Glen from Viperchill recently wrote a post about the resources that are in his internet marketing toolbox, so I thought it would be a good idea to share the tools I use on a daily basis. I think I should mention that I probably have used hundreds of tools to perform various tasks, however there are a core set of tools I have grown to love and use almost every day.
Keyword Research
Google Keyword Tool: There are probably around 5 different keyword tools I use, however I will always start at the Google Keyword Tool. It is a great starting point for building your initial keyword list, finding PPC estimates, and competition data. Typically I will gather a long list of potential keywords, then export and sort the list based on keyword segmentation.
Others I Use:
Competitive Analysis
SEO Book Toolbar: Usually when I first go to analyze competitors I will start by looking at the data provided by the SEO Book Toolbar. All of the core data you would look at is provided by the toolbar. I look at the pages indexed, inbound links, PR, domain age, which main directories they are in, and social bookmarking data. Of course an in-depth competitor analysis is much more than just looking at the toolbar data, however this is a great place to start to get some basic information about the site.
Others I Use:
Website Audit
Xenu: I will use the Xenu tool to help identify broken links, site depth (directories), title/meta tags, 404 error pages, internal linking, possible loading issues.
IBP or Webste Grader: Both of these tools perform similar tasks, however I have used both to help analyze a website. These tools will help gather meta data information, inbound links, pages indexed, blog information, social media data and other SEO factors.
Others I Use:
- Check out: 10 Website & SEO Analysis Tools
Analytics and Rankings
Google Analytics: Like 95% of other sites, I use Google Analytics to look at site and visitor engagement. I will usually check my stats first thing in the morning and then once again in the afternoon to see if a post went viral during the day.
Feedburner: To keep track of my RSS subscribers I will use Feedburner. There are some other nice customization features that you can add in your Feedburner account.
Rank Checker: If I need to check some keyword rankings really quickly, I will use this firefox addon.
Rank Tracker: If I am working with a client, I will have Rank Tracker automatically pull rankings usually once a week. This saves me time from having to manually pull updated rankings for all clients.
Other I Use:
FTP Files/HTML Editing
Filezilla: If I need to pull files from the server, Filezilla is the easiest way to do it.
Notepad ++: A great notepad editor that has a number of cool features (for a text editor)
Dreamweaver CS4: Any HTML edits that need to be made for a clients site, I will use Dreamweaver.
Firefox Addons
I try not to install too many firefox plugins because it really slows down the performance of the web browser, however there are some that are essential. Here is a list of addon I use (besides SEO Toolbar and SEO for Firefox, which I already mentioned).
- Web Developer Toolbar: Diasble/Enable elements,
- Firebug: Inspect page elements, HTML and CSS, and other development aspects.
- YSlow: Test page load time and makes recommendations on improving load time.
- WASP: Easily Identify what Analytics program a website is using.
- OnlyWire Bookmarklet: Social Bookmark content across mulitple social bookmarking sites.
- LastPass: Stores passwords so you never have to worry about logins again.
Blogging
WordPress: My blog uses WordPress, so normally I will just use WordPress for writing/editing blog posts. I have tried a number of blogging software tools however I just prefer to write within the backend of WordPress. Depending on if I am writing a guest post for another social CRM blog, I will use whatever blog platform they are using.
Project Management
Basecamp: There are a number of project management tools out there, I felt that Basecamp was the most user-friendly and can be customized enough to manage my projects. I am able to setup task lists, see when projects are due, monitor communication with clients, and add project notes.
What are some of the main tools you use on a daily basis?
