Full screen

36 Brilliant Blogging Tools to Help You Write Better Publish More and Increase Traffic

Running a blog can be tough. There are times when it can feel like having multiple jobs. Not only do you need to create fresh, high-quality content, but you’ll also have a website to manage, social media posts to schedule, and data to analyze.

Having a versatile bag of tools at your disposal can keep your blogging gig from becoming overwhelming. There are solutions for most of your day-to-day tasks, from design to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and everything in between.

With all the possibilities to choose from, you could spend weeks just combing through your options. So we’ve done the hard work for you. In this article, we’ll cover why you need the right tools. Then we’ll detail 36 brilliant blogging solutions worth checking out. Let’s get started!

Why You Need the Right Blogging Tools

As a blogger, you’ll want to find tools that help you become more productive and successful. For example, discovering topics to blog about that your audience will love can be tricky. The right solution can help you brainstorm ideas and explore new niches you weren’t previously aware of, saving you a lot of time in the process.

What’s more, there’s more to blogging than just writing. You need to be sure people can discover and share your website. Therefore, to maximize your reach, you’ll want to look into blogging tools that give your SEO and social media a boost. This can make up for any lack of knowledge or experience on your end, and free up your attention for your actual content.

36 Brilliant Blogging Tools to Help You Write Better, Publish More, and Increase Traffic

We’ve argued the case for having the right blogging tools at the ready. Now let’s explore 36 of the top options and see what they can do.

Research

Content creation requires lots of research. You need to be sure people are searching for what you’re going to be writing about. You’ll also need someplace to keep ideas and notes.

1. Google Keyword Planner

Before you start writing a new blog post, you might want to make sure you’re using words that people are searching for. Google Keyword Planner can provide you with feedback on your potential keywords.

This great tool will help you by showing you how popular each chosen keyword is through search volume metrics. You’ll also get some suggestions for other relevant phrases you may want to use.

Price: Google Keyword Planner is free to use, as long as you have a Google Ads account set up.

2. Google Trends

When trying to nail down an idea for a successful blog post, you might want to start with Google Trends. You can enter any topic into the search box, and this tool will provide you with a ton of information and history about it.

You can filter your results, which is especially useful if you’re trying to capture a particular region’s attention. Google Trends also provides you a list of related topics, which you can use to brainstorm more content ideas.

Price: Google Trends is entirely free for anyone to use.

3. BuzzSumo

If you’re wondering what’s trending in your niche, BuzzSumo can tell you. Just search for the topic you’re interested in, and you’ll get a list of the top-performing content in that area.

You can also enter the URL for one of your competitors. BuzzSumo will give you a list of the top-performing content from that site, so you can see what’s resonating with your potential audience.

Price: BuzzSumo offers a seven-day free trial. After that, you can choose from several tiers starting at $79 per month.

4. HubSpot’s Blog Ideas Generator

When you start blogging, it’s hard to imagine ever running out of ideas. However, the day will likely come when you sit down to write and come up empty. That’s where HubSpot’s Blog Ideas Generator comes into the picture.

Provide the generator with up to five nouns, and it will return a week’s worth of blog ideas. If you need a year’s worth of topics, you can enter some details and unlock 250 more potential blog posts.

Price: The Blog Ideas Generator is free for anyone to use. But, if you want more ideas at once, you’ll have to trade some information to get them.

5. Evernote

With all those new blog post ideas, you’re going to be doing a lot of research. If your bookmarks bar is becoming a disorganized mess, Evernote can provide a place to keep all of your screenshots, notes, and articles.

What if you prefer a mix of handwritten and electronic notes? You can actually scan your notes with your phone into the app. You can even search these scanned documents since Evernote can read handwriting.

Price: Evernote has several plans to choose from, including a robust free version. You can upgrade to one of the paid versions starting at $7.99 per month.

Writing and Grammar

Well-written, readable content is crucial for a successful blog. Even the most compelling ideas will suffer without the right words to convey them.

6. Grammarly

Even the strongest writer can benefit from having a second pair of eyes look over their blog posts. Grammarly is like having an experienced editor making suggestions to improve your writing and style.

Each time you open a new document in Grammarly, you can set goals for its tone, formality, and intent. You’ll then receive feedback to help you hit those targets. Grammarly also has a Chrome extension, so you can check your emails and Google Docs as well.

