Pinterest might not have the numbers Facebook or instagram boasts off, but it has a cult following of people who use it to discover stuff of interest and pin them on “boards.”
The very fact that people use Pinterest to search for content has now made the company to use the app with a “search first” ideology.
In the new update, Pinterest has been given a UI change which as a new search bar at the top of the screen so that the 150 million plus Pinterest users can search for content on the network easier.
Apparently according to the company, 2 billion searches happen on Pinterest every month. 85% of Pinterest searches happen on mobile and these searches have gone up by 40% since last year and this has warranted such a move.
If advertisers to take advantage of the new “search first” system, they’ll create campaigns using keywords to target search terms with precision or use shopping campaigns where they use their existing product feed to create Promoted Pins to reach potential customers.
Interestingly, the company also revealed that Pinterest users generally search for stuff that is unbranded (97%) and 72% of users say that the company has helped them find new brands/services.
This is a great move for the company as they seek to fully monetize their platform and become the place where people discover stuff they would like to own or buy.
Putting search first is a culmination of their previous move where they revamped search to help users identify verified accounts easily, which is great for businesses.