How to create a Pinterest ads campaign
This guide covers building a first campaign in Pinterest Ads Manager, from choosing an objective to publishing your ads for review. You will know what each section controls and which defaults are worth keeping.
Pinterest campaigns have three levels. The campaign sets the objective. The ad group sets the targeting, placements, budget, schedule, and bidding. The ads are the Pins people see, each with its own destination URL.
Pinterest offers two ways to build. Quick create asks for your goal, basic audience limits, a daily budget, and your ads, then handles bidding and most targeting. Custom create gives you every setting, which is the route this guide follows so you understand what Quick create decides for you.
Start a custom campaign
Open the menu at the top left and, under Manage campaigns, click Create campaign. Select Custom create campaign. If you have already added a local time zone in ad group settings, Pinterest may ask you to choose one for the campaign. Otherwise you will go straight to the objective.
Choose an objective
Under Choose a campaign objective, pick the goal: Brand awareness, Video completion, Consideration, Leads, or Sales. Consideration drives Pin clicks or outbound clicks. Leads optimizes for actions like sign ups and form submissions. Sales optimizes for actions like add to cart and checkout. Leads and Sales need conversion events from your Pinterest tag or Conversions API.
TipPinterest suggests starting with Consideration if you get fewer than about 50 conversion events a week.
Enter the campaign details
Fill in the Campaign details, including the name and status. Depending on the objective, you can set a campaign budget here that Pinterest spreads across ad groups, or set budgets at the ad group level. You may also see a Pinterest Performance+ toggle, which turns on a simplified mode where Pinterest automates more targeting and bidding. Click Continue.
Set up the ad group and targeting
Name the ad group, then set the Targeting details. Options include Audience lists from customers or site visitors, Actalike audience to reach similar people, Interests, Keywords people search for, and Demographics such as location, age, gender, language, and device. Performance+ targeting can expand beyond your selections to related keywords and interests.
TipKeywords reflect what people actively search, which makes them a good starting point on Pinterest.
Choose placements
Placements decide where ads appear: the home feed, search results, and related Pins. Pinterest recommends targeting all placements. Restrict placements only when you have a clear reason, such as testing search alone with keyword targeting. Fewer placements means fewer chances to show your ads.
Set budget, schedule, and bidding
Choose a daily or lifetime budget and run dates. Under Optimization and delivery, choose Pinterest Performance+ bidding to let Pinterest set bids automatically, or Custom to set your own maximum. For Leads and Sales, pick the conversion event to optimize toward. Note that the budget type cannot be changed after the ad group is created.
Select the Pins to promote
In Ads, choose existing Pins or create new ones, then click Review selected Pins. Check the ad name, destination URL, and any tracking parameters. Pins on secret boards cannot be promoted, and a Pin on a group board must first be saved to one of your own boards. Pinterest recommends a 2:3 aspect ratio, such as 1000 by 1500 pixels.
Publish and wait for review
Click Publish. Any missing information is highlighted so you can fix it first. Each ad then goes through ad review against Pinterest’s advertising guidelines, which can take up to 24 hours. Changing targeting or the ad description after submitting sends the ad back into review, which may take another 24 hours.
Watch outIf an ad is rejected, Pinterest notifies you in Ads Manager and by email with the reason.
Before you move on
- The objective matches the result you want
- Targeting reflects real customer interests or search terms
- Placements are left broad unless you are testing
- Leads or Sales ad groups optimize for a working conversion event
- Every Pin links to the right page with tracking parameters
Official resources
- Pinterest Help: Create and edit a campaign
- Pinterest Help: Campaign objective
- Pinterest Help: Create and edit an ad group
- Pinterest Help: Review and select targeting options
- Pinterest Help: Ad review
Ad platforms update their tools often. This guide was last reviewed against the official documentation above in October 2026. If your screen looks different, the official help pages have the latest steps.
At a glance
- Level
- Beginner
- Time
- About 40 minutes
- What you need
- An ad account with billing set up
- A claimed website
- The Pinterest tag installed, if you want to optimize for leads or sales
- Pins or images to promote, ideally in a 2:3 shape
- Your landing page URLs
Rather have it done for you?
Active Digital Marketing builds and manages Pinterest ad accounts for businesses doing $25,000+ a month in revenue.
Apply to work with usOr get an ad account auditWhere DIY setups go wrong
The most common problems with self-built Pinterest Ads setups, and what they cost.
Choosing Sales without conversion data
Sales and Leads campaigns learn from conversion events. Without enough of them, delivery struggles and costs swing. Pinterest itself suggests Consideration at low event volume.
Promoting Pins that were not made for ads
Old organic Pins with weak images or vague text often get impressions without action. Ads compete in the feed, so the creative has to earn the click.
Narrowing targeting too far
Stacking a few interests, a short keyword list, and one placement leaves little room for delivery. Start broader and refine from results.
Editing ads during review
Changes to targeting or descriptions restart review, which can delay launch by another day.
What this guide doesn't cover
Getting a campaign to launch is the straightforward part. Making Pinterest profitable depends on catalog quality for shopping ads, keyword strategy built around how people plan purchases, creative made for the platform, and conversion data clean enough for automated bidding.
ADM runs Pinterest for eCommerce brands as part of a wider paid media plan, so spend goes where it earns the most.
- Shopping and catalog campaigns
- Keyword research and negative keywords
- Creative testing across Pin formats
- Performance+ versus custom setups
- Measurement against Meta and Google results
Common questions
What happened to the Conversions and Catalog sales objectives?
Pinterest replaced them with Leads and Sales, with catalog click campaigns under Consideration. Existing legacy campaigns stay editable until April 30, 2027, then are archived.
Should I use Quick create or Custom create?
Quick create automates bidding and most targeting and asks for fewer inputs. Custom create gives you control over every setting. Quick create suits you if you want fewer decisions; Custom create suits you if you want to see and control each setting.
How long does Pinterest ad review take?
Pinterest says review can take up to 24 hours, and edits to targeting or descriptions can restart it.
Can I promote any Pin?
Not Pins on secret boards. Pins from group boards need to be saved to one of your own boards first.
Keep learning
How to Create a Pinterest Ads Account
Set up a Pinterest business account, claim your website, create an ad account in Business Manager, add billing, and give your team access.
Read the guideHow to Set a Pinterest Ads Budget
How Pinterest ads budgets work: daily vs lifetime, Performance+ vs fixed daily pacing, bidding options, spend limits, and changing budgets safely.
Read the guideHow to Install the Pinterest Tag
Install the Pinterest tag, add conversion events, connect the Conversions API or Shopify app, and confirm events work with Test events.
Read the guideHow to Create a Meta Ads Campaign
Build your first Facebook and Instagram campaign in Ads Manager: objective, Advantage+ settings, audience, placements, the ad itself, and launch.
Read the guideHow to Create a Google Ads Campaign
Build your first Google Ads Search campaign: objective, networks, locations, AI Max, keywords, responsive search ads, budget, and publishing.
Read the guideHow to Create a TikTok Ads Campaign
Build your first TikTok campaign: pick an objective, choose manual or Smart+, set targeting and placements, upload your ad, and submit it for review.
Read the guideRather have it built right the first time?
If your business does $25,000+ a month in revenue, apply and Mitch will review your accounts personally. Earlier than that? An ad account audit gives you a senior-level fix list you can work through yourself.