How to Avoid Getting Banned on Pinterest

Unfortunately there are a lot of fake accounts and bots on Pinterest.?This is obviously not good for the platform and therefore, Pinterest are ruthless when it comes to banning suspicious accounts.?Businesses who are new to Pinterest and are trying to use the tools like they would do on Instagram or other platforms can quite often find themselves banned by surprise!

What can you get banned for?

1.?????Commenting too much.? Although you are allowed to comment on pins, actually not many people actually comment.?Various bot programs will automate comments on Pinterest, and particularly will write the same word or sentence, so it is natural that Pinterest would recognize an account that is commenting too much as using a bot.?If you use a bot program or even comment too much on pins manually, then there is a good chance you will find yourself banned.

2.?????Direct messaging too much. When you DM someone, they have the option to decline, report or block.?If you get a few of these then you will be banned by Pinterest.?I learned this the hard way in my first year of Pinterest marketing.?I had a really fast growing account and already built up thousands of followers and it was so frustrating to be banned!?However, after contacting Pinterest directly, my account was resumed within a couple of days luckily.

3.?????Buying a fake account.?If you buy a fake account then it will be set up a particular way and will possibly have other fake followers.?Even if you manage to use the account normally for a while, it is a reasonable possibility that you will be banned.?

4.?????Following and unfollowing too much.??You can actually only follow and unfollow so many accounts in a short space of time.?Pinterest won’t actually announce what the rule is at the time, but if you try to follow or unfollow too many accounts at once then it will stop working.??If you are using Pinterest manually then this is not enough to be banned for on its own but if you are running follows and unfollows from a bot program then it will keep trying to follow and unfollow and it will be highlighted to Pinterest as a suspicious account.

5.?????Pinning too much.? There is a limit of how many times you can pin in a short space of time.?As above, this alone is not enough to be banned but if you are running pinning activity from a bot then it may have consequences.?

6. Persisting to pin topics that Pinterest doesn't allow. Pinterest are really strict with the topics or types of pins that they allow you to advertise (with paid ads). They can also remove normal organic pins too (although they don't easily pick up on these). If you pin something they don't like then they will usually tell you about it first. However, if you keep posting similar content after being warned then you will likely be banned.

Does a ban mean a permanent ban?

It depends on your account. If it’s a new account with not many followers (or genuine followers) then it will likely be a permanent ban.?However, if you have been running a genuine account for a while then it is usually possible to get the ban lifted.

How do you get the ban lifted?

You need to firstly contact Pinterest directly.?Sometimes this can be a difficult task in itself if your account is banned because you can’t even log in and you may not even remember your exact username.?This is why it’s a good idea to keep a copy of all your credentials just in case.?If you send a ticket to Pinterest then you will receive a response which either allows your account to be reinstated or not.?In both scenarios they will tell you the general problem to why you were banned but they will not specify the exact reason.??

Can your website URL be banned??

Unfortunately, yes.?If you received a permanent ban and you had already ‘claimed’ your website then you will not be allowed to claim the website with a different Pinterest account.?You would need to actually change the domain name of your website to continue.?

It’s worth noting that Pinterest bans are quite normal so if you do receive a ban then don’t panic.?If you are running a genuine account then it is likely that you will be reinstated within a couple of days.?

I hope this information will help you avoid being banned on Pinterest!?If you found this article helpful then check out my other LinkedIn articles and group resources to become a Pinterest Marketing Expert:

If you have already tried running paid ads on Pinterest then I guarantee that I can improve your results! Whether you would like to increase conversions for your brand or if you run a marketing agency and would like to improve results for your clients then don′t hesitate to contact me directly on?LinkedIn?or via my website?Pintastic Advertising