For two reasons: 1. When people see a search result from Pinterest, they tend to click on it more than on the results from competing publishers. 2. After they

For two reasons: 1. When people see a search result from Pinterest, they tend to click on it more than on the results from competing publishers. 2. After they click on it, they tend to engage with the content more than they do with the content from other publishers. This is not specific to Pinterest, it's how modern SEO works. You'll notice that Pinterest doesn't dominate every search result in the world, but predominantly the ones where the user's search intent is more aligned with Pinterest's strengths (product discovery, visual stimulation, pet/animal pictures, art direction, etc.). I think what people find confusing is how can Pinterest compete with other search results that have far more text? Well, it's not about the amount of text at all, it's about satisfying the search intent. And when someone types in: "what should I wear for my wedding," images are better in answering that question than text (a picture is worth...). As Pinterest's success in SEO teaches us, there are many more similar instances than we would have expected.