40 free Online-Marketing tools

Here are 40 free Online-Marketing tools that will save you a lot of time and probably a billion dollar within your Online-Marketing budget.

When working in Online-Marketing you have to screen all your campaigns, success and trends.
This is my collection of ad-ons, tools and little helpers that will organize your camapains and will safe you a lot of time!

After a few years working in Online-Marketing I added a lot of tools to my daily work. I want to share that list with you and hope you will enjoy it as much as I do!

Search engine optimization (SEO) tools

1. SEOquake - SEO ad-on for your browser that will help you to monitor your competitors and your own websites
2. SiteMetrics - Another SEO ad-on for your browser that will help you to monitor your competitors and your own websites
3. Woorank - SEO ad-on and web-analyse for any website that will help you to understand your on-page optimization. That tool crawls all your content and will give you insights of your keyword density, crawling problems andpafe rank
4. ibusinesspromoter - A SEO tool that will help you to improve your SERP position
   
   
   

   SEO Analytic tools

   
   
5. Google Webmaster Tools - This is the basis for all the other alnalytic tools. It helps you to create structured search snippets, focus on the important sitelinks, to index your website and will show you crawling problems.
6. Google Analytics - The mother of all analytic tools. Like AdWords this is a hole univers itself but it help you to understand your visitors and which content they are interested in.
7. FlashCounter - If Google Analytics is way to much for you you should use this easy to use tool. It will help you to show you the most important data about your website visitors.
   
   

   SEA Keyword Planner tools

    

8. Google AdWords Keyword Planner - That tool will help you to find the right keywords for your SEA campaigns
9. Google AdWords Traffic Estimator - In addition to the Keyword Planner that Online-Marketing tool will help you to see if you stand a chance next to your competitors.
10. Google Isights - That tool will help you to spot new trends to lead with great interesting content.
    
    

    Social Media tools

     

11. Quintly - That is a great tool to track your social media campaigns. It's free up to three social media accounts.
12. Klout - Klout will help you to see new trends in the internet and suggest new content to share.
13. socialblade - This is a YouTube analysing tool that monitors the most importand videos and trends.
14. topsy - What socialblade is for YouTube is topsy for twitter.
15. technorati - If you are looking for special blogs have a look at this website!
16. Google Alert -  Keep updated to the most important topics and keywords.
17. feedly - feedly is Googles RSS-feed reader. Easy to use and perfect addition to your Google Alerts
    
    

    Coding tools

     

18. filezilla - In my opinion the best FTP client tool
19. codecademy - Get the basic or pro knowlege of coding. This tool is amazing and help you to learn nearly every important coding languages
20. themeforest - Okay this is not really a tool and neither free - but if you just can't code you can shoose from a wide range of wordpress themes.
21. osticket - Can't handle your IT-support requests any longer? That tool will definetly help you!
    
    
    

    Graphic Design tools

     

22. Kuler - A great platform to find the right colour scheme.
23. Gimp - The free alternative for Photoshop
24. Paint - Another tool for digital photo editing
25. Inkscape - This is the alternative for Illustrator to adit your vector graphics.
26. Eye Dropper - A great ad-on for Chrome to pick a colour from every website.
27. piktochart - Create great infographics with that grad-and-drop tool
28. infogr.am - Another easy-to-use infographic tool
29. fontello - What a great tool. This is an icon fonts generator.
    
    
    

    E-Mail Marketing tools

     

30. MailChimp - In my opnion the best E-Mail Marketing platform for great newsletter-campaigns.
31. mxtoolbox - Find out if your Mail Server is blacklisted or not.
    
    
    

    Other Online-Marketing tools

     

32. Inprint Generator - Impressum Generator for the german market.
33. bubble.us - A great mind-map tool to sort your thoughts.
34. x-mind - Another great mind-map tool to sort your thoughts.
35. LastPass -  Organize your passwords is easy with that tool.
36. Tom's Planner - Write your scedules and campaign plans online!
37. OpenProj - A big organizing tool with a lot of opportunities.
38. Awesome Screenshots -  That little ad-on is great for screenshots of hole websites.
39. prezi - What a fun way to create and share presentations. Zoom in and out.
40. slideshare - Share your Power Points and scroll through other great presentations

Another link galery for Onpage Marketing: http://www.bonek.de/funktionierender-backlinkaufbau-nischenseiten-faq/

3D printing

Is 3D printing the next billion dollar idea?

You might know 3D printing from all those "I build a gun with my 3D printer" articles but there is much more than that. Companies started to use 3D printer to build prototypes, individual tools or the product itself.

It seems that the possibilities are countless. Let's have a look at the most interesting ideas in the industry:

1. 3D printed pasta - barilla is working on a pasta printer for every pasta shape 
2. 3D print yourself - ever wanted a status quo of yourself? Print yourself every other year and have a great memory of every decade (what a weird way to show your grandkids how it was to live in the 21th century. 
3. 3D print at home - read this article if you think about getting your own 3D-printer 
4. 3D print you own home - it is possible to print a hole house within a day, what a possibility for rescue camps! 

