15 minutes long.
The recommended aspect ratio for these pins is 16:9 and can be useful in the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey.
Idea ads
If you want to combine videos, images, and text in a single pin then Idea ads are your friends.
According to Pinterest, these ads receive way more engagement and attention compared to normal pins.
If you want to tell a story through pins or provide a DIY guide then go with idea ads.
The aspect ratio for these should not be greater than 1:1
Carousel ads
Just like those on any other social media carousel ads allow you to post multiple images in a single pin that people can swipe.
If you have different offers or different images of your product then I would recommend going for this one.
You can use an aspect ratio of 1:1 or 2:3 for these ads.
Collections ads
Now for those people who just like me want to stand out from the crowd then collection ads are for you.
These ads have a large hero image or video and if done correctly people will always click on it (you got them trapped there).
The hero image is followed by other smaller images and when people click on it they get a full page experience of the ad.
Hero Image/Video Aspect Ratio: 1:1 (square) or 2:3 (vertical)
Hero Image/Video Size: 1080 x 1080 pixels (square) or 1000 x 1500 pixels (vertical)
Secondary Image Aspect Ratio: 1:1 (square)
Secondary Image Size: 1000 x 1000 pixels
Conclusion
So there we have it a complete breakdown of how much Pinterest ads cost.
If you are thinking of starting Pinterest ads then knowing the cost of Pinterest ads at different levels such as clicks and impressions is really important.
Knowing these costs can help you set an ideal budget for your Pinterest ads that will be both profitable and long-term.
Always try to take expert advice before running Pinterest ads or you will end up wasting a lot of money.
Now you know the costs why wait? Get Pinterest ads today and start your journey!