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Essential Internet Marketing Tools
Author
By Kim Roach Copyright © 2006
As an online marketer and
webmaster, there are a number of tools that you will want in your virtual
toolbox. To get you started, I have scoured the net to find some of the best
programs to help webmasters improve their sites, their rankings, and their
productivity. Best of all, each one of these tools is free. We'll start with one
of my favorites.
Good Keywords
(http://www.goodkeywords.com)
Good Keywords is a program
that allows you to quickly and easily create an extensive list of targeted
keywords for your website using Yahoo, Ask, and Overture.
This free tool
comes loaded with a link popularity meter, a keyword phrase builder, a
misspelled word generator, and a web page explorer tool that will allow you to
quickly see what keywords other sites are targeting.
Once you have found
your desired keywords, you can group them into keyword sets, which can then be
copied into your clipboard.
To find out more about this handy tool, go to
http://www.goodkeywords.com.
BackLinks
Master
(http://www.cleverstat.com/backlinks-software.htm)
It is
a well-known fact that search engines use link popularity as one of their top
ranking factors.
However, quality is much more important than quantity
when obtaining inbound links. In addition, many of the search engines place
importance on the use of relevant anchor text.
With a tool known as
Backlinks Master, you can monitor your link popularity in Google, Yahoo, and
MSN. This tool finds direct links, JavaScript links, and others. In addition,
you will be shown the anchor text and link type that others have used to link to
you.
To start taking control of your link popularity, go to http://www.cleverstat.com/backlinks-software.htm
SEOpen
(http://seopen.com/firefox-extension/index.php)
SEOpen is
a Firefox extension that provides numerous SEO tools at the click of a mouse.
All of its features can be easily accessed by right-clicking on a web
page.
Using this tool, you can examine your competitors:
* Yahoo
Backlinks
* Pages in Yahoo Index
* Google Backlinks
* Google Cache
*
Pages in Google index
* Google Related
* PageRank Check
* MSN
Backlinks
* Pages in MSN Index
* Alexa Overview
* Alexa Traffic
*
Alexa Related
* Alexa Backlinks
* "Mass Check" multiple sources at
once
* Check DMOZ Inclusion
* Keyword Density
* Page Size Checker
*
HTML Validator
* Server Header Viewer
* Wayback Machine
* Check
robots.txt
* Whois Info
To quickly and easily perform competitor
analysis, check out http://seopen.com/firefox-extension/index.php
Active
Web Reader Customizer
(http://www.deskshare.com/awrc.aspx)
RSS is becoming one
of the best ways to increase your online exposure. With the upcoming release of
Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 7, RSS usage is expected to rise
significantly. However, RSS is also new enough that you can use this technology
to create an effective viral marketing campaign.
You can do this by
distributing your own RSS aggregator. If your RSS aggregator becomes popular,
your brand could become very well known on the Internet.
With the Active
Web Reader Customizer, you can recommend and distribute an RSS reader that is
preloaded with your feeds and web pages. By doing this, you are giving your
visitor additional value and increasing your brand exposure at the same
time.
Start creating your very own customized RSS reader at http://www.deskshare.com/awrc.aspx
RSS Wizard
(http://www.extralabs.net/rss-wizard.htm)
We've talked
about the wonderful benefits of promoting an RSS feed, but how do you actually
create one. Fortunately, you don't have to be a techie to create your very own
RSS feed. All you need is a tool like RSS Wizard.
This tool will
automatically convert almost any web page into an RSS feed. With the RSS Wizard,
you can create, edit and publish an unlimited number of RSS channels.
To
start creating your own RSS feeds, go to http://www.extralabs.net/rss-wizard.htm .
FeedDigest
(http://www.feeddigest.com)
Not only can you create RSS
feeds for your own website, but you can also incorporate other peoples' RSS
feeds into your site to increase your publishing power, deliver value to your
readers, and ensure that your website is constantly up-to-date and
changing.
In fact, with a tool called FeedDigest, you can mix multiple
feeds into a single feed to post on your website.
By doing this, you will
be able to deliver your visitors a unique mix of automatically updating
content.
You could also create a news dashboard to syndicate the latest
news on any topic. The possibilities are unlimited. You could create a feed that
combined forum posts, news headlines, Ebay items, Digg posts, Flickr photos and
even podcasts all rolled into one, constantly updating stream of related
content.
To start creating your own customized RSS feeds, go to http://www.feeddigest.com.
MailWasher
(http://oss.firetrust.com/home/)
If you're like most
online marketers, you are probably receiving a flood of spam in your inbox.
Fortunately, there is a free tool that will help remedy your spam
problems.
This software is known as MailWasher and it helps you eliminate
your unwanted email, thus allowing you to have greater productivity. Best of
all, this increased productivity ultimately leads to increased
revenues.
Start increasing your own productivity at http://oss.firetrust.com/home/
Audacity
(http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)
Audacity is an open
source program that allows you to record live audio, edit audio files, cut,
copy, slice and mix sounds together.
Whether you are looking to record
interviews, create your own podcasts, or edit your audio files, Audacity is a
great solution.
Check it out at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
CamStudio
(http://www.camstudio.org)
CamStudio is a great piece of
software for creating screen capture videos. This software records screen
activity from the Windows desktop and then turns it into standard AVI movie
files.
In fact, CamStudio can then convert these AVI files into
bandwidth-friendly Streaming Flash Videos (SWFs) with its built-in SWF
Producer.
These are great for creating info products, video tutorials,
and software demonstrations. In terms of quality and price, there is simply no
better solution for Screen Cam software.
Try it out at http://www.camstudio.org
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