Pinterest Business Account: How to Set Up Yours

The short answer

To get a Pinterest business account, either sign up fresh at pinterest.com and click Create a business account, or convert your existing personal account under Settings, then Account management. Both routes are free. Pinterest says a business account gives you the Business Hub, Pinterest Analytics and ad tools. In practice, the features most bloggers and shop owners need are scheduling, claiming a website and rich Pins.

This guide covers the exact steps Pinterest documents, what to do in your first hour, and where free Quick Pin Maker tools save time. It also covers the search phrases people use for this topic, such as pinterest business account sign up and pinterest business hub.

What a business account gives you

A personal account is for saving ideas. A business account is for publishing and measuring. According to Pinterest, you get:

• The Business Hub and Pinterest Analytics to review how your Pins perform. Pinterest defines impressions as appearances on screen, saves as Pins saved to boards, and outbound clicks as clicks to destinations off Pinterest.
• Ad formats such as Idea ads, video ads, carousels, collections ads and product catalogs. You do not have to run ads.
• Native scheduling. Only business accounts can schedule standard Pins. See our Pinterest scheduler guide for the limits.
• Website claiming and rich Pins, which connect your site to your profile. See WordPress to Pinterest for the full set up.
• Pinterest Trends, which needs a business account and shows up to two years of search, save and shopping trends. It works in a desktop or mobile browser, not in the app.
• Bulk upload by CSV from a desktop, up to 200 images or videos per upload. See the bulk pin creator guide.

How to sign up for a new business account

Pinterest documents this route for desktop. The email you use must not already be tied to a Pinterest account.

1. Go to pinterest.com and click Sign up at the top right. If you are logged into a personal account, log out first.
2. Click Create a business account.
3. Enter your email, create a password and enter your age, then click Create account.
4. Fill in the profile fields and click Next.
5. Describe your business and click Next.
6. Choose whether you want to run ads and click Next.
7. Pick where to start, or close the prompt to go straight to your account.

Pinterest also recommends that employees and agency partners sign up with a professional email and their own name, not the business name.

How to convert a personal account

If you already have a following, convert instead. Pinterest says your Pins and followers stay the same and you can switch back later. A few conditions apply:

• The account must be public, because business accounts are public.
• If it is linked to another Pinterest account, unlink it first.
• You can no longer link a personal account to a business account. Existing links stay until you unlink them.

On desktop: log in, click the more options icon at the bottom left, choose Settings, then Account management, find Convert to a business account, click Convert account and confirm. Then complete the profile, business description and ads steps.

In the app: tap your profile picture, then your profile photo at the top left, tap Account management, then Convert to a business account and Convert account. Enter your profile name, add a website URL or skip, choose a business description and choose whether to run ads.

Set up checklist for your first hour

The account itself is only the start. These steps are what make it work for a blog, shop or affiliate site.

1. Finish the profile with search in mind

Use a clear profile name, a recognizable photo and a short About text that says what you publish. People search Pinterest the way they search a search engine, so plain words beat clever ones. Our Pinterest bio generator and username generator give you options to edit.

2. Claim your website

In your business account go to Settings, then Link to Pinterest and click Claim next to Websites. Pinterest offers four methods: Google Merchant Center (only some accounts), an HTML tag in the head of your site, an HTML file in the root folder, or a DNS TXT record, which can take up to 72 hours. Claiming shows how often your content is saved and puts your profile picture and a follow option on Pins saved from your site. One account can claim a site, and you must be able to edit its source. WordPress owners should follow the WordPress to Pinterest guide.

3. Turn on rich Pins

Rich Pins pull extra details from your page. Pinterest lists three types: Recipe, Article and Product. You add Open Graph or Schema.org markup to the head of each page, and data syncs within about 24 hours. Pinterest says listicles and image heavy pages do not count as articles. Test your pages with the free Rich Pin Checker.

4. Create boards with real topics

Name boards for what people search, such as a topic plus a context. Browse Pinterest board name ideas for your niche. You can keep a board secret by switching on Keep board secret when you create it.

5. Make your first pins at the right size

Pinterest recommends a 2:3 ratio, or 1000 by 1500 pixels. Read the pin size guide and then make a pin free. No account is needed for the pin maker.

6. Plan a schedule

Native scheduling allows a Pin up to 30 days ahead. Use the Pinterest content calendar to plan themes first.

The Pinterest business hub

People searching for the Pinterest business hub usually want one of two things. The first is the area of Pinterest where a business account manages Pins, analytics and ads, which Pinterest calls the Business Hub. The second is the Pinterest Business site, business.pinterest.com, which holds guides for advertisers and brands. You need a business account for the first. The second is open to read.

Inside your account, the places you will use most are Analytics for impressions, saves and outbound clicks, Trends for keyword research, and Settings for claiming your site. Pinterest notes that custom analytics ranges go back about a year and a half, and real time estimates cover the last 48 hours.

Free tools to set up faster

• Pinterest SEO checklist to audit the profile, boards and pins. Read the Pinterest SEO guide for the reasoning.
• Pinterest account audit to spot gaps in an existing account.
• Pinterest title generator and description generator for first drafts you edit.
• Bulk upload CSV builder once you have many pins ready.

Common set up mistakes

• Using an email that already has an account. Pinterest will not create a new business account on it. Convert instead.
• Forgetting to claim the site. Without it you lose the profile picture and follow option on saved Pins, and you cannot see how often your content is saved.
• Trying to claim a marketplace store. Pinterest says most marketplace stores cannot be claimed. For shops on those platforms, plan around your own site or link directly to listings.
• Posting affiliate links without reading the rules. Pinterest has specific affiliate guidelines. See Pinterest affiliate networks.
• Expecting automation without checking the rules. Pinterest community guidelines bar spam automation not approved by Pinterest. Use native tools or tools that connect through the official API.