Pinterest launches Web Analytics for brands, takes one giant leap towards monetization

Pinterest launched Pinterest Web Analytics this morning to help brands and marketers see what Pinterest users are doing with their content. It’s a simple and, yes, very Pinteresty take on what brands want to know, and it’s a big step towards Pinterest actually starting to monetize its massive traffic asset.

This is huge, because brands like Sephora say that their Pinterest followers spend 15 times more than their Facebook fans.

The new analytics package tells you what people are repinning from your website, how many people are seeing those pins, and — a key measure for your social marketing ROI — how many visits to your websites those pins generated. It will also show you visual selection of your most pinned, most clicked, and most recent pins so that “you have a better idea of what’s popular.”

“For example, if you have a travel blog, you’ll be able to see whether people are pinning your ski vacation posts or beach vacation posts more,” Tao Tao, a Pinterest software engineer wrote on the announcement blog post.

Much as Facebook’s Insights for Facebook page owners, the new analytics are basic measures of the most important engagement numbers. Before today, to get good information on Pinterest campaigns, brands needed a third-party analytics tool such as Pinfluencer or Curalate.

While you’ll still be able to get more insight and data and particular marketing tools from third parties, this announcement from Pinterest covers the needs of most casual Pinterest marketers.

“This is a good basic analytics product to serve as a foundation for Pinterest. It has great features around impressions and reach that large brands and agencies care about,” said Pinfluencer CEO Sharad Verma, noting that Pinfluencer also has Google and Omniture integration, as well as many other marketing and e-commerce features. “No third-party analytics can accurately report on impressions and reach.”

And the new tool is — perhaps — a shot across the bow of Pinterest third-party apps that have been “filling holes” in Pinterest’s now-growing suite of business tools. Pinterest has been fairly partner-friendly to this point, so we’ll have to wait and see if it’s now moving towards a Twitter-like practice of warning developers away from areas where it plans to make money itself.

To get access to the new analytics, you’ll need a verified Pinterest website, and you’ll need access to Pinterest’s new look.