|
12 FREE Tools and Resources
to Save You Money
and Make Your Business Profitable
When establishing a Web business, you have to be sure that your most
important e-business tools are high-quality, dependable products and
services. But if you're like many new online entrepreneurs, you're
probably curious about various free tools and resources you may have heard
about or discovered yourself when surfing the 'Net for information. And
you may be wondering if it's worth your while giving them a try.
My first word of advice on free tools and resources is this: Always be
cautious. Free tools can be unreliable or come with hidden "catches," like
requirements that you display certain advertisements.
However (now that I've told you the downside), there are a number of
very good (and reliable!) tools and resources available on the 'Net that
are FREE. And these can be excellent ways to complement your existing
tools at no cost, helping you to make your site stickier and more
user-friendly, make your keywords more effective, keep an eye on your
competition, find potential business partners, and more...
Of course, you should still take care in the "free" world, and always
be aware of what you may have to give up (like reliability) or give over
(like advertising space on your site -- and potential customers). But the
following 12 tools and resources can be effectively used to give your
online business that extra edge you need to stay ahead of your
competition.
1. Free link partner evaluation tool
download.alexa.com
The Alexa toolbar is one of the most useful tools around for businesses
on the 'Net. Alexa provides a free, downloadable toolbar that opens in
your web browser whenever you're online.
The most useful feature is a "site info" option. When you click on this
button, Alexa lays out all the details of the site you're on, including...
- The traffic ranking of the site (this is also listed right on the
toolbar itself)
- A list of related links (two or three of the most popular links also
appear on the toolbar)
- The number of other sites that link to the site
- The contact information of the site owner
- All site/user reviews
This is the exact information you need when you're researching
high-traffic sites in your industry and considering link partnerships or
joint ventures. Use this information to...
- Decide how much you're willing to pay for advertising
- Make educated decisions about the worth of a joint venture partner
- Determine the credibility and the perceived value of the site
The list of related links -- which also has its own button on the
toolbar -- is an excellent way for you to find other popular or similar
sites that might be good linking partners or joint venture partners. Use
this list to determine other popular sites that your target market visits
-- start by looking at your own site with Alexa's toolbar, and
see what related links are suggested! The toolbar also contains a Google
search option, so you can jump directly into a search without having to
leave the page you're on.
If you prefer not to download the toolbar, you can still take advantage
of these features right from Alexa's site: http://www.alexa.com/.
2. Free market research tool
www.google.com/toolbar
(Make sure to check the
"Enable Advanced Features" option when you download it to enable all the
options.)
When you're building a successful online business, you'll probably need
to spend hours at a time researching your competitors and your target
market and looking for new product ideas.
The good news is that there are some nifty free tools available on the
Google Toolbar
that can make this whole process faster and a lot more productive:
-
"Google Groups" search: This is great for product or
market research, as you can search for your keywords within the
thousands of Google Groups online and find forums relevant to your web
site. By checking these forums regularly, you'll get to know what's
important to the people in your target market.
-
"Search News": This feature lets you find news
stories relevant to your web site, e-zine, or blog within news pages
indexed by Google. It's great for sparking content ideas or just keeping
up with the latest developments in your market or industry.
-
"Web Directory" search: This option lets you search
Google's directory for sites that match your search terms. It's ideal
for finding out how many competitors you may have for a new product, and
for seeking out potential linking partners.
-
"Search Froogle": Froogle lets online shoppers
search for products and compare prices. It displays pictures, prices,
and links to online stores in the results, so you can use it to quickly
research how the pricing of your products or services compares with
other offerings across the Web. If you have an idea for a new product,
Froogle is a great place to check out your potential
competitors.
Once you get the hang of them, these powerful tools can become a great
asset to your business, as they can save you hours spent on research --
leaving you more time to concentrate on developing new products, new
marketing strategies, and other ways to boost your profits.
3. Free image-reducing tool and free "tool kit"
trials
http://www.marketingtips.com/netmechanic
NetMechanic is a "tool kit" resource, offering a number of free trials
that are great for easily locating potential problems with your site and
repairing them quickly. Address problems such as...
- HTML code errors
- Browser display problems
- Lengthy load times
- Broken links
- Site downtime
Some of these tools will even give you a free monthly update! However,
you'll get a limited version of each tool unless you're willing to pay the
fee. But NetMechanic's image-reducing tool, GIFbot, is totally free and is
a particularly useful resource.
