Editor's Note: This post was originally published in October 2017 and was updated with additional information in September 2023.
If you’re an entrepreneur who’s just starting out, a "hands-on" SMB owner, or a digital marketing professional with a relatively small budget, the chances are that you want to make every marketing dollar count. Fortunately for you, there are some great digital marketing tools to help you execute your marketing strategy and get the best possible results from your budget. Harnessed effectively, these tools will help you manage different digital activities and hone, automate, and maximize your business’ performance. Below, I have listed a diverse mix of powerful digital marketing tools that cover a variety of uses and needs. While some of these tools are free, many others have a trial option, so you can check out if that platform suits your requirements.
SEO TOOLS
The right SEO tools are essential for effective search engine optimization. Some popular SEO tools include SEO Book tools, SmallSEOTools, SEOToolSet, Raven Tools, and WebCEO. These digital marketing platforms help businesses optimize their websites and improve their rankings on search engine results pages. These tools are considered among the best digital marketing tools available for optimizing websites and improving search engine rankings.
1. SEO Book Tools
The latest tools from SEO Book will provide you with knowledge and insights from industry experts to enhance your SEO strategies. The site offers training courses, as well as audio and video content on the latest updates within the SEO marketplace. It also lists the latest tools for growing companies. By utilizing these resources, you can stay ahead of the competition and optimize your website for better search engine rankings.
2. SmallSEOTools
Whether you’re looking to check the authority of a particular domain, conduct a reverse image search for your SEO campaign, or check Alexa rankings, the options available through SmallSEOTools.com will provide the ideal resource. This site also includes a blog to help your team keep up with the latest news. Overall, SmallSEOTools.com provides a comprehensive suite of SEO tools and resources to aid in various aspects of digital marketing and search engine optimization.
3. SEOToolSet
SEOToolSet focuses on the in-depth data that your SEO campaigns need to thrive. Tools include the latest reporting options to gain insight into elements such as link analysis and domain indexing. The data revealed by these tools can help keep your firm moving forward toward its SEO objectives and driving efficiency within your campaigns.
4. Raven Tools
From finding and fixing errors within your SEO campaigns to getting rankings from Google, the options within Raven’s tools will keep your campaigns moving successfully forward. Raven’s standalone site audit is a great tool to quickly find and eliminate SEO flaws that could otherwise see your content penalized within the rankings. Overall, Raven's tools offer a comprehensive solution for optimizing your website's SEO. Whether it's identifying and fixing errors, tracking keyword rankings, or analyzing competitor performance, these tools can help you stay ahead in the highly competitive world of search engine optimization.
5. WebCEO
WebCEO’s suite of SEO tools will provide you with enterprise-level features for comprehensive SEO campaign management. The company also offers tools for link detoxing and local SEO campaign management to keep your company connected to your local audiences.
BACKLINK ANALYSIS TOOLS
Backlink analysis tools are essential for understanding the performance of a website's backlinks. Ahrefs, Majestic, Open Site Explorer, and Cognitive SEO are some commonly used digital marketing tools in this field. These tools help to analyze the quality and quantity of backlinks, check for any broken or toxic links, and monitor competitor's backlink strategies. By using these tools, website owners and SEO professionals can make informed decisions about their backlink-building strategies and improve their website's search engine rankings.
6. Ahrefs
Ahrefs can help your company improve its link analysis and gain the actionable data needed to enhance marketing performance through accurate competitor analysis and high-powered backlink research. The site has data for over 240 million keywords used across the United States alone.
7. Majestic
Majestic is a platform that allows you to explore sites and site indexes in detail, providing you with clear data on the linking performance of a site and the keywords companies are using to bring visitors to their URLs. The Majestic suite also includes their Link Explorer, which provides comprehensive data on linking performance over time. Majestic provides users with the data and insights needed to optimize their online presence and improve their website's performance.
8. Open Site Explorer
Through Moz’s Open Site Explorer, you can discover link-building opportunities, research backlinks to ensure they match your business objectives, and find out which links can be potentially damaging to your site over time. With its user-friendly interface and comprehensive analysis, Moz's Open Site Explorer simplifies the complex task of link-building, making it an indispensable tool for any marketing manager aiming to enhance their website's online presence.
9. Cognitive SEO
A key benefit of CognitiveSEO is that the company provides you with data on competitor strategies. You’ll see what your closest industry competitors are doing and build your strategies based on the data revealed. You’ll also be able to see side-by-side comparisons for a clear visual insight into site performance and potential improvements.
CONTENT MARKETING TOOLS
Content marketing tools are essential for any digital marketer looking to effectively distribute and manage their content. Outbrain, Curata, and Ahrefs Content Explorer are some of the best digital marketing platforms for content creation and optimization. These content management tools provide valuable insights and resources that allow marketers to optimize their content and reach a wider audience.
10. Outbrain
Outbrain helps optimize your content, amplify content reach, and ensure it connects with relevant audiences across your marketplace. You’ll achieve higher engagement across your campaigns and maximize revenue growth over the long term. Outbrain provides a comprehensive solution for content optimization, audience targeting, and revenue growth. Its data-driven approach and extensive network make it a valuable tool for businesses looking to enhance their content marketing efforts.
11. Curata
Curata is the ideal tool for a streamlined content production and analysis process. The solution helps you to drive content ideation while giving you precise data on the types of content most valuable to your qualified audiences. It also allows you to build a predictable content supply chain that takes pieces from the draft stage through analysis and their use within the conversion optimization process.
12. Ahrefs Content Explorer
Through Ahrefs Content Explorer, you can learn about the most popular content on any topic. The tool allows you to use filters and sort information via language, traffic, backlinks, and word count, among other metrics, so that you can hone in on the type of content that will best engage your high-value audience members.
PPC
PPC, or pay-per-click, is a crucial component of digital marketing. Tools like Spyfu, Unbounce, iSpionage, and SEMRush provide valuable insights and help companies optimize their PPC campaigns. These platforms enable businesses to track keywords, research competitors, and measure the effectiveness of their advertising efforts, ultimately driving more traffic and conversions.
13. Spyfu
Gaining insight into how your competitors are using keywords within their PPC campaigns can give you an advantage in the marketplace. Spyfu puts the latest market research at your disposal and keeps your team moving towards their ROI objectives within their PPC campaigns.
14. Unbounce
Getting engagement through your landing pages should ensure that your company achieves a swift ROI from invested marketing funds. Unbounce gives you the tools to build refined landing pages that continually deliver effective performance for your organization. The company offers a full range of mobile-responsive templates for teams to easily integrate into their campaigns. Unbounce landing pages have helped businesses turn billions of visitors into leads, sales, and signups. Combining that data with AI, Unbounce lets you create custom landing pages twice as fast as old-school builders.
15. iSpionage
Using iSpionage, you can learn more about your competitors and the offers they’re presenting. The data delivered through the tool can help your team improve your offers and ensure a lasting return on investment for your campaign funds. Components such as iSpionage Campaign Watch give you clear insight into competitor actions, highlighting your competitors across both the desktop and mobile verticals.
16. Semrush
Having access to a trusted data source for your PPC campaign can ensure your brand is continually moving forward. Semrush combines a full range of campaign management components, such as search engine position tracking, competitive intelligence, and backlink audits and analytics, to ensure a constant flow of actionable data on campaign performance.
SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS
Social media management platforms like Hootsuite, SproutSocial, and MeetEdgar have revolutionized the way businesses approach social media marketing. By streamlining social media management, businesses can focus on building brand awareness, increasing website traffic, and fostering customer engagement. These tools have become essential for businesses of all sizes, helping them stay competitive in the digital age.
17. Hootsuite
Hootsuite helps companies manage their multiple social media platforms and provides them with clear data on campaign performance. Hootsuite is the market’s most trusted product for effective social media management. The solution also helps track mentions to help growing brands retain control of their company’s reputation.
18. SproutSocial
SproutSocial helps brands plan, organize, and roll out content that engages a qualified audience and begins essential conversations within social media platforms. The system provides companies with qualitative data regarding their social media marketing performance to help them make more effective decisions when rolling out new content.
19. MeetEdgar
MeetEdgar is the social media content scheduling tool for the proactive marketing team. The system works to catalog the best-performing social media updates by category and then automatically shares the content with your audience based on when it’s most likely to gain the most traction online. It’s an automated system that helps brands across the market grow their audiences daily.
WEBSITE ANALYSIS TOOLS
Website analysis tools are crucial for optimizing a website's performance. Tools like SEO Analyzer, Woorank, SEO Optimer, and Google Webmaster Tools provide insights into website health, keyword rankings, and backlink profiles. Additionally, tools like Varvy and Moz On-Page Grader Tool help improve on-page SEO elements. By utilizing these tools, website owners can ensure their site is optimized for search engines, resulting in improved visibility and organic traffic.
20. SEO Analyzer
The SEO Analyzer from Neil Patel will provide you with concrete information about your SEO performance and how to improve your performance over time. The reports offered through the Analyzer help pinpoint errors within your site’s SEO and highlight how to make quick, effective changes to support improved SEO performance.
21. Woorank
For companies with a significant number of pages to check, Woorank is ideal. It works to check for content issues, analyzing thousands of pages in minutes to review technical SEO elements and ensure every component is managed with precision.
22. SEO Optimer
SEO Optimer helps your team improve the on-page elements within your site. The tool gives you clear information on site performance and how the natural features on your site can be used to boost the site’s rankings in search.
23. Google Webmaster Tools
Google Webmaster Tools is your set of optimization tools for effective management and maintenance of your site. Within the Webmaster Tools, you’ll discover all the components you need to make fast, effective decisions on how to improve the performance of your site. You can analyze your clicks and determine their source, discover how your site performs with specific audiences, and learn which content is most popular.
24. Varvy
Varvy can help you improve your site's speed and functionality for both mobile and desktop audiences. The tool helps eliminate elements that negatively impact site performance and provides important information about the problems within your current site setup. Varvy is also an educational resource, providing you with detailed research on a full range of site optimization topics.
25. Moz On-Page Grader Tool
The Moz On-Page Grade Tool provides a full checklist to maximize performance on your site. The tool runs through all the elements a site needs to succeed and provides insight on how best to capitalize on your current elements to ensure an intuitive user experience.
By learning more about the available tools, you can now begin to improve upon your investment in marketing, taking a step-by-step approach to analysis and optimization. Incrementally, you’ll maximize your team’s results over the coming years. Take the time to learn how to implement the tools highlighted in this post, as they are essential digital marketing tools professionals should know. Each option is designed to help create the ideal foundation for ongoing digital marketing success in the long term.
