99 Marketing Tools i Cannot Live Without As a Blogger

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To say that digital marketers have to be jacks-of-all-trades is a considerable understatement. Marketers don’t often get the recognition they deserve for having to master so many different software tools, but if there’s one profession that requires knowledge of more tools than a Swiss army knife, online marketing is it. 99 Marketing Tools i Cannot Live Without As a Blogger.

In this post, we’ll be rounding up our top 99 online marketing tools. In this list is (almost!) every tool you’ll ever need to master (almost!) every aspect of a digital marketing campaign, from PPC and SEO to social to content and email marketing. Some tools are very specific, whereas others offer robust, diverse functionality. Some are free, others are not. Either way, you can check out the whole list, or skip to the section you’re most interested in:. 99 Marketing Tools i Cannot Live Without As a Blogger.

• PPC Tools


• SEO Tools


• Social Media Tools


• Content Marketing Tools


• Analytics and Conversion Rate Optimization Tools

PPC Tools

1. AdWords Editor

If you work on large campaigns or multiple campaigns in Google AdWords on a regular basis, you’ll need AdWords Editor.

The recently redesigned interface makes working in AdWords Editor much easier, and the new suite of tools has almost everything a PPC marketer needs for bulk editing. Essential.

2. Keyword Planner

Google’s Keyword Planner is a similarly essential tool. Although you need an AdWords account to use it, the Keyword Planner isn’t just for PPC; it can help identify a wide range of keywords and associated data for uses in your AdWords campaigns as well as content marketing and SEO.

3. Bing Ads Editor

With Bing Ads becoming an increasingly popular PPC platform, the Bing Ads Editor is your all-in-one companion for managing your Bing Ads campaigns.

4. AdWords Scripts

Many PPC marketers have discovered the power and flexibility of AdWords Scripts to help them automate tasks that would otherwise eat into their precious time. If you haven’t checked them out, maybe it’s time to give them a try!

5. AdWords Performance Grader

WordStream’s AdWords Performance Grader (which we recently improved!) performs a thorough PPC audit of your AdWords account in 60 seconds or less, completely free. See what you’re doing right, and where you could improve, and see a greater return on your AdWords investment.

6. Bing Ads Intelligence

Although Bing Ads has intentionally made its experience as similar to AdWords as possible to help advertisers make the transition or run complementary campaigns, one area Bing excels in is its reporting functionality. The Bing Ads Intelligence suite of tools offers some remarkable reporting, so if you’re serious about Bing Ads, be sure to explore Bing Ads Intelligence.

7. Bing Ads Grader

Like WordStream’s AdWords Performance Grader, but want to see how your Bing Ads account is doing? No problem. The WordStream Bing Ads Performance Grader will evaluate the strength of your Bing Ads account and provide step-by-step advice on how to improve.

8. Keyword Wrapper

SEO Book’s Keyword Wrapper may appear to be an SEO tool, but as with many such tools, it offers a great deal of value to PPC marketers. Simply enter one or more keywords, then “wrap” them into groups according to match types such as broad, phrase, and exact – or all three!

9. Google Trends

Search trend data can be incredibly valuable to PPC marketers – so you can adjust campaigns to match seasonal demand – and Google Trends is one of the best free sources of this information out there.

10. Phrase Builder

Need a ton of related keyword ideas in a hurry? Phrase Builder is a great tool for quickly generating related keyword lists based on your input criteria. Useful for building large lists of keywords.

11. Analysis Toolpak for Excel

Personally, I barely use Excel’s core functionality on any given day, but for power users, the Analysis Toolpak for Excel adds a whole bunch of additional features that are useful for PPC marketers hoping to wring even more out of their Excel workflow. Learn how to install it here, then check out what it can do here.

12. Soovle

Similar to Google Suggest – but with a lot more data – Soovle lets you see autocomplete suggestions instantly from not just Google, but several other sites including Wikipedia, Amazon, and YouTube. Very handy, but it’s worth noting that Google plans to cut off access to the autocomplete API in the near future, meaning Soovle will only be able to provide results for other search engines when this happens.

13. Convertable

One of the biggest challenges in lead generation campaigns is learning enough about your leads to qualify them. Convertable makes this easier, offering much more data than traditional forms allow, providing you with data on everything from the browser they used and their operating system to the traffic source and the keywords they entered, as you can see in the screenshot below:

14. UberSuggest

One of the most popular third-party tools for PPC marketers, UberSuggest works similarly to other suggestion-based tools, but also offers robust foreign language support and some other nifty functionality. Again, when Google sunsets access to the autocomplete API, this tool might disappear, but for now, it’s worth checking out.

15. SplitTester

Calculating the CTR of two different ads is easy – predicting how they’ll perform over the long term is much harder without running a lengthy A/B test. SplitTester allows you to enter numerical CTR data to predict the ongoing performance of the two ads. Great for estimating statistical significance if you don’t have enough time for a full A/B test.

16. WordStream Landing Page Grader

Strong landing pages are essential to the success of any PPC campaign, and WordStream’s free Landing Page Grader will show you how you can improve your landing pages with a detailed, personalized report.

17. Keyword Competitor

Nothing like a little armchair industrial espionage to get your campaigns off on the right foot, eh? Keyword Competitor lets you check out what keywords your competitors are using, as well as how well they’re performing. Sly!