Here are my ideas how to dip in your foot in that (new) rising industry:

• create an easy to use 3D software
• research in materials that can be used in 3D printing
• create 3D models and products (from iphone cases to chairs to your own dream house) 

What an interesting topic. There are so many opportunities. And think about of all the pros, there is literally no trash, if you have a printer at home there is no delivery necessary and you can nearly print ANYTHING! So be crative an become a 3D printing billionaire!

Live hacks

Live hacks are not a billion dollar idea but it could save you a lot of bucks.

Hacks can help you to take short-cuts in all live situations. Here is a list of my favorite hacks:

learn how to really hack: codecademy http://www.codecademy.com/
learn a new language: babbel http://babbel.com/
share and learn skills: skillshare http://www.skillshare.com/
best list of real live hacks: twistedsifter http://twistedsifter.com

Hope you enjoy that list!

green / organic festival supplies

Are green (organic, fairtrade etc.) festival supplies the next billion dollar idea?

As a regular guest at a lot of festivals I recognise a new trend rising. Green camping, foodsharing, fair trade festival supplies, no trash areas even organic toilets. Festivals become more and more politic when it comes to the environment.

People who invest in a festival ticket, camping gear, organic food and alcohol supplies are willing to spend more money on more luxery. Especially if that luxury is camouflaged with the oraganic flag. So you can provide solar based tents with power supply, vegan organic BBQ food, organic confetti or anything else that are mean to help the world but basically just yourself.

Open your organic festival supply store on etsy and dawanda and become a billionaire.

I combined two billion dollar ideas: I upcycled a unicorn into a perfect festival toy. It's perfect to smuggle some shots into the festival ground)

Write me a message if you want one youself ;)

nursing robots

Are nurse robots the next billion dollar idea?

There are a lot countries which demography is changing fast. There are two directions. One is that the citizens getting younger and younger or that the society is getting older. Today we have a look at the second direction. 

Especially in Japan it appears that the society is getting older. That means that there is a growing need for elderly care. But what to do when the younger ones work in different fields and when there are not enough young people to care for the elderly? The answer is: nursing robots.

Either to help elderly at home ore in nursing homes robots are getting more and more involved.
The challenge is to create robots who have a friendly appearence and don't scare the elderly.

By know the elderly prefer human helpers. 

So that is your chance to jump in the robot business and create the perfect nursing robot and become a billionaire.

card board recycling

Is card board recycling the next billion dollar idea?

Just think of it. There are thousands of card board packages delivered every day. I know I know you are more interested in whats inside, but today we are thinking outside of the box (ha ha!). 

Just think about how much potential lays in all that unused card board boxes. The material is easy to work with. It's light and you can combine it easily with other materials. There already are some interesting ideas up how to use card board.

Here are my favorits:

1. furniture: http://kartongroup.com.au/
2. home accessoires:http://www.avocadostore.de/products/4273-bucky-deer-trophy-cardboard-safari
3. jewelry: http://www.greendiary.com/carton-jewelry-for-greener-fashion.html

Vintage / Boho Second Hand

Are second hand vintage and boho shops the next billion dollar idea?

Thanks to the hipster the word "idividual" got a new meaning. But before I drift of in that typical hipster bashing I keep it short: a lot of people craving for vintage cloth and accessoires.

So use this information to start your own online-shop, flea market both or vintage store. Well you need some goodies and stuff to sell? Browse e-bay, yard-sales and your grandparents closet. Then you need an ironic slogan, hipster like design (just use some triangles and mustaches) and choose Helvetica as your corporate font.

Hipsters have money and they will throw it at you if you have some vintage stuff.

Can't image how thats gonna look like? Here is an example build with stuff from my closet and paint (yes, paint).

Sport trend - Hula Hoop

Which sport is the new super billion dollar idea?

After aerobic, yoga, zumba or crossfit - what will be the next sport trend that you will see in every magazin and tv ad? Especially in the beginning of every new year, new sport trends are popping up to fill the disire to fulfill the new years resolution.

I think it will be hula hoop. Your first thought might be "WHAT?" but hear me it is going to be huge. It is super fun to bring back the joy of hooping from childhood. Hooping is great to form your waist line and stomach. You don't need a fitness club membership, just bring your hoop to the park, living room or rooftop terrace. By now a bunch of hippies leading in that market. So there is still enough space for competition.

I, myself think about of opening a hula hoop course in Berlin. Let me know if you are interested!
You think that hula hoop is boring? Well have a look at this cool video:




Etereas / Animation Shortfilm from Flaminguettes on Vimeo.

Location based services

Are location based services the next billion dollar idea?

