10 Free Online Tools

This month we rounded up some of our favorite online tools for you to play with and put to use in your agency. The best part? They're absolutely free!

1. Mark Your Spot On Google Maps

Make it easy for prospects to find your office by creating a free map customized for your location. Link to it right from your website.
http://www.yourgmap.com/

2. Keep Your Subject Line Looking Sharp…

This tool from EmailLabs shows you how different email clients (like Yahoo!