Warrenton, VA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/23/2017 --RevBuilders, a Virginia Digital Marketing company, says that the latest update from Pinterest on targeted search ads just proves that brands need comprehensive strategies to keep being found online.

Pinterest unveiled search ads approximately eight months ago, though they were only available through third-party tools or the platform's direct sales team for a time. In October, the image-driven sharing site made search ads available to self-serve advertisers, opening another door to monetization and branding on a site that has helped thousands of businesses get a pin in the door to target audiences. At the same time, Pinterest is offering an optional targeting method for advertisers that relies less on specific keywords in searches and more on user intent and history.

This option is available to all search ad users, and enabling it lets Pinterest target search queries that aren't directly related to your target keywords. Instead, the site uses data from its "Pinterest's Taste Graph," which is an index of more than 100 billion pins and all the metadata that goes along with those items. In short, Pinterest is going to put Big Data to work to help advertisers on site reach more quality leads. That's probably a good thing, because the vast majority of searches on the Pinterest site don't include branded keywords.

What does this mean for advertisers and online brands? A RevBuilders spokesperson says first, obviously there's a new opportunity for engaging with an audience and getting found online. Before jumping in, though, brands need to understand how Pinterest advertising integrates with their content strategy and whether it's even relevant. Yes, Pinterest can be a powerhouse in certain niches, but like every SEO and content marketing tool, it's not always the best place to build a brand.

A second note that can be taken from the Pinterest update is regarding the importance of intent. "SEO is still important. Keywords still have a role to play," says an expert from RevBuilders. "But SEO strategies are always changing, and Google and other search engines care about intent now. Brands can't just salt their site with the right phrases and call it a day. You have to have intent — you need to be making something people need or care about, content that includes keywords and is very much intended to support the target audience."

SMBs struggling to manage such intent or who don't know where to start with so many SEO and content marketing opportunities can work with companies like RevBuilders to get found online.