Pinterest: Tips and best practices

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Understanding historical data limitations

Many Pinterest endpoints are limited to the last 90 days. The only permissible levels for retrieving data beyond 90 days (up to 914 days) are as follows:

ADVERTISER
ADVERTISER_TARGETING
CAMPAIGN
CAMPAIGN_TARGETING
AD_GROUP
AD_GROUP_TARGETING
PIN_PROMOTION
PIN_PROMOTION_TARGETING
KEYWORD
PRODUCT_GROUP
PRODUCT_GROUP_TARGETING
PRODUCT_ITEM

Understanding metric types

Paid metrics capture direct results from your advertising, while earned metrics reflect the organic interactions with ads as they are shared and engaged with organically across Pinterest.

This distinction is important for:

Attribution analysis
Understanding true campaign performance
ROI calculations that separate direct paid impact from organic amplification

Pin preview and media access

While not definitively documented, one client has successfully used the pin_media field to extract image file URLs like: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/7d/9b/cf/7d9bcf25f8b7299ac44995d13f23202a.jpg

This URL can then be displayed as an image on dashboards for visual reference.

Previewing an image

To be able to preview an image, you need to collect pin_media dimension.

To extract the image URL from this dimension, apply the following transformation to your data extract:

Instruction 1

Instruction
convertx

Field
pin_media

Python Expression
{pin_media}.replace('{','').replace('\'','').replace(',','')

Fail on error
Selected
Instruction 2

Instruction
convertx

Field
pin_media

Python Expression
{pin_media}.split('url:')[1] if len({pin_media}.split('url:'))>0 else ''
Instruction 3

Instruction
convertx

Field
pin_media

Python Expression
{pin_media}.split(' ')[1] if len({pin_media}.split(' '))>0 else ''

Make sure to include all three instructions in one transformation.

Recommended datastream configurations

Pin Performance

Pin promotion report including key metrics such as spend_in_account_currency_micro, pin_media and pin_promotion_creative_type

This provides the most comprehensive data for campaign performance analysis.

Performance by Targeting Type and segment

Additional report with breakdown for targeting types including:

GEO
TARGETED_INTEREST
APPTYPE
KEYWORD
GENDER
AGE_BUCKET
COUNTRY

Available granularity levels

The connector supports the following levels of granularity:

Advertiser
Campaign
Ad group
Ad
Keyword
Pin promotion (most common)
Targeting breakdowns

Data validation considerations

Historical data fetching strategy

When fetching historical data:

Check the specific endpoint limitations for your selected report type
Use the 914-day capable levels when you need extended historical analysis
Plan shorter date ranges for endpoints limited to 90 days
Consider splitting large historical requests into smaller, manageable chunks

Performance optimization

Use the most granular level required for your analysis to optimize performance
For high-level overviews, use ADVERTISER or CAMPAIGN levels
For detailed optimization, use AD_GROUP or PIN_PROMOTION levels
Balance data granularity needs with API limitations and performance requirements