How do you set up a Pinterest Ads campaign step by step?

Got you! Let's go through how to set up a Pinterest Ads campaign — step-by-step, nice and clear.

1. Create a Pinterest Business Account
If you don't already have one:

Go to https://business.pinterest.com/

Click Sign up (or Convert to Business Account if you have a personal one).

2. Set Up Your Billing Info
Go to Ads > Billing inside your Pinterest Business Hub.

Add your payment method (credit card, PayPal, etc.).

3. Install the Pinterest Tag (Optional but highly recommended)
This tracks website actions (conversions, signups, purchases, etc.).

Steps:

Go to Ads > Conversion Tracking.

Click Add Pinterest Tag.

Install the base code on every page of your site.

Set up event codes on key pages (like "Checkout" or "Add to Cart").

4. Create a New Campaign
Go to Ads > Create ad.

You'll first need to choose your campaign objective:

Objective   Purpose
Awareness   Get people to see your Pins.
Consideration   Get people to click on your Pins.
Conversions   Get people to take action on your site (buy, signup).
Catalog Sales   For e-commerce — promote products dynamically.
Pick based on your goal!

5. Set Up Your Campaign Details
Campaign name: Something clear like "April Promo Traffic Campaign."

Budget:

Set a daily or lifetime budget.

You can also turn on Campaign Budget Optimization if you want Pinterest to auto-spread your budget across ad groups.

6. Create Ad Groups
Inside your campaign:

Targeting:

Interests (ex: "Fitness," "Home Decor")

Keywords (ex: "home workout," "modern living room")

Custom Audiences (upload email lists, retarget site visitors, etc.)

Demographics (age, gender, location, device)

Placements:

You can choose to appear on:

Browse (home feed and category feeds)

Search (search results)

Budget and Schedule:

Set budget per ad group if you want.

Choose a start and end date, or run continuously.

7. Create Your Pins (Ads)
Upload images or videos.

OR choose existing Pins you already posted.

Important creative elements:

Pin title (up to 100 characters).

Description (up to 500 characters — the first 50–60 show in feed).

Destination URL (where the Pin clicks to — your landing page).

✅ Pro Tip: Use vertical images/videos (2:3 ratio) for best performance.

8. Review and Launch!
Double-check your targeting, budget, creatives.

Click Publish!

Pinterest will review your ads (usually within 24 hours) to make sure they follow policies.

9. Monitor and Optimize
After launch:

Go to Ads > Reporting.

Track important metrics:

Impressions

Clicks

CTR (Click-Through Rate)

Conversions (if Pinterest Tag is installed)

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)

Tweak targeting, creatives, and bids based on performance!

Bonus Tip:
Fresh Pins = Better Performance.
Pinterest LOVES fresh content. Even slight variations (like changing the background of an image) can make a Pin "fresh."

Would you like me to also give you:

✅ A quick checklist you can use while setting it up?

✅ Some best practices to make your Pinterest ads perform even better?

✅ Example ad creatives that crush it?