Pinterest is quickly becoming a contender in the “referral sites game.” In fact, according to a recent study by Sareaholic, it has accounted for 3.6% of referral traffic in January, edging out YouTube, LinkedIn and Google Plus and nearly tying Twitter at 3.61%. That’s not all…

In one month’s time, Pinterest grew from 2.5% of referral traffic in December to 3.6% of the referrals in January. And it only went mainstream last year!

If you’re not already familiar, Pinterest is a social site that allows members the ability to visually organize and share a variety of images on a “pinboard” — almost like a collage. Many members use it to gather ideas for weddings, home decorating, art inspiration, cooking and much more. Other members can browse through this medley of user-generated images at any time.

As Pinterest continues to grow in popularity, it’s important to know whether or not it can (or should) fit in your overall marketing strategy. Pinterest is not meant to be a place for too much self-promotion by showcasing a bunch of your projects. In any case, take some time to scroll through its endless array of pictures. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find some inspiration that could spark your next great idea!

Just be careful — I’ve been told once you get started, it can be addictive!

Here’s what Gary Vaynerchuk (the king of social media) says about Pinterest: