buckworks - 2:04 pm on Apr 3, 2012 (gmt 0)

that's a pretty significant conversion rate

This comment has been bugging me and I finally figured out why.

I think it's misleading to refer to the 21% as the "conversion rate". We are given no context about how many links those users clicked, or how many sites they visited.

FWIW, on one site whose stats I have access to, whose target audience is primarily female, the conversion rate from Pinterest referrals has been .18% on 121,824 visits since the beginning of the year. Of course those sales are welcome, but that conversion rate is lower than the site's overall average. For every Pinterest referral who makes a purchase, nearly a thousand just look around then leave.

Pinterest is worth paying attention to, but let's not get more excited about it than the numbers actually justify.