If you weren’t aware of it, Pinterest has a Verified Merchant Program in place for ecommerce businesses. This program provides several benefits for both the business and the consumer. Let’s review the program so you can decide if it’s right for you.
Advantages for Ecommerce Businesses
There are four key advantages of the Pinterest Verified Merchant Program.
Verified Badge
You get an exclusive badge on your profile that helps you stand out. It’s a signal to consumers that your company has been vetted and you’re a trustworthy company. Here is an example of a company with the badge:
For this screenshot, I hovered over the checkmark so you could see what consumers see. In contrast, here is a company that isn’t verified yet (I purposely chose one not located in the US to be fair since the VMP isn’t available in other countries yet).
Shop Tab
Besides the check mark, when you compare the two images, you can also see the difference with the “shop” tab. You must first add your catalog to Pinterest. All of your shopable products are then in one easy to find place.
More Visibility
As a verified merchant, your pins will also show in shopping experiences such as related pins. This increases your brand and product awareness by introducing new audiences and viewers to you. Take a look at the increase in impressions for product pins once they were approved for the program…it’s very remarkable! Just take note then they also saw a downturn in impressions from their standard pins since Pinterest now preferred to show the product pins organically more instead. There was a trade off, but this is such a dramatic uptick, that it was worth it.
Conversion Analytics
Get early access to conversion analytics to gain more insights into how your organic and paid traffic is contributing to your overall sales.
Remember, it’s free to join this program, so there isn’t really a good reason not to join. You can review all of the requirements to make sure you qualify. For example, businesses that sell certain products such as alcohol, infant formula or healthcare products, are prohibited. Or, if your website is out of date, you won’t qualify.
How To Apply for the Verified Pinterest Merchant Program
It’s quick and easy to apply. You might even be able to skip a few steps if you are already advertising on Pinterest. Head over to the Verified Merchant Program Page and click “Apply Now”. From there, you just have to make sure you:
- Connect Your Catalog.
- Your site tag is installed and has a “healthy” status (meaning everything is tracking properly)
- You meet all of the eligibility requirements and pass upon review.
Have you applied for the Verified Merchant Program? Have you seen an increase in organic traffic from Pinterest to your site? Comment below to share your experiences.
