What are the best Google Chrome extensions for marketers?
Google Chrome is my browser of choice and I’m sure many of you have the same preference. Actually, scrap that, I know the majority of you use Chrome.
A quick search on Stat Counter shows that Google Chrome controls a whopping 63.59% of the browser market and 66.47% when we filter those results to Desktop only…
…and those percentages are rising month on month.
If you aren’t already a Google Chrome user, I urge you to switch over ASAP. The internet browser standard-bearer is:
- Super-fast
- Blocks (dodgy) ads and pop-ups
- Integrates Google accounts
- Fully mobile integrated
- Incredibly secure (with tons of security features)
- The most user-friendly browser (in my opinion)
Those reasons are easily enough for anybody to switch to Chrome, but just in case they aren’t, I’ve held back my joker until now…
…Google Chrome has a feature called Chrome Extensions and they are a must-have for marketers, entrepreneurs and anybody serious about digital.
BTW: Did you know that people who use Google Chrome or Firefox show more use of initiative (and have a greater chance of success) because they’re willing to test alternatives to the pre-installed options of Safari (Mac) and Internet Explorer (Windows)? Think about it!
These Google Chrome extensions will save you time, complement your browsing experience and optimise your digital marketing performance…
…and better yet, they’re all FREE, effectively replacing tools that you’d normally have to pay to use.
In this post, I’ve rounded up the must-have Google Chrome Extensions for anybody who’s new to the browser, is paying over-the-odds for tools or is hoping to level-up their marketing game.
Trust me, these extensions will completely transform your internet experience.
Must-Have Chrome Extensions
#1: Vidyard
As far as screen and video recording software goes, Vidyard is right up there (especially compared to other FREE alternatives).
This chrome extension is incredibly easy to use and offers a range of video recording options that you’ll recognise (from other content creators) immediately.
Video is booming and it will continue to grow, Wyzowl reports that 79% of consumers prefer to watch a video than read about a product and that 91% of consumers have watched an explainer video.
Vidyard offers a simple (but brilliant) way of incorporating video into your content, at any point in the user/customer journey.Click To TweetIf you have a software product, use Vidyard to display the inner workings, dashboard and your seriously cool statistics. Other content creators might use this Google Chrome extension for explainer videos, tutorials, social content and lessons.
Vidyard offers limitless options for marketers, entrepreneurs and businesses, in an age where video has never been more important.
When it’s installed, click on the Vidyard icon on the top right of your Google Chrome browser and you’ll be presented with your preferred recording method:
- Screen + Cam: This option records you in the bottom left hand corner, alongside a choice of your browser window, or your entire screen (with or without audio).
- Screen only: A choice of your browser or entire screen (with or without audio)
- Cam Only: Just you (with or without audio)
When the video is finished, you’ll be taken to a page where you can share the video (via an embedded link).
#2: Checkbot
If you own a website, this Google Chrome extension is going to help track your:
- Website load speed
- SEO
- Security
Checkbot is an ‘SEO, Web Speed & Security Tester’ Google Chrome extension.
Yes, I’m sure many of you already use similar tools for the individual tasks that Checkbot performs, but you probably don’t have all the answer in the same place and you definitely can’t get the results as fast.
Checkbot creates a report for your website, broken down into 3 sections (listed above). Each report lists a ton of metrics with a % score beside it. Anything less than 100% (displayed by a green tick) is a point that you should try to improve upon.
For instance, if my site is particularly slow, I can use Checkbot to find out what on-site factors are slowing it down.
As with all the Google Chrome extensions on this list, it’s effortlessly simple to use. Hit the Checkbot icon (when you’re on a website that you’d like to test) and it will open a new tab. Hit ‘Enter’ and after Checkbot has generated the report, it’ll appear on the screen.
#3: Alexa Traffic Rank
Alexa’s traffic rank score is one of the key metrics I use when analysing a website, so it’s only natural for me to have it as an extension.
For anybody out there who’s new to Alexa’s traffic rank, it’s a website ranking tool that lists every site (ever created), in an order from 1 (being the best), all the way up to 20 million+.
As your website grows and develops an audience, your rank will climb.
From the birth of the Einstein Marketer site, I’ve performed a monthly check on our Alexa Ranking. You should use this tool to do the same. Run an Alexa check on your main competitors and create a target figure.
BTW: Be aware that your rank will not suddenly drop overnight. Traffic is measured over a 3 month period.
Alexa rank is not just a great tool for checking your own website, it’s also a great way of analysing everybody else. I regularly use this tool to check out the websites of anybody who gets in touch with us, including clients, competitors and guest authors.
#4: Keywords Everywhere
Keywords Everywhere is a super-valuable keyword research tool that plugs straight into a host of different search engines.
Until recently, every Keywords Everywhere feature was available for free – this changed in 2020, when the free search volume feature became a pay-as-you-use feature.
Keywords Everywhere main strength as a Google Chrome Extension is that it shares how many times a keyword is searched on search engines like Google, without having to leave the search engine.
As an extension, it plugs into Google and reveals the results on the Google SERPs.
In addition to volume, Keywords Everywhere also reveals how competitive the keyword is and how much advertisers are spending to rank for that particular term – helping to inform keyword strategy.
This information gives content marketer’s some valuable insights into the most valuable (and likely) keywords to aim for.
And, if that wasn’t enough, the Google Chrome Extension also reveals the ‘Trend Data’ a ‘People Also Searched For’ and ‘Long-Tail Keywords’ for every search query made on Google.
#5: Awesome Screenshot
Awesome Screenshot is an amazing Google Chrome extension for creating engaging visual content.
