I want to keep this post as short and actionable as possible; do you have any tools that do just one thing really well? You know the kind I mean, those plugins and hack projects that you may only use once a year but when you do use them, you really appreciate them.
I’ve gathered a bunch of these (some I use everyday) and I want to share them with the community. Could I ask a favour though? If you have similar tricks, hacks, plugins or bookmarklets, could you leave a comment and share it with everyone? This could then turn this average list into an epic list that’s been built by the SEOmoz community and we can all come back to and reference in the future. Do we have a deal? Ok great, first things first though, a bit of a disclaimer; a lot of the tips below you may have heard of before, but if everyone who reads this post gets just one or two actionable tips I think it’s been worthwhile.
Let me know your favourites and don’t forget to share your tools in the comments.
Learn to Scrape - install Scraper for Chrome
Knowing how to use things like import XML can be a massive time saver but there’s a learning curve to get really good at it. This plugin for Chrome is a great tool to quickly scrape any elements you want and automatically put them into a Google doc. I use this a lot for scraping lists of websites or headings on a page. It’s super simple to use, just right click on what you want to scrape and off you go. Get it here
Use Text to Columns for extracting Root Domains
Ever have a list of backlink URLs that you just want to extract the root domain from? The Excel text to columns feature makes this easy.
Select the column that has the URLs, go to “Data” in the menu and click on the text to columns button as shown below.
Instead of the default tab option select the custom option and add a “/”. Click finish and you’ll have a list of the root domains. I highly recommend going through the Distilled Excel for SEO guide if you haven’t already which shows you how to do this and more.
Send to Kindle bookmarklet - Keep up to date on all the latest SEO news
If you have a kindle you’ll love this plugin that lets you send any webpage you are reading to your Kindle. I use this to help keep up to date on all the latest SEO news. Before leaving the office I’ll visit a few of my favourite SEO blogs and send a bunch of posts to my Kindle for reading on the tube.
Install AJ Kohns Rich Snippet Testing Bookmarklet
Want test rich snippet markup? This bookmarklet form AJ Kohn lets you quickly use the Google rich snippets testing tool.
Install Undo send Email
I can’t tell how many times this tool has saved me. If you use gmail go into the labs section and enable the undo send feature. See here for more details
Categorise URLs or Keywords using Filters and Functions
The following formula will allow you to search for a letter word or number within a string:
=if(isnumber(find("filtertext",A1)),"Yes","No")
Combined with filters, this can be really useful for categorising keyword groups, type of links or site structures. Just replace the “filtertext” with whatever you want to look for.
Instantly tell if a page has a rel=“canonical” tag on it.
I love this tool; Install this plugin and if you are on a page that has a canonical tag on it, a little blue icon will show up in the address bar as shown below:
Quickly take and share Screenshots and Video using Jing
Jing is the tool I used to take and annotate all of the screenshots for this blog post. It’s a free desk tool that allows you to instantly take a screenshot or short video and share it with colleagues. When you click copy, it uploads then automatically copies the sharable url to your clipboard meaning you just need to paste the link to wherever or whoever you want to share it with. Get it now.
URLOpener.com
I use this all the time when checking guest post or press coverage. Rather than going to each website one by one, I copy all the URLs, dump them into this tool and press go. Each site will then be opened in a new tab.
Google Cache Bookmarklet
Add the following code as a bookmarklet to quickly check the Google cache of the page you are on:
javascript:location.href='https://www.google.com/search?q=cache:'+location.href
Export More Keywords in GA
The maximum number of keywords (or anything else) you can view or export in Google Analytics is 500 but you can change this by editing the URL in the address bar. When you select 500, the URL will end in:
Count%3D500/
It’s no surprise that the 500 is the number of keywords, just change that to whatever number you want and hit export.
Turn on "Send and Archive" in Gmail
The more I use this tool the more I love it. This does exactly as you would think, it adds a send and archive button next to the regular send button making clearing out your inbox that little bit faster. This is another labs feature which you can read about here.
Use Ubersuggest for quick and dirty Keyword Research
This is the fastest way I know to get some quick and dirty long-tail keyword research. If you’ve never used it before, Ubersuggest basically makes use of the Google suggest feature. You input a word and it will enter a letter in front of it to give you a list of hundreds of new combinations, you can then export these, dump them into the Google keyword tool to get search volume. There are normally one or two gems in there.
That's it for now, thanks for reading and I look forward to reading the comments, give me a shout on twitter if you have any questions: @CraigBradford
I'd definitely add Chrome sniffer as well to the list - it quickly tells you the CMS and other info about a url/site you're looking at - no more digging in the code to see if its wordpress, joomla, drupal, etc. It also shows javascript libraries, analytics tracking code, social plugins - a must have in my eyes when reviewing new sites!
Love this Mark, thanks for adding it. I usually use builtwith.com but this will save me a bit of time. Thanks for commenting.
Love this! Will save a ton of time digging in the code!
This isn't loading for me, is anybody else having the same issue?
Nice Mark. I love this plugin. Great Suggestion
Wappalyzer is another good one - I liked it slightly more than BuiltWith.
Nice tools Craig! I'd like to add a couple of tools:
Rankerizer looks really cool. Does this tool work well with Google limiting search results? is it best to use a proxy? Also can this tool send customer reports?
Really? Best way to rank is article syndication?
Ahhh man, after sending them your info, these guys sent me a follow up email:
Hi Donnie, thank you for downloading Rankerizer. Both Matt and I (Brad) hope you get a lot out of the software and find yourself ranking higher and higher as you monitor your rankings daily.
A great way to increase your Google rankings is by getting more and more backlinks pointing to your website. The best way to do this is through, what's called, article syndication. Go here to learn about a great way to get 1000s of backlinks through article syndication: ttp://www.seolinkvine.com/get_traffic.php You can download the full version of Rankerizer here: https://www.rankerizer.com/download.php
Thanks again and enjoy!
Brad & Matt Callen
I think I will stick to SEOmoz rank tracker. Even though it could use some work.
[edited for formatting and removed link]
Thanks for your share. I tried several times the rankerizer, but it's not avaliable :(
Thanks for the list Craig!
I really like all the excel tips. A few tips that I could not live without in my Gmail are
Hey Benjamin, same here with Boomerang and Rapportive, amazing tools! Can't even imagine going back now...
Great catch Benjamin! I think out of any Gmail Plugins these are the three that any internet marketer should hold near and dear.
I wish they have similar tools for Yahoo Mail as well.
Shifting email address is quite a tough job. But with these kind of applications I need to consider again.
Thank you for these usefull tools!
You might also want to check out the roboxt! Firefox Add-On that I wrote It shows whether the current URL is blocked via robots.txt.
The Add-On at Mozilla: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/roboxt/
And a short manual in my blog: https://nikolassv.de/roboxt-en/ (in english)
Am loving this one, thanks Nikolassv!
Thank you! It seems that most of these plugins are only available to Firefox users. We need more Chrome addons :)
I've been using Troy Meyer's Seo Bookmarklet found at https://twkm.ca/seo-bookmarklet/ for a few months now.
It pulls up titles, descriptions, their length, canonnical, headers count, if there is a sitemap/robots.txt the number of no-followed links and a few other handy bits of information in a table for a very quick glance of on page optimisation.
I find it handy when doing a quick check without having to go into the page source. It's saved me a lot of time.
Hey,
The Mozbar does that and more.
Not always. I have problems with this issue too...
This tool is fresh off the oven
https://www.ayima.com/knowledge/redirect-checker.html
Redirect and header checker for chrome
Yes, I use WhereGoes for redirect tracking: WhereGoes?
There's also Redirect Detective if you don't want to use browser plugins.
With all the tools I've used or tried over the years, the ones that I still continue to use day in and day out are:
I used to use Firebug all the time, until someone introduced me to the 'Inspect Element' command in Firefox.
