Link Library
This is not a definitive resources round-up – it is a list of the core tools and platforms that we use on a regular basis and can recommend as being useful.
Google Services
Google Account - Start your Google journey here.
Google Gmail - I use Gmail as my corporate email client. Works a treat.
Online Business Listings
Google Places (formerly known as Local Business Centre) - If you don’t have your physical business address/es properly listed here - verified, optimised and content enhanced - you’re nuts! Free.
Hot Frog - A strong Australian directory in search results (and they won’t hound you like a wounded rabbit for a paid listing). Free.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Page Rank Tool - One of hundreds out there. Free.
Yahoo Site Explorer - Good for analysing backlinks, amongst other things (you need to open a free yahoo account first). Free.
Open Site Explorer - A freemium service offering. It usefully orders your inbound links by (PageRank) importance. Freemium.
Site Grader - Take these results with a big grain of salt, but not bad for a first glance analysis. Free.
Keyword Research Tools
Google AdWords Keyword Tool - I use this tool to kick-start all of my keyword research. Free.
Google Insights - Good for spotting keyword trends by comparing a matrix of brand names, geographies or time periods. Free.
Online Monitoring / Business Intelligence
Google Advanced Search - Most people don’t even know this is here. Use it for advanced filtering. Free.
Google Alerts - Easy to set up. Rather than get email delivered alerts, look at the RSS feed option. Free.
Twitter Search - Search for Twitter – take a look at the advanced search option. Free.
Google Customised Search - Pulls together Google search results from specified web pages or websites. You can also use this as a cost effective search engine for your own website. Very cool. Freemium.
Google Blog Search - Search through the blogosphere. Free.
Google News - Google's news aggregation service (sorry Rupert M). RSS output available. Free.
Google Finance - Google’s business finance aggregation service. RSS output available. Free.
Whois Domain Tools - Info about domain name ownership – who, what, when (not why). Free.
Measurement
Google Analytics - Unless you already have something better in place (unlikely), you should have Google Analytics running on all of your web properties. Free.
Woopra - Live analytics. Non-essential, but addictive viewing. Freemium.
Google URL Builder - Use this to build specific campaign URL’s which can be tracked via your Google Analytics.
Bit.ly - A URL shortner with clickstream analysis data for each link created (I frequently use this in combination with Google’s URL builder).
Blog Platforms
Wordpress - The main play in blogging platforms – great plug-ins and templates. Free.
Blogger - Good, but without the depth of plug-ins and templates of Wordpress. Owned by Google. Free.
Widgets & Gadgets
Google Gadgets - A bunch of business level gems sitting in amongst a lot of other silly stuff. Free.
Google Translate - Translates any webpage or website – including its textural navigation - in any of many languages. Free.
Google Directions - Maps out directions from any X point to one or more pre-specified address points. Free.
Go Daddy Polls - Whip up a quick poll – serious or otherwise. Freemium.
AudioBoo - Record from your phone or PC, upload, and pull back down as a .mp3 file or widget. Free.
Make your own Widgets
Widgetbox - Easy to use. A pro account for $25/ year gets you 10 ad-free advanced customised widgets.
Yahoo Pipes - Content aggregation and filtering taken to the max - for advanced users (you need to open a free yahoo account first). Free.
RSS Reader
Google Reader - There are plenty of free readers out there – I use Google’s product because it’s one less account login I have to worry about. Free.
Online Press Releases
PR Wire - Australian based wire service; and it’s free, but that could change at any time. It usually takes them 1-2 weeks to approve a new account.
Google News Guidelines - what Google likes, and what it doesn't.
Social Like & Recommendation Button Widgets
Facebook ‘Like’ Button Creator - Just drop in the URL of the webpage property you want people to ‘like’ and follow the bouncing ball. Free.
Google's Post to Buzz Button Creator - Ditto for people who want to buzz your stuff.
TweetMeme Button - Ditto for people who want to retweet your stuff.
Facebook Page Customisation - I’ve not used these guys, but I’m planning to.
Advertising
Facebook - I’ve tried advertising on Facebook with mixed results; but I do use the campaign tool for precise market segment research – impressive. Pay per click and pay per impression options.
Google AdWords - Worth trialling, but make sure you can work out the ROI before going further. Pay per click and pay per impression options, across many different formats.
LinkedIn - Great professional targeting options (it didn’t work for me, but maybe you’ll have better luck).
Royalty Free Images
iStockphoto - This is the paid image gallery I use, but there are plenty of others out there.
Getty Images - Expensive compared to most of the others, but the stock is on the next level of quality. You can also be fairly certain you won’t see the same image sitting on a competitor’s website.
Royalty Free Audio
AudioJungle - cool soundtrack options for your online video...
Outsourcing
99 Designs - Run a ‘competition’ for various online design project work and award the ‘prize’ to the best submission. I’ve tried this a few times and it works well (the trick is getting your brief as tight as possible).
Image Hosting
Picasa Web Albums - My online storage platform of choice, used exclusively for private/ business use.
Flickr - A better platform for sharing your images with others.
Flickr Realtime TV - See a live sample stream of photos being uploaded to Flickr – freaky!
Video Hosting
YouTube - Of course. Free.
Vimeo - Worth a look. Freemium.
Blip.tv - Also worth a look. Freemium.
Browsers
Google Chrome - It’s slick and fast. Free.
Mozilla Firefox - Great plug-ins (add-ons).
Firefox Add-ons
Google Global - See the page 1 Google results that people in other parts of the world see. If you market internationally this is a must have tool. Free.
Search Status - Full of useful SEO analysis short-cuts. Free.
Flagfox - Indicates where any website is being hosted. Free.
GA? - Indicates if a website has Google Analytics installed. Free.
Domain Name Registration
Crazy Domains - Australian based - cheap and reliable.
Professional Networking
LinkedIn - The only professional network in town. You should create a company profile as well. Their customer service sucks though, and they’re a law unto themselves (you've been warned).
Your IP Address
Finding your IP address - Use this info to filter out your internal traffic from Google Analytics (assuming you’re running off a fixed IP address).
Want to know more? Attend a public workshop or host your own in-house corporate workshop
