Helpful Hints
FREE Tools and Resources to help you Save Money
and Make Your Business Profitable
When creating a Web business, make sure that your most important tools are of high-quality and are dependable products and services. But if you're like me or are a new online entrepreneur, you're probably wondering about the various free tools and resources you may have heard about or discovered yourself while surfing the 'Net for information'.
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 may be unreliable and / or come with hidden "baggage," requiring you to display certain advertisements or include spyware.
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 reliability) or give over advertising space on your site -- and potential customers. But the following 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: www.Alexa.com or use UberHits WebToolsa jumping off point.
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 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 and if you are able to fill the void.
-
"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
www.netmechanic.com
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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.
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