One downside: Grammarly is currently only available in English. If you’re looking for a multilingual grammar checker, consider Language Tool, which can check your writing in more than 20 languages. It’s what our team uses to review Spanish content.

Price: Grammarly’s free plan checks your grammar, spelling, and conciseness. The premium tier adds more style and genre checks (as well as a plagiarism detector) for $11.66 per month.

7. Associated Press (AP) Stylebook

The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook is a reference every blogger should have on their bookshelf. Using AP style for blog posts can help to keep them concise, clear, and informative.

The AP Stylebook is updated frequently. If you buy the book from the official website, you’ll receive email notifications about these changes. It’s a simple way to keep up with stylistic adjustments.

Price: You have multiple options for purchasing the AP Stylebook. A spiral-bound physical copy will cost you $26.95. The online stylebook starts at $22.00 for one user.

8. Google Docs

Google Docs is a web-based word processor. You can use this application to compose, edit, and format your blog posts.

One advantage of Google Docs is that you can access your documents anywhere, regardless of your device. For a blogger on the go, this is a must-have feature!

Price: Google Docs is free to use. You can upgrade to G Suite for additional features and applications, starting at $6 per month.

Project Management

Blogs have a lot of moving parts. Project management tools can help you stay organized, so your blogging tasks stay on track.

9. Asana

Asana enables you to build a roadmap for your blog projects. You can group tasks to make up a project or divide them into smaller chunks.

If you collaborate with other writers on your blog, Asana is a powerful tool for team management. You’re able to see at a glance where each post is in your pipeline.

Price: Asana’s free option allows collaboration with up to 15 people. Premium plans begin at $10.99 per user per month.

10. Trello

Trello’s design is based on cards, lists, and boards. It’s an intuitive system that can hold a ton of information.

Trello is an excellent alternative to Asana if you’re looking for something a little more streamlined. You can keep all the attachments and notes you need for a task on its card. This format is also easier to handle if you’re a team of one.

Price: Trello has a robust free option that enables you to have an unlimited number of personal boards and ten team boards. Upgraded plans begin at $9.99 per user per month.

Design

Gorgeous visuals to complement your words are an essential part of creating branded, shareable blog posts. You don’t need to be an artist, but the right tools can help you fake it.

11. Adobe Photoshop

When you think of photo editing software, Adobe Photoshop probably comes to mind. Whether you’re touching up a stock photo or creating a new logo, you can probably do it with Photoshop.

One exciting aspect of this platform is that new features are always being added. One of the latest is the object selection tool. You can lasso or draw a rectangle around an object, and the selection snaps into place around it.

Price: You can try Adobe Photoshop for free for seven days. After that, plans start at $20.99 per month.

12. Canva

Canva is like Photoshop’s younger but no less accomplished sister. The free plan gives you generous access to templates, stock photos, and other design elements. However, Canva Pro contains some valuable features as well.

With a Brand Kit, for example, you can collect the colors, fonts, and logos that make your blog recognizable all in one place. Imagine the time you could save on looking up HTML color codes!

Price: You can upgrade to Pro for $9.95 per month. There’s also a 30-day free trial.

13. Logaster

Are you struggling to come up with a logo? If so, Logaster can generate a variety of options to choose from in seconds. Just enter your blog’s name and scroll through the possibilities.

If you’d like, you can give Logaster more information to build your logo with. For instance, you can try specifying a color and industry for more personalization. If you’re not entirely happy with the design, you can do some editing by signing up for a free account.

Price: You can download and use the small version of your new logo for free. However, Logaster also offers packages that include different size logos, letterheads, favicons, and more. These range from $19.99 to $89.99.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO has many different facets that all need your attention. The following tools can help you analyze and optimize your blog’s content, so you’ll have a fighting chance for higher rankings.

14. Yoast SEO

If you have a blog on WordPress, you’ll probably want to install the Yoast SEO plugin. This tool makes optimizing each of your posts easy.

For example, you can give Yoast SEO a keyphrase, and it will return actionable advice that you can use to improve your post. The premium version can even account for other forms of that keyphrase, including synonyms and plurals.

Price: You can get started with the free version or go all-in with Yoast SEO Premium. The latter starts at $89 for one site.

