If you’re just starting out with Pinterest, you may be confused about all the different metrics in the analytics and how to use them.
Which one should you pay attention to? Which one do you have the most control of?
In this article, I will dive deeper into the topic of outbound clicks, and offer some tips on how you can increase them.
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First, what are outbound clicks?
Outbound clicks are user actions on Pinterest that lead them off the platform. It is one of the most important Pinterest analytics metrics as it is directly related to the traffic you receive to your blog.
They shouldn’t be confused with Pin clicks, they are not the same thing.
I’ve been using Pinterest to drive traffic to my blogs for nearly 10 years, and now, as a Pinterest Manager, I continue achieving the same excellent results also for my clients.
This article will provide a summary of the tactics that currently work based on my extensive experience with my own accounts and also my client accounts.
What are Outbound Clicks on Pinterest?
Here is the full official definition from Pinterest:
The number of times people perform actions that lead them to a destination off Pinterest.
Note: Outbound clicks are measured starting from the date the link is added.
This definition is rather vague, as ‘user actions’ could mean a variety of different things.
To get a more accurate definition, you can dig around Pinterest help pages and find a more simplified version of the definition:
The total number of clicks to the destination URL associated with your Pin or ad. (source)
Why Aren’t They Just Called Clicks?
That’s because Pinterest needs to differentiate between outbound clicks – when you navigate off the platform – and pin clicks, which is when a user clicks on the image without navigating out of the platform.
These two metrics are independently reported in Pinterest analytics and are part of your overall engagement score.

What is Outbound Click Rate on Pinterest?
Outbound click rate is defined as ‘The total number of clicks to the destination URL associated with your Pin divided by the total number of times your Pins were on screen’. (source)
‘the total number of times your pins were on screen’ is basically the impressions metric in your analytics.
A simplified definition would be: the percentage of how many of your impressions lead to an outbound click.
Is outbound click rate (OCR) on Pinterest important?
No, it isn’t!
I know may sound illogical, but let me explain!
Pinterest calculates OCR based on impressions.
Impression doesn’t mean anyone has seen your content.
To count a single impression, all you need is for one pixel of your pin to be displayed for at least one continuous second.
So how is the user supposed to click on your website link if they only see the edge of your pin at the bottom of the screen?
Do you see where I’m going with this?
Let’s dive deeper and I will show you how to calculate a more accurate metric instead.
Pin Clicks vs Outbound Clicks on Pinterest
Pin clicks are defined as: The total number of times people tap on a Pin or ad that leads them to a destination on or off Pinterest. (source)
This definition is a little tricky, as it essentially includes the definition of outbound clicks – ‘leads them to a destination on or off Pinterest.’
That’s because a portion of your outbound clicks will start off as a pin click first, and then an outbound click.
Pinterest explains in its methodology pages how it records these two actions, and how it charges advertisers for the pin click only, not for outbound clicks.
Pick vs Outbound Click-Through Rate
An interesting metric to look at when it comes to your Pinterest analytics is your pin click through rate and your outbound click through rate.
When users click on your pin, they have an option to return to the search result or click through to visit your site.
In theory, these two numbers would tell you what a big gap you have in converting those who see your pin into your blog visitors.
Unfortunately, this metric is pretty flawed as it relies on impressions, as I explained earlier.
So if the tiny corner of your pin image is displayed in the results, the users have no way to click on the image or click on your website, even though Pinterest has recorded this as an impression.
The bar is pretty low on this one, isn’t it?
The Right Way to Calculate It
What I found more useful is checking out the total number of pin clicks, say for the last 30 days, and also outbound clicks for the same period of time.
Then I divide them to find out what percentage of people who click on my pin, have also followed through and clicked on the link to go to my website.
I’ve done this exercise for a smaller Pinterest account below.

The real outbound click rate for this account is 10.7%, while the projected Pinterest analytics metric shows that my overall outbound click-through rate is only 0.32%.
That’s because – again – they do not compare the outbound clicks to pin clicks but to impressions, which are a very inaccurate metric to use.
Real outbound click rate Calculation on Pinterest: total number of outbound clicks divided by total number of pin clicks, multiplied by 100.
What To Do with This Data?
Now that you know how to calculate the correct outbound click rate (CTR for short) for your content, you might wonder – how shall I use this?
Good question!
There are a few ways you should work with this metric:
1. Seasonality Trends
Check for seasonality trends and adjust your pinning strategy accordingly.
If you see a low CTR in winter months, check what sort of content people search for in winter and add that to your content calendar.
2. Optimize Your Best Performing Content
Review individual data on your pins (clicks and outbound clicks) to determine whether you can increase the overal CTR for that piece of content.
Can you craft a more compelling headline? Use a better image?
Are there other competitors for the keyword that are ranking above you? If yes, why?
3. Improve Your SEO
Adding the right type of keywords to the right pin images makes a world of difference in getting your audience to discover the content they want to learn more about.
You can review your current strategy and see if the description and headline accurately describe what your blog article has to offer, and if there is a way to optimize it better, to capture more impressions on Pinterest.
4. Improve Your Content Quality
One of the easiest ways to increase your CTR is improving the content quality – that means a better image, more striking colors, more engaging headline that compels people to click on the link.
Test the location of your text overlay, choice of colors, placement of the images and other aspects of your pins to determine which of those drives the best results for you.
5. Choose the Right Keywords
There are certain type of keywords that are more ‘click worthy’ than others.
For example, people searching for ‘Rome Aesthetic’ just want to get a feel of the place, and maybe save some photos as an inspiration. They do not need a guide explaining to them what Rome Aesthetic is all about.
On the other hand, a similar keyword like Rome Photography would indicate more of a click intent as they would want to read an article about the best photography locations in Rome.
Review your content and see if you’re targeting the right keywords – those that lead to clicks, not just saves.
How to See Outbound Clicks in Pinterest Analytics
Now let’s get back to the main topic.
Where do you see outbound clicks in your account?
You will navigate to the analytics, and there are a few places to check outbound clicks.
1. Overall Outbound Clicks Analytics
The main dashboard will give you the full account data which you can filter for different time periods. At the bottom of the graph, you will see the total number of outbound clicks for the selected time period.
You can use the dashboard to add additional filters which will show you for example pin clicks and outbound clicks in the same window.
2. Outbound Clicks for Boards
At the bottom of the analytics, you will find a section showing your top boards, which you can also filter by outbound clicks. Make sure you filtered your analytics view to show data for your own content only, as recommended earlier.
High outbound clicks from certain boards will indicate that you should create more content around that topic, as it resonates the best with your audience, and they want to read more about it.
3. Outbound Clicks for Pins
Further down in the analytics, you will find reporting for individual pins, which you can filter by outbound clicks.
This metric is shown for your selected time period, and you can also filter it to see data on the pins created in the last 30 days, so your most fresh pins.
4. Outbound Clicks for Individual Pins
The last outbound click metric can be found if you click on any of your pins.
At the top of it, you will see a snapshot of the analytics, with a button to see more. This will reveal analytics for this individual pin, and you can see how it performs over time.
So which one of these should you pay attention to?
I think it’s important to keep tabs on how much traffic you’re getting from Pinterest, and for that, you’ll be fine tracking two main metrics: outbound clicks (or real traffic to your site) and outbound click rate, as calculated using the formula I shared earlier.
Analyzing the different sections of analytics with data for outbound clicks is useful when you’re doing a Pinterest audit and want to see which content works best for your audience.
For your ongoing work with the account, just stick to the two data points.


How to Get More Outbound Clicks on Pinterest
I have already covered five ways to get more outbound clicks in the section above.
In addition to these, you should keep this in mind to increase your outbound clicks:
1. Avoid Using Outdated Techniques
- Do not use hashtags
- Don’t join too many unrelated group boards
- Pin mostly your own content
- Pin only one pin to the same URL in one day
- Do not spam
2. Add CTA to Your Descriptions
You don’t want to give out the whole content in your description.
Make sure you use a good call to action (CTA) at the end of your description and ask your readers to check your article.
Avoid clickbait in your titles.
Need to Learn More?
If you want to learn more about success on Pinterest, I created a free simple mini course that will teach you everything you need to know about the platform.
Sign up for my newsletter below, and you get free access to the course!
Key Takeaways
Outbound clicks are an important Pinterest metric that tells you how much traffic you’re getting from Pinterest to your website.
In addition to the clicks, you should also calculate your own click-through rate using outbound clicks and pin clicks, as the official metric used on Pinterest is not accurate.
There are seven ways you can increase outbound clicks to your site, which I have covered in detail in this article.
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