Pinterest offers new tool, lays base for money-making features

Pinterest offers new tool, lays base for money-making features
Advertisement
Online scrapbook Pinterest is rolling out new tools that will show businesses the number of visitors it delivers to their websites, part of the fast-growing start-up's efforts to build a base for the introduction of money-making features.

Pinterest does not currently display any revenue-generating advertising on its website, but retailers and large brands such as The Gap, Patagonia and Dell are increasingly using the site to promote their products.

Providing companies with data about usage is a "pretty clear step in the direction" of monetizing Pinterest, said Greg Sterling, senior analyst with Opus Research, a San Francisco-based market research firm.

"They couldn't really start charging people without some way of measuring the efficacy of the spend," he said.

Pinterest is "building foundations to monetize" its service this year, Chief Executive Ben Silbermann told The Wall Street Journal last month.

In February, the company raised $200 million in funding from venture capital firms that include Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer Venture Partners. The funding deal valued the three-year-old company at $2.5 billion.

The new tool, which will be available free to businesses that use Pinterest on Tuesday, will also provide information about user activity on Pinterest as it relates to a particular company, such as the frequency with which people are clicking on a company's online photos.

Pinterest, which allows users to create online bulletin boards of images and photos based on various themes such as travel, decorating, or sports, was the 38th most visited website by U.S. Internet users in January, with roughly 30 million unique visitors according to online measurement firm comScore.

"The goal is really to help websites understand what content is resonating with people on Pinterest," Cat Lee, a product manager at Pinterest told Reuters in an interview.

Pinterest has not disclosed how many companies have set up official business accounts on its service since it began offering the feature in November.

© Thomson Reuters 2013

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Pinterest, app, social
HP defends chairman Lane, says UK probing Autonomy
Early iPhone prototype featured a huge 5x7-inch screen, several ports: Report
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »