If you’re a content creator or business owner using Pinterest to market your business, you’ve had to notice that your Pinterest data does not match across all different screens and pages. 

And having Pinterest data not matching can turn hard into harder.

When I began my Pinterest marketing journey I would check my Pinterest impressions on my home page analytics, only to find a completely different number when I clicked on that individual pin and it would literally break my brain.

In this article, we’re going to explain exactly why different impression counts show up on various pages, what the Pinterest analytics differences mean for your strategy, and which data to focus on so you can keep finding keywords for your business and growing your Pinterest.

What Are Pinterest Impressions?

For the new users, before we go into explaining the issue of Pinterest data not matching, we have to break down what are Pinterest Impressions ?

At its core, Pinterest impressions are how many times your content whether it’s a pin, a board, or even your profile appears on a user’s screen. IE: Monthly Views

 It doesn’t matter if they click, save, or interact with the pin. The simple fact that your pin comes across their device counts as an impression. 

These impressions can and many times do come from multiple places across Pinterest. Your pins could show up on a user’s home feed, which is personalized differently for each user based on their interests or activity on the platform.

Your Pinterest Pins could of been seen in search results, where users are looking for something specific. They also could have appeared in the Pinterest Discover feed, which shows content related to what a user’s previously engaged with or what Pinterest thinks they might like.

All of those examples count as impressions, and will dock up your overall monthly views, or account impressions.

Why Are Pinterest Impressions Important?

Personally, the monthly views or (overall impressions) of our Pinterest are the most important analytic we have.

Many users view this metric as how big your account is.

The more impressions you have means the more users are at the minimum coming across your content on their screens, which is perfect if you’re trying to build brand awareness, brand credibility or simply increase traffic to your website or course.

This is why understanding your Pinterest impressions are a crucial metric for your marketing strategy, they show how visible your content is to Pinterest’s global audience.

But, for those who are still not convinced let’s break this down even more.

Two words. Digital Marketing.

It is no longer 1995 your content has to get seen for it to grow. You could create the best pin the world has ever seen, but if no one sees it, it doesn’t matter.

 Impressions give you an inside look into how far your content is spreading.

I think of it as how many people out of the 438 Million Active Users does Pinterest allow me to reach.

 Impressions help you understand if your pins are growing the overall impressions of your account. Think of your impressions as how much Pinterest trusts you.

Pinterest Inconsistencies

But here’s where things get tricky. Even in the data I just previously showed you my 30 day data is different.

This is one of those things that can make you scratch your head and wonder, Why do Pinterest impressions look different depending on where I’m viewing them?

Many times, the numbers you see will look different on every page and time frame depending on what and where you’re looking at. 

Lets play a little game, check your Pinterest analytics, and see if your Pinterest impressions of each of your pins and see if they add up to your overall impressions on your home feed.

Little secret, they won’t.

This difference in impression counts is not a glitch that is real information. It is the result of Pinterest data not matching across the platform, and it’s something a lot of business owners and content creators see but do not know how to deal with.

Understanding these minor inconsistencies in your Pinterest impressions, why they happen, what they mean, and how to read the right analytics is a must have if you want to see the bigger picture and understand how to read your account as a whole. 

If you’re on Pinterest as a new user trying to grow your brand, generate traffic, or increase views to your website or online funnel, your Pinterest impressions are your starting point.

While your impressions will look different in different places, once you understand why, you can and will use that data to your advantage.

Impressions on Pinterest are much more than numbers. They are the analytical backbone that is needed to track your overall success on the platform. The more impressions you get, the better. 

The more people see your account the more money you can potentially make. 

Now that you understand what impressions are and why they are so important it’s time to get to the real question.

Why is my Pinterest data not matching?

Why Does Pinterest Show Different Impression Counts on Different Screens?

The Four Major Reasons

If you’ve ever found yourself staring at Pinterest analytics, scratching your head at the differing impressions counts, you’re not alone.

This is a common confusion between many creators and marketers (Including me). 

One minute you’re feeling like your strategy is working and the next you’re questioning everything. However this poses the question, Why does Pinterest data not match up on different screens? 

Let’s break this down to understand why Pinterest shows different impression counts on different pages. 

Reason 1. Source Differences: Home Feed vs. Individual Pin Page

When understanding Pinterest as a platform it is important to know that impressions don’t come from just one source.

 The impressions that show up in the home feed are from a ton of different sources; for example, search feed, boards you’ve pinned to, and the general recommendation feed.

 But when you open up the , individual pin analytics this gives you a much more detailed breakdown of which particular part of Pinterest is driving up your impressions.

 So if your Pinterest account is showing a lot of impressions it could only be through searches and not through the other parts of Pinterest, causing inconsistencies. 

So when you see analytics differences between the home feed and the individual pin pages, it is because the data is coming from different parts of Pinterest’s algorithm.

 Reason 2. Real-Time Data vs. Updated Data

Another reason why your seeing different impression counts could be because of a Pinterest feature called real-time data.  

Real-time data is information that instantly updates as users interact with your content providing live information to your analytics, views, clicks, and overall engagement. 

Pinterest is a massive platform that is always updating analytical information; however, sometimes everything doesn’t update at the same time.

So if your Pinterest data does not match on every screen, it is possible that the data hasn’t been fully refreshed across all sections of the platform. 

So for example, your home feed analytics could show just an overview of your accounts impressions, while your individual pin page might be showing data that has been updated recently.

Also it is important to know that, Pinterest is compromised on a system of rolling updates, which means that the impressions for some pins will be updated more frequently than the impressions of others.

 So, if you’re tracking impressions for a pin in real-time and then check the home feed later, the numbers can appear out of sync because they’re updated at different times.

Reason 3. Different Analytics Views & Different Metrics

Pinterest is not a social media site it’s a search engine.

This platform has several ways of displaying your analytics, each of them serving a different purpose.

 You can view your impressions from a broad overview in the home feed analytics tab, which includes the general reach of your content across the platform.

 Then, if you were to go click on the specific pin, you will get a much more detailed look at how that individual pin is performing.

However, here’s where the confusion starts.

The home feed analytics show a combined total of impressions from multiple sources: your profile, boards, pins, etc. giving you an overall idea on how your Pinterest Business Account is performing as a whole.

But when you get into your individual pin’s data, you’re going to see a more detailed breakdown of that singular pin’s performance over the allotted time you have chosen.

Since Pinterest manages and tracks impressions differently from your home feed, your numbers will look different.

These aren’t technically errors, just Pinterest showing you a different perspective of your content’s performance.

 Reason 4. Differences in Time Zones and Geographical Data

Lastly, don’t forget your impressions come from users all over the world, which creates additional issues in how Pinterest presents your data. 

If you’re seeing different impression counts in different sections, it could also be related to global time zones.

Time, location and even the political environment are all variables that play into why your Pinterest impressions are displayed differently in different sections within the account.

It’s all part of the broader picture of how Pinterest tracks and displays user engagement across its platform.

Which Pinterest Impressions Counts Should You Pay Attention To?

Now, here is the million-dollar question: which Pinterest impression counts should you focus on?

The answer: It depends.

If you are looking to see how your Pinterest business account is performing as a whole check your home page analytics that show your Monthly Views.

If you want to see how each individual pin is doing we suggest viewing the Individual Pin Stats.

Explanation:

If your goal is to get a general understanding of your content’s reach overall, the home page analytics and impressions is your best bet because these impressions show the entire general overview on every pin that you have made, saved and boarded is doing across Pinterest. 

When I view my home page feed analytics most times I am just seeing how “big” my account really is.

This doesn’t mean that your pins success equals up to this number, but this is how many people have at least seen your content. 

So to be educationally accurate. These impressions track how often your pins show up in the main feed, search results, making it a great gauge for overall visibility.

However, if you’re just wanting to see how well each of your pins are individually growing and progressing you should focus on the impressions count when you click onto the individual pin. 

This data is much more precise and will help you see just how well your pin is actually performing.

The first time I saw my individual numbers compared to my monthly views my feelings was hurt.

So, should you ignore one set of impressions over the other?

Hell No.

Both are important metrics that you need to understand to fully know how your Pinterest Business  is doing. 

Think of it like this: your monthly views are showing you the total reach your account has as a whole, while your individual Pinterest pin impressions are based on how that singular pin is doing and has been engaged with.

Final Thoughts 

To sum everything up, the reason why you’re seeing different impressions counts on your Pinterest accounts all comes down to the way Pinterest tracks, receives, measures, and presents your data.

 Whether you’re just checking the impressions on your home page or  if you search into each individual pin, the analytical numbers will be different based on what database you’re pulling from, how recent the data is, and even which analytics you are looking to see.

So, next time you’re confused by your inaccurate impressions, think that the impressions might not be inaccurate after all. 

Now that you have all this information, I have no doubt that you will easily be able to understand your different Pinterest impressions counts more effectively and begin to use the ‘differing data’ to  grow your brand and Pinterest success.

Thank you for reading, hope you learned something. For more informative marketing content visit Boring Hustlers on all social medias platforms to grow your business today.