When you right-click something, select 'Inspect Element' and you can see the code for that specific part of the page, similar to Firebug.
I believe there's a similar command available in Chrome, too.
I love using spyonweb.com to see sites that have the same IP address, analytics, or adsense IDs.
You just shared one of the most important tool.
Thumbs up to you.
One bookmark let to rule them all: If you're not using https://www.quixapp.com (built by yoast) check it out - you can customise it with your own JavaScript bookmarklets.
If you sync the customised file using Dropbox it is easy to add/remove new bookmarklets. Certainly helps manage the mass of bookmarklets I've accumulated
I use few extensions that make my life really easy!
SEO site tools - a pretty neat tool in Chrome to know the status and SEO doctor in Firefox.
Take Screenshot is a cool firefox extension that does not ask for saving an image. You can copy easily into any word document
Ghostery to check all the Analytics and other JS running behind in any given webpage of any website
Alexa Traffic Rank - Chrome extension that gives country and the worldwide ranking along with links, reviews etc.
Google Global - Chrome and Firefox extension which allows user to easily check search results in multiple Google TLDs
Check my links - helps in checking internal and external links along with key attributes such as nofollow
GA debugger - check if Google analytics is installed and working properly
Redirect Path - Check the HTTP headers easily as the pages are loading behind
Lots of filters, segments and custom reporting in Analytics
Few others which are mentioned above..
In gmail - filters, labels
Google Analytics integration with Google Webmaster tools
These are a must..any other tips are welcome!
We use the SEOquake extension for Chrome quite a bit. Nice way to see meta descriptions and keywords, title tage, xml files, etc
Here is my favorite small firefox plugins -
Excel Tips -
Remove Blank cells
If you want to know select the blanks cell and want to remove them than these small tips will be quite useful -
Follow these steps -
Will add more later on.
Not a tool per se, but a massive time-saver I discovered recently (thanks to a RT from Dr. Pete) is Paste Without Formatting...
Ctrl + Shift + V in Windows
...which makes copying and pasting between CMS/blog platforms and Word/Excel a lot easier, without the need to copy and paste in Notepad first (to clear the formatting).
i like this, it will save me 5 second per paste. thanks for sharing!
Neat little tip Stevie, thanks for sharing
My chrome extensions list is already packed to the brim. Now more!
This is the time to remove those which you have not used in last couple of weeks or months.
Clipple is a good one if you copy & paste a lot! All the text you copy will be stored for fast pasting.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clipple/
Useful sharing.
Thumbs up added.
Undo send email...yes! Just enabled it. Yet another reason I use my Gmail address instead of one of the ones I pay for as my main email resource.
Epic..Thanks for the list Craig!
Here is my two cents: Web Rank SEO
Yep like quite a few people on here, some I am using, some I have used, some I have not heard off butam going to download right this second. Love a good practical useful post like this. Thanks!
Thanks for the Tools! Cant believe i didn't know about this Undo feature in Gmail :)
They have added this option recently.
Nice tools.. thanks for sharing with us. Some of them I am already using, will like to try the rest. For Screenshot you can also use "Screengrab".
Here is the link of Screengrab (copy and paste it on browser)
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/screengrab/
But this is not applicable if you will use upgrade version of firefox 13.
In that case you can try Pixlr Grabber
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/pixlr-grabber/
Thanks for the great list of tools (and some actionable ideas already absorbed).
Hi Craig.
Special thanks for Canonical one chrome plugin, and yes I have few seo tool set which might be useful for you too.
1. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ojgmigafbpedhdilmemphfklkbghlphi?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon (Search Google on different countries.)
2. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/alelhddbbhepgpmgidjdcjakblofbmce?utm_source=chrome-ntp-icon (awesome screenshot capture & annotate)
Hope that helps.