18. iSpionage

While we’re on the topic of espionage, give iSpionage a try (see what I did there?). This handy tool also lets you get the lowdown on what other businesses in your space are up to, allowing you to make informed decisions about your own campaigns.

19. SEMrush

You can never have too much competitive analysis, and the SEMrush suite of tools is definitely one of the best out there. Search for detailed keyword data by domain or keyword, and see what everyone else is up to.

20. SpyFu

SpyFu is another competitive analysis tool, but it offers some really cool features other tools lack, such as the ability to download CSV files of competitor keywords and reporting export functionality. It also has a really nice interface with plenty of important information easily available at a glance.

21. KeywordSpy

Another keyword research tool that can help you gain a valuable edge over the competition. KeywordSpy offers the data you’d expect from such a tool, as well as ad copy and keyword combination information, AdWords spend data for entire sites, and other cool information that can help PPC marketers.

22. WhatRunsWhere

WhatRunsWhere is a powerful tool that offers a wide range of data on display advertising campaigns. Covering 150,000 display advertisers across more than 90 ad networks in 15 countries, WhatRunsWhere is essential for companies hoping to get ahead in (display) advertising.

23. The Search Monitor

Of all the competitive intelligence tools we’ve looked at so far, The Search Monitor is one of the most useful. PPC marketers can use The Search Monitor to examine data on sponsored listings and PLAs across nine ad networks and 1,200 industry verticals, and also offers a ton of geotargeting and custom audience functionality. Well worth checking out.

24. AdGooroo

One thing we hear time and again about our own tools is how valuable the benchmark performance data is, and that’s one area where AdGooroo shines. As well as the usual ad spend estimate modeling and other tools, AdGooroo also lets you look at snapshots of specific brands in your vertical – very interesting if you’re looking to adjust your PPC strategy.

25. Typo Generator

If you’re targeting exact match types in your campaigns, give Typo Generator a shot. Google does offer variation matching within AdWords, but this tool is still useful for the hyper-control-freak PPCers out there.

26. Keyword Niche Finder

Our final PPC tool is WordStream’s own Keyword Niche Finder. This free tool lets you find keyword niches (as in, pre-organized keyword groups), which can be very useful when thinking about how to structure your campaigns. It’s pretty handy for SEO purposes, too.

SEO Tools

27. Google Suggest

Google Suggest is invaluable when you need keyword and content ideas. You might not have given much thought to how Google’s autocomplete functionality can help you, but with powerful modifiers and other tricks, there’s more to it than meets the eye.

28. Ahrefs

For SEOs, Ahrefs is a must. This tool offers a wide range of functionality that every SEO will find useful, from link profile data to content referral information. Essential.

29. Majestic

With more backlink data than you can shake a proverbial stick at, Majestic remains the go-to for many SEOs. This robust tool (which offers its own API for working with your own data sets) is extraordinarily powerful.

30. Compete

Ever wanted to know how much traffic your favorite blogs really get? Well, now you can. Compete offers estimated traffic data based on a range of metrics, and you can plot your results against primary and secondary metrics to customize your reports. Very handy.

31. DeepCrawl

Migrating to a new site is a worrisome time for any SEO. With DeepCrawl, you can test the impact of changes in a safe environment before pushing them to a live server, among many other awesome tools. DeepCrawl lets you check your redirects, ensure your hreflang tags are applied correctly, review canonicalized pages, and more.

32. Anchor Text Over Optimization Tool

Does exactly what it says on the tin. The Anchor Text Over Optimization Tool lets you search for and identify over-optimized anchor text links (which can look unnatural to Google) on external sites, and also allows you to submit change requests directly to site webmasters. If you’re worried about Google penalties, give it a try.

33. SEO Title Tag 3.0

Optimizing your title tags has never been easier. SEO Title Tag 3.0 lets you effortlessly optimize title tags in minutes.

34. Domain Hunter Plus

This free Chrome plugin lets you quickly check for broken links without leaving your browser. Domain Hunter Plus can crawl hundreds of links on a single page, provides error status codes for easy diagnosis, and lets you export results in .csv format. Very cool.

35. Keyword Map

Wordtracker’s Keyword Map is a handy tool for SEOs looking to build keyword maps for website architecture.

36. MozLocal

Moz is every SEO’s best friend, and having acquired GetListed in 2012, it’s no surprise that Moz is one of the best tools for local SEOs out there. MozLocal helps local businesses rank competitively in the search engines, making smaller sites as visible as possible.

37. Google SERP Snippet Optimization Tool

It may not look pretty, but this Google SERP Snippet Optimization Tool is actually pretty handy. It lets you mock up SERP snippets and URLs quickly and easily so you can see ahead of time what your content will look like in the search results. It also offers several display options, such as bold text, dates, and rich snippets.

38. Internet Marketing Ninjas SEO Tools

Our friends at Internet Marketing Ninjas offer several free SEO tools that might help you with your technical SEO work. Tools available include a broken link checker, an image and link analyzer, an on-page optimization tool, and a Greasemonkey add-on that helps you find URLs from search results.

39. Linkstant

Wondering where your new links are coming from and just can’t wait for a search engine report or your Analytics logs to catch up? Then check out Linkstant (as in links + instant), a link checking tool that offers immediate results.

