Put a pin in this: Social media legend Pinterest pivots from views to conversions, boosting ad revenue to $3.65B

Pinterest has transformed its advertising approach from primarily selling views to directly driving clicks and conversions, bolstering its competitive position in the crowded digital ad market. The platform’s strategic pivot toward performance marketing has yielded impressive results, with Pinterest reporting $3.65 billion in total revenue for 2024 as advertisers increasingly prioritize measurable outcomes over brand visibility across all stages of the marketing funnel.

The big picture: Pinterest has evolved its advertising strategy to balance brand and performance marketing tools, with Chief Revenue Officer Bill Watkins highlighting the shift “from selling views to selling clicks, and ultimately selling conversions.”

• The platform’s Performance+ AI-powered ad tool represents the culmination of this transformation, enabling more measurable outcomes for advertisers.
• Pinterest has invested heavily in measurement capabilities, partnering with nearly 100 measurement providers while developing first-party solutions like its conversion API.

Why this matters: Pinterest’s approach treats advertisements as content that can enhance rather than detract from user experience, potentially solving a fundamental tension in digital advertising.

• The platform views shopping feeds from partners like Amazon or Shopify merchants as valuable content that can be surfaced either organically or through paid placement.
• By leveraging user data, Pinterest aims to “surprise and delight” users with relevant discoveries, whether in the home feed, traditional search, or related search contexts.

How they measure success: Pinterest monitors a comprehensive set of metrics to gauge ad effectiveness and user tolerance for advertising.

• The company tracks user return frequency, pinning activity, click behavior, time spent off-site, and conversion quality through its API.
• Even as Pinterest increases ad load in certain areas, the company reports that ad relevancy is simultaneously improving.

What they’re saying: “Advertisers are voting with their dollars,” according to Watkins, noting that the focus on performance has become paramount across both upper and lower funnel marketing activities.

• Pinterest’s data suggests that all advertisers now demand conversion visibility, regardless of where they operate in the marketing funnel.
• The digital advertising landscape “has never been more focused on performance,” reflecting broader industry shifts toward measurable results.