This is one of the best post since I am here on SEOmoz. This is the case where post content is very important but comments are very very important. :)
I use this online tool for to get my on-page factors right and track.
https://www.check-domains.com/website-analysis/website-analyzer.php
It also contain some fun as well, like PR prediction, bucks require to spend in PPC to buy equal number of visits the site getting organic traffic. By this your client can know how their money are worth to spend in your agency.
Love the Jing software! Thanks for tip.
Similar to your if(isnumber formula, I learned this one from my SEO trainer: =IF(ISERR(FIND(L$1,$B3)),"",L$1)
...where it returns L$1 (eg, ducks) if L$1 is the keyword you are searching for in the phrase contained in $B3 (mighty ducks).
Great article - especially like the suggestion of Ubersuggest - never heard of it before so I'll have to give it a go!
Excellent list of tools. I have a few:
(1) Evernote web clipper is a great Firefox extension for maintaining a swipe file. Think Jing meets Dropbox.
(2) Maybe Blekko is just too obvious to add to the list, but it's SEO feature for checking stats is just awesome.
(3) SEOminiDoc is kind of old, but it's good for doing a very quick analysis of a competitor's onsite SEO for a given keyword phrase (extra points for speed/simplicity/aesthetics).
(4) Quickly test page load speed or compare load speeds with GTmetrix.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
Thanks for adding to the list Jason
Wow, thanks Craig! The only ones that I really use to date are the kindle add on and the gmail labs feature. I will surely start using a good number of these tips starting right. . . .now!
Great post, I would add one more Chrome plugin on there - Link clump. Very useful for instantly opening a list of links in new tabs, such as a blog roll, hold right click and drag over those you wish to open, very simple and very useful!
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/lfpjkncokllnfokkgpkobnkbkmelfefj
Nice one Danny, I just installed it. Thanks
Great list! I will try these. I need that undo send email, I have a lot of email sending errors and need to resend the message with apology. I'm a fan of firebug, seoquake, Google chrome developer tools and some mozilla seo plugins.
I loooove Übersuggest, what a neat tool. Thanks Craig :-)
For implementing GTD you can use this this application:
https://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, and a calendar.
Syncs with Evernote and Google Calendar, and also comes with mobile version, and Android and iPhone apps.
Great load of tips - thanks!
Hi Graig,
Thanks for the list. For GTD can I suggest Swydo. We made this for internal GTD use, but decided to put it open to others some month ago. It's a simple tool for task management and reporting all in one.
Please give your feedback.
Jeroen
Wow awesome list Craig! I am so glad I found the Web to Kindle app. Makes this entire post more than worth it!
~Nick B.
Very nice list! Couple in here I haven't been using and will give a try. Can't wait to use the Web to Kindle extension.
Awesome post! So helpful. I've put some of the extensions to good use already and it's only 8.49 am here in good ol' Blighty!
i love user agent switcher by chris pederick and live http headers, both firefox extensions. hugely helpful when you are doing any sleuthing on a site!
Chrome Sniffer is interesting Mark Ginsberg
Nice tool - thanks Mark :-)
Awesome Post Craig! These tools certainly increase the productivity of a SEO... However, I would like to suggest that Pasty - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hdjihnnclpjhfdbbinmgoiehhoehhlgf is a chrome extension that is much more easy and convenient to use for opening multiple urls as compared to URL Opener.
These are really nice suggestions. I have a better site to open multiple URLs though.
While URLopener.com goes through two steps to help open all the links in individual pages, a site called WebUrlOpener.com, my friend makes the job even more easier - One Step "Open All"
I like the Seerobots firefox add-on very much: It is a very simple tool to see at a glance if there is a noindex and/or nofollow attribute on a specific page.
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/seerobots/
Hey,
The Mozbar also does that.
I would love a version of this for chrome. Nice find.
I love the "undo send email." It makes me want to start using Gmail just for that.
Try soovle.com- It gives you suggestions for google , bing,youtube, wikipedia etc.
That Jing tools is ridiculous!
Great stuff!
Some really good suggestions there - now to find time to digest the info. SEOquake and Jing are my current favourite super useful tools!
