Like a builder needs construction tools to work on projects, similarly, a Full-Stack Marketer also needs different kinds of software to bring their projects to completion. There can be some frustration seeing tons of software out there having a lot of similar features, financial limitations, and the undying fear that the tool might not give the ideal ROI as expected.  Fear not!

In this article, we will take a look at some of the best, free software out there that you can incorporate into your strategy right now and see some amazing results. 

1. SEOquake

We discussed SEMrush in our Article on the Paid Tools you should have in your arsenal (if you haven’t checked it out here, make sure to do so here). SEOquake is a powerful free SEO tool developed by the SEMrush Team that is essentially an All-in-One for software that gives you the whole insight into the realm of SEO.

With the SEOquake extension, you can conduct a full site audit of a website, analyze internal and external links, look at what kind of Advertisements are running, and if you have a SEMrush account, by simply connecting the two, you will be able to look at the Backlinks of a website as well as to conduct Traffic Analysis.

The “Diagnosis” section of SEOquake is one of its Forte; in a nutshell, by heading over to a website and clicking on the diagnosis section, the tool will perform a full page audit and give you tons of information regarding the website including any deficiencies in on-page and off-page optimization. This is incredibly powerful as you can identify any gaps quickly and work on making necessary adjustments by the recommendations SEOquake provides.

You can find out more about SEOquake at www.seoquake.com

2. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a “freemium” service which basically means that a lot of the features inside the software is entirely free but if you pay a fee on a subscription basis, you gain access to some advanced tools that can probably give you a slight edge. The Premium version is called “Google Analytics 360”.

The free version, however, is more than enough if you’re just starting out and some might argue, you don’t even need it even if you’re actively taking in new clients and are heavily reliant on this tool. Inside the Google Analytics dashboard, you can add a website and then track various metrics. You can analyze the traffic that’s coming in including which one of your campaigns are bringing in that traffic or which campaign is the most successful in terms of that metric. Furthermore, the tool allows you to track user activity on the website along with the % of conversions relative to the traffic. You can sort the traffic by “Demographic” as well which provides extra information on which countries/cities your content is performing best.

Reporting is a skill that every marketer must have and we need tools to create them. Thankfully, Google Analytics allows users to create custom reports based on whichever metric or goal you’re trying to achieve. In this regard, if you’re looking for an Analytics tool that does it all, you don’t need to look any further!

For more info on how to get set up with Google Analytics, visit analytics.google.com

3. Canva

OK! So, this tool is not exactly related to Marketing in a direct sense. However, this is an essential design tool that a lot of Marketers will have to get comfortable with, at some point. Not everyone has proficiency in Photoshop, however, a lot of marketers take on projects where they have to handle Social Media platforms for clients. This requires a good sense of marketing but also creative thinking for coming up with Content relevant to the Brand’s goals & objectives. Canva makes the design process a lot simple to the point that even Marketers with no experience in Designing content can easily get comfortable with using the platform.

With Canva, you don’t need to worry about researching dimensions relative to different social media platforms or websites, it has built-in presets for posting on Facebook, Instagram, Linked In and other major platforms. The “drag and drop” design makes it very easy to join several pieces together to make into a singular content. Canva already has ready-made designs available for Free that you can tweak to your liking. Alternatively, it provides great accessibility so you can customize a piece of content as much as you want including adding different shapes and sizes, a fully functional color palette, etc.

All of your designs get saved on Canva so you can always go back and make adjustments if necessary. If you’re looking for a tool that isn’t complex like Photoshop but has all the features, Canva is the place to go.

You can find more info on www.canva.com

4. Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is a staple in every Marketer’s book. Integrated within their Ads Manager, this easy tool offers features that can help you achieve your SEO goals. Inside Keyword Planner, you can write down some keywords and let the tool do the rest. It will show you all related and relevant keywords along with important metrics like Monthly Competition & Average Monthly Searches for those keywords. You can then export all of these ideas into an Excel or Google Sheets Doc and make your choice of which keywords you’d like to incorporate in your content.