40. MozCast

Keeping up with changes to Google’s algorithms can be hard work, which is why MozCast makes it easy and fun. MozCast compares Google algorithm updates to the weather, providing at-a-glance updates of how much the algos have changed over the past day or week.

41. Rank Checker for Firefox

No surprises with this tool. Rank Checker for Firefox is a free, open source add-on for Mozilla’s browser that lets you quickly check your rankings without handing all your data over to a third party.

42. Schema Creator

Schema can be an excellent addition to your site, but to the uninitiated, it’s not exactly easy to get started. That’s what makes Raven’s Schema Creator such a powerful tool. Start generating schema microdata for your site in minutes.

43. Seer SEO Toolbox

If you’re new to SEO or just want a simpler suite of tools to help you with your technical SEO work, check out Seer Interactive’s SEO Toolbox. Made with marketers, not technologists, in mind, these handy tools will help you get more done with less effort and technical know-how.

44. SEO Tools for Excel

Just like their PPC counterparts, SEOs almost certainly use Excel as part of their workflow. Why not make it more useful by adding SEO Tools for Excel? This software adds a range of SEO-centric functionality to Excel, making it easier to get more done in Excel.

45. SEOgadget Tools

Similar to SEO Tools for Excel, SEOgadget Tools extends the functionality of Excel to make it a more useful tool for SEOs.

46. Similar Page Checker

Having too much duplicate content on your site is a search engine no-no. Similar Page Checker is a free web-based tool that runs comparisons of your pages to a second page, highlighting areas of similarity that could get you in trouble with Google.

47. URI Valet

Need to check your server headers? Then use URI Valet, a free tool that allows you to check server headers according to a range of parameters, including by protocol and user agent.

48. Xenu’s Link Sleuth

This old-school tool Xenu’s Link Sleuth gets the job done and then some. Use this tool to find broken links on your site quickly and easily as well as to easily get a full list of all your indexed pages.

49. MozBar

Yet another awesome free tool from our pals at Moz. The MozBar browser extension lets you perform a range of SEO tasks from your browser, including keyword ranking data analysis, schema validation, and SEO metric reporting.

50. The Alexa Toolbar for Chrome

Alexa is one of the most trusted web metrics sites online, and with the Alexa Toolbar for Chrome, you can see at-a-glance information about the site you’re currently browsing, including traffic rankings, inbound links, and user reviews.

51. Mozscape API

Sometimes there’s just no substitute for rolling your sleeves up and working with the raw data yourself. If this sounds like your approach to SEO, you’re probably already using the Mozscape API – but if not, check it out right now.

52. Open Site Explorer

Seriously, when it comes to SEO tools, nobody does it better than Moz. Open Site Explorer is invaluable not just to SEOs, but digital marketers of all stripes. If you haven’t used it yet, you’re missing out.

53. Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Offering an in-depth SEO audit of more than 30 metrics, Screaming Frog’s SEO Spider tool is one of the most comprehensive technical SEO analysis tools out there.

Social Media Tools

54. Hootsuite

Few social media management tools are as well-known or widely used as Hootsuite. This fully featured platform offers all the social media management functionality you could ever need, which is probably why it’s so popular.

55. TweetDeck

If you only want to focus on Twitter, TweetDeck will soon become your new best friend. Don’t waste time wrestling with the Twitter.com interface – get all the functionality Twitter should have built in the first place with TweetDeck.

56. Buffer

Yes, other social media tools offer scheduling functionality, but Buffer is among the simplest and most elegant platforms for managing social media accounts. Bonus points to the Buffer team for running one of the best blogs in the business.

57. IFTTT

Although not a social media tool in the strictest sense, IFTTT (short for If This, Then That) lets you connect the apps you use on a regular basis and create logic-driven workflows for automating routine tasks. An interesting way to create social media updates and dozens of other nifty uses.

58. BuzzSumo

Another app that falls into several categories, BuzzSumo is just pure awesomeness. Find out which content is being shared across which networks and by who. Brilliant.

59. SocialOomph

Social media management platform SocialOomph does a little bit of everything – post scheduling, keyword tracking, draft management, multiple account connectivity, and mentions/retweet monitoring. I haven’t used it myself, but a lot of digital marketers recommend it.

60. Tweepi

Another great Twitter management tool Tweepi makes it easy to get your Twitter account under control. See who’s not following you back (and unfollow en masse), clean up your follower list, and even force undesirable accounts to unfollow you.

61. Save Publishing

A very nifty tool, Save Publishing lets you quickly identify passages of 140 characters on any web page, making it easy to find – and tweet – quotes and quick takeaways from your content and other sources.

62. SocialFlow

SocialFlow doesn’t manage your accounts or make it easier to handle everyday social media management, but it does analyze millions of data points to determine the precise moments when to publish on social to create maximum visibility and engagement with your content.

63. LikeAlyzer

Don’t let the awkward name fool you – LikeAlyzer is really cool. This tool evaluates the strength of your Facebook page to give you additional insight into areas you can improve when engaging with followers and fans on Facebook.

64. Sprout Social

Sprout Social makes it easy to keep on top of your social media management. Offers agency-specific tools as well as functionality to handle social customer service (very important).

65. Social Bro

I haven’t used this platform myself, but terrible name notwithstanding, SocialBro seems to offer some useful Twitter management features. Free plans are available if you fancy giving it a try for yourself.

66. Crowdbooster

Social media analytics platform Crowdbooster offers some nice-looking reporting features, export functionality, as well as the scheduling and general-purpose management functions you’d expect from a social media tool.

67. Happy Cyborg

What if you could entrust your Twitter account to a machine? This isn’t dystopian science fiction but a reality thanks to Happy Cyborg, a fun tool that’s still in beta. Happy Cyborg assumes control of your Twitter handle and behaves as you would based on common responses to Twitter interactions. Probably not recommended for corporate accounts, but it could be ideal for busy entrepreneurs who find themselves tweeting the same stuff frequently.

68. Openr

Openr is a really nifty tool that lets you add a call to action to anything you post on social media, allowing you to harness the power of social’s reach and make it even easier for your audience to take action.

69. Bitly

Where would Twitter be without Bitly? The original link shortening tool is still highly useful as a standalone tool, even after Twitter incorporated Bit.ly functionality into TweetDeck.

70. Mediatoolkit

Keeping track of what people are saying about you online is crucial for effective brand management, and Mediatoolkit makes it easy.

71. Everypost

Social management tool Everypost does, of course, offer scheduling and publishing functionality, but its greatest strength is its very cool content curation tools. Curate content from virtually anywhere, then publish across your social accounts. Very cool.

72. Discover.ly

Chrome extension Discover.ly lets you explore relationships with influential people on social media. It provides additional information about people, including previously unconnected accounts, such as a person’s Facebook or LinkedIn profiles from their Gmail account, and helps you form stronger relationships with industry power users.

Content Marketing Tools

73. Prezi

Let’s be honest – most slideshow presentations suck, but Prezi helps you make presentations people will actually want to watch.

74. Powtoon

Powtoon lets you create animated elements for your slideshows quickly and easily, bringing a touch of finesse that most PowerPoints lack.

75. Blog Topic Generator

Stuck for ideas on what to blog about? Then try HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator, which does pretty much exactly what you’d expect it to do.

76. Content Idea Generator

Similar to HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator, Portent’s Content Idea Generator helps you quickly come up with ideas for new content projects simply by plugging in a general topic.

77. Trello

Trello is a godsend for large or distributed content teams working to a shared editorial calendar by simplifying the editorial workflow process into nice easy boards. Seriously, check it out.

78. Feedly

Many a marketer mourned the loss of Google Reader (RIP), but Feedly is just as good – if not better. Stay on top of the day’s news and must-read content with this awesome RSS app.

79. CoSchedule

Another scheduling/editorial calendar tool, CoSchedule also offers some nifty free content tools like its Headline Analyzer. Well worth a look for small teams.

80. After the Deadline

Not all content teams can afford the luxury of hiring a dedicated copyeditor, which is what makes After the Deadline so awesome. This free Chrome plugin checks your grammar, spelling, and everything else you need to keep an eye on before hitting “Publish.”

81. Polar

Adding interactive elements like online polls can be a great way to make your content more engaging. Polar makes adding polls to your content a snap, and it has a really intuitive interface, so you don’t need mad coding skills to get started.

82. SlideShare

For marketers who do a lot of conference presentations or webinars, SlideShare is the other social network. Create awesome slide decks, then share them on SlideShare with your audience – simple.

83. PlaceIt

Ever wanted to put screenshots of your product into stock imagery, but lack Photoshop skills? Now you can with PlaceIt, an easy way to customize images with your own branding and product stills. It also features video integration, which looks awesome.

84. Canva

Canva lets you create stylish, striking visuals for social media posts and content projects with an effortless drag-and-drop interface. You can upload your own assets to work with (for free), or pay a small fee to use Canva’s own library of visual materials.

85. Share As Image

A really nifty tool for content marketers, Share As Image lets you add text to any image on the web for fast, easy social sharing of visual content. Just be sure to get permission to use images you find online before including them in your campaigns.

86. Piktochart

Long gone are the days when you needed to hire an expensive graphic design specialist to create beautiful infographics. Piktochart is an awesome free tool that lets you start designing infographics, presentations and more in minutes. Well worth bookmarking.

87. Tableau Public

Incorporating data visualization into your content projects is a near-guaranteed way to make them stickier and really pop when it comes to illustrating complex topics. Tableau Public is an amazingly powerful, completely free data visualization tool that lets you create incredible interactive visualizations. Amazing.

88. The Readability Test Tool

Nailing the style and tone of your content is crucial. To check if your latest post is a little on the wordy side, check out The Readability Test Tool, which evaluates web pages according to the Flesch Kincaid Reading Scale.

89. Quora

It might not seem like a content marketing tool, but Quora can be invaluable for crowdsourcing answers to your questions. Many content marketers use Quora to find quotes, explain complex topics, and other ways to make their content more accessible.

90. OmmWriter

Hate drafting in Word? Need to eliminate distractions while you’re blogging? Then give OmmWriter a try. This minimalist writing environment strips away everything between you and that all-important first draft, giving you the time and space to get more done.

91. Evernote

Personally, I favor the hundreds-of-bookmarks-organized-into-folders approach to research, but if this sounds like too much hassle, give Evernote a try. This powerful free app lets you save virtually anything you find online to a personalized folder system synced across all your devices – awesome.

Analytics and Optimization Tools

92. Google Analytics

The granddaddy of analytics tools, offers everything you need to track the effectiveness of your campaigns and monitor the performance of your site. For such a complex tool, Google Analytics is surprisingly user-friendly.

93. CrazyEgg

Heatmaps are immensely useful tools to see how your visitors are really interacting with your site, and nobody does heatmaps better than CrazyEgg.

94. ClickTale

ClickTale lets you review video recordings of real website visitor sessions, revealing their mouse movements, what they click, and most importantly, where you’re losing them.

95. SubjectLine

Worried your email subject lines aren’t as compelling as they could be? Then test them to see how they measure up with SubjectLine. For example, I entered the subject line “Want to get more out of your PPC campaigns?” which gave me the score and breakdown below:

96. MixPanel

MixPanel is a powerful analytics tool that lets you work with large datasets without writing a single line of SQL code. It also boasts a clean, intuitive interface, making advanced analytics analysis easier than ever.

97. Formisimo

Analytics tools are all well and good, but finding out why visitors abandon web forms and checkouts is hard using traditional platforms. That’s what makes Formisimo such a valuable tool for digital marketers. Find out exactly what visitors are doing – or not doing – with your web forms.

98. Visual Website Optimizer

Another A/B testing and optimization tool, Visual Website Optimizer (or VWO) is remarkably easy to use. Dive in and get started with testing virtually immediately.

99. FiveSecondTest

In-depth A/B tests are all well and good, but sometimes, a person’s gut reaction to what they see immediately upon landing on your page can yield surprising insights. That’s the idea behind FiveSecondTest, a testing platform that shows you what people see within five seconds of arriving on your page – and what they miss.

6 Free Blogging Tools To Attract New Readers

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I have a confession: I’m a bookmark-aholic.
6 Free Blogging Tools To Attract New Readers. I’m one of the thousands (note: completely unscientific research) suffering from FOMO on every “tools,” “tricks” and “tips” post, which leads to me starring then filing the content into one of my 123 folders.

Yes, you read that right. 123 folders. Jeesh.

But here’s the good news. When it comes to compiling PR tools for posts or agency seminars, that obsessive bookmarking pays off.

In an upcoming agency seminar, we’re featuring tools all PR pros should have on their radar. And a lot of these resources came straight from – you guessed it – my crazy Chrome filing system.

There are dozens upon dozens of them. So, for the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing the tools I use (along with takeaway tips for you) surrounding media relations, social media and, today’s topic:

Free Blogging tools

1. Google AdWords Keyword Planner

Keyword Planner helps you refine your blog topics based on search traffic. You enter the key phrase you’d like to write about, and it shares traffic for that term, plus other variations that may be more popular.

A few things to keep in mind with Keyword Planner:

• Don’t choose a keyword based solely on traffic. Typically, those high-traffic keywords are tough to rank for, and your topic should matter to your audience first and foremost. Use Keyword Planner as a backstop, not your sole editorial planning tool.


• The “competition” in Keyword Planner isn’t actually competition for how you’ll rank in search engines. It’s competition for certain Google AdWords, which is entirely separate. To evaluate organic search engine competition, you need to evaluate domain authority, which is why you should start using …

2. MozBar

When I discovered MozBar, my first question was: “Where have you been all my life?” It’s a Chrome extension that lets you analyze a certain site’s domain and page authorities, on-page SEO elements, social shares and more. It analyzes your website to ensure you’ve covered all the SEO bases in terms of meta description, alt text, etc.

Now, for evaluating search engine competition, head over to Google, turn MozBar on and type in the keyword you’d like to rank for. It will display domain authority for sites ranking for your chosen keyword. (You can find your domain authority for comparison’s sake by turning MozBar on while you’re on your site.)

If you have a domain authority of, say, 30, but those ranking for your keyword have domain authorities in the 60s (see visual, DA = domain authority), you’ll have trouble getting on the first few pages of Google. If that’s the case, think of long-tail variations of that keyword that have less traffic (but also less competition) so you have a good shot at a high rank.

3. Ubersuggest

If you’re having trouble coming up with new, fresh blog topics, Ubersuggest will be your BFF. Enter a keyword, and Ubersuggest shares an A-Z list of all the words Google searchers have added onto the end of that phrase, which can help guide your direction for the post.

For example, if I type in “basketball,” Ubersuggest tells me that people searched “basketball shoes,” “basketball positions,” “basketball rules,” etc., etc.

And, if you click on the plus sign for a certain term (say “basketball hoop”), Ubersuggest lists out additional long-tail keywords people are looking for. How’s that for efficient blog-topic generation?

4. StumbleUpon

While I’m not a big StumbleUpon user myself, I do still see its value for content amplification. I have a StumbleUpon extension on Chrome, and after I’ve published a blog post, I upload it to the platform (without ever leaving my site). I do this with the Pinterest Chrome extension, too.

5. Hemingway App

This one is a godsend. For a final set of eyes before publishing, copy and paste your post into theHemingway App. It analyzes your content to tell you:

• Which sentences are hard to read,


• Which sentences are very hard to read,


• When you have too many adverbs,


• When words or phrases can be simpler, and


• When you’re using passive voice.

 

6. Topsy

It’s easy to interact with the readers who comment directly on your site, or tag you in their social shares, but what about those flying under the radar? Topsy compiles a list of everyone who shares your content – whether they tagged you or not.

It’s a true goldmine for building relationships with new readers. I check whenever I can to see which tweeters I need to thank for sharing my posts.

