#203 – How to Rebrand on Pinterest the RIGHT Way

Have you had your blog or business for a long time? Are you interested in learning how to rebrand your website, business, and Pinterest account?

There are so many questions that come when you decide to switch up your niche:

• Do I start a brand new Pinterest account?
• How do I rebrand?
• How do I change up my website and redirects etc?

MaAnna from BlogAid and I recently collaborated on a Facebook live centered around this topic. She is incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to the best ways to redirect and rebrand your website. We talk about that, as well as how rebranding needs to be handled on Pinterest (redirecting pins, changing URLs’, rich pins, etc.).

The Rebranding Revolution 

Rebranding is a hot topic these days. People are realizing that the websites they started a few years ago can be actually serve as the foundation for business. Rebranding is a very personal and specific process. You can’t just follow the exact process of what someone else did.

Why People Rebrand Their Website

A lot of people start their websites by choosing a fun or cute name. But as their business evolves, site owners want their website to evolve in order to accurately reflect their current business. Many other business owners choose to change their website name to their actual name.

In other cases, people started their site as a hobby but found that readers have a real interest in one particular topic that they talk about on their site. It then makes sense to “niche down” and focus exclusively on that one topic (instead of talking about a broad range of topics).

You might also decide to rebrand because you start to create products that you see a need for in your audience. No matter what your reason for rebranding, there is a right way to rebrand your website.

How to Rebrand Your Website

Changing Your Domain 

Q: Can I just change my domain and redirect everything? 

Yes, you can. But you don’t want to!

It’s the cheap and easy way to do it, but it will cause a lot of headaches down the line. You already have a redirect chain happening, (www to non, and HTTP to https) and this chain has to be in a very specific order for things to end up in the right spot.

Adding another redirect slows things down and can cause problems with Google.

The best way to approach it is this —

You have a primary domain in a directory. Create another little box with the new domain name and migrate everything to the new domain. Then move all your content into this new domain.

Then you’ll take your site out of the old box and put the redirect in that spot to send it over to the new domain.

Q: Do I need to hire someone to do this migration and conversion for me? 

Not necessarily. Your host might do it for free. There’s a wide variety of quality across hosting sites, but the high-end hosting sites will do a great job. MaAnna wouldn’t trust just any hosting provider to make this switch-over as it can cause problems with site load time.

One option is to create a new theme for your website. If you decide to create a new theme, your designer will migrate everything to the new theme. MaAnna teaches designers how to do just that.

If all you’re changing is your logo and a few things on the sidebar, you can hire someone like MaAnna, as that is a simple and easy fix.

Tweaking Analytics When Rebranding

Q: How do I change things in Google? 

In Google Search Console, you’ll have four properties verified:

1. your canonical (the variation you’re using of https or www/not)
2. http
3. www
4. other canonical.

First, go into to your Search Console and add your four new properties and then you go into your old properties and remove them.

For Google Analytics, go into the admin area and simply change your domain. Then you’ll change up your view column so that you can see all your analytics for your old site and also see the analytics for the new site.

MaAnna advises hiring her, a designer, or your host to handle changeover and then complete the analytics portion yourself.

How to Rebrand on Pinterest

Q: Do I need a brand new Pinterest account? 

If you are just changing up your name and keeping most of your content the same, there’s no need to change your profile. You will still be serving your audience the same things, just under a new name.

If you are completely changing from one niche to another (e.g., going from lifestyle to pets) you need to create a new Pinterest account. The last thing you want is to send a confusing message to Pinterest regarding what your account is about. You need to send clear signals about your niche so that the Pinterest algorithm can work its magic.

It’s vital that every aspect of your Pinterest account be “on point”. If you have a board that has nothing to do with your niche, that will impact whether your content is shown in the search feed. Those types of boards should be converted to secret boards so they don’t compromise your ability to be found on Pinterest when a user is searching for the things your business offers.

Bottom line: You want your Pinterest account to correlate directly with what you talk about on your website. It needs to be an accurate reflection of your current business. Clean up your Pinterest boards so that they represent your niche.

Q: Do I need to get rid of all my Pinterest images with my old branding? 

No. Start creating pins with your new branding. Pinterest is huge on fresh content right now. Your old pins can still pop up and drive clicks, so there’s no need to get rid of them. Take those “legacy pins” and find ways to create new fresh content around that post.

Q: Do I need to change up all the images on my site? 

Look at your Google Analytics and see what pins are getting the most traction driving traffic to the site. If there are pins you want to update you can do that.

Another option is to use a plugin that makes some images impossible to pin so that no old images will be pinned to Pinterest after you complete the rebrand.

If you decide to create a brand new profile on Pinterest, it will take time to rebuild your following. You can use your email list and be super consistent in sharing fresh and consistent content in an effort to rebuild the following.

Remember that your Pinterest follower number is not really what’s important. Pay attention to your analytics and see what your clicks and saves look like. Those numbers are what matter.

Related: Pinterest KPIs: How to Measure Success

You can watch the entire Facebook Live with MaAnna and I on her Facebook page. We cover so much helpful and important information when it comes to rebranding your website and Pinterest.

Have questions? Make sure to leave a comment. And check out MaAnna’s website for more information on-site security, performance, and so much more.

For Further Listening/Reading:

• Should I Use Branded Images on Pinterest?
• How to Create the Best Boards for Pinterest
• Is Product Creation the Next Step in Your Business?