How to see Pinterest keyword search volumes without running an ad
Pinterest does not publish keyword search volumes in normal search, but its Ads Manager shows estimates. With a free business account, start a draft campaign, switch it to manual, open the ad group’s interests and keywords section and type a term. You will see monthly search ranges for it and related terms, without publishing or paying.
This post builds on The Pinterest SEO hack you probably missed by Pinterest coach Emilee Vales, who walks through the trick on screen. Below we explain each step in our own words, add the safety checks we would want before opening an ads account, and show how to turn the numbers into better pins.
Why are search volumes hidden in Ads Manager?
Advertisers on Pinterest can target keywords, so Pinterest helps them choose by showing roughly how many people search each term every month. The same estimates help anyone who publishes pins for free: they show whether a phrase is searched by thousands of people or by millions.
You will not find these numbers anywhere else on Pinterest. The search bar suggestions show what people type, and Pinterest Trends shows how interest rises and falls over time, but neither gives you a size. The Ads Manager keyword tool fills that gap.
The tool is not new. A 2020 video from Marketing Solved already used the keyword tool inside Ads Manager to pick pin keywords. What has changed is the route to it. Pinterest now pushes new campaigns towards its automated Performance+ option, which hides manual targeting, and that is why many people assume the tool has gone. It is still there; you just have to switch to manual.
What do you need before you start?
- A Pinterest business account. It is free, and it is what gives you access to ads, analytics and website claiming. If you still have a personal account, follow the business account lesson first.
- Access to Ads Manager. Pinterest only offers ads in certain countries. If Ads Manager is not available to you, use the free methods in the keyword research lesson instead.
- A short list of seed topics. Five to ten plain phrases from your own website, such as slow cooker meals, boho bedroom or debt payoff.
Three rules before you click anything: never click Publish or Launch, delete the draft when you have finished, and stop straight away if Pinterest asks for payment or billing details. You only need to look at the draft screens. Nothing in this method requires a card.
How do you find the keyword tool in Ads Manager?
Pinterest redesigns Ads Manager often, so the exact labels and positions below may look a little different on your screen. The order of the steps tends to stay the same.
- Open the campaign builder. Log in to your business account and open the main menu. In recent layouts it sits at the top left. Look for an option such as Create campaign.
- Switch off Performance+. New campaigns usually start with Performance+ turned on. Automated campaigns choose the audience for you, so the keyword section does not appear. Turn the toggle off and confirm when Pinterest asks whether you want to switch to manual.
- Fill in a budget only if you are made to. Some setups will not let you continue until the budget field has a figure in it. If so, type a small number and click Continue. Typing a figure does not run anything, but this is the step where the three rules above matter most.
- Go to the ad group’s targeting. The next screen sets up an ad group. Scroll down to the section for interests and keywords, expand it and choose the option to add keywords.
- Type a seed topic. Pinterest lists your term along with related keywords, each with an estimated number of monthly searches. Keep scrolling for more.
- Leave without publishing. Copy what you need into your notes, then delete the draft. Check your campaign list afterwards to make sure nothing is active.
How do you read the monthly search ranges?
Each keyword comes with a range rather than a single number, such as 100K to 500K or 1M to 5M. In Emilee’s demonstration, back to school outfits showed around 4 to 5 million monthly searches, barbecue ideas around 5 million and barbecue chicken marinade 100,000 to 500,000.
Treat those figures as estimated size bands, not exact counts. They are rounded, they can change from month to month, and they may depend on the country your draft campaign targets. If the ad group lets you choose a location, set it to the country where most of your audience lives, and note that country next to the numbers you copy.
A rough way to use the bands, as a rule of thumb rather than anything Pinterest publishes:
| What you see | What it usually means | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Millions | A broad topic with a lot of competing pins | Fine for one broad pin, rarely the only target |
| Hundreds of thousands | A clear, specific need that many people share | Often the best main keyword for a pin |
| Smaller ranges | A narrow angle with less competition | Good for extra pins on the same page |
| Not enough data | The tool has no estimate for that wording | Check the search bar and Trends before deciding |
The related keywords drift further from your seed as you scroll. A search for barbecue eventually wandered to camping dinner ideas and a barbecue-themed baby shower. Some drifts are useful content ideas; others are unrelated. Skip any term with a past year in it, such as an outfit list from three summers ago, because it describes searches that have mostly ended.
Is there a search volume you should aim for?
No. Emilee is clear on this, and we agree: there is no magic number. A keyword is only worth targeting if your audience searches it and your page genuinely answers it. A huge term on the wrong page brings clicks that leave at once, and Pinterest soon stops showing the pin.
It is tempting to stuff every high-volume phrase into one description. Resist it. Emilee recommends fewer, more specific keywords, because “it makes it crystal clear to Pinterest what your content is about.” Clear pins also give the person who clicks exactly what they expected.
A better use of the numbers is to plan several fresh pins for one page, each with its own angle:
- A recipe blog with a barbecue post: one pin for the broad barbecue ideas, then two or three pins for narrower angles the post really covers, such as barbecue chicken marinade.
- A home decor shop selling prints: one pin for living room wall decor, then narrower pins for a gallery wall above a sofa or art for a small hallway.
- A finance blog: one pin for budgeting for beginners, then pins for specific methods the post explains, such as a cash envelope system.
Give each pin a new image and its own title and description, written as the titles and descriptions lesson explains. Then watch your analytics for a month or two to see whether the broad or the narrow angles bring more clicks for your account.
What if a keyword shows “not enough data”?
It does not mean nobody searches it. In the video, Emilee typed a Fourth of July term and got no estimate, even though it is plainly a busy seasonal search. The tool is sensitive to wording, so try the term spelled another way, with or without numbers, before you give up on it.
Then cross-check in two free places. Type the phrase slowly into the Pinterest search bar and see whether it appears in the suggestions, and look it up in Pinterest Trends if your country is covered. If it turns up in either, people search it.
Very narrow terms need one more check. Search them in a private browser window, so the results are not shaped by your own saves, and look at what comes back. If the top pins are thin, oddly mixed or off-topic, the phrase is probably too specific to build a pin around. Emilee describes exactly this happening with a niche health course: the narrowest phrases returned pins that had little to do with the topic. A slightly broader phrase usually serves you better.
How do you keep track of what you find?
The numbers are only useful if you can find them again. Keep a simple spreadsheet with one row per keyword and columns for the range, the date you checked, the country, the page on your site it fits and the pin angle you plan to use.
Check the sheet again before each season. People plan holidays and events weeks to months ahead, so a term such as back to school matters to a teacher resource shop long before the school year starts, which is the idea behind planning 45 days ahead. If you want more seed ideas before you open Ads Manager, a free keyword idea tool can help you brainstorm phrases to check.
Next step: search volumes tell you how big a phrase is, not what people want from it. Pair this trick with the methods in Pinterest keyword research so you choose phrases that are both searched and relevant.
Credit: this post is based on The Pinterest SEO hack you probably missed by Emilee Vales, with background from 8 Pinterest SEO Hacks For More Clicks, Traffic, & Sales by Marketing Solved.