In the US, in-shop services are common by now but in europe is a huge potential in that field left. With Apples iBeacon, indoor navigation based on bluetooth low energy technology is possible. 

The are 3 challenges when working with that new technology:

1. data privay
2. user acceptance 
3. usability

Don't try to build an in-shop service without a real benefit. A good usage are an indoor navigation and couponing. Give your customer the feeling that their datas are save and anonym (even though if you use them for personal ads). Have in mind your customers are using their smart devices so they expect a rocking user interface.

Upcycling

Is upcycling the next billion dollar idea?

DIY is laaaame the next huge trend is upcycling. While you start from the scratch when starting a DIY project you already have stuff when you start upcycling. Basically you recycle different things in one new thing. 

You may think: how is that a billion dollar idea? Well, shared-conomy is a huge hype right now. There are a lot sharing communities and the rising awareness of our environment. And shabby chic is a permanent guest in every high prises furniture shop.

Individual = high price 

 

So if you are good with tools, get some inspiration and start some upcycling projects. Then get an etsy account and sell your stuff!

Here is an excellent example (of course it's mine) of an upcycled old tv which was turned into a bar. The chandelier is made of door hardware and a special light bulb.















Read more (ad link):
recycled: Projekte aus Schläuchen, Plastik, Papier, Textilien, Metall und Korken

Super fruits

Which new super fruit is going to be the next billion dollar idea?

It seems that every other week a new super fruit is discovered. Just to name a few: goji berry, acai berry and the latest: coconut juice. Marketer promise about weight loss, detox and a lot of other benefits when you consume those super fruits.

Just browse through some yellow press and you will get the idea. One week it's strawberries help you loosing weight the next one it's bananas making you less depressed.

What will be the next super fruit? 

I think it will be the buffaloberry. Never heart about it? It was just featured in the Journal of food science. Recording to that article the buffaloberry helps to prevent cancer. They taste sweet, when dried like raisins and there is the possibility to make wine with it.

So quick! Invent a new product that contains the buffaloberry and become a billionair!

You can read mor about the opportunities and benefits here.
Want to by some goji berries? click here:
Advertising

Vegan pet food

Is vegan pet food the next billion dollar idea?

More and more people become vegan. For those who don't now what that means: vegans don't consume products containing any part of an animal. But what are they doing with there pets like dogs or cats?

Yes, I am not joking, vegans feed there pets vegan food. And because the vegan community is rising so is the desire in vegan pet food. You can buy vegan pet food in vegan supermarkets but not in regular ones. So it could be the next billion dollar idea ;).

But for a start browse through my pinterest wall for human vegan recipes.

Buy your vegan pet food online:
Advertising

m-commerce

Is m-commerce the next billion dollar idea?

m-commerce is one of the most growing business fields right now. More and more mobile user feel cofortable around mobile shopping. But whos is the winner in this field right now? Big market places like amzon or groupon or the regular web-shops?

Amazon is the most successful online shopping destination with 178 million monthly user.
It is easy - the essential part of m-commerce is the usability of a mobile shop.
it should be easy to use,  good looking and save.

How to be successful with m-commerce

About 65% of all US e-mails are opend on a mobile device. According to that make sure that you enable you web-shop to your newsletter.

Augmented Reality

Is augmented reality the next billion dollar idea?

By now it seems that augmented reality sticks to mobile games, geocaching or some give aways. But let's look closer.

What is augmented reality?  It is a live copy of the real world around you with augmented contend like, audio, video, graphics or additional information.

There are certain ways to use augmented reality within mobile apps.

1. Location-based services (Tripadvisor, GoogleGoggles)
2. Customer Service (interactive manuals)
3. Games (Google Ingress)
4. Fun stuff like give aways (Audi AR calendar 2010)

Why is it so magic?

Well it's like a part of Star Trek is becoming real with all those cool gadgets everybody can use. It's fun to use and because of that effective.

Have a look at this fantastic video from hiddencreative:

Second Screen Apps

Are second screen apps the next billion dollar idea?

Is it time for second screen apps? The first B2C campaigns are on-air for a while. Let's have a look at the potential.

Until lately second screen apps where mostly used by marketing research companies. But it is getting interesting because Shazam launched the first successful campaigns.

How does it work?

At first you start with a regular on-air marketing campaign like a radio or tv ad with audio content. Then you need to motivate your customers to use an app like Shazam or Zeebox which can recognize audio footprints and provide the second screen content. And of course you need content for that second screen campaign like additional information, link to the webshop of the promoted product or a social media activity. Don't forget the call to action elements!

Why is it so efficient?

Well let's start with a quote from Nielsen: "...according to a Q4 2011 Nielsen survey of connected device owners in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Italy. In the U.S., 88 percent of tablet owners and 86 percent of smartphone owners said they used their device while watching TV at least once during a 30-day period."
So the conditions are perfect you just need a way to encourage your target group.

You get the vibe? Listen to that playlist while exploring great business news: