There are many tools online that business and blog owners can benefit from using. However, I have decided to share at least 12 basic tools online that you should be aware of.
WordPress
If it were not for WordPress, there would probably be not as many creative sites. Why? Because WordPress has shown itself to be quite flexible, easy to customize, and quite user-friendly. It is also something free to download and use to your own advantage. There are other content management systems and blog platforms, but WordPress has shown itself to be even an affordable method to building a site for even business owners.
Google Webmaster Tools
This free service has been a great way for helping webmasters build a good foundation for their website. It allows the user to look at how Google looks at a website and ranks it. It also allows the webmaster to know when something is seriously missing from a site.
VistaPrint
I think this is a great service because it is cheap and for bloggers who attend social events like conferences, a business card really becomes necessary. I walk away with dozens of cards from business owners, and bloggers alike every time I go to a conference.
Google Analytics
This allows you to monitor your site traffic for free. All the answers to making sure you are retaining your visitors or successfully directing them to where you want them to go can be found. In using Google Analytics you can even fill the need for those missing places that people are trying to search for on your website that might not be anywhere else online.
Alexa Rank
Although Alexa is not in depth with producing statistics, it is free and does a great job of telling you how your site is doing in a numerical ranking system. The smaller the number, the better your site is doing. You can even get bounce rate, traffic stats, and some general information on what type of people are visiting and what they are looking for on your site.
Aweber
This is a newsletter software system that people are using to help market their websites and businesses. It is not free to use, but there are many people who have successfully built great marketing campaigns.
MailChimp
MailChimp, like Aweber is also a newsletter software system. They do have a free plan that allows up to 500 subscribers, so for those starting out, this might be a nice starting point before investing further into email marketing campaigns.
CrazyEgg
This is a premium traffic tracking system for site owners who need the nitty gritty details on what exactly their visitors are doing on their website. The details are so precise that they even provide a “heatmap” for each page you monitor. This heatmap allows you to see where exactly your visitors have been. Check out the CrazyEgg overview for more details.
Woopra
No, this is not some strange shoutout to Oprah. Wooprah is a traffic analytic system that delivers real-time stats. There is a free program up to 30,000 visitors. After that, the member should upgrade their package.
Freelancer.com
Got a project? Your site needs a new look? There are a lot of freelancers eager to do the job at Freelancer.com. A lot of the jobs are affordable and you are a little more protected when using their Escrow system for payment.
If you are a freelancer yourself, it is free to join and only costs when you accept a job. The fee is very minimal too.
Google Feedburner
There are a lot of people finding it more convenient to read your site through RSS. No site should be without the option of signing up for an RSS feed.
Remember the Milk
Have a long to-do list? Remember the Milk actually can be an easy way to put a list together online… even from your phone. The task manager integrates with apps for the iPhone and Android. It also integrates with Gears, Google Calendar, Gmail, Twitter, and Blackberry!
What other tools do you recommend?
Some of these services I hadn't heard of before. Some of them are really, really excellent and I've been recommending to people for a while – Vistaprint might be my favorite. I know a number of people who've gotten business cards from there and used them to great effect.
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I use Vista Print myself and it has been a nice and cheap way versus the local printing businesses that cannot compete in price nor quality.
Even for the cheap rate, I throw in a couple extra dollars to have Vista Print’s branding removed. It is worth it.
As soon as I finish with my current set, which is pretty basic, I am going to get some premium ones so I can finally use my logo.
I use VistaPrint for my business cards, return address labels, and soon I'll be getting the banner for my booth at the market from there. They're great!
I also use WordPress and Google's Webmaster tools – but I will definitely need to look into the newsletter software as I am trying to put together a newsletter for my business. Thank you for the tips!
There are a few WordPress newsletter plugins that I am going to dabble in trying out and seeing how their can be used. I just like more control rather than using an outside resource.
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Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools and Alexa are the three most important tools that every site owenr must be using. Without those getting relevant statistical information on your site's performance would be an impossible task as I see things. The other tools included in the article can also come in handy, but even without them you can do well enough. CrazyEgg is a decent service though and I'm highly recommending it, as you can get a lot of useful information.
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Mailchimp is new for me. Looking useful one.
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Great list here. I will definitely have to check out MailChimp, Crazy Egg and Woopra.
Definitely use Google Analytics, it's a really awesome tool to see how your site is doing on the web. Hard to imagine running an online business without all the stats. Great post Nile!
Five out of 12 is not bad. However, I must make my analytics more of a priority. I didn't think people was visiting Shorty (www.goshorty.net) because I didn't have conversations. I checked my analytics and learned that I had over 1500 monthly visitors! Alexa – here I come!
Very interesting list.
I would add the 13th tool – is CUTOMER.
Any business owner must know his customer trends… and then to apply the other 12 tools.
thanks,
for posting.
I already use some of the tools but still not heard of some of the tools you’ve mentioned. Regarding managing mails I think Aweber is amazing. I’ve also been wanting to try Mail Chimp and I’m still skeptical about the free plan, maybe some condition is going to come along with that free thing.
Google Webmaster Tools and Alexa are the three most important tools that every site owenr must be using. Without those getting relevant statistical information on your site’s performance would be an impossible task as I see things. The other tools included in the article can also come in handy, but even without them you can do well enough. CrazyEgg is a decent service though and I’m highly recommending it, as you can get a lot of useful information.
Hello Friends,
I have tried MailChimp and That is very great. You may send up to 12000 FREE emails for about a month to your 2000 Subscriber.
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All the best
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