Digital marketing isn’t easy, and getting started can be intimidating. If you’re looking to start a digital marketing strategy but aren’t sure if you can afford it, don’t worry — there are free digital marketing tools out there to help you! Here are eight free digital marketing tools to kickstart your digital marketing strategy:
1. WordPress
WordPress is one of the most popular website building platforms out there. Over 409 million people view more than 24.6 billion WordPress pages each month.
Considering it’s easily accessible by readers, WordPress is recommended to build your digital marketing presence off of. Starting with a beautiful blog can be the first step in creating content for your brand.
One of the best parts about WordPress? It’s free. Another benefit? Creating a WordPress page is easy; there are multiple themes available for you to install, most of which can be customized by altering the HTML. The backend of WordPress is easy to navigate, so the learning curve on this platform is small.
2. Yoast SEO Plugin
After you have a WordPress site, you’ll want to implement proper search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is one of the biggest keys in your digital marketing efforts being recognized.
Yoast SEO Plugin is a free digital marketing tool that guides you step-by-step in properly optimizing a page for SEO. It grades your blog posts in real-time, looking for things like keyword usage in titles, SEO titles, excerpts, and more. If your page hits all of Yoast’s recommendations for SEO readability, it gives you a green check in each of the required areas; if it doesn’t, it flags it in red.
For those just beginning in the digital marketing world, Yoast can be a valuable tool that gets them in the habit of properly optimizing a page for search engine visibility. Yoast is also a great tool for pros — it double checks your work, ensuring that no opportunity for ranking high in search engines is missed.
3. Google Alerts
Implementing Google Alerts into your digital marketing strategy is a great way to measure the effectiveness of your efforts.
Google Alerts allows you to have a daily email sent to you related to keywords you select. By monitoring your brand’s name, you can see how often it’s mentioned around the web.
In addition to it being a great digital marketing tool that will measure brand recognition, Google Alerts can be a tool used to help you come up with new content to write about. By monitoring keywords related to your industry or brand, you can always be in the know of the latest trends. Writing content around breaking news can keep your blog or email newsletter fresh and engaging for your audience.
4. Buffer
Social media is a great way to promote your content. Implementing it into your digital marketing strategy is vital; 81% of the world’s population has some form of a social media account. However, there are multiple social media platforms out there. Once you’ve identified the ones appropriate for your target audience, it’s recommended that you start promoting your content and brand to them.
It can become difficult to manage multiple social media accounts at once. Thankfully, there’s a free digital marketing tool that allows you to manage them all in one place. Buffer is a digital marketing tool that allows you to link multiple social media accounts in one easy place. You can schedule posts from the free app to any platform that you choose.
Having all of your social media accounts in one place takes away the fuss of manually posting — and it will help keep you organized!
5. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is another digital marketing tool that will help you measure the success of your digital marketing efforts. By inserting a code in the HTML of your website, you can see all sorts of data: page views, sessions, visitors, and more. This free digital marketing tool can also be implemented in email marketing efforts, video, and social media.
Knowing the return on investment (ROI) of your digital marketing efforts can keep you on the right path to effective marketing. You’ll discover what’s working for your audience — and what isn’t. Both forms of information are key when it comes to catering to your audience.
6. Canva
Visuals are a great way to keep users engaged while viewing your content. While applications such as Photoshop are expensive, Canva is a free digital marketing tool that you shouldn’t go without.
Canva is a free tool that allows you to make beautiful graphics without having to bear the cost of expensive photo editing programs. It’s easy to use and comes with templates that’s optimized for social media platforms, collages, newsletters, graphs, logos, and more.
7. Sumo
Sumo is one of the all-in-one digital marketing tools that helps you gain conversions on your website. The tool assists with things such as sign-up reminders and pop-ups that guide users to make a desired action, such as signing up for an email newsletter. If you have started your campaign but have noticed that it’s lacking in effectiveness, Sumo could be a great way to kickstart its success.
8. Peek
After you’ve established your website, you might be wondering how users are reacting to it. Peek is a free digital marketing tool that gives you direct access to user behavior on your web page. You can see how users interact with your website — what pages are they clicking on after the homepage? Are they gravitating toward your call to action?
The free version of Peek allows up to three tests every month, giving you consistent information of your user’s viewing habits.
Takeaway: Use These Free Digital Marketing Tools For Success!
If you’re ready to start your digital marketing strategy, consider implementing these free digital marketing tools to aid in your success.
We’re always coming up with how-to guides to help you learn how to effectively implement smart marketing strategies. If you’re ready to take yours to the next level, keep checking back for more smart ways and digital marketing tools to boost your digital marketing efforts!