20 Content Marketing Tools to Rely on From Start to Finish
When used effectively, content marketing can help build your brand, attract new business, support SEO initiatives, and improve your reputation across the industry. However, truly impactful content strategies require some very hard work and dedication.
Thankfully, there are many online marketing tools available that can help to save time and bring strategies to the next level.
Here are 20 of my favorites.
Tools for Topic Generation
Google (Site:, Keyword Planner, Search Console)
When generating new content ideas, I typically start the process with Google. The Keyword Planner tool is great for analyzing keyword volume and competition, and also offers up long-tail related queries that you may not have otherwise thought of focusing your efforts on.
You can use Search Console to analyze content performance (clicks, impressions, CTR, position) and uncover the types of content that generate the best results. You can also enter a keyword into a “site:” search to see what content is being created on your own site or a competitor’s site.
Have you ever read an article that you wanted to save for later, but couldn’t find it when you needed it? It’s happened to me many times, which is why I now use Pocket to save all my articles (with the click of a button) in one spot.
Content saved to Pocket can be viewed on any device (computer, phone, or tablet) and is especially valuable when generating a topic that requires a number of difference resources.
Portent’s Content Idea Generator
Nearly 3 million blog posts are created every day. This means you need to come up with blog post titles that stand out from the pack.
Portent is a valuable tool for accomplishing this, as all you have to do is enter a keyword (or keyword phrase) in the search box and a unique (and sometimes humorous) title will be automatically generated.
Quora
Content marketing efforts should always be geared towards a specific audience. Quora is an online community where users ask questions and post answers around virtually any topic.
Run a search for your industry or specific keyword phrase to see what types of questions are being asked. If a question has a high interaction rate on Quora, it’s likely a topic of interest across the industry.
Tools for Writing
Evernote
There was once a time when writers had to use notepads to collect and share their information. Now, we have Evernote. This tool allows you to collect and share your thoughts/ideas across devices regardless of the location they’re in.
**Disclaimer: Pencil and notepad users can still be effective content marketers**
TextFixer
As a writer, I’ve always been attached to Microsoft Word. However, directly uploading from Word into content management systems can result in extraneous code.
This tool allows users to upload content from Word and converts it to clean HTML code. Simply paste your content in the box, click “Convert Word to HTML,” and voila!
CoSchedule Headline Analyzer
A solid headline is critical to generating more traffic, improving organic search ranking, and increasing your chances of the content being shared.
CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer takes a number of different signals into account to generate a headline score (on a scale from 0–100). CoSchedule challenges you to create titles that return a score of 70 or above.
Title Capitalization
Are you unsure whether or not a certain word you want to use in a title should be capitalized? Simply enter your title into the box, select your style guide preference, and let the tool work its magic.
Content across all web properties should follow a consistent style and this tool will help team members do just that.
Tools for Editing
Grammarly
The English language is complex, and let’s face it, everyone’s fallen victim to a “typo” at some point. Grammarly can be installed to serve as an online proofreading tool that automatically checks for errors relating to grammar, style, and punctuation.
As a result, you can publish with more confidence knowing that copy is error-free.
Hemingway App
The Hemingway App is another valuable tool for content editors. It looks for long sentences that might be hard to read, points out adverbs (and suggests alternatives), and indicates when the passive voice has been used.
Each of these factors is used to calculate a score that corresponds to overall readability.
The example Hemingway uses on its site is given a “Grade 6” rating, meaning it could be easily read by a sixth grader. The higher the “Grade,” the harder it is to read.
Yoast SEO
While content management systems like WordPress are typically quality platforms for SEO, there’s always room for improvement. Installing Yoast SEO can help you efficiently address many aspects of technical SEO and improve overall quality.
The Yoast SEO “Page Analysis” functionality checks for images, ALT text, keywords, meta descriptions, subheadings, and much more.
Small SEO Tools – Plagiarism Checker
Whether it’s intentional or not, duplicate content can be devastating to a website’s credibility. This tool scans content (up to 1,000 words per search) and notifies users of any complete sentences that already exist somewhere on the web.
Once the scanning process is complete, the tool will generate a percentage based on the uniqueness of the content. A score of 100% means your content is original and safe from duplicate content repercussions.
Tools for Content Promotion
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is one of the most popular tools for managing social media, and for good reason. The dashboard-type interface supports integrations for many social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and more.
If you spend a lot of time managing social media accounts and promoting content via social, use Hootsuite to save yourself some time.
SlideShare
YouTube allows users to upload videos that can be shared with the world. SlideShare does the same for those looking to share their presentations.
With more than 70 million users, SlideShare is a great way to generate traffic to in-depth content that might not be well-suited for other social media channels.
BuzzStream
Link building is a critical element to successful digital marketing initiatives. BuzzStream is a PR and link building tool that makes it easier to manage link building initiatives from start to finish.
It helps you identify relevant third-party targets and will even track down contact details for the associated sites.
Buffer
Buffer is another tool that’s designed to help with social media management. It makes it easy for you to schedule posts to social media platforms and provides suggestions around the times of the day social media users are most active online.
The time of day that a post is shared can have a significant impact on engagement and overall performance.
Tools for Content Reporting
Google Drive
Google Drive might not be the first application that’s thought of when it comes to content reporting. However, it’s an invaluable way to keep all members of the team on the same page.
Here at KoMarketing, we share editorial calendars on Google Drive both internally and with our clients so content efforts are well-aligned.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is an extremely powerful tool for content marketing reporting. Leverage Analytics to gather valuable content data like page views, page views by source, page views by title, referral visits, demographics, channels, and much more.
Derek recently put together a comprehensive presentation that explains how to better leverage Analytics for digital marketing. Check it out!
SEMrush
SEMrush is a valuable tool for a number of reasons, but its competitive analysis capabilities make it a must-have. SEMrush lets you perform keyword research, track competitor keywords, audit blogs, track past and current keyword rankings, and more.
To beat your competitors in search, you must understand where everyone stands.
BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo is a wonderful tool to use when reporting on the effectiveness of content on social media. It has the ability to display the most shared content by network type, content type, days of the week, and more.
Next time you want to create share-friendly content, be sure to check out the data that BuzzSumo has to offer.
Final Thoughts
I hope this list gives you some new online marketing tools to add to your arsenal. Keep in mind, these aren’t the only tools that can be used to drive results.
What content marketing tools do you use to boost performance? Get the conversation started by dropping a line in the comments section or connecting with me on Twitter!