The Complete Guide on How to Verify Your WordPress Site on Pinterest (Step-by-Step)

Pinterest is one of the top social media platforms, with over 400 million global users. It gets over 2 billion monthly searches, providing a major opportunity to drive traffic to your WordPress site.

But simply creating a Pinterest account is not enough. You need to verify your WordPress website on Pinterest to maximize its benefits.

In this detailed guide, we will walk through the step-by-step process to verify your WordPress site on Pinterest and answer common questions that come up.

Why You Should Verify Your WordPress Site on Pinterest

Here are the key reasons verifying your website on Pinterest is vital:

1. Access to Pinterest Analytics

Pinterest analytics provides powerful data on your pinterest activity:

  • Traffic sources – where your pinners are coming from
  • Your top performing pins
  • Audience demographics
  • Content profile – which types of your pins resonate best

This allows you to fine-tune your pinterest strategy to drive more relevant traffic.

Pinterest Analytics Demo

2. Participate in Pinterest Ads Program

The Pinterest ad platform allows you to promote your pins and website to reach more targeted users.

But to leverage pinterest ads, verifying your site is mandatory. Once verified, you can run campaign to:

  • Get more views on your pins
  • Drive high quality traffic to your site
  • Increase conversions and sales
  • Build stronger brand awareness

Pinterest ads have a great return, with $1.97 earned for each $1 spent as per a study. Verification helps tap into this opportunity.

3. Establish Ownership of Your Content

Your original images and pins will be marked as such after verifying your WordPress site.

This means whenever someone saves your images to a Pinterest board, it will retain attribution to your website.

For example:

Pinterest Content Attribution Example

4. Increased Referral Traffic

Publishing shareable images on Pinterest is a proven way to drive referral traffic.

But since most people re-pin images, source attribution gets lost, minimizing your referral visits.

Verification establishes your site as the original pin source. So more people who find your images on Pinterest can click through to your website.

5. Adds Credibility Signals

Just like Facebook and Twitter, verification badges add trust signals and credibility to your brand on social platforms.

Pinterest site verification indicates your website is legitimate and enhances perceptions about your content quality.

This encourages more pinners to engage with your pins, follow your account, and visit your site.

6. Get Image Credit for Pins

Every time someone re-pins your images after verification, it shows up in your Pinterest analytics.

This allows you to track which pins resonate best with your audience for further optimization. You can create more such high performing pins to maximize engagement and traffic.

Clearly, verifying your WordPress site brings multiple benefits that directly impact your Pinterest presence and website traffic.

Now let‘s look at the step-by-step process to get verified:

Step 1: Upgrade to a Pinterest Business Account

Before verifying your website, you first need to upgrade to a business account on Pinterest.

The business account unlocks extra features like analytics, ads and improved pinned content insights.

Here is how to upgrade your Pinterest account:

  1. Login to Pinterest and click on your profile picture. Select "Upgrade to business" from the dropdown menu.

  2. On the upgrade page, enter your business name, website, location and other details.

  3. Pick your business industry and objectives for using Pinterest.

  4. Review and agree to the Pinterest terms of service.

  5. Click on "Submit". Your account is now a Pinterest business account!

The upgrade process is free and only takes a couple of minutes.

Step 2: Claim Your WordPress Website

After you have a business account, it‘s time to claim your WordPress site on Pinterest:

  1. Go to your Pinterest business account settings.

  2. Select "Domain verification" from the menu.

  3. Click on the "Claim website" button under the websites section.

  4. Choose the "HTML tag" method to claim your site.

  5. Copy the meta tag code Pinterest provides.

Next, you need to add this verification meta tag to your WordPress website‘s header.

There are two easy ways to do it:

Using an SEO Plugin

Install an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or All in One SEO Pack on your WordPress site.

These plugins have a dedicated section under "Webmaster Tools" to enter verification tags.

Simply paste the code snippet Pinterest gave and hit "Save Changes". The plugin will automatically insert the meta tag in your header.