The “Export” feature is quite beneficial as you can save this list in your Drive for use in the future if you take on another client in the same industry. Google Keyword Planner also provides highly useful statistics on the keywords that you input regarding their performance over time, forecasts, etc. A big downside, some may call it, is that the keyword ideas that the Keyword Planner provides are more relevant to Advertising Campaigns that are running relative to those keywords and that’s because this tool is part of the Google Ads Manager which is an Advertising Platform, first and foremost. However, this isn’t something that should stop you from exploring and using this tool.

You can check out the Google Keyword Planner here ads.google.com

5. Hemingway Editor

The Hemingway Editor is a very useful tool for Marketers, especially Copywriters. The unique thing that separates Hemingway from other apps is that it gives feedback on how to make your writing more clear for users to scan and read. This is highly beneficial for Copywriters who want to avoid writing overly complex sentences and add a boldness that attracts prospects.

Hemingway Editor is 100% Free and has several great features. You can add your Copy or Articles to the editors and it will highlight the sentences that need to be modified. Hemingway has a built-in “Grading System” for your content which is based on a field that researchers call “Readability“. The readability score is decided on USA Grade Levels and whenever you will edit your articles inside Hemingway, you will see a Readability Score on the right-hand side showing you which Grade Level your writing style is suitable for. By connecting your Heminway Account to WordPress or Medium, you can instantly transport the content to those platforms instead of copying it and pasting it.

For more info, you can check out Hemingway Editor’s website www.hemingwayapp.com

6. Google Data Studio

Google Data Studio, as the name implies, is a “Data Management & Reporting” Tool that every Marketer needs to utilize. It provides an incredibly powerful ecosystem that can house all of your data; Conversion Rates and CTRs, traffic sources, devices that performed best, and much more!

The dashboard itself houses all kinds of Pie Charts and Bar Graphs that you can use to visually analyze the data. There is a lot of customization going on. You can add Fields, Parameters to your graphs, sort by different years, and even blend different types of data together to consolidate it together. If you want to present this data to a client, the dashboard makes it very easy to create fully customizable Reports filled with Visual and Interactive Data that will make the complex stuff easier to understand.

The platform itself is actually a free version of Google Data Studio 360 which offers some more features that may or may not be of any use to you. For more info, here’s the website www.datastudio.google.com

Honorable Mentions

1. Keywords Everywhere

Like SEOquake, Keywords Explorer is another free extension that can aid your SEO. This tool is fairly easy to use but brings in insightful data that you can use to shape up your SEO strategy.

To use Keywords Everywhere, you need to install the extension. After doing so, just run a simple search on Google on your “target keyword”, let’s say shoes. Keywords Explorer will bring back the Trend Data for the keyword which you can sort by 1 month, 7 days, all the up to 5 years and also see All-Time Stats. Additionally, you can also find out related and trending keywords. Keywords Explorer also displays the “Long-Tail Keywords” you can target on the right-hand side.

If you want more keywords as well as some additional features, you can buy credits from the site. However, the free version has all the tools you need to run effective Keyword Research.

You can check out Keywords Everywhere here www.keywordseverywhere.com

2. Talkwalker

Talkwalker is a Paid Social Media Analytics & Monitoring Platform. However, they have free tools that can level up any Marketer’s game. We’re going to talk about two of their free offerings; Talkwalker Alerts and Talkwalker Social Search.

Talkwalker Alerts is similar to Google Alerts in that it keeps sight of different trends globally. You can use this tool to monitor up-and-coming trends, perform Competitor Analysis across multiple blogs, forums and social media platforms. What makes it better than Google Alerts is that you can filter your searches with different variables; say you want to only look at your brand mentions on blogs and don’t want to see results coming in from social or the web. With Talkwalker Alerts, you can do exactly that. The fully customizable functionality makes it a force to be reckoned with and a must-have in every marketer’s arsenal.

Talkwalker Social Search is a free “Social Media Listening” tool that you can use to monitor conversations, trends, hashtags, basically everything related to your brand. You can also get audience insights, competitor trends, etc. All of this information is displayed in Pie Charts and Graphs adding a visual sense, which makes it really easy to interpret data and use it to boost your marketing efforts.

We hope this list helps you make a decision on which tools will be best suited to your requirements. As always, it’s recommended to do sufficient research and clearly outline your goals which will help you make the best possible decision.