Great tips Craig. Handy for beginners like me.
The tip of Ubersuggest was great.
There are a couple of plugins in Chrome that I would like to share.
Screen Capture- Efficient print screen tool and in page editing enabled.
Web Developer- Validates links, images, and hosts a broad category of tools for reference.
PageSpeed Insights- Elaborates on reasons of lower page speeds with solutions.
Also www.seo-browser.com helps get in-depth data about a particular website including the no.of links, the no. of javascript mentions, the.swf files(flash player), meta description and meta keywords targetted by the website.
Easy WebContent also does this without having to download anything. They are really great help with SEO especially if you are new to it. Check it out at https://www.easywebcontent.com
The Gmail items are right on. Just remember 2 things on the undo email. You only have about 10 seconds after you send to undo. Also, since you have that delay, you will need to wait a little longer for your email to arrive at the location you are sending it to.
Jing is awesome
Thanks for all of these! So useful and well worth bookmarking. This year, my new resolution has been to work on productivity so these tools will hopefully help with that.
I would recommend checking out https://www.Gtdagenda.com for an online GTD manager.
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, and a calendar.Syncs with Evernote, and also comes with mobile-web version, and Android and iPhone apps.
Nice stuff !
Liked the category links filter formula. Will be very helpful in analyzing the link profile.
Lol.. I've been using gmail forever and still don't know it actually has all those features, thanks a bunch Craig!
Thanks for the awesome post contain with great tool. I usually use Google Global, SEO for Chrome and Page rank with chrome.
And thank you Modesto for sharing Rankerizer.
Great list Craig, Thanks!
Not directly related to SEO but really helps to manage all of your online accounts -
https://www.dashlane.com is without a doubt the best password/account manager I have ever tried.
I couldn't recommend it more, it practically changed my life :)
Craig,
Thanks for this - it's amazing how many little quick wins there are that can save us plenty of time, it's much appreciated.
Thanks for such great list. I'm not sure how it is connected with GTD methodology, but few tools should be useful. I want to recommend one more tool i personally like - https://bquot.com/, Especialy usefull to highlight desired anchors for linkbuilding and share exact places on pages.
Thank you so much for sharing. A program that I use almost everyday that makes life so much easier is Snagit.
Fantastic compilation of time saving tools - thank you or sharing. However if you use Mozilla not Chrome and want to speed up form submission process then I recommend a great Firefox add on called InForm Enter.
Thanks for the fantastic post.
A couple of other great Gmail Labs tools to go along with "Send & Archive" and "Undo Send":
really good and effective tools
Great posts everyone. I used some of these tools in the past such as builtwith and I totally forgot about them. They are good to have bookmarked or already loaded into your browsers. However, thanks to everyone for their input. I really liked that Excel formula also.
Thanks Craig, I'm using most of the stuff listed here but there was some stuff I wasn't utilizing. Good post!
This tool seems good enough so let me try once for some better results.
Thanks Craig, in the same spirit of co-operation:
I use seo4firefox - https://tools.seobook.com/firefox/seo-for-firefox.html/ - purely to toggle 'highlight nofollow links' on pages I'm prospecting for links.
Michael
Hey,
The Mozbar does that and more.
Yes, I know, and the mozbar is excellent, despite the occasional issue when not yet compatible with the latest browser versions.
Personally I don't generally have the mozbar active as it takes up screen space and slightly slows down browsing. I do have the seo-for-firefox button (and the seobook rankchecker) active so that makes it slightly quicker to use.
seo-for-firefox works on a single page, then turns itself off, whereas the mozbar keeps on going. So it's quicker for single pages, but mozbar is preferable for more thorough searches.
Finally, mozbar only allows you to highlight one link type (e.g. followed links, external links etc) at a time. If you use both tools together you can see more on a page at a glance.
SEOquake does this too, and a lot of other features displayed per SERP.
If only now Yahoo Site Explorer came back, I'd be a happy man