How do I set a budget for my Pinterest Ads?

Setting a budget for your Pinterest Ads is an important step to ensure you're spending effectively and staying within your desired cost range while still achieving your campaign goals. Pinterest allows you to set both daily and lifetime budgets, depending on how you want to manage your ad spending. Here's how to set your budget:

1. Create or Edit Your Campaign
Before you set a budget, you first need to create a campaign or edit an existing one in Pinterest Ads Manager.

Go to Ads Manager: Log into your Pinterest business account and open the Ads Manager.

Create a New Campaign: Click on Create Campaign if you're starting fresh. Choose your campaign objective (e.g., Traffic, Conversions, Brand Awareness, etc.).

Select Your Ad Group: After selecting the campaign objective, you'll be prompted to create or edit an Ad Group. The budget settings are done at the Ad Group level.

2. Choose Your Budget Type
Pinterest offers two types of budgets: Daily Budget and Lifetime Budget. Here's how they work:

Daily Budget
What it is: This is the maximum amount you're willing to spend per day. Pinterest will try to distribute your budget evenly throughout the day, though the actual spend might vary depending on your ad performance.

When to use it: Daily budgets are great if you want consistent, ongoing ad spend without exceeding a set amount each day.

Lifetime Budget
What it is: This is the total amount you're willing to spend over the entire duration of the campaign. The lifetime budget allows Pinterest to adjust your daily spend within your total budget, depending on how your ads perform.

When to use it: Lifetime budgets are helpful if you have a fixed campaign period (like for a sale or an event) and want to control the total spend for the entire campaign duration.

3. Set Your Budget
Now, let's dive into the steps of actually setting your budget in Ads Manager:

Select Budget Type:

After setting your campaign objective and defining your target audience, scroll down to the Budget & Schedule section.

Choose either Daily Budget or Lifetime Budget.

Enter Your Budget Amount:

If you choose a Daily Budget, enter the amount you're willing to spend per day. Pinterest will spread this amount evenly throughout the day.

If you choose a Lifetime Budget, enter the total amount you're willing to spend for the entire campaign. Pinterest will optimize the daily spend to ensure your campaign runs smoothly within that total amount.

Note:

The minimum daily budget on Pinterest is usually around $1–$5, depending on your region and the type of campaign.

For Lifetime Budget, Pinterest will adjust daily spending based on the campaign's performance, but you won't exceed the lifetime budget you've set.

Set Your Campaign's Start and End Dates (if applicable):

If you are using a Lifetime Budget, make sure to set a Start Date and End Date. The total budget will be distributed across these dates.

If you're using a Daily Budget, Pinterest will spend this budget daily until you pause or stop the campaign.

4. Choose Your Bidding Strategy
Along with your budget, you'll also need to decide on your bidding strategy:

Automatic Bidding: Pinterest will automatically adjust your bids to try to get the best results within your budget. This is the default option and is great for those new to Pinterest Ads or those who don't want to manage bids manually.

Manual Bidding: If you want more control over your bid, you can set a maximum bid for your ad. This is the amount you're willing to pay for a specific action (e.g., a click or 1,000 impressions). Pinterest will try to get as many results as possible at or below this bid.

Tip: If you're working with a Daily Budget, you should use automatic bidding to avoid overspending.

5. Monitor and Adjust Your Budget
Once your campaign is live, you can always monitor your spending in Pinterest Ads Manager. If you find that you're hitting your daily budget too quickly, or if your campaign is underperforming, you can adjust your budget at any time:

Go to Ads Manager.

Select the Campaign you want to adjust.

Click on the Budget field to change your daily or lifetime budget as needed.

6. Optimize for Best Results
After setting your budget, you'll want to keep an eye on the performance of your campaign:

Check Key Metrics: In Ads Manager, look at metrics like impressions, clicks, CTR (Click-Through Rate), and conversions to determine how well your campaign is performing within the budget you've set.

Adjust If Necessary: If your campaign is performing well and you want to increase its reach, you can increase your budget. If the campaign is not getting the results you want, you can decrease your budget or adjust your bidding strategy.

Summary:
Daily Budget: Spend a set amount per day. Great for ongoing campaigns.

Lifetime Budget: Set a total budget for the entire campaign period. Pinterest optimizes your daily spend within this budget.

Bidding Strategy: Choose between automatic or manual bidding based on your preference.