If you’ve never advertised on Pinterest before, then you’re missing out on plenty of high-quality traffic.
Unknown to many advertisers, Pinterest does, in fact, have its own advertising network that lets anyone get their products in front of millions. And with visually engaging content found all over Pinterest, creative ads can work wonders for particular niches.
But before you run off and start making your own ad creatives, it’s essential you understand the specific ad specs and ad sizes. Not only are these ad sizes unique to Pinterest, but if you accidentally make them the wrong size, they could end up all blurry, or not upload at all! In other words, a big disaster.
To make sure your ads are the best size and quality for all to see, we’ve compiled all the top Pinterest ad specs & ad sizes every advertiser needs to know.
No matter if you’re planning on running promoted carousels or video pins, we’ve got all the important ad specifications you need to memorize.
But before we cover the specifications, what type of ads can you run on Pinterest in the first place? And should you be running all of them?
Pinterest Ad Types
Just like many other PPC networks, Pinterest has a range of different ad types that vary in cost per click and visibility.
Depending on the type of campaign you are running will determine which ad types you run. In most cases, many advertisers will be fine just using the standard promoted pins. But in some cases, they’ll be much better off focusing on a specific ad type. For example, if you’re trying to promote your mobile app, you’d probably favour the promoted app pin over the standard pin. As you’ll soon learn later on, this ad type comes with special features designed to improve your app’s install rate.
Currently, the formats available for Pinterest ads are as follows:
- Promoted carousels
- Promoted pins
- Promoted video pins
- Promoted app pins
Each ad type has its own unique specifications and sizes which we’ll cover shortly, but for now, just knowing the main formats is essential.
Over the years, Pinterest has continued to experiment with new ad types and promoted pins. Be sure to keep an eye out for any changes or new format releases.
Pinterest Ad Specs & Ad Sizes
To help ensure your ads have the best chance of being successful, we’ve compiled the top Pinterest ads and their specific ad specs.
Before making any creatives, be sure to have a read and take note of the ad sizes and other card specifications. The last thing you want to do is find out they’re the wrong size when you try to upload them!
Promoted Carousels Ad Specs
- File type: .PNG or .JPEG
- Maximum file size: 32MB
- Aspect ratio: 1:1 or 2:3
- Creative quantity: 2-5 images per carousel
New newest ad format on Pinterest, if you’ve ever seen or made carousel ads on Facebook, then this ad type should be very familiar. This type of ad allows users to upload up to a maximum of five cards to a single pin. Each card can have its own unique image, title, description and landing page, which is perfect for highlighting various products or collections.
For the best carousel ads, you’ll want to stick to an aspect ratio of 1:1 or 2:3 and upload the maximum of five cards. Each card should also have its title, and description tweaked to make it more relevant to the image. The maximum size for each image is 32MB although you’ll probably never have any problems with the size.
Promoted Pins Ad Specs
- File type: .PNG or .JPEG
- Maximum file size: 32MB
- Aspect ratio: 2:3 or 1000 x 1500 pixels
Promoted pins appear on the home feed for users and when they search for something on Pinterest. To the average user, they look identical to standard pins but have a “promoted” tag at the bottom. Unlike a standard pin that takes you to the pin’s page, a promoted pin sends the user directly to the landing page.
One of the most popular ad types on Pinterest, this ad is both simple and powerful. When making a promoted pin, be sure to sure the maximum resolution of 1000 x 1500 pixels. Anything small than that will probably look blurry, especially on these new mobile ultra-high definition retina displays.
Promoted Video Pins Ad Specs
- File type: .MP4, .MOV or .M4V
- Maximum file size: 2GB
- Aspect ratio: Suggestion ratios are 1:1, 2:3, 4:5 or 9:16
- Video length: 4 seconds to 15 minutes
If you really want to grab the attention of users on Pinterest, then using a video pin is the way to do it. Not only do they stand out from regular pins by moving, but they can also be up to 15 minutes long, which makes them great for engaging with users. These videos show up on user’s home feeds as well as in the search results.
For the best results, you probably don’t want to make your ads 15 minutes long. Instead, anything under two minutes is the sweet spot with the first 10 seconds being the most important. Try to grab the user’s attention with visually appealing shots and intros before diving into the full video.
Promoted App Pins Ad Specs
- File type: .PNG or .JPEG
- Maximum file size: 10MB
- Aspect ratio: 1:1 or 2:3
- Creative quantity: 1 hero creative, 3 secondary creatives, max 24 secondary creatives
If you’re trying to promote your app on Pinterest, then promoted app pins are the way to do it. Available on both iOS and Android device, these pins make it quick and easy for users to download apps to their mobile devices.
Clicking the button will take the user directly to the iOS or Android play store and land on the page where they can download your app. This significantly increases the chances that users will end up downloading your app as it doesn’t just send them to a landing page or an unnecessary additional step.
Promoted app pins have the same specifications as standard promoted pins that we covered above, but have secondary creatives. The current minimum secondary creatives are three, while the maximum is 24.
Conclusion
Sticking to the correct ad sizes and specifications for Pinterest ads is crucial if you want good results. Getting the specifications wrong will either result in your images being blurry and stretched or having to explain to the design team why you need them all re-making!
Hopefully, this article has given you all the essential ad specs you need to know to stop you from any epic ad campaign fails.
