What to do if your website is marked as spam on Pinterest
Blacklisted from Pinterest.
I have been blogging now for about 6 weeks. Last week I learned something new. Pinterest has a blacklist. Imagine my surprise when I received a message from two fellow blogging mamas that my pin was labeled SPAM. Panic began to rise and I had no idea what to do next.After a few tests to see if I could fix the issue on my own I sent a message to the Pinterest help center. To be honest it was hard for me to sleep that night. The future of my blog was in jeopardy, at least that is how it felt in the moment. .The next morning I posted in a few of my Facebook groups to see if any one else has ever had this problem. Sure enough I was not alone. But there was hope. Everyone that had this issue was able to have it resolved.
I decided to share the steps that I took to get my blog back into Pinterest’s good graces.
1. Don’t panic. (I totally did not follow this first step lol.)2. Go to the setting section of your Pinterest account.3. Click on get help4. Go to the help center5. Search blocked links and websites6. Scroll down to still need help and click on get in touch with us7. You can then send a message with your blog info.
I was emailed this response:
Hi ShortSweetMom,Sometimes we have to remove Pins, boards or accounts from Pinterest. You’re receiving this automated response based on the issue categories you chose in the Help Center.To keep Pinterest a place that everyone can enjoy, we don’t allow: Things that are inappropriate for the general public, like sexually explicit or pornographic PinsHateful Pins or language that attacks a protected group or individualAnything that promotes mental, emotional or physical harm to yourself, others or animalsContent that’s fraudulent, deceptive or misleadingIf you’re not familiar with our policies, you can find more information in our Help Center and Acceptable Use Policy.To maintain a positive experience for millions of Pinners, we review and take down reported Pins that go against these policies. In these cases, we also remove all instances of that pin – even those on secret boards, since they can be made public with the click of a button.If you think we made a mistake and want to let us know, just reply to this email with as much information as possible about why the content we removed doesn’t violate our policies, and we’ll review our decision.
Make sure you respond to this automated email. I of course let them know that my site was in fact not spam and provided them with a link to my blog.
Hi ShortSweetMom,I’m sorry about that! I took a look at your account and this was a mistake on our side. I fixed this and reactivated your account, so you’re good to go.Occasionally good accounts get caught in the mix when we’re looking for spammy accounts. This shouldn’t happen again, however, please let us know if it does.Thanks for understanding,Community SpecialistEverything was working again with in about 12 hours from the time I emailed the help center. I was very happy with how quickly they addressed my issue.
This is in response to my question of how to avoid this problem in the future.
Hi ShortSweetMom,We have auto detection systems for spammy websites and sometimes it makes mistakes. I have put your website into our whitelist, so it shouldn’t happen again.Sorry for the inconvenience,Community Specialist
What did this ordeal teach me?
Pinterest does not send you a message or warning when you have been blacklisted. Because of this it is very important to keep track of your account. Send them a message right away if something seems off with your account.But the number one most valuable lessons I learned through this experience is the importance of a tribe. Without the ladies in my tribe who knows when I would have figured out that I had been blacklisted from Pinterest. Have you ever been blacklisted from Pinterest or had a pin labeled as spam? What was your experience? Do you have any helpful tips to share that can be added to this article?
- Make sure you send a response to the automated email that you receive. “The first help center email functions like a filter to see if you’re a real person who cares about them fixing your site.” Thank you Megan from The Many Little Joys for pointing this out. You can read her full story in the comment section.