Keyword targeting
Keyword targeting lets you reach people as they search for a specific idea on Pinterest.
Add keywords related to the ad you’re promoting—for instance, if you’re promoting living room furniture, try targeting people searching for “living room decor” or “home decor ideas.” Make sure any keywords you add are relevant to your Pin and compliant with our policies, or your ad may get rejected.
Keyword match types
You can use match types and negative keywords to target Pinners’ search terms with even more precision.
Get precise control over which searches your ad appears in by using phrase and exact matches to narrow in on specific searches, or use broad match to reach a wider audience. Negative keywords let you exclude certain search terms from triggering your ads and can be set at the ad group or campaign level.
When adding match types through Ads Manager directly, use operators to indicate the match type. For broad match, leave a keyword as is. For phrase match, use quotations around your keywords. For exact match, use brackets around your keywords (see Example keyword below). Operators are not necessary when using Bulk editor.
| Match type |
Summary |
Example keyword | Eligible search | Ineligible search |
| Broad match (default) | Pins show for your own keyword as well as for misspellings, synonyms, and other related search terms. Word order does not matter. | Kitchen design | Kitchen decor ideas, wall paper designs | T-shirt ideas |
| Phrase match | Pins show on search terms that include the entire phrased contained in the specified keyword as well as misspellings and close variations of that phrase. The search term phrase must use the same word order as the keyword. | "Kitchen design" | Kitchen design ideas, Kitchen designs | Kitchen decor idea, Design kitchen |
| Exact match | Pins show on your exact keyword or on a close variation of that keyword. Word order matters. | [Kitchen design] | Kitchen design, Kitchen designs | Kitchen design idea, Design kitchen, Kitchen decor |
| Negative phrase match | Your Pins will not show on any search that contains the entire keyword phrase within the search term. Word order matters. | "Bedroom decor" | Kitchen decor | Bedroom decor tips |
| Negative exact match | Your Pins will not show on a search that matches your keyword exactly. Order matters. | [Bedroom decor] | Modern bedroom decor, Kitchen decor | Bedroom decor |
Keywords can be added on ad group creation, but are edited in the "Keywords" panel of an ad group, rather than in the ad group edit modal. On the ad group page for ad groups in search placements, you'll see a toggle for "Pin Promotions" and for "Keywords" right below the graph and above the table of data. Select "Keywords" here, then add or delete keywords as needed.
Negative keywords can only be added using the "Keywords" panel of a campaign or ad group.
Learn how to pull a report on your keyword performance here.