With the litany of online tools for PPC available for Search Marketers, we felt it time to weigh in. Now, with tools ranging from free to “*chokes* wait, how much did you say again?”, the emphasis here is on free to very affordable, for those of us that love great results at a reasonable price – all about the ROI! Let’s get started.
1. Optimizely
Where do I find it? http://bit.ly/H0fzQv
How much is this going to cost me? Free 30 day trial, then $17/month
Optimizely is a fantastic online tool that allows you to effortlessly switch test landing pages. The A/B tests are very simple to setup, and most element testing requires little to zero code changes. You can practically bypass web development all together. Highly recommend the 30 day trial.
2. Adwords Wrapper
Where do I find it? http://bit.ly/4sCXmr
How much is this going to cost me? FREE!
Adwords Wrapper is a tool that quickly and easily allows you to wrap your keywords into phrase, exact and modified keyword match types. This will eliminate a lot of unnecessary time building these manually in excel.
3. SplitTester
Where do I find it? http://bit.ly/10g17F
How much is this going to cost me? FREE!
SplitTester is a great tool to be 100% sure about your ad copy tests. Simply enter in some top level data, and voilà, you will have definitive proof of your clear cut winner.
4. PPC Text Ad Statistical Significance
Where do I find it? http://bit.ly/b317Pk
How much is this going to cost me? FREE!
Big thanks to @ChadSummerhill for this nifty tool. Although somewhat similar to ad testing tools, this specific spreadsheet allows for some heavier lifting to arrive at whether an ad test has statistical significance and the outcomes therein.
5. Think Insights
Where do I find it? http://bit.ly/vEMsb1
How much is this going to cost me? FREE!
From the horse’s mouth: “Here are the studies we’re conducting, the trends we’re tracking, and the ideas we’re exploring — across industries, platforms and audiences — all in one place. Think Insights is designed to bring you everything from high-level visions to deck-ready data points. Data, insights, tools and inspiration to make the web work for you.”
6. Google Keyword Planner
Where do I find it? http://bit.ly/vEMsb1
How much is this going to cost me? FREE! Pending you have an Adwords account.
Goodbye keyword tool, hello keyword planner. Found in the Tools and Analysis tab, the keyword planner is essentially the keyword tool on steroids, allowing for keyword research, ad group suggestions, filters, performance, and much more.
7. Google Trends
Where do I find it? http://bit.ly/8doCYz
How much is this going to cost me? FREE!
Google trends is a great tool to see how search query behavior can interact or correlate to others based on user interest, regional interest, and related queries.
8. Merge Words
Where do I find it? http://bit.ly/9tuVQn
How much is this going to cost me? FREE!
A simplistic, online tool to create a variety of permutations of keywords.
9. Spyfu
Where do I find it? http://bit.ly/1ITj6p
How much is this going to cost me? FREE!
Ever wonder what your competition is doing? Spyfu allows you to see potential keywords your competition is bidding on, what kind of ad copy they use, and other useful tips to give you a competitive advantage in the market.
10. UserTesting
Where do I find it? http://bit.ly/MMON
How much is this going to cost me? $49 per participant
UserTesting will give you usability feedback on your landing pages, from actual people! Price breaks begin at 3 participants, who will go through your LP/website with a goal in mind and give instant feedback on roadblocks they came across on their journey.
What tools do you love to use? Make sure to leave a comment below!