15. SEMrush

It might be unfair to give SEMrush only one spot on this list, as it provides multiple tools. SEMrush offers insights on everything from social media to Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising.

Most importantly, however, SEMrush’s SEO Toolkit can give you an edge over your competition. The Domain Overview lets you see which keywords your competitors use. You can use this information to hone your content plan over time.

Price: SEMrush plans range from $83.28 to $333.28 per month. Higher tiers get you access to more reports and extended limits. The good news? We’ve worked out a free SEMrush trial for our readers, so you can see if this tool is a good fit for your blog without a long-term commitment!

16. MarketMuse

MarketMuse is a complete, AI-based solution for content. This tool can lend a hand with anything from research to content creation.

The ability to optimize content can make MarketMuse a valuable part of your blogging strategy. Its AI analyzes your copy and makes suggestions for the language you should use. This can boost your SEO rankings, as you’ll be using the same words your audience uses to search.

Price: You can try MarketMuse’s Pro plan free for a month. After that, the cost is $325 per month.

17. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is an invaluable resource if you’ve been blogging for a while and want to move to the next level. This SEO toolset can help you maximize your efforts.

While Ahrefs offers a wide range of features, it started as a backlink checker and still excels at that task. The Content Explorer tool analyzes individual pieces of content and displays how many backlinks they receive over time.

Price: Ahrefs offers a seven-day trial for $7. Full plans start at $82 per month for a single user.

18. Can I Rank?

Can I Rank may be the next best thing to hiring an analyst. This tool uses AI to deliver actionable insights that can help you improve your blog’s SEO.

To do this, Can I Rank’s reports provide steps towards ranking for your target keywords. You’ll get suggestions for improving your current content, and new keywords you may want to focus on going forward. The AI will also connect you to other SEO tools that may be helpful.

Price: Can I Rank has a free plan, which limits how many times you can access each report. Paid plans start at $49 per month, and a free trial is available.

19. Ubersuggest

Installing the Ubersuggest Chrome extension gives you access to SEO metrics and insights every time you search.

Ubersuggest can help refine keywords that you’ve researched. If you perform a search with one of your target keywords, you’ll receive a list of related target phrases, along with the search volume for the current month and the estimated competition for the keyword.

Price: This extension is free. You don’t even need to create an account, although you’ll gain access to more features if you do so.

20. LinkMiner

Broken links can hurt your site’s SEO. They’re easy to fix but not always simple to find. Fortunately, the LinkMiner Chrome extension unearths broken links for you.

This extension provides you with overall results for each page you analyze. It also highlights all the links in your content in red, so you can get them fixed right away.

Price: You can use this extension for free.

Site Management

A user-friendly CMS can make managing your website much more straightforward. When you pair that with reliable hosting, you’ll have a solid foundation for your blog.

21. WordPress

WordPress powers 37% of all sites on the internet, and for good reason. This free, open-source platform is powerful, flexible, and supported by an active community.

One appealing feature for bloggers is the Block Editor. This editor makes it easy to create stunning, rich content, with no design or coding experience necessary. The drag-and-drop interface makes it possible to rearrange your content and experiment with different possibilities.

Price: WordPress itself is free. You’ll just have to pay for a hosting plan. You can also choose to purchase premium themes and plugins.

22. A Managed WordPress Hosting Plan

You’ll probably get more out of WordPress if you complement it with a managed WordPress hosting plan. These specialized plans come with extras that can make your website building and upkeep a lot easier.

After all, just because you’re a blogger doesn’t mean you’re a web designer. That’s why our DreamPress managed hosting plans include a website builder specifically designed for WordPress sites. After you’ve created your site, we’ll keep it safe by performing daily and on-demand backups.

Price: Managed WordPress hosting can vary in cost depending on your provider. Our hosting plans start at $16.95 per month.

Blog Better with DreamPress

Our automatic updates and strong security defenses take server management off your hands so you can focus on content creation.

Check Out Plans

23. Wordable

As awesome as the Block Editor is, there are advantages to composing your blog posts in Google Docs. However, you’ll lose a lot of time copying and reformatting your posts before publishing them.

The Wordable plugin accomplishes all of those tasks in a single click. Wordable doesn’t just import text; it also brings along the images and headings. You can have guest writers submit their pieces as Google Docs and import them with Wordable. You don’t have to set up an account on your site for them, and you won’t have to reformat their posts either.