Is this list of blogging resource complete? Of course not. Even my crazy bookmarking can’t keep up with every industry tool. But, if you add these resources to your PR toolkit, you’ll be well on your way to a successful career in blogging.

The Advantages of Online Advertising 2015

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The Advantages of Online Advertising 2015. Advertising has come a long way since the times of solely using traditional marketing, which included television, print, and the radio. With the introduction of the internet, online advertising has revolutionized the advertising game. There are four main advantages to online advertising: The ability to measure results, take control of ad campaigns, the ability to use precise targeting, and the ability to generate an e-mail list. The Advantages of Online Advertising 2015.

The biggest advantage to online advertising is the ability to measure the results from your marketing campaigns. When showing your ads online, you’re able to see the data almost immediately. You can see the exact number of people who have seen your advertisement, and/or the number of people who have bought your product. This means planning for future campaigns in accordance to how well they did during the present campaign is possible. In comparison, traditional advertisement is limited in that when you show your ads on television, you’re not able to measure how many people have watched the commercial, and/or have bought a certain product.

The second advantage to using online advertising is that you have a lot more control over everything, including the budgeting and costs, which makes advertisements costs a lot less expensive. For example, you can set your budget to as low as $5, or whatever price you’re comfortable with. Typically, we like to set a budget of $25-$50 a day, and then adjust it based on the results. If your campaign is not performing well, you can pause it and subsequently create new ones. Using traditional advertising is much more expensive, as you need to pay for your advertisements to be printed, shown, or heard. You have little control over this process, because once your advertisement has been broadcasted, there’s nothing you can do to stop it or track its progress.

The third advantage is that online advertising allows for precise targeting. This means that you are able to specifically choose who you want your ads shown to, and where you want them placed. You have control over if you want your ad shown on desktop, mobile, or on specific websites. When putting out an advertisement on Facebook, for example, you are able to target specific age groups, genders, locations, interests, and behaviours. On Google, you can target within certain markets and niches, such as the fashion industry. What’s even better is that you can create different ads for different target groups, and you can get statistics and data on how well those ad campaigns are doing and how to optimize your ads and targeting accordingly. You are also able to extend your reach once you start making profits off of your current campaigns.

The last advantage is that not only can you advertise on social media platforms, but you are also able to generate e-mail lists and promote and send future affiliate offers and promotions. Retargeting is also possible, which allows you to show ads to people who have previously visited your website before. For example, if a customer were to make it to the Add to Cart page on your website, then they were to abandon it, retargeting would allow you to show them ads in the future. You could even customize your ad, so that you would be showing them an offer rather than the original ad. With traditional advertising, you can choose to air your commercials on networks that are most likely going to be geared to one age group or gender, but you can’t be sure that it will show to that particular audience. You also aren’t able to build a list that you can retarget your offers to.

While many companies still use traditional forms of advertising, online advertising has become very powerful and cost-effective. Since the advertiser has full control over costs, even small companies are able to take advantage of this form of marketing. In addition, advertisers are able to build rapport and relationships with customers to help support other advertising initiatives. Most importantly, companies are able to get conversations about their brand started in order to boost their brand image and competitiveness.

How To Optimize Your Blog 2015

[caption id="attachment_372" align="aligncenter" width="601"] How To Optimize Your Blog 2015[/caption]

How To Optimize Your Blog 2015 . Blogging is key to running a successful content strategy. We’re at a point now where you can’t have one without the other. And if you don’t have a blog yet, get after it! The struggle is, and will always be, finding good content that’s worth writing about. Content needs to be fresh, engaging, and exciting, inspiring your audience and leading further reader discussion through comments, shares, tweets, and retweets.

Wasting time on blogging boring and non-engaging material isn’t going to benefit anyone, least of all yourself and your business. You don’t want to ruin your reputation with bad posts that people don’t care about. Below are a few tips on how to ensure your blog stays top-notch. How To Optimize Your Blog 2015.

So where can you get ideas?

Start A Folder

Keep ideas handy in a desktop or Google Doc folder and go back to it whenever you’re in need of inspiration. Any time you come across something new (article or video) make a note of it and keep it in the folder. A great way to find new content is using an RSS feed in your browser. An RSS feed makes it super easy to keep track of your favorite blogs and news sources all in one places. Here’s the Chrome plugin I use.

 

Brainstorm

Try grabbing a notepad. It’s old school, but it really helps me solidify my ideas and keep notes for future posts. Use bubbles or bullet points—whatever gets the creative juices flowing.

Don’t have to keep it to yourself either. If you’re stuck, ask around; see if someone has an idea, and if they do, you have instant material. It’s important to get other people sharing and weighing ideas with you too. Talk to designers, to writers, to members of other teams. Get as many opinions and ideas as possible.

Think Of Your Audience When Coming Up With Blog Ideas

Think of the size of your group, their collective interests and the messages that will affect them the most. Plan accordingly, and make sure to eliminate or restructure ideas that will confuse or minimize your audience. Talk them out with your group and be open to their feedback. There’s not one “right way” to do this.

Do Some Research

Read your competitors’ blogs to see what they’re saying. There’s no shame in it; it’s good to know what they’re thinking of and writing about. Find out what makes their customers tick and use that insight to emulate them (if it’s working) or differentiate yourself (if it’s not). How To Optimize Your Blog 2015.

