Keyword Targeting

Keyword targeting shows your ad against the terms people type into Pinterest search.

Pinterest is a search engine as much as a feed, so this works like paid search. You add keywords with match types, broad, phrase, and exact, plus negatives to block terms you do not want. You can load thousands of keywords per ad group, and Pinterest suggests keeping at least twenty-five so the algorithm has room to work. The intent here is stronger than interests because the person told you what they are looking for.

A wedding stationery brand bids on "rustic wedding invitations" and appears when someone searches that exact phrase, catching them mid-plan.

Negatives are not optional. Broad match on Pinterest pulls in adjacent searches fast, and without negative keywords you pay for "free wedding invitation templates" while selling a paid product. People set the positives and never build the negative list, then blame the channel for junk traffic.

On a search surface, intent is the targeting.