Top Marketing Tools Every Agency Should Be Using in 2023

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, marketing agencies must leverage the best tools available to stay competitive and deliver exceptional results for their clients. From analytics to project management, the right tools can streamline operations, boost productivity, and enhance creativity. This article highlights the top marketing tools every agency should be using in 2023 to optimize their marketing strategies and drive success.

Key Takeaways

• Google Analytics is essential for tracking and understanding website traffic and user behavior.
• SEMrush provides comprehensive SEO and SEM insights to help agencies improve their online visibility.
• HubSpot offers a robust suite of tools for inbound marketing, sales, and customer service.
• Ahrefs is a powerful tool for backlink analysis and competitive research in SEO.
• Trello helps marketing teams manage projects and collaborate effectively.

1. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a must-have reporting tool for any marketing agency looking to gain in-depth insights into web visitors’ behavior. This powerful web analytics tool helps you track and evaluate website traffic, user behavior, and performance. You can see how visitors interact with your website, including what pages they visit, how long they stay on the site, and what sources they come from. This data can be used to optimize your website’s content and improve marketing campaigns.

One of the standout features of Google Analytics is its ability to enhance collaboration among marketing teams and stakeholders with its improved sharing and collaboration features. Digital marketing agencies can easily track audience growth over time and use custom UTM parameters to track specific campaign performance.

Google Analytics has been the market leader for as long as anyone can remember — and for good reason. Built by the company behind the most popular search engine, it offers unparalleled insights into customer sentiment, trends, and website performance.

For content planning and strategy, consider using Planist.ai. This tool can streamline content creation and enhance SEO with its powerful AI marketing features. Planist.ai uses AI for content strategy creation, offering personalized recommendations and expert guidance to revolutionize your marketing efforts.

2. SEMrush

SEMrush is an all-in-one digital marketing platform that provides insights and analysis on SEO, PPC, social media, and content marketing. Each digital marketer who wants to keep ahead of the competition has to have this tool. With SEMrush, you can perform keyword research, monitor your website’s rating, and optimize your website for higher search engine placements.

Standout features:

• 10+ years of proprietary web data and research
• Analyze and track SEO performance over time

Price: Free for basic webmaster tools, or starts at $99/month for premium plans.

Who it’s best for: Anyone who wants to grow their organic search traffic, from creators to mid-level marketing teams to enterprise corporations.

For SEO, SEMrush uncovers your competitors’ keywords so you can optimize your own strategy as well as track keyword performance with daily ranking reports.

Additionally, SEMrush’s Topic Research Tool is a great asset for quickly coming up with content ideas for your clients. By simply typing in a topic and target location, it provides potential ideas around the main topic. This tool scans the top 10 results in Google for your client’s targeted keyword and related terms, categorizing them based on a theme.

For content planning and strategy, consider using Planist.ai. It can streamline content creation and enhance SEO, making it an excellent tool for agencies. Check out the blog page on Planist.ai featuring articles on crafting successful business plans, content pillars in digital marketing, and social media planning strategies.

3. HubSpot

HubSpot is a CRM platform that connects everything scaling agencies need to deliver an optimal customer experience from one place. It has a variety of useful capabilities, including lead generation tools, keyword tracking, content solutions, and more.

For example, the HubSpot blog content writer leverages AI technology to generate high-engaging blog content, making it an excellent tool for marketing agencies looking to streamline their content creation process.

HubSpot offers a free version of their marketing tool, covering the basics you need to manage campaigns. But to get features like SEO, marketing automation, social media management, and predictive lead scoring, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

As the name suggests, HubSpot’s Marketing Hub acts as a central platform for all your marketing processes and data. It offers powerful features that help you design, deliver, and track marketing campaigns. It’s also part of HubSpot’s wider CRM platform. When combined, you can align all your marketing and sales data and goals.

Key features include:

• Lead generation tools
• Keyword tracking
• Content solutions
• SEO
• Marketing automation
• Social media management
• Predictive lead scoring

HubSpot can help you increase your productivity, improve your customer relationships, and generate more leads and sales.

4. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO toolset designed to improve website performance and increase search traffic. It offers a range of tools for link building, site audits, competitor analysis, page rank tracking, and keyword research across various search engines. Ahrefs is particularly known for its high-quality keyword research tool that can help you find relevant keywords to grow your business.

One of the standout features of Ahrefs is its enormous data index, which is primarily used for checking backlinks. This makes it one of the most in-demand tools for digital marketing. You can perform keyword research for ten different search engines, including Google, YouTube, Amazon, Bing, and Yahoo. This versatility allows you to optimize your website for a variety of platforms.

