After adding search ads to their platform earlier this year, Pinterest is now making the option available to all businesses by adding search to their self-serve ad platform.

Pinterest's search ads function much as you'd expect - when a user conducts a search for a key term (or key terms) you've targeted, your Promoted Pins show up, similar to how you would use Google search ads.

Initially, the search ads were only available via Pinterest partners, but now they're being added as an option within Pinterest's Ads Manager, making it easier for any business to tap into Pinner search intent.

And there’s good reason why you might want to do so – Pinterest currently facilitates more than 2 billion searches per month, with mobile text searches up 40% on last year (nearly 85% of all searches on Pinterest now happen on mobile devices). Pinners also come to the platform with high purchase intent, which means that when they do go searching for something, they’re increasingly likely to buy - making search ads a key consideration for those looking to maximize their reach via the platform.

In addition to this, Pinterest is also offering advertisers the opportunity to maximize their search potential by adding a new ‘autotargeting’ option, powered by their ‘Taste Graph’.

Announced last month, Pinterest’s Taste Graph utilizes their advanced understanding of related interests through Pins, which has enabled them to expand their ad targeting to a much broader range of specific categories. Essentially, Pinterest is using their knowledge graph to better map and correlate related interests, which advertisers can now also use to better target their search ads.

As explained by Pinterest:

“Thanks to the Taste Graph, we have insight into what people are looking for on Pinterest and why. It’s informed by the style, textures and shapes that make something unique, the many ways people on Pinterest choose to categorize things, and so much more.”

That could provide significant benefit because 97% of Pinterest searches are unbranded, which means people are looking for things - not brands - when searching on the platform. Through the Taste Graph, there may be more opportunities to maximize exposure for such searches, as Pinterest will highlight your products relative to each searchers’ interests.

While visual search has also become a key focus for Pinterest, the platform's keen to maximize all opportunities to improve and refine its ad products as part of its mission to become a multi-billion dollar company. Pinterest says it's on track to generate $500 million in ad revenue this year, and their continued development of smarter, more refined eCommerce tools point to more significant growth in future – in both usage and ad potential.

If you’ve not considered Pinterest in your strategy, it may be time to give it another look.