Price: You can test out Wordable with a three-export trial. After that, plans start at $19 per month for one user and one WordPress site.

Social Media

Handling multiple social media channels can create confusion and the potential for mistakes. To avoid that, you can stay on top of your social media schedule with the help of these tools.

24. CoSchedule

CoSchedule is the editorial calendar of your dreams. It can help you manage blog posts and get them onto social media platforms.

CoSchedule’s Blog Calendar lets you see your scheduled blog and social media posts in one place. If you need to reschedule a post, you can just drag and drop it wherever you’d like. The calendar automatically adjusts the accompanying social media messages.

Price: You can get the Blog Calendar for $14 per month. If you’d like to add more functionality with the Marketing Calendar, the price increases to $29 per month.

25. Social Snap

Social Snap is a social media plugin for WordPress. This solution comes with a suite of tools designed to get more traffic to your blog.

With Social Snap, you can place social sharing buttons anywhere in your blog posts. The floating sidebar could be an effective strategy if you tend to write longer content. You can also customize the buttons to match your website’s design.

Price: Social Snap offers plans starting at $27.30 per year. There is no free trial, but there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

26. Buffer

If you’re in the market for a complete social media solution, you may want to check out Buffer. This platform provides tools to help you publish and analyze your content.

Buffer’s Publish tool enables you to manage all of your social media channels from one dashboard. With some determination and a lot of coffee, you might schedule a month’s worth of content in a single afternoon.

Price: Buffer Publish begins at $12 per month. The Pro plan enables you to schedule up to 100 posts.

27. Click to Tweet

Click to Tweet is a free plugin provided by CoSchedule. If you have your eyes set on the Twitterverse, you’ll likely want this blogging tool at your side.

With it, you can pull out especially tweet-worthy wisdom from your content. Your readers can then share these insights with their followers in one click.

Price: Click to Tweet is free to download and use. You do need to provide some personal information and sign up for CoSchedule’s mailing list to access the tool.

Video

You may already include video on your blog, as it can increase the time visitors spend on a page. If not, these solutions can get you started.

28. YouTube

You may already use YouTube to host your videos, but there’s more you can do with the platform. For example, did you know that you can live stream with YouTube?

Live streaming is a fun way to connect with your audience and has been growing in popularity in recent years. It’s a great way to build a sense of community around your blog.

Price: YouTube is free to use. All you need is a Google account.

29. Adobe Premiere Rush

If creating video content sounds like a lot of work, you can check out Adobe Premiere Rush. This helpful tool makes producing a video (almost) as easy as posting to social media.

With Adobe Premiere Rush, you can capture and edit footage right from your mobile phone. You can even add graphics, overlays, and voiceovers. Then you’ll be able to share the video to your YouTube channel, Instagram account, Facebook page, and other social media platforms.

Price: Adobe Premiere Rush offers a free trial that limits you to three exports. After that, you can access the software for $9.99 per month.

Analytics

By keeping an eye on your blog’s statistics, you’ll be able to see where you can improve. If you’re not a data analyst, you might appreciate some help in that department.

30. Google Analytics

If you haven’t already installed Google Analytics on your blog, what are you waiting for? Its many tools will give you access to the metrics you need for running a successful blog.

While your hosting provider may provide you with some traffic data, Google Analytics offers you a wide range of numbers. Knowing where your traffic is coming from will help you focus your efforts on those channels.

Price: Google Analytics is free to use. You just need to add a tracking code to your website.

31. MonsterInsights

MonsterInsights is a plugin that helps make Google Analytics even more powerful. It’s a match made in blogging heaven.

A favorite feature of MonsterInsights is the Google Analytics dashboard. Instead of navigating away from WordPress, you can view all that data right in your admin dashboard. You’ll also be able to see what’s happening on your blog in real-time.

Price: MonsterInsights plans begin at $99.50 per year. There’s no free trial, but there is a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Marketing Your Blog

Having the best content on the web won’t do you any good if no one knows it exists. Fortunately, you can get your blog in front of more people with these tools.

32. OptinMonster

As a blogger, convincing readers to sign up for your email newsletter is critical. OptinMonster can help you create opt-in campaigns that turn casual readers into devoted fans.

