We've all known Pinterest was a quiet achiever, but a new study shows the picture platform is one of the most powerful when it comes to driving website traffic.

Face the music

The quarterly report from Shareaholic, which analysed 200,000 websites and 250 million unique visitors, found that Facebook and Pinterest are most successful in driving users to brand websites. 

Shareaholic found that Facebook accounts for 22% of all website referrals, which marks a 115% increase year on year since.

The report speculates that Facebook's ability to deliver highly-tailored content, that its users care about, is the secret of its success.

Pin to win

Meanwhile Pinterest is punching far above its weight.

With just 70 million users (compared to Facebook's 1.35 billion), the plucky platform drives more traffic than bigger social siblings Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

According to Shareaholic Pinterest is responsible for 5.52% of website referrals, a 50% increase since the same time last year.

Interestingly, Google+ was the only other platform that experienced referral growth in the past year.

Takeaways

While Facebook remains top dog, Pinterest is emerging as an increasingly attractive (and economical) option for marketers. 

Something that has not escaped Pinterest's notice, as it gradually rolls out more advertising options for brand.

To find out more visit blog.shareaholic.com. 

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