Pinterest is making a big splash online and many of us are wondering how to use Pinterest to boost traffic to our creative businesses.

I’m sure that you have checked out Pinterest, and have lost several hours sifting through all of the site’s amazing photographs, moodboards, and illustrations. If you haven’t clicked through Pinterest, here’s a warning. This site is filled with amazing imagery, and the act of pinning and repinning pictures to your own ‘board’ can be habit forming. Now, while it’s very easy to waste several hours browsing through at all the shiny, pretty pictures, if you use the site correctly, it’s also a great traffic driver for your site.

I learned the benefits of Pinteret kind of by accident. I posted a few interesting product  images from my website to one of my Pinterest boards and started to notice that people were finding my website via the images I posted to Pinterest. I started to scratch my head and wonder what other kinds of images I could pin that could drive traffic. I tried a couple of different pictures – product images, images from a tutorial, and you know what? It totally worked!

The great thing about Pinterest is that it’s a relatively new site/tool that you can further explore to discover how it can be used as a networking and social media tool as well as a traffic driver to your site. It’s also super fun and easy to use! So let’s jump into some simple ways to utilize Pinterest to send more people to your site!

1. Use vibrant, stimulating imagery on your site.  This step may seem obvious, but is vitally important when using Pinterest as a marketing tool. The only allure to users of Pinterest are the unique, interesting and fun pictures they find on the site. When a Pinterest user clicks on an image you have posted to a ‘board’, they also have the option to view the image on your website, where the image was originally posted online. So, by pinning your best product images, most interesting blog post pictures, or any other photo that that will turn heads online, you are, in essence, using these images as a banner ad for other content that can be found on your site.

2. Pin your most “useful” posts. Don’t just stick to product imagery for Pinterest. Get creative and post images that can offer help or solutions for readers. If you have a tutorial post, pin the images you used for the how-to and then title your board the name of the tutorial. For example, if you are a photographer, you can create a “photography tips and tricks” board and pin images of your equipment or some great before and after images using your suggested tips. People will see the alluring imagery and click to your site for more information.

3. Shoot, shoot and shoot some more! Brush up on those photography skills and get your site looking beautiful. And take more images! Blog posts without pictures are not as appealing to most readers anyway. So start shooting more pics and post more pins!

4. Pin images that inspire you. As creative business owners you are inspired everyday by new things. Pinterest is a fabulous way to share your ideas and interests with your clients and site readers. Get active on Pinterest and comment and re-pin other pics you enjoy. You can tweet your pins or post them on Facebook, which is a great tool for inspiring engagement and interaction. Try it – you’ll see.

5. Read Pinterest’s copyright information carefully. You are responsible for making sure the content on you pin does not violate copyright infringement laws. I’m no expert, but it’s something to consider.

With those 5 ways to use this awesome site in mind, get out there and boost traffic by using Pinterest to show off your gorgeous site!

{Featured image via Staci’s Pinterest board ‘Ana Staci Custom Jewelry Pics’}