(As you may you have noticed) I love using screenshots to visually explain an idea, clearly demonstrate a key step or showcase the importance of a digital tool…
…Awesome Screenshot allows me to do all those things in the click of a few buttons.
This chrome extension is a FREEMIUM product, meaning that there’s a ton of useful FREE tools and a few add-ons that can be unlocked if you pay.
I use the FREE version because it contains everything I need, including:
- Highlighter
- Arrow
- Text
- Shapes
- Blurring tool
- Crop
These tools are all that’s needed to visually explain a screenshot. Check out a few of my other posts in The Complete Guide to Creating Winning Facebook Ads (from start to finish), to see how I use them.
#6: Grammarly
One of the most installed Google Chrome Extensions, Grammarly is a great tool for anybody who writes (in other words, everybody!).
Grammarly is a versatile grammar and spell checker, that comes with suggestions for improving the readability of text. It automatically plugs into the Google Chrome browser, making it the perfect way to avoid mistakes in emails, social media and online content.
This extension is a freemium product too, with a wide range of add-ons in their premium packages.
I use the FREE version because it has all I need, including grammar, spelling and punctuation error checks (typos happen to the best of us!).
I’d recommend this tool to everybody, no matter where you are on the writing-work-load spectrum.
#7: ColorZilla
If you’re a marketer, content creator or entrepreneur who wears many hats, you’ve probably found yourself having to design something – usually for social media – at the last minute.
BTW: Make your social media marketing life easy in our Social Media Content Creator guide, or find out more about a repurposing social media content service that does the hard work for you.
Colourzilla is a very simple Google Chrome Extension that does an incredibly helpful job – it picks the colour code from anything inside your browser and copies it.
This means that you can find the exact colour for logos, backgrounds, designs and social media posts, and instantly paste it into your design program.
By using this Google Chrome extension, you can always stay on brand without any guesswork.
#8: SimilarWeb
SimilarWeb call themselves ‘…the measure of the digital world’ and they aren’t too far away with that bold claim.
The SimilarWeb chrome extension acts like a lite version of their website-based traffic analysis tool.
SimilarWeb’s analysis measures the traffic scores and sources of more than 80 million websites worldwide and makes the information available to everyone.
Their Google Chrome Extension will work on (almost) any website, highlighting the percentage of visitors from the biggest traffic sources, including:
- Direct
- Referrals
- Search
- Social
- Display
Click on the SimilarWeb icon on your browser (after it has been installed), while browsing the web, and the results will be revealed.
The results, when used on a direct competitor, can help marketers discover new traffic sources and increase their opportunities online.
SimilarWeb is a must for anybody serious about digital marketing. If you want to find out how you can analyse and steal traffic from your competitors’ websites, check out our SimilarWeb guide.
#9: VidIQ
If YouTube is your thing, VidIQ’s Google Chrome extension is for you.
When plugged into your browser this extension will automatically reveal a ton of super-valuable data on YouTube videos and the search screen.
YouTube is the second most used search engine in the world (after Google) as well as being the world’s 2nd most visited website.
When you create and publish a video that ranks well on YouTube, you can generate thousands if not millions of views, achieving tons of exposure for yourself or your brand.
VidIQ is one of the only free tools that reveal the video tags and SEO score of every video on YouTube.
VidIQ will show you how many views a video is achieving per hour, its social engagement rate, like ratio, in addition to a video optimisation checklist and a ton of other stats.
A video marketer can use this information to replicate the YouTube SEO tactics of the videos at the top of the rankings and boost the performance of their own posts on YouTube.
#10: Invite Post Likers To Like Page For Facebook
This Google Chrome Extension might be a tongue twister, but Invite post likers to like page for Facebook, is also very important for your Facebook marketing efforts.
This handy Google chrome extension will invite everyone who has liked your Facebook page posts to like (and follow) your Facebook page.
A tool like this is particularly useful for Facebook advertisers who use the Engagement campaign objective.
Every person that likes the content you post on Facebook has proven their interest in your niche – making them a great potential audience member.
Use this Google Chrome extension to turn your Facebook engagement into new page followers.
#11: One Click Extensions Manager
Last but not least on our list, we’ve got One Click Extensions Manager.
Before we get into the uses and advantages of this Google Chrome extension, I need to make something clear…
…it’s only worth installing this tool if you’ve taken on board everything else in the article and installed the 7 other extensions!
One Click Extension Manager organises your chrome extension buttons, so you don’t have a cluttered browser and you’re never hunting for the correct icon.
This awesome tool organises all your extensions into a dropdown menu. All you have to do to turn an extension on is click the appropriate icon.
If you’ve got a ton of different chrome extensions this really is a must-have, Get it here.
Must-Have Chrome Extensions for Marketers: Conclusion
Within this list I’ve detailed 11 must have Google chrome extensions for digital marketing, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any more worth installing. On my Google Chrome Browser (on my work desktop) I’ve got 18 different extensions and I use every last one of them…
…and on my other computers, I’ve got a variety of others.
The 11 in this article have made the cut, but there are plenty more that will revolutionise the way you use your browser.
If there’s anything you think I’ve missed, leave a comment…
Every marketer must be versatile and always stay ahead of the times, by using Google Chrome Extensions, you can do exactly that.
If you enjoyed this article, check out:
- How to Use Instagram Hashtags (and How Not To!)
- How to Get More Traffic: A Back-to-Basics Approach
- A Complete Guide to Facebook Ad Creatives and Copy (Including Free Ad Copy Template!)
