how-to-not-get-banned-Pinterest

Pinterest is the number one traffic source for a lot of bloggers on the Internet. Except for website traffic, many use the platform to improve their SEO results and create stronger backlinks for their website content. 

Personally, I have been using it, both personally and professionally, for a couple of years now and I have seen great results for me and many of my clients. In fact, I am such a huge Pinterest fan that I’ve dedicated a lot of time to write guest posts about the platform as well as my own blog article that discusses the relevancy of the platform in 2020.

So, I was very surprised to find out that my account got suspended last week. As a marketer and someone who spends a lot of time online, I proud to be very familiar with dos and don’ts on Social Media, especially Pinterest yet I’ve managed to get banned. 

Table of Contents

  1. How I got suspended on Pinterest?
  2. What happened after?
  3. What can get your Pinterest account in trouble?

How I got suspended on Pinterest?

Well, let me start here… It was a lovely Monday (or was it Tuesday) morning and I was about to start my normal workday routine. I had my coffee ready and I was in a mood for some ‘cold emailing’. I’ve recently started reaching out to other businesses and small companies, so I was ready to find potential prospects for my business. 

While I was reaching out, I had trouble finding out about one of the businesses I was pursuing. I have managed to find them on Instagram, but that was about it. And I needed their information in order to reach out to ask them if they are interested in what I had to offer.

Anyway, after a couple of loooong minutes of going back and forth or ‘researching’, I was able to find the brand’s Pinterest account, and directly from there, I have discovered the owner of the brand. Talk to me about good SEO. It felt like good progress but I was still unable to discover the information I was looking for – the email address of the business. Needless to say, I was disappointed, because emails are the best way to go when reaching out. 

But I also took it as an opportunity to find prospects outside of the regular ‘cold emailing’ method. So, I took my time and I have written and tailored a message for the brand’s owner.

Even though I had my doubts, by that time, I was so unhappy with the whole process, I had already lost my morning motivation, so I reread the message I was about to send and clicked the send button.

And this was my mistake. A couple of hours later, I received a message from Pinterest announcing that my account was suspended because it violates their spam policies.

I was very shocked considering I have sent only one message. A single message with nothing illegal and customized for the specific person got me banned from the platform. Was that for real?

Apparently, it was, because I was unable to log in to my Pinterest and the URL of my (now previous) profile was broken. So all of my backlinks were now gone because of one message. 

Even though, today, most of my website visitors come from organic searches, at the beginning my primary traffic source was Pinterest and a solid part of my website traffic comes from this platform. I was not ready to give that up.

Fortunately enough, I had the option to dispute the suspension and request an account review within 48 hours. I was certain that this would not work for me (now I started feeling like a spammer for sending a single text) but I’ve clicked on the link and waited.

A few days later, I tried to log in and my account was back online. I could not believe it. I have gotten banned from the platform but just as quick my account was back and running. Over a message. So bizarre. 

What happened after?

● Google rankings. My Pinterest account was removed from Google and it will take a couple of weeks for it to catch up and hopefully get on the first page of Google for relevant terms. 

● My viewers dropped. Because it took a while to fix this issue, my Pinterest viewers have gone down. This is not a problem but it will also take a little time before real progress is made. 

I am so happy to have my account back and I am grateful to have another shot with Pinterest. As I have said before, I really enjoy the platform because of how helpful it is for me and others.

However, this experience helped me to realize how easy it is to get banned from this platform, so I am writing this article to describe the different ways you can get banned on Pinterest. First of all, it is important to note that Pinterest can suspend your account because of two reasons – 1. because your account got flagged (reported) by other users or 2. because it triggered a spam filter in the system (because of a glitch). Either way, it is important to take action when this happens. 

What can get your Pinterest account in trouble?

how-to-avoid-getting-banned-Pinterest-2

● Reposting other people’s content. Do not post unoriginal content, especially if it is not created by you. Do not use content that does not belong to you or you do not have permission to use. Create high-quality posts and use only copyright-free images.

● Spamming:

– Repetitive pinning. Sharing repetitive, deceptive, or irrelevant content in an attempt to make money is another way to get banned on the platform. You can use tools like Tailwind (a great tool and partner of Pinterest) to avoid spammy behavior when it comes to sharing content or create new artwork every once in a while to keep your pins fresh. 

– Messages or comments in bulk. Yes, do not send messages or comments in bulk. Sending multiple messages can be dangerous territory. If one message can get you in trouble, then sending a few can absolutely end your Pinterest account. The same applies to comments.

● Automation & unnatural pinning. Using third-party software not approved by Pinterest is another very easy way to get your account suspended. Unfortunately, the use of automation software can make it harder to get your account back. Unnatural pinning refers to pinning too often ‘like a robot’ and it is very similar to using automation tools. It can also get your account in trouble.

● Misleading content. Sharing misleading content like pictures and links can get you in very big trouble. Especially if the pins are meant to convert money. 

● Improper link placement. Links are meant to be placed in one place, and one place only – in the URL bar. Improper link placement can surely get you in trouble. 

● Sharing private Information. A picture of your passport or ID, even your financial record is considered as prohibited content on the platform. Disallowed content such as harassment and violence can 100% get your account suspended. 

● Do not mess up with Pinterest’s software. Do not try to manipulate the algorithm and avoid the use of any undocumented or unsupported method to access, search, scrape, download or change any part of Pinterest.

You can learn more about Pinterest’s community guidelines here

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