Using GIFBot is an excellent way to reduce the file size of your images
so that your web pages load faster -- and you don't lose those impatient
surfers. Image files can be reduced by as much as 50 - 85% in many cases,
and it's so easy to do that nowadays you'll look totally unprofessional
with huge, lagging image files that take forever to load on your site.
4. Free HTML Editor and HTML tutorials
http://www.nvu.com/
You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on HTML Editors and web
design software to create your own web site. Nvu is a WYSIWYG (What You
See Is What You Get) HTML editor that's similar to FrontPage or
Dreamweaver -- but completely free to download! The software allows you to
create and manage a professional-looking web site without any knowledge of
HTML programming, and includes the following features:
-
WYSIWYG editing of pages, meaning you can see what your web page will
look like as you're creating it
-
Integrated file management via FTP, so you can upload your pages to
your web host
-
Easy-to-use interface
- Free tutorials
If you are interested in learning how to code HTML yourself, here are a
couple of excellent tutorial and resource sites where you can learn
everything you need to know:
And, for those of you who are a little more technically inclined, you
may want to check out some of the many free CGI script resources out
there. Two good places to start include...
5. Free-trial keyword service
http://www.marketingtips.com/wordtracker
Using a service such as Wordtracker allows you to easily discover which
keywords are frequently searched by your target market -- but are not
being used by your competition. Wordtracker has compiled a massive
database of terms that people search on, so all you have to do is enter
your keyword, and Wordtracker tells you how often people are searching
that term, how many competing sites are using that particular keyword, and
how much they are bidding for the pay-per-click search engines.
A tool like this will help you optimize your search engine ranking by
targeting keywords and phrases that are frequently searched by your best
potential customers, but that few (if any!) of your competitors are
competing under. Capitalize on the streams of neglected and missed traffic
that are passing your competition by -- and even discover misspellings of
your keywords that may be drawing traffic!
The free trial version of Wordtracker, however, will only compare your
keywords with MSN, while the paid version compiles results from the top
search engines, directories, and pay-per-click engines. If you're happy to
limit yourself to MSN, you can use the free trial as many times as you
like. Otherwise, the paid version is available for $8.04 per day or $26.81
per week, with monthly and yearly subscriptions available as well.
You might also want to try out Yahoo! Search Marketing's Keyword
Popularity and Suggestion tool, available free at: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
Yahoo! Search Marketing's keyword service will give you a list of
related searches that include your term and tell you how many times those
terms were searched in Yahoo! Search Marketing (formerly Overture) in the
last month. This is a good way to find out the popularity of your keyword,
but the tool doesn't list bidding amounts. If you're looking for great
deals on your keywords, your best bet is to search in both Yahoo! Search
Marketing and Wordtracker to gauge popularity, then use Wordtracker to
determine your bidding strategy.
6. Free browser compatibility service
http://www.anybrowser.com/
The browser compatibility experts AnyBrowser offers every tool you'll
need to make your site viewable, as the name suggests, in any browser. The
most useful tool is the "SiteViewer," which allows you to see your web
pages as surfers will see them on multiple browsers. For example, your
site may look different in Netscape Navigator than it does in Internet
Explorer -- images may be broken, tables may shift, and so on. With
AnyBrowser you can ensure you meet the needs of every browser.
You can also make sure your coding checks out and your links aren't
broken, and view an example of how your listing will appear in the search
engines (what description will be used, what the title will be, etc.).
AnyBrowser is also a great resource directory, pointing you toward a
variety of really useful free tools. It's a great place to find online
HTML tutorials, banner exchanges, CGI scripts, and a ton of free resources
such as HTML editors, classifieds, fonts, graphics, Java scripts, message
boards, and more.
7. Free search tool
http://www.answers.com/
1-Click Answers is a downloadable search tool available from the
Answers.com search engine. It allows you to search multiple information
sources and find instant answers containing concise information on the
topic you're searching for.
After you've downloaded the personal (free) version, you'll have a
search bar right on your desktop. When you search on an item, you'll get
results from some or all of the following resources, depending on your
search term:
- Dictionaries
- Thesauruses
- Atlases
- Glossaries
- Encyclopedias
... All in just one step! No more messing around with multiple search
tools; 1-Click Answers consolidates them in one source to save the
precious time of the busy netrepreneur.
8. Free content
http://www.freesticky.com/stickyweb
This resource
is a good place to find free (or cheap) content for your site, so you can
keep your site fresh and interesting for your visitors -- and keep them
coming back. Find articles, news briefs, headlines, tickers, tips of the
day, and more. The broad variety of topics range from financial advice to
hip hop headlines, from travel guides to lottery results. You can also
give away free software applications directly from your site, many of
which are available for co-branding.
Another good source for articles is http://www.ezinearticles.com/, which offers free content
designed for both web sites and e-zines.
Watch that you don't just load up your site with a lot of stuff that
you think is interesting. The material you provide has to be relevant to
your business and your customer base. Also be aware that the sponsorship
information that is usually included can pull your readers' attention away
from your purpose -- and, most importantly, the sponsors' links can draw
traffic away from your site. It is always a good idea to have quality
content on your site, use your discretion, and make sure it's worth the
risk involved.
9. Free e-mail campaign ROI calculator
http://www.marketingtoday.com/tools/roi_calculator.htm
A very cool tool… Marketing Today's ROI calculator is an easy-to-use
little device that allows you to accurately estimate what kind of return
on investment you can expect from your upcoming direct mail or e-mail
campaigns and promotions.
The most accurate way to operate this tool is to use the response rate
you received from your previous mailings to calculate your ROI for future
mailings. All you have to do is enter the numbers: the number of mailings
you'll be doing, your total costs, the response rate you expect, the
conversion rate you expect, and how much you expect each buyer to spend
(i.e., the cost of your product or service).
Hint: If you do not have previous response rates and conversion rates
to base your figures on, you should estimate much lower than you think
necessary. If you guess too low, you'll just end up with extra cash on
hand; guess too high, however, and you'll be making a costly mistake.
The ROI calculator is a simple tool that acts as an excellent reality
check when you're determining your marketing costs.
10. Free web design tool
http://www.colormatch.dk/
Most Internet entrepreneurs have very little, if any, web design
knowledge. However, this doesn't have to be a barrier to creating a
professional-looking web site.
One of the hardest tasks for someone with no design experience is
choosing the color scheme for your site. Well, this easy-to-use free tool
allows you to create a complete color scheme at the click of the button.
It also gives you the HTML codes for the colors you choose (every web
color has a code, e.g., black is #000000) -- so you can use them on your
site and not have to worry if that pink really does match that orange.
11. Free site search tools
http://sitelevel.whatuseek.com/
SiteLevel can set you up with effective, free search tools for your web
site. If your site is more than a couple of pages and doesn't have a good
internal search tool, you're probably losing many a frustrated visitor.
While appeasing your visitors, a site-level search engine also enables
you to find out what your users want and need. SiteLevel's search tools
allow you to track what your visitors are searching for and see what they
are finding or not finding, so you can adapt to their agendas and increase
visitor satisfaction -- and the stickiness of your site.
SiteLevel also lets you customize your own search results page to make
it suit the look and feel of your web site.
The basic (free) version has more than enough "oomph" for the average
small-business web site, allowing you to index up to 1,000 pages and
incorporate a variety of search strategies.
12. More free marketing tools
http://www.thefreesite.com/
You got it… The Free Site is free stuff! And lots of it!
Not everything on this site is e-business related, but you can find
plenty that is. Probably the most useful section for e-businesses is the
"webmaster" section at: http://thefreesite.com/Webmaster_Freebies/
Here you'll find the "Internet Seer" site monitoring tool that provides
downtime alerts so you don't lose valuable customers. You'll also find...
- Tools to help you check your keywords and your link popularity
- Suggested methods of winning awards for your site
- Scripts, banners, and polls
- Guestbooks, message boards, and more...
The Free Site also lists free technical support and online tutorials,
free personal management tools, plenty of Java script resources, free
fonts, clipart, graphics, icons, and buttons, plus much, much more. Again,
be wary of freebies that ask for advertising space in return... but you
might want to bookmark this page!
Final thoughts
One of the great advantages of starting an online business, as opposed
to taking the more traditional "bricks and mortar" approach, is that costs
are SO much lower. Hosting fees are your main overhead, but these are
nowhere near the rent you'd pay for office space for an offline business.
And when it comes to creating and building your web site -- as well as
marketing it -- you can further reduce your costs by making use of some
great free tools and resources.
The tools I've recommended are personal favorites, and I know you'll
find them incredibly useful. But when you're choosing free services or
software, always proceed with caution and stay in control with each
decision you make. Find out whether any advertising will be included and
whether you will be bound by any restrictions or obligations. "Free" can
sometimes mean only that there's no charge -- not no consequences. |
