The field of online marketing has plenty of extensions to make inbound marketers’ jobs easier. Utilizing browser extensions can help you keep your inbound marketing strategies organized and help you work faster and even more efficiently. In fact, once you get used to these extensions, it can be difficult to turn back and work without the extra help.
For those who are unfamiliar, browser extensions are simply features that you can add onto your browser to help you with a specific task. Extensions are usually browser specific, which means that if you download an extension for Google Chrome, it likely won’t work on Internet Explorer. Fortunately, the vast majority of popular extensions are available for all the major browsers.
Top 6 Must-Have Browser Extensions for an Inbound Marketer
Let’s talk must-have extensions for inbound marketers! Please note, these links will take you to the page to download the Google Chrome version of the extension, but it’s easy to find these extensions for different browsers. A few favorites include:
- SEOQuake: An SEO browser extension is a must for any inbound marketer. There are several different SEO extensions, but SEOQuake is one that seems to be reliable and successful. The tool will display statistics for the website you are viewing, including PageRank and keyword density. You can even customize this to follow specific keywords or SEO results, which is great when you’re researching your competition.
- Search Preview: Although this isn’t the most popular extension, it’s great for online marketers who want to quickly skim a Google SERP. The extension will pull up small screenshots of the link’s destination webpage so you don’t need to click on each one. This helps online marketers find what they need faster.
- AddThis: Every inbound marketer should have an extension for social sharing. There are many different choices that focus on specific social networks, but AddThis seems to include them all. This extension allows you to simply click one button and instantly share the webpage you’re currently viewing. It supports more than 300 services, including all major social networks and even translation services.
- Diigo: Finding a place in your brain to store all the cool information you found on the web can be difficult. Diigo comes in handy as a cloud-based tool where you can store bookmarks, notes, images and documents. The focus on e-reading allows you to highlight text and take screenshots of webpages that you think may change in the near future. You can also access it all on your desktop, iPad, iPhone or Android.
- Firebug: A bug you won't want to squash! Helpful in determining heights, widths and other aspects of the site you're coding or trouble-shooting. The majority of browsers now support a built-in version of "inspect element," as well. You can also switch between elements, HTML, CSS and deeper scripts, load times, and error messages. It's especially helpful as a detective tool—to uncover how someone made something work on a different site.
- Search Center: This is another extension that deals with search. It allows a marketer to search several different sites without having to continually retype the search phrase. It’s great for productivity and pulling a lot of information at once.
Is there a browser extension that you can’t live without? Include the name of the extension, why you love it and the link in the comments below!
photo credit: Andrew Huff
Amanda DiSilvestro is a graduate of Illinois State University. Although she graduated with an English Education degree, she found herself working as a full-time blogger at Highervisibility, nationally recognized as one of the top SEO firms in the country. Connect with HigherVisibility on Twitter to learn more!
