Search3 min read
Writing a Pin Description Pinterest Can Read
A Pinterest Pin description is not shown in feeds - it is read by Pinterest for matching. That changes how it should be written entirely.
A Pinterest Pin description can run to 800 characters and does not appear in the home or search feed — Pinterest uses it to work out what the Pin is about (Pinterest specs). That single fact should change how you write it: it is relevance copy, not a caption.
What a Pin description is for
| Field | Audience |
|---|---|
| Title | People, in feeds — roughly the first 40 characters |
| Description | Pinterest, for matching; people, on the closeup |
| Board name | Both |
| Destination page | Both |
So the description is where the query and its natural variants belong, written as sentences rather than as a keyword list — the same rule that governs any search-facing text, because a machine reading prose gets more signal from it than from a comma-separated pile.
FreeMentioned in this article
Pinterest Pin SEO CheckerScores a Pin the way a search engine reads it, because that is what Pinterest is.The checker scores placement across the title, description, board and destination together, which is how Pinterest reads them.
A structure that works
- One sentence saying exactly what the Pin is, containing the main query.
- One or two sentences of useful detail — what the reader gets, what is included,
what makes it different — carrying natural variants of the query.
- One sentence on what to do next, if there is a genuine next step.
Three or four sentences. The 800-character ceiling is a ceiling, not a target, and a description padded to fill it reads as machine-written to the only machine that matters.
What to leave out
- Hashtag walls. Pinterest is a keyword search engine. A row of tags carries less
information than a sentence.
- Emoji as words. They add no matchable text.
- Repetition of the exact phrase. Once in the title and once or twice naturally in
the description is the whole of it.
- Anything the image already says. The description should add, not caption.
The title does the human half
Up to 100 characters, with roughly the first 40 shown in feeds. That is the text competing for a glance in a column of tall tiles, so it needs the query and the benefit, front-loaded.
FreeMentioned in this article
Pinterest Pin PreviewYour Pin in the feed tile and the closeup — they show different things.The preview draws the Pin as both the feed tile and the closeup, which display different things — Pinterest Pin size covers the geometry.
Boards are part of the description
A Pin saved to a subject-specific board inherits that context. "Small kitchen storage" tells Pinterest something; "Things I like" tells it nothing, and it dilutes every Pin on it.
See Pinterest board strategy, and the whole picture in Pinterest SEO.
If the destination is your own page
Set up Rich Pins so the Pin pulls structured detail from the page automatically. It makes every Pin to that page more informative without extra work per Pin:
FreeMentioned in this article
Rich Pin ValidatorWhich tags your page is missing, not just whether it failed.Troubleshooting is in Rich Pins not working.
Do Pinterest Pin descriptions show in the feed?
No. They appear on the Pin closeup and are used by Pinterest for relevance matching - which is why they should be written as prose containing your keywords.
How long should a Pin description be?
Three or four sentences. The limit is 800 characters, but padding to fill it adds nothing.
Should I use hashtags in a Pin description?
No. Write sentences. Pinterest matches queries against text rather than tags.
Does the Pin title matter more than the description?
They do different jobs. The title earns the click in feeds; the description helps Pinterest decide which searches to show the Pin in.
Score the title, description and board together with the Pin SEO checker.
Put it to work
Tools for the job you just read about
Free to run, most of them without an account.
FreePreviews
Pinterest Pin SEO Checker
Scores a Pin the way a search engine reads it, because that is what Pinterest is.
Check →2 runs
FreePreviews
Pinterest Pin Preview
Your Pin in the feed tile and the closeup — they show different things.
Preview →2 runs
FreePreviews
Rich Pin Validator
Which tags your page is missing, not just whether it failed.
Validate →1 runs
FreeContent
Jargon & Acronym Detector
The words that make sense to you and not to whoever just arrived.
Detect →
FreeContent
Sentence Rhythm Analyzer
Why a draft with nothing wrong with it still reads flat.
Analyze →
FreeContent
Crutch Phrase Finder
The phrases you use every time, which you are the last to notice.
Find →1 runs
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