Using a Code Snippets Plugin

Alternatively, you can use a plugin like Insert Headers and Footers or WP Code to add the tag.

Go to the plugin settings, paste the code in the "Header" section and save changes.

The main advantage of using a dedicated plugin is that you can insert snippets in different locations easily.

Method Pros Cons
SEO Plugin Easy to use, don‘t need separate plugin installation, commonly used plugins Need to install SEO plugin, limited placement options for code
Code Snippets Plugin Fine grained control over tag placement, dedicated plugins for header/footer scripts, easy to add multiple Another plugin to install and manage, need to identify correct tag placement section

Both options get the job done. Choose what suits your needs best.

Step 3: Verify your WordPress Site

After adding the meta tag on your site, go back to Pinterest and enter your website URL on the claim page.

Click Verify. Pinterest will now start the verification process, which takes up to 24 hours.

You will receive an email once your website is successfully verified!

That concludes the step-by-step verification process. Just upgrade your account, claim website, insert HTML tag and verify.

Troubleshooting Common Verification Issues

Sometimes the verification fails or has problems. Here are solutions for some common scenarios people face:

Verification tag not detected

  • Clear your caches so Pinterest can crawl the updated tag
  • Check robots.txt allows Pinterestbot crawling
  • Re-add the meta tag and ask Pinterest to re-verify

Site not indexed, images not attributed

  • Ensure tag is added correctly in header
  • Use indexing tools like IndexNow to submit URL for re-crawl
  • Add more quality content and keep sharing new pins

Reverification needed frequently

  • Meta tag may have got displaced; re-add and verify again
  • Upgrade account to business to resolve any restrictions
  • Seek help from Pinterest support if issues persist

Limited account preventing verification

  • Expand your account by adding more boards, pins and followers
  • Avoid any policy violations that can limit accounts
  • Confirm if country/location has any verification restrictions

Ownership not transferred after website sale

  • Previous owner must remove verification first
  • Raise a request with Pinterest support for ownership transfer
  • Get them to email authorizing the transfer for you

Feel free to reach out for any other verification problems!

Best Practices for Maximizing Pinterest Verification

Follow these tips to get the most out of verifying your WordPress website on Pinterest:

  • Create eye-catching pins using high-quality images, color palettes and text placement.

  • Optimize pins with relevant keywords so they appear in search results.

  • Publish new content regularly and share on Pinterest to keep gaining traffic.

  • Follow group boards in your niche to get added and reach new audiences.

  • Repin others‘ content along with your pins to increase engagement.

  • Be active daily – comment, like pins and follow people in your sector.

  • Use analytics to find and create more pins that resonate best.

  • Run Pinterest ad campaigns to boost high-performing pins and get more website conversions.

By driving more profile visits and interactions, you ensure your website gets maximum traffic from Pinterest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a business account to verify my site?

Yes, you need to upgrade to a business account on Pinterest before you can verify your website. The business account is free and provides access to more analytics features.

What details do I need to verify my site?

You need your website URL, access to update header tags, and the HTML meta tag code provided by Pinterest.

Does verification work for custom domains on WordPress.com?

Yes, you can verify sites with custom domains on WordPress.com the same way after upgrading to the business plan.

How long does verification take to complete?

The verification process usually takes up to 24 hours after you submit your website URL to Pinterest. You get an email once it is completed.

Can I transfer a verified website to a new owner?

Yes, but the previous owner has to remove the verification first. Then you need to submit a request to Pinterest to transfer ownership.

What are the account limits for verification?

To verify, your account should have 5+ boards, 20+ pins and be public. If you see any restrictions, expand your account activity.

Does country or location affect verification?

Pinterest has different rules for certain countries and regions. Some may have verification blocked due to local regulations.

I hope this detailed, step-by-step guide helped you learn how to successfully verify your WordPress website on Pinterest. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Written by Jason Striegel

C/C++, Java, Python, Linux developer for 18 years, A-Tech enthusiast love to share some useful tech hacks.