Digital Marketing

In this section you will find a selection of free or low-cost tools to support all your marketing efforts. Build your website, design surveys or manage your social media accounts with these easy-to-use tools.

If you have a tool you would like to be considered for inclusion on our site, please see our criteria for e-tools.

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Blogging/Website

  • WordPress – The most popular choice to create a website or blog for free. It comes in two forms: WordPress.com (hosted) and WordPress.org (self-hosted). It is the most mature and reliable platform, but it can be complex to configure beyond the basic setup.   
  • Blogger – One of the most popular free blogging platforms. Easy to set up and easy to use: instantly create a new blog with your Gmail account.
  • Wix – Great alternative to quickly create a professional-looking website for free with no coding skills. Wix is regarded as one of the most innovative website builders, adding new tools and designs on a regular basis.  
  • Squarespace – Easily set up a professional-looking website or blog starting at $8 per month. Squarespace platform is extremely design oriented and allows you to take an active role in crafting the look and feel of your website without touching codes.
  • Template Stash - Free website templates and themes.
  • Templated - 851 free Creative Commons website templates.
  • Startup Validator - Find out if your business's name is available on the web and on other social media platforms.

Social Media Management

  • Hootsuite – One of the most popular social media management tools. Free plan for individuals with up to 3 social profiles.
  • Buffer – Social media management tool. Free individual plan with one social profile per platform.
  • Paper.li – Free service to automatically find, publish, and share content on the web and social media.
  • Storify – Free platform to find, collect, and share what people are saying all over the web.
  • Ubsersuggest - Use this tool to research and find new keywords

Email Marketing

  • MailChimp – Ideal tool for small businesses. Free for up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. Easy to use and easy to set up.
  • GetResponse – Starting at $15 per month for one user and a list size of 1,000 contacts. Easy to use with good third party contact integration and solid support.
  • Aweber – Starting at $19 per month for up to 500 subscribers and unlimited emails. Great help materials and extensive reporting capabilities, yet limited third-party integration.
  • SendGrid – Although popular for transactional emails, SendGrid also allows sending marketing emails. Starting at $9.95 per month for 40,000 emails.
  • Constant Contact – Starting at US$15 for a list size of 500 contacts. Easy to use and professional looking.

Video and Audio Editing

  • iMovie – Free version for Apple computers.
  • Filmora - A powerful and intuitive video editing experience for both Mac and Windows. A lifetime license with free updates is available for a one-time fee of $60.
  • Blender – Free open source 3D content creation supporting all major operating systems with many advanced features. One of the best video editors for both Windows and Mac.
  • Shortcut - A free, open-source, cross-platform video editor with a sleek interface.
  • Audacity – Free, open source, cross-platform software for recording and editing sounds.
  • Garageband - Free, and available on all Apple products, it provides a comprehensive and simple way to record and edit audio.

Surveys

  • Survey Monkey – Regarded as the world's most popular online survey software. Create surveys with basic features for free or upgrade for more powerful features.
  • SurveyGizmo - Online tool for creating professional online surveys. Unlimited surveys, questions, and responses. Additional features are unlocked through upgrade.
  • Google Forms – Collect and organize information. Build surveys for free.
  • Typeform - Create simple and visually appealling surveys, either from scratch or from a template. 
  • Wufoo - This online form builder offers both free and premium plans. 3 forms, 10 fields, 100 entries available on free account.

Analytics and Usability

  • Google Analytics - An easy-to-use tool that helps you measure how users interact with your website content
  • Amazon mobile Analytics - Allows you to measure app usage and app revenue.
  • SumoMe - Tools for helping you increase website traffic, including heat maps to see where your users are clicking. 
  • Marvel User Testing - Record what your users do with your website design for free.
  • Peek by User Testing - See a sample 5 minute video of someone using your site. You can run up to three tests every month.
  • Usability Hub - Test your website designs on real people. It is free to invite up to 20 of your own testers. 

  Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

  • Advanced Web Ranking: A paid tool with a 30-day free trial and tiered pricing plan. Offers web-ranking, SEO reporting, and competitor research. 
  • ahrefs: Offers free and paid versions. Includes a variety of SEO tools, including a keyword difficulty checker, a keyword generator, and more.
  • Exploding Topics: Offers free and Pro accounts. Analyzes search data to identify growing trends.
  • Google Analytics: Analyze how users are interacting with your website. Offers solutions for small business. 
  • Google Keyword Planner: This tool is part of Google Ads, and assists with researching keywords.
  • Google Trends: Explore search trends and queries (free). 
  • Mangools: A paid tool with a 10-day free trial. Ranks keywords by difficulty and search volume.
  • Moz Pro: A paid tool with a 30-day free trial and options for small business. Also offers limited free SEO tools.
  • Semrush: A popular paid online marketing service that combines SEO, content marketing, competitor research, and social media marketing in one platform. 
  • Ubersuggest: Offers free and paid versions. A good budget option, however not as powerful as some of its competitors.
  • Yoast SEO: A plug-in for Wordpress that analyzes the keywords on each webpage. Offers free and paid versions.