How to use Pinterest Performance+ campaigns

Pinterest says it cuts campaign set-up inputs by half. Compared with a standard campaign:

• Ad groups are created for you: one by default, a remarketing group if you add a customer list, and for Sales a prospecting group plus a dynamic retargeting group you can't opt out of
• Targeting is limited to country, simplified age and customer lists (include or exclude)
• Bidding is automatic, using Performance+ bidding
• Budgets are lifetime or daily only, with no budget limit per campaign. Pinterest's page calls the daily option both average daily and flexible daily
• Leads and Sales can optimise for conversions or add to cart only
• Sales uses the All Products product group, with no product group picker

Source: Pinterest Business Help: Pinterest Performance+, checked 15 October 2026

The steps are the same for each objective, with extras for Leads and Sales:

1. Log in to your business account, click Business hub at the top left, then Create campaign.
2. Select Custom create campaign and click Get started.
3. Choose Consideration, Leads or Sales as the objective.
4. Switch on the Pinterest Performance+ toggle.
5. Enter the campaign name, status, budget and schedule.
6. Add targeting details: country, age and customer lists only.
7. Leads and Sales: enter your conversion data and choose Conversion or Add to cart as the event. Sales also asks for your product feed.
8. Select the Pins for your ads (Consideration and Leads), then click Publish.

Source: Pinterest Business Help: Pinterest Performance+, checked 15 October 2026

For Sales campaigns, with or without Performance+ switched on, you can also turn on:

• Creative optimisations: turns product Pins into collections and shopping ads and serves the best performers
• Image resizing: crops and resizes eligible Pins automatically
• Generate backgrounds: uses generative AI to add backgrounds to product images. Turning it on doesn't update the ad preview
• Each can be used on its own or together

Source: Pinterest Business Help: Pinterest Performance+, checked 15 October 2026

Pinterest's own guidance for Performance+:

• Track conversions with the Pinterest tag, the Conversions API or both
• Under 50 conversions a week: start with Consideration to build interest. Over 50: Leads or Sales
• If you judge on cost per action, set a daily budget of at least 5 times your target cost per result
• Give each ad group at least 10 ads, then pause weak ones and add new ones
• Don't change ads or budget while the Learning indicator shows. It takes about two weeks on average to clear
• Raise budgets gradually, by 20 to 30% at a time, based on performance

Source: Pinterest Business Help: Pinterest Performance+, checked 15 October 2026

Standard metrics still appear in Ads Manager. Performance+ adds breakdowns by ad group, age, gender, geography, placement, device and audience list in Ads Reporting, Insights, Custom Reports and the Ads API.

• The breakdowns are for insight only. You can't use them to set targeting by age, gender, placement or device
• No breakdowns by interests, keywords or language
• You can't control how spend splits between the prospecting and retargeting ad groups in a Sales campaign
• Need keyword or interest targeting? Switch Performance+ off and build a standard campaign

Source: Pinterest Business Help: Pinterest Performance+, checked 15 October 2026

Disclosure: this is our product. Pinterest asks for 10 or more ads per ad group and regular new creative. Zolyp doesn't run ads, but it plans, writes and designs organic Pins styled to your Brand Brain and publishes them after you approve them, giving you Pins to choose from. There's a 3-day free trial, no card required.