Pinterest has become a social network-search engine hybrid allowing users inputting specific keywords see related advertisements. Pinterest rolled out its search ads using keywords and shopping campaigns to capture all types of buying behavior particularly those who are still in the decision-making process.

The added service is similar to Google's product listing, but in Pinterest, marketers need to be creative to use the visuals platform. Pinterest has 2 billion queries every month, which is a prime opportunity for marketers aiming to pitch their products to those who are not yet ready to buy and are still in the discovery mode.

Pinterest global head of partnerships Jon Kaplan revealed that many times people do not know what they are looking for, but a strong commercial intent is present. This aspect of buying behavior can be captured by marketers to their advantage.

Pinterest users usually take three months before buying a product and 97 percent of the searches hardly mention a specific brand. This can be advantageous to startups or new companies aiming to capture new customers.

The search ad feature is only opened to a handful of Pinterest partners as the company is still fine-tuning and developing the right algorithm. Pinterest is still in a testing stage and may roll out to a larger scale once the infrastructure is in place.

As of present, Pinterest has big brands like Home Depot, Garnier, Target, Barilla, and eBay among others that are testing the early model. Barilla's consumer engagement manager Jessica Schank attests to the success that the company found in using the Pinterest search ad platform.

Barilla was able to optimize on keywords like "quick and easy recipes" or "pasta dishes." Schank revealed that the cost per click is much lower and the clicks yield a 50 percent more event actions or purchase as compared to Google according to Ad Age.

However, the Barilla manager is quick to assert that as of now, Pinterest's search ad can be a good complement to Google. This is because, on Pinterest, Barilla can easily pitch its recipes, but in Google, it can expand more including product listing, FAQs, and the likes.

Google's search platform featuring product listings for every keyword searched is still unmatched. Search ad revenues for the first six months of 2016 reached $6.3 billion with 96 percent of the search ad clicks on mobile devices going to Google.

Pinterest is aiming to have a small share of that pie, which could translate to millions of dollars. In the coming months, Pinterest is transforming itself into a future must-have tool by advertisers, Tech Crunch reported.

Tags Google