Think Outside The Box

Don’t be afraid to write about your brand from a different perspective. Obviously you want to stay on topic, but consider using a new style or even a different person altogether. Get more minds contributing and not just brainstorming. Always be relevant but unique.

Stay Fresh

Posts don’t have to be lengthy but they do need to be consistent and regular. Look for timely news, upcoming events, seasonal interests. Use a calendar to mark down all the relevant days that could use a coinciding blog post. Try to stay as top of mind as possible. The goal is to be a thought leader.

Blogging can be a hard, but it shouldn’t be! Make it a fun challenge that’s rewarding and enjoyable. Don’t get burned out and you’ll find that it’s easy to pull ideas out of nowhere if you follow these easy tips.

How To optimize an image For SEO

[caption id="attachment_363" align="aligncenter" width="601"] How To optimize an image For SEO[/caption]

Contrary to popular belief, search engine optimization (SEO) goes beyond keywords. In fact, Google (and other search engines, consider lots of different factors, from those trusty keywords, to page load time, domain maturity and more when they determine where to rank your site in search engine results pages (SERPs). If you’ve mastered keyword optimization and want to take your SEO skills to the next level, images are a great place to start.

Unless you are a photographer, you more than likely aren’t thinking about Google crawling your site and looking for images. But, optimizing images for search doesn’t only increase rankings for your images. Image SEO can help boost your rankings for your target keywords. Pretty nifty, huh?

Titles

Always use a descriptive file name for your image title. If you are using original photography, cameras will output the manufacturers’ settings, such as “DCS_0022.jpg.” While that may be convenient for storing files on your computer, it doesn’t do anything for SEO.

Name your file with descriptive words about the image. Don’t be cute, be direct. Use a relevant description where the words are separated by hyphens (remember, Google reads hyphens to assume where spaces between words should be placed) not underscores.

Keep it simple. You don’t need to go overboard and load your image description with related keywords. Think about how people search. Most of the time, they’re asking questions, not plugging keywords into Google.

ALT Tags

ALT tags represent an HTML field that provides search engines more information about the image. The ALT tag was primarily intended to improve accessibility, but marketers have found that ALT tags are a requirement for maximizing the SEOh impact of images.

While every other point in this article can impact how your images are found, the ALT tag field is directly correlated with telling search engines more information about the image. Don’t skip it.

You can use ALT tags to expand on the file name using context. For example, the image I used at the top of this blog uses the filename “optimize-images-for-seo.jpg.” Because that is the precise longtail keyword I am looking to optimize this blog for, I used the same ALT tag. If I had titled the image simply “optimize.jpg”, I could use “optimize your images for SEO” as the ALT tag in order to expand upon my short image title.

Your tag should be short. Keep it to one sentence or less. ALT tags are exceptionally important. They provide search engines with contextual clues that provide insight into the message or information you are trying to convey and this, in turn, can have a dramatic impact on your SEO.

Captions

When Google finds an image without a descriptive file name or an ALT tag, it will attempt to understand the contents of an image by crawling the surrounding copy. Captions are one of the first locations search engines crawl to determine more information about an image.

Captions are tricky because they don’t look very appealing. On WordPress in particular, you can always notice a caption by the “lovely” gray or tan box that appears around your entire image when a caption is added. Before you add a caption, make sure it is relevant to your image, adds value, and won’t become a distraction. While they can help with SEO, captions are a non-essential item. ALT tags and Titles hold far more weight and have the added benefit of not being visible to your website visitors on the front end.

File Size

These days, SEO is all about speed. As a society, we’ve become accustomed to getting the information we need quickly and as a result, are less willing to wait for a website or web page to load. Search engines know this and are looking to deliver the best possible experience to the people who use them to find information. As a result, your site’s search engine rankings can be harmed if it takes too long for pages to load. One of the biggest factors that influences page speed is image size.

Images to be used on the web should always be 72 dpi (dots per inch). The quality required of an image to be used on the web is drastically different from one suited for print quality. Always make sure your images are “saved down” to accommodate page speed.

In addition to image size, the image file type can also play a significant role. To learn more about image types,

Context

Images can be amazing visual differentiators for a website, but make sure the images you are using are relevant. It may seem super appealing to follow the large image trend, but if your image isn’t aligned with your site’s aesthetic or content, then why go to the trouble?

Make sure that the contents of the image are relevant to your on page copy. Every image won’t have or doesn’t need a caption, so pay careful attention to the copy surrounding your image. Does the copy support the image contents? If your answer is no, choose a different image.

In Conclusion

Don’t go overboard. SEO is an incredibly complex field, and there are people whose entire job is SEO. Optimizing your sites images isn’t going to take you from the tenth page of Google to the first, but it will help Google to understand your site better and will improve your rankings.

If you haven’t ever paid attention to your image titles and ALT tags, start reviewing what assets you already have and identify a strategy to use these tactics moving forward.

How To  Drive More Traffic To Your Blog

[caption id="attachment_358" align="aligncenter" width="601"] How To Drive More Traffic To Your Blog[/caption]

 

here are a lot of tactics listed below and when used in the right way they can have a huge impact on your traffic. How To  Drive More Traffic To Your Blog.

For example, I’ve seen people put only a few of these tactics into action and see a 400%+ increase in traffic. Awesome right?!

The key here is to focus on a single tactic, make it work and then come back to this post to try something else. If you try too many at the same time, you won’t see the traffic increases that you deserve.

Ready to get started?

How To  Drive More Traffic To Your Blog

 

1. Topic selection

If you decide to write about a topic that nobody is interested in, you’re going to struggle to get traffic, no matter how good your content is.

So how can you get a good idea of which topics to write about?

Reading a lot of other blogs and forums can be a great way to start, but there are also a bunch of tools that will help you here, for example:

• Google Trends – This will show you a graph of how interest has increased/decreased over time.


• BuzzSumo – This tool will show you which topics are generating the most social shares.


• SEMrush (aff) – With this tool you can find out exactly what keywords your competitors are ranking for in Google and get an estimate of how much traffic those keywords can bring in.

The important thing here is to ensure that the topics you choose fit with your content strategy and are focused on helping your target audience.

Matching your audience up with the right topic is a huge first step in winning the battle for attention online.

 

2. Write more engaging headlines

David Ogilvy famously said “On average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy.”

Even if this average isn’t 100% correct today, one thing we can be certain of is that headlines matter.

They can either make or break the success of each post you publish.

There are plenty of posts discussing best practices of writing awesome headlines but there are two important factors to remember:

• Your headline is a promise and you should always deliver on that promise


• However you write your headline, it should leave an unanswered question

There are also headline writing tools like CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer which can help you but the one thing that will serve you best which is the one thing these types of tools can’t replicate.

And that’s … YOU!

 

3. improve blog’s design

Design matters – when your blog’s design is clear and crisp, people will want to keep coming back to it.

You may find yourself being mentioned on other blog’s as an example to follow when done right.

The great thing is that you don’t need to be a designer or developer to have an impressive blog design.

So if you use WordPress, you’re in luck because there are so many impressive themes out there.

Sure, you could use a free theme and there are some decent ones about but the best tend to be paid.

 

4. Improve your blog’s loading time

Loading times are so important.

Slow loading times have proven to cause a huge drop in conversions.

While it’s true that page loading times are a ranking factor for search engines like Google, it’s only a small part of their algorithm so it may increase traffic but not by too much.

The real benefit here is in keeping your existing readers coming back to your site and providing an awesome user experience.

 

5. Make internal links

When you add relevant internal links to your blog, you make it easier for people to find your best content and you also make it easier for search engines to index your content.

Don’t add internal links just for the sake of it; add them only when you feel it’s relevant and helpful to readers.

 

6. Add social share buttons to your blog

It’s important to make it easy for your followers to share your blog posts.

But adding too many social sharing buttons could potentially have a negative impact.

The key is to identify the most important social networks for your audience.

If your content is written for small businesses, it may be helpful to include a LinkedIn share button.

 

7. Focus on building your email list

Out of all of the other tactics in this post, the most dependable is this one.

Social networks may come and go but your email list will always be yours.

Growing your email list boils down to two things:

• Make it easy for your readers to sign up to your list


• Offer them a compelling reason to join your list

The truth is that there are a huge number of specific tactics you can use for this so it’s worth reading this post to find out more (you probably won’t need to read another post about building your list after reading it).

As your list grows, the more traffic you’ll be able to send to your latest posts.

 

8. Write a guest post for another blog

This is one of the most effective ways to increase your blog’s traffic.

Let me be clear – you’re not going to get floods of traffic in most cases and the time required to invest in this tactic is pretty high.

But, what matters here is that guest blogging is a long term strategy and what matters more than traffic is building your online presence.

Building your authority and making yourself known is one of the main benefits. This will pay off in the long term.

You may need to start off on small blogs first and work your way up to the larger publications, so stick with it and your blog will grow faster.

 

Google CEO is Change New CEO IS Sundar Pichai

[caption id="attachment_351" align="aligncenter" width="601"] Google CEO is Change New CEO IS Sundar Pichai[/caption]

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA:  Google today declared a noteworthy rebuilding of the organization, naming previous Product Chief Sundar Pichai as the new CEO and turning into a backup of a recently framed guardian venture called Alphabet.

The move made Pichai, 43, yet another India-conceived officer to lead a noteworthy worldwide innovation company after Microsoft's Satya Nadella.

According to a blog post by co-founder Larry Page, Google will now become a "slimmed-down" company and be part of Alphabet Inc. along with ventures "far afield of our main internet products".

"Good examples are our health efforts: Life Sciences (that works on the glucose-sensing contact lens), and Calico (focused on longevity)" Mr Page said.

He said the move would make Google "cleaner and more accountable". Alphabet, meanwhile, will be run by Mr Page as CEO and Google co-founder Sergey Brin as President.

For Chennai-born Sundar Pichai, becoming CEO comes 11 years after he joined Google following a stint at management consultancy McKinsey and Company.

At Google, he started out with heading products such as the company's new web browser Chrome and later most of Google's consumer software portfolio including the Android operating system.

Mr Pichai is alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, Stanford University and The Wharton School. He will be a "key part" of the new structure that will "allow us to keep tremendous focus on the extraordinary opportunities we have inside Google", Mr Page said.

"I feel very fortunate to have someone as talented as he is to run the slightly slimmed down Google and this frees up time for me to continue to scale our aspirations," he said.

Reiterating a line from a founders' letter 11 years ago, Mr Page who started the company with his partner Sergey Brin as a research project at Stanford, said, "Google is not a conventional company. We do not intend to become one."