How To Set Up a Pinterest Product Feed: Best Practices

A Pinterest product feed is a file that contains all of the relevant information Pinterest needs to create product pins for your business’s product catalog. This makes it easier to create shoppable pins for your merchandise and update pins as product details change. 

Pinterest reports that 85% of its weekly users in the United States have made a purchase from a brand’s pin. With around 105 million active users in the US and Canada and more than 600 million worldwide, Pinterest presents many opportunities for brand discovery and sales. 

For ecommerce brands, success on this social media platform starts with having accurate product pins, which derive from your Pinterest product feed. Here’s how to set up a Pinterest product feed, along with best practices to make the most of the platform’s tools. 

What is a Pinterest product feed?

A Pinterest product feed is an organized collection of data that ecommerce stores upload to Pinterest. These files give Pinterest detailed information about your product catalog so that it can make shoppable product pins for items in your store. Pinterest also uses this data to determine which audiences might be interested in your products. These feeds must include all relevant information needed to effectively market and sell products. 

Pinterest product feeds come from spreadsheets, with every row representing one product and each column containing a different attribute for that product, such as a unique ID number, product title, and product description, among other details. You can add additional columns to your product feed to outline optional attributes, such as the condition of an item (used or new) or the materials from which the item is made. 

Pinterest turns each row from your data feed into a product pin. Users can see details like the price, product image, and a purchase link. Product pins appear across Pinterest—in home feeds, search results, related pins, and more—helping new customers discover your store. Product pins also form the basis for Pinterest ads, should you choose to advertise on the platform. 

How to set up a Pinterest product feed

1. Make a Pinterest business account
2. Connect your account to your online store
3. Claim your website
4. Install the Pinterest tag
5. Build your product feed file
6. Upload your product feed file

Setting up a Pinterest product feed is fairly straightforward, especially with automated assistance from an ecommerce platform like Shopify:

1. Make a Pinterest business account

You can’t upload a Pinterest product feed or make shoppable pins without a Pinterest business account. You can either create your account from scratch or convert a personal Pinterest account into a business account by going to Settings and then Account Management. 

Pinterest has a few requirements that all sellers on the platform must meet, such as: 

• Pinterest merchants cannot be wholesalers or affiliate marketers.

• All merchants must have a clear return policy.

• Merchants must have high-quality, easy-to-use websites.

Pinterest outlines all of its merchant guidelines on its website.

2. Connect your account to your online store

At this stage, you can sync your products between your Pinterest business account and ecommerce platform. 

For example, connect your Pinterest business account to your Shopify store by downloading the Pinterest app in the Shopify App Store. This automates most of the following processes. If you link your Shopify store and Pinterest account, your website will be claimed, the Pinterest tag will be installed, and your Shopify product feed will be connected with Pinterest, automatically generating product pins for your entire catalog.

3. Claim your website

Claiming your website on Pinterest verifies that you are the owner of the relevant ecommerce site and connects it to your Pinterest account. Once you’ve claimed your website, you’ll have access to more analytics and tools on Pinterest, such as insights into how many people are sharing your product pins. If you synced your site using the Pinterest app for Shopify, you can skip this step.

There are three ways to do this manually: with an HTML tag, HTML file, or DNS TXT record. All three methods require the ability to edit your website’s source code. Whether you choose a method based on preference or comfort level with that code, Pinterest offers a helpful guide for each approach. To use any of these methods, go to the settings section of your business account, click on Claimed Accounts, and follow the prompts.

4. Install the Pinterest tag

Similar to claiming your website, installing the Pinterest tag on your business’s website requires the ability to edit the source code. Navigate to Conversions under the Business section of your Pinterest business menu. You’ll see a button to Install your Pinterest tag, which will give you the option to install a tag through three different methods: skipping instructions and installing it manually, receiving step-by-step instructions via email, or installing the tag through an integration partner, such as Shopify.

If you have not synced your Shopify store and Pinterest business account, you can set up a Pinterest product feed using the next two steps.

5. Build your product feed file

To upload your product feed, you must first build a file that contains your product catalog’s key data in a format that Pinterest can read. Pinterest accepts four formats: CSV, TSV, XML files, or Google Sheets. No matter which you choose, you’ll organize your products in rows. Each row should contain a unique product, and each column will contain at least these eight attributes required by Pinterest:

• ID number (a unique product label that doesn’t change, such as a SKU) 

• Product title

• Product description

• A link to the item’s product page (as a URL)

• A link to an image of the product (as a URL)

• Price

• Availability (such as in stock or preorder)

• An item group ID for variants such as colorways or size

You can add additional columns and values for any supplemental attributes you’d like to include.

6. Upload your product feed file

There are three ways to upload your data feed to Pinterest. First, you can manually upload the file in the Catalogues section of your account. Go to Catalogues under the Pinterest business menu, then click on Data Sources. This is where you’ll upload your product feed. 

Linking your Shopify store and Pinterest business account means you can skip this step, as Shopify will have already uploaded your product feed automatically. Pinterest will check either your manually uploaded data feed or Shopify retail catalog once every 24 hours to update the information shown on product Pins. 

Best practices for maintaining Pinterest product feeds

• Ensure product data is up to date
• Use specific and detailed metadata
• Organize merchandise in product groups
• Use high-quality product images

Optimizing your product feed will set your product pins up for success because an accurate, detailed feed is easier for the Pinterest algorithm to share with relevant shoppers. Keep these guiding principles in mind to ensure your Pinterest product feed produces high-performing pins:

Ensure product data is up to date

The data in your product feed is the foundation of your product pins, so updating product details such as an item’s current price, availability, and direct link is crucial. Review your feed frequently to make sure the information within is accurate and that things like images and product links are showing up correctly and working as expected.

Pinterest automatically scans hosted product catalogs once every 24 to 48 hours to update pins with any new information. If you’re using the Pinterest app for Shopify or hosting your product feed at an accessible URL, the platform can update product pins with accurate information every day. If you upload your data source manually, you’ll need to re-upload it every time product details change.

Use specific and detailed metadata

The eight required values in your Pinterest product feed each contain metadata, information that Pinterest reads to understand your products and create product pins for your merchandise. The more detailed your product metadata is, the easier it is for Pinterest’s algorithm to show your products to users who are likely to be interested in them. 

Provide specific information about product features, such as materials, color, and dimensions. In the text fields of your data feed—such as the title and descriptions—include keywords that potential shoppers might be searching for to help them find your product. 

An effective product description provides details about function and form. If you’re creating a product pin for extra virgin olive oil, for example, you might include “cold pressed” and “single origin” in the description field to help customers understand what makes your product unique.

Organize merchandise in product groups

Product groups help Pinterest—and your ads on the platform—better target potential customers. These are custom collections of products that will appear together on your shopping profile, and they can be organized however you like, whether that’s by product type, price range, aesthetic, or another quality. 

For example, a furniture brand might create a product group for living-room-focused merchandise. You can promote product groups with ads, showing prospective customers a selection of items that they might be interested in instead of just one.

Use high-quality product images

Product images are the most prominent aspect of your product pins, and they’ll be sourced from your data feed. Your main product image for each product pin should be high-quality and have immediate visual appeal. If it isn’t something you’d use on your website’s product page or other social media accounts, then it shouldn’t be the image in your product feed.