How do you choose your Pinterest board names?
Should you pick random ideas from the platform or is there a specific system you should follow?
Are your current board names helping your content rank faster?
As a Pinterest manager, I help my clients clean up their boards and come up with a board strategy that drives traffic to their websites.
Most of my clients had no idea what to name their boards and why, so in this article, I will cover everything you need to know to set up your boards for success on Pinterest!
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Pinterest Board Names: Why are They Important?
First, let’s establish when the board name matters.
If you’re using Pinterest as your personal mood board for projects and inspiration, you don’t need to worry about the names you give to your boards.
You can name them anything you want and create as many as you want.
If you use Pinterest for business, and your goal is to drive traffic to your website, then you need to follow some basic rules for selecting board names.
Why?
Board names are part of the Pinterest algorithm, which detects your keywords from both your board name and the board description.
In the screenshot below, you can see that they extract text from the titles of the boards the pin is saved too, and they also check the text

I have already covered how to select boards in this article, and in another article, I discussed how to correctly create a board from scratch.
Here, let’s cover choosing the right names for your boards.
Pinterest Board Names Ideas: 7 Common Mistakes to Avoid
The main purpose of Pinterest board name is to give your audience, and also the algorithm, a clue on what the board is about, and what kind of content is saved there.
Boards help to categorize the content you share on the platform, and keep your account nice and tidy.
Let’s look at some of the most common mistakes I encounter as a Pinterest manager.
Here are a couple of screenshots with what I consider poor names for boards.
As you can see they are way too long, very specific and one of them has even a year in title.

On the other hand, here are some examples of good board names – short, descriptive, based on Pinterest keywords.

Lets cover some mistakes you should avoid when selecting your board names.
1. Branded Board Names
I totally get why some bloggers and business owners want to do this. You want your boards to represent your brand and tone of voice.
But board names are not the place to use your branding – you have your pin colors, fonts and other aspects of your Pinterest marketing to do that.
The main purpose of a board is to categorize your content and help the algorithm understand what it is about.
Please do not use your blog name or brand name as part of the board—see point 2 for more information.
2. Too Long Board Names
The board name should be two or three words maximum. Those tend to perform the best.
Why?
Because a keyword maximum of 3 words long still has a decent search volume, your audience can still read most of the name when they’re looking through your profile.
3. Quirky Board Names
Your board name should contain your keyword, that’s it.
No quirky signs, made-up words, or fancy descriptions.
If you use them, the algorithm has no way to figure out what your board is about, and all you’re doing is just reducing the distribution of your content.
4. Funny Board Names
On that note, no funny names. No puns.
Keep it simple, and leave the humor as part of your pin description or the content on the landing page or article itself.
Board names are not the place to get creative.
5. Too Broad Names
I mentioned that board names should be ideally 2 – 3 words long.
If you use board name like: Food – that’s very short and very broad, and unlikely to perform well.
If you’re a travel blogger, having a board for ‘Travel’ is also not a good idea. Try to make it a little more specific and use at least two words.
‘World Travel’ or ‘Europe Travel’ will be a much better choice in this case.
6. Broad for Every Article
I did not mention this in my previous articles on this topic, but you should NOT create a board for every article you have.
Why?
You should only have boards to which you can contribute new content on a regular basis.
If you create one board per article, you’re only saving one article to the board, and then it sits there inactive, collecting dust.
It will impact engagement levels on your account as a whole, and that’s a bad thing for Pinterest.
7. Years in Board Titles
Pinterest likes fresh, new content, so you may think that adding years to each board title will boost your visibility.
It might do, but likely will do more harm than good.
There is nothing wrong with having a handful of boards where you have the year in tittle, but do not use it for all of them.
Pinterest Board Names Ideas: Checklist
Now that we know all the potential pitfalls to avoid, here is a simple checklist you should follow to make sure your board has the best chance to rank on Pinterest:
- your board name should be a Pinterest keyword
- you should have at least 20 – 30 articles that you can save to the board
- use short 2 – 3 word keywords for your board titles
- do not use funny words, puns or anything else
- keep the title descriptive
- add SEO optimized description for each board (check here for instructions)
- generate ideas for board names based on your keyword list
How to Rank Faster in 2025 and Beyond
In 2025 and beyond, it’s super important to research your keywords correctly, use them in the right places, and, most importantly, remain consistent with your strategy!
Thankfully, there are a few tools you can use to make your work much faster and more efficient and help you rank much faster.
I personally use Pin Inspector to plan out my boards, and it takes minutes instead of hours.
This article provides a full guide on how to create a board plan using Pin Inspector.
If you don’t have Pin Inspector yet, I highly recommend getting it here. It’s a very affordable one-time payment that will save you a ton of time and offer unique insights about your competitors and other hidden metrics on Pinterest.
Check out the topics below to help you boost your Pinterest performance and rank faster with your content:
- Pinterest SEO Tips: How to Rank on Pinterest in One Month [With Proof]
- Pinterest Marketing Hacks: 3 Ways to Use Pin Inspector for Explosive Growth
- Pinterest Keyword Search: How To Find Low Competition Keywords Faster
- What Are Impressions on Pinterest and How to Increase Them?
Key Takeaways
- Pinterest Board Names Matter: Board names significantly influence Pinterest’s algorithm, impacting how your content ranks and drives traffic.
- Use for Business vs. Personal: For personal use, board names can be anything. However, for business, they need to be strategic and keyword-optimized.
- SEO & Keywords: Pinterest extracts keywords from both board names and descriptions, which helps categorize your content and boosts visibility.
- Common Naming Mistakes – Avoid using branded names, overly long titles, quirky or funny names, and overly broad terms. Do not create boards for every article or include years in board titles unless absolutely necessary.
- Ideal Board Names: Should be short (2-3 words), descriptive, and keyword-focused to maximize searchability and engagement.
- Content Consistency: Boards should be regularly updated with relevant content to maintain engagement and avoid inactivity.
- Future Strategy: In 2025 and beyond, keyword research, consistent updates, and tools like Pin Inspector will be crucial for ranking efficiently on Pinterest.
Want to Learn More?
Sign up for my newsletter to get access to my free Pinterest Mini Course.
This PDF guide will give you a crash course in Pinterest Marketing – plus I included access to my free AI tool for creating SEO optimized titles & descriptions.
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