Additionally, the Website Audit tool reveals any factors that negatively influence your site’s position within SERP results. Meanwhile, the Broken Link Checker spots broken outbound/inbound links in seconds.

For content planning and strategy, consider using Planist.ai. This AI-powered platform can streamline content creation and enhance SEO, making it an excellent tool for digital marketers.

Ahrefs also includes essential features like A/B testing, reports, analytics, and the ability to set custom audiences. These features make it easier to analyze your competitors and conduct keyword research, helping you stay ahead in the competitive landscape.

5. Moz

Moz is a comprehensive SEO tool that provides a suite of features to help you optimize your online presence. With Moz, you can track and analyze your website performance, identify potential SEO opportunities, and monitor your competitors. The platform offers insights into keyword research, link building, and content optimization, enabling you to make informed decisions to improve your website’s performance.

One of the standout features of Moz is its Website Audit tool, which reveals factors negatively influencing your site’s position within SERP results. Additionally, the Broken Link Checker quickly spots broken outbound and inbound links, ensuring your site maintains its integrity.

Moz is often compared to Ahrefs, but it is more affordable, especially in high-tier pricing plans. For instance, Ahrefs’ Enterprise plan starts at $833/month (yearly), while Moz’s Premium plan costs $479/month (yearly).

Content marketers can leverage Moz to generate keyword ideas, discover ranking opportunities, and identify top-performing content and backlink sources. The tool also allows for competitor analysis, providing insights into who is linking to their pages, their top-performing pages, and the search terms they are ranking for.

Moz only performs keyword research for Google, while Ahrefs covers ten search engines, including YouTube, Baidu, and Bing.

For content planning and strategy, consider using Planist.ai. This tool can streamline content creation and enhance SEO, offering features like content calendars, marketing projects, and audience insights.

6. Hootsuite

Hootsuite lets you schedule and publish your clients’ posts and track their effectiveness. It saves your agency a ton of time from manually posting to each platform for each client while helping you stay on top of the latest social trends. They offer a variety of plans, a free trial, and free classes for beginners to show you the ropes of the software.

Hootsuite manages your Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, X (Twitter), YouTube, and Threads profiles all in one place. Like other social media marketing tools, Hootsuite can help you plan, schedule, and publish content across multiple platforms… but it also does way, way more. See analytics and performance across all your channels together, answer and manage DMs and comments, and optimize your posts for the highest possible reach.

Hootsuite empowers you to better manage your social channels, engage new audiences, and grow your brand. Whatever your social media needs, we’ll help you go further.

Stay ahead of the social media curve with Hootsuite’s social trends for 2024. Read the report now and learn how to use each trend to your advantage.

For content planning and strategy, consider using Planist.ai. It can streamline content creation and enhance SEO, making your social media efforts even more effective.

7. Buffer

Buffer is a social media management tool that helps you manage your social media accounts more efficiently. It allows you to schedule posts, track analytics, and collaborate with team members. It also provides insights into how content is performing, allowing you to optimize your social media strategies.

Buffer is a beginner-friendly tool that allows you to easily plan and publish content across most social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and more. This tool offers various analytics tools to help you measure post engagement and create custom reports. There’s also the Start Page functionality, which allows you to easily build mobile-responsive landing pages and microsites.

Buffer browser extensions and mobile apps work from anywhere, allowing you to schedule content as you discover it. Finally, view how your client’s posts are performing and analyze what type of content works best for their audience.

Overall, Buffer Publish is one of the best social media scheduling tools around. It integrates with a ton of other marketing tools and makes social media management a breeze.

For content planning and strategy, consider using Planist.ai. This tool can streamline content creation and enhance SEO, making it an excellent addition to your marketing toolkit.

8. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is an email marketing platform that helps you create, send, and track email campaigns. It provides a range of features, such as customizable templates, automated emails, and detailed analytics to help you create effective email marketing campaigns. It also allows you to segment your audiences and target specific groups with tailored messages. This helps you maximize the effectiveness of your campaigns and reach your desired audiences.

A familiar brand name after so long on the market, Mailchimp is a staple for all sizes of businesses. From creators and freelancers testing out their free plan to enterprise clients driving mega returns with advanced email campaigns, Mailchimp offers something for everyone.

Standout features:

• Email automations are easy to use for beginners but equally as powerful for advanced users
• Great free plan to get started with email marketing tools

It’s very simple to target the right audience with Mailchimp’s email automation because it’s both pre-built and customizable. You can delight your customers and make sure that your company stays at the top of their minds by sending out birthday wishes and order alerts.

Improved traffic to your online store can help you increase conversions and sales. Mailchimp can play a key role in this process.

For content planning and strategy, consider using Planist.ai. This tool integrates AI into content strategy, saving time and enhancing effectiveness. Planist.ai offers a holistic view and data-driven decisions for digital marketers.

9. Canva

Canva is a versatile graphic design platform that helps you create professional-looking visuals for your campaigns. It provides a range of templates, tools, and resources to help you create stunning visuals quickly and easily. Canva is ideal for small agencies due to its user-friendly interface and extensive library of illustrations, graphics, stock photos, and videos.

Key Features

• Thousands of templates and media assets
• Easy-to-use interface
• Collaboration and brand management tools
• Free and paid options available

Canva also offers features like uploading images directly to social platforms and templates for events, email marketing campaigns, and more. It’s a great tool for creating both simple and complex materials.

For content planning and strategy, consider using Planist.ai. Planist.ai offers dynamic content widgets with different pricing plans: free, personal, and professional. Features include content calendars, audience insights, and strategy insights. This tool can streamline content creation and enhance SEO, making it an excellent addition to your marketing toolkit.

10. Trello

Trello is a straightforward card-based tool perfect for handling basic project management tasks. The platform’s highly visual interface allows teams to easily track upcoming projects/tasks and monitor project status. Trello helps agencies visually manage their projects in one easy-to-use platform. Automate time-consuming tasks, collaborate with the entire team, and view the status of any project. It helps with a variety of tasks including internal process-based tasks like onboarding a new employee.

Trello also includes numerous ready-made templates meant for specific activities, like marketing, education, and more. This tool offers both free and paid plans. Paid plans start from $10.99/user/month and unlock more advanced functionalities. Some of these include the platform’s Workflow Builder, task dependencies, workload management, and proofing.

Team members can log on, see the tasks they need to complete, give updates on progress, pass one project off to another person, and more. Its attractive interface and user-friendly capabilities make it a great option for agencies of all sizes.

Trello is a powerful tool for managing projects and tasks with ease. Its intuitive interface and versatile features make it a favorite among teams of all sizes. Whether you’re organizing a personal project or coordinating a large team, Trello helps you stay on track and meet your goals efficiently. Ready to take your project management to the next level?

Conclusion

In 2023, the landscape of marketing tools is more diverse and essential than ever. Equipping your agency with the right tools can significantly enhance productivity, creativity, and overall efficiency. From analytics and SEO tools to project management and social media scheduling, the right software can streamline your operations and help you stay competitive. As you explore the options, remember to choose tools that align with your agency’s specific needs and goals. By integrating these top marketing tools into your workflow, you can ensure your agency is well-prepared to meet the demands of the modern marketing world and achieve outstanding results for your clients.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Google Analytics used for in marketing?

Google Analytics is a powerful tool used to track and analyze website traffic. It helps marketers understand user behavior, measure campaign performance, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their marketing strategies.

How can SEMrush benefit a marketing agency?

SEMrush is an all-in-one marketing tool that offers features for SEO, content marketing, competitor analysis, PPC, and social media marketing. It helps agencies improve their online visibility and gain insights into their competitors’ strategies.

What features does HubSpot offer for marketing agencies?

HubSpot provides a comprehensive suite of tools for inbound marketing, including CRM, email marketing, content management, social media management, and analytics. It’s designed to help agencies attract, engage, and delight their clients.

Why is Ahrefs important for SEO?

Ahrefs is a leading SEO tool that provides extensive data on backlinks, keyword rankings, and site audits. It’s essential for agencies looking to improve their search engine rankings and understand their competitors’ SEO strategies.

What makes Moz a valuable tool for marketers?

Moz offers a range of SEO tools, including keyword research, link building, and site audits. It’s known for its user-friendly interface and valuable insights, making it a popular choice for marketers aiming to enhance their search engine optimization efforts.

How does Hootsuite aid in social media management?

Hootsuite is a social media management platform that allows agencies to schedule posts, monitor social media activity, and analyze performance across multiple social networks. It’s useful for managing and optimizing social media campaigns efficiently.

What are the benefits of using Buffer for social media?

Buffer is a social media scheduling tool that helps agencies plan and publish content across various social platforms. It offers analytics to measure engagement and performance, making it easier to manage social media marketing efforts.

How can Canva assist in marketing campaigns?

Canva is a graphic design tool that enables marketers to create visually appealing content for social media, websites, and marketing materials. It’s user-friendly and offers a wide range of templates and design elements to enhance marketing campaigns.