If your opt-in isn’t user-friendly, it’s unlikely to convert. OptinMonster gives you powerful targeting options, such as device-based targeting. This ensures that mobile users only see campaigns that are optimized for their devices.

Price: OptinMonster’s basic plan will cost you $9 per month.

33. Hunter

Guest posting is a tried-and-true link building technique for bloggers. Crafting a strong pitch is hard enough, but sometimes the most challenging part is finding the right email to send it to.

To make things easier, you can simply enter a domain name into Hunter’s search box, and the tool returns every email address it can find for that company. You can use this to see a particular individual’s email or search for a role, such as “submissions@” or “editorial@”.

Price: You can perform 50 free searches per month. Paid plans start at $34 per month.

34. NinjaOutreach

Partnering with an influencer can increase your blog’s audience. NinjaOutreach enables you to filter through lots of influencers in your niche, so you can find the right one.

Whether you’re targeting Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, or YouTube, NinjaOutreach has you covered with its extensive database of influencers. You can even find other bloggers who may be interested in collaboration.

Price: NinjaOutreach offers a 7-day free trial. A monthly plan starts at $119.

35. Mailchimp

There’s more to email marketing than sending out a blast whenever you publish a new post. Mailchimp helps you organize your list and send out updates on time.

No one wants to read ugly emails, but thanks to Mailchimp’s drag-and-drop builder, you can make customizations and even add images and videos. Then, real-time analytics lets you monitor how effective your campaigns are.

Price: Mailchimp offers a generous free plan to get you started. You can get an upgraded email-only plan for $9.99 per month.

36. Teachable

Sharing your knowledge is an effective way of establishing yourself as an expert in your blogging niche. Unfortunately, setting up an online course can be a challenge.

Teachable is a complete solution for building and running an online course. You can make your lessons extra special by taking advantage of Teachable’s live features. For example, you can schedule one-on-one sessions with your students to check in on progress and answer questions.

Price: Teachable’s Basic plan comes with everything you need to create your first course, and costs $29 per month.

11 Blogging Tools We Use on the DreamHost Blog

While all of the blogging tools on this list are excellent, we have some favorites we use for the DreamHost blog itself. Here’s some extra love for the solutions that make our job so much easier:

Google Docs: When it comes to collaboration, you can’t beat Google Docs.
Grammarly: Even the most seasoned writers miss an Oxford comma from time to time.
Language Tool: This is a useful grammar checker if you need support in languages other than English. We use it for our Spanish content!
MarketMuse: If you love the content on our blog, we have to give some credit to MarketMuse.
WordPress: Like so much of the internet, we love how easy WordPress is to use. It really is our favorite blogging tool!
DreamPress Hosting: Not to toot our own horn, but we’re really good at this hosting thing.
OptinMonster: No one wants to annoy their blog visitors with unwanted opt-ins, and we’re no exception.
Yoast SEO: We’re proud of what we publish, and Yoast SEO helps ensure that our blog content gets seen by plenty of visitors.
CoSchedule: Keeping track of when and where we’ve published our content is much easier thanks to CoSchedule.
Canva: The one-click resize option for various social media channels is a gift.
Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to be sure we’re giving you more of what you want.

If you’re not sure where to begin, the above tools should start you off on the right foot.

Ready to Launch Your WordPress Blog?

Whether you need help choosing a blogging platform, understanding affiliate marketing, or picking a WordPress theme, we can help! Subscribe to our monthly digest so you never miss an article.

Sign Me Up

What’s Your Next Blogging Tool?

Handling a blog on your own is a difficult task. Taking advantage of a few of the many blogging tools available can give you back some valuable time.

Today, we’ve looked at a few reasons why you might want to invest in some blogging tools. If you’re just getting started with your blog, you might try out Google Docs and Grammarly to keep your content organized and polished. If you’re ready to step up your marketing game, Mailchimp can give you the edge you’re looking for.

Ready to put those new blogging tools to work? It may be a smart time to upgrade your hosting service, to prepare for all the new traffic you’ll be getting. Check out our managed WordPress hosting plans!

The post 36 Brilliant Blogging Tools to Help You Write Better, Publish More, and Increase Traffic appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.

Article Source : www.dreamhost.com/blog/blog...

Want to create own pages and collaborate?