How to Do Pinterest Keyword Research (Free)
Keywords are the foundation of every pin that ranks. Here are five free ways to find exactly what your audience searches for on Pinterest — no paid tools required.
1. Pinterest search autocomplete
Start typing your topic in the Pinterest search bar and note the suggestions that drop down. Pinterest orders them by popularity, so the top ones are the most-searched. Try your seed plus a letter ("meal prep a," "meal prep b") to surface even more.
2. Guided search tiles
After you search, Pinterest shows colored tiles of related terms under the bar. These are the modifiers real users add — "easy," "cheap," "for beginners," "aesthetic." Stack them onto your seed to build specific, lower-competition long-tail keywords.
3. Pinterest Trends
Pinterest Trends (trends.pinterest.com) shows search volume over time and seasonality. Use it to confirm a keyword is growing and to time seasonal pins — many topics spike weeks earlier on Pinterest than anywhere else.
4. The Pinterest Ads keyword tool
You don't have to run ads. Open the Ads Manager, start a campaign draft, and the keyword targeting box will suggest terms with volume ranges. Note them down, then exit without publishing.
5. Reverse-engineer competitor pins
Find a top pin in your niche and read its title, description and board name. The words a ranking pin already uses are proven keywords — borrow the pattern (never copy the content).
Skip the manual work
Enter one seed keyword and get dozens of Pinterest-style long-tail ideas, grouped by intent — free.
Generate keywords →Turn keywords into a pin that ranks
Finding keywords is step one. Then you have to place them well: the main keyword near the front of a 40–100 character title, once in the description, and 2–5 relevant hashtags. Our Pinterest SEO guide walks through it, and the Pin SEO score checks your draft automatically.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pinterest keyword research free?
Yes. Autocomplete, guided search, Trends and the ads tool are all free, and PinRank's keyword generator is free with no login.
How many keywords do I need per pin?
One clear focus keyword, plus a few related terms woven naturally into the description and board. Don't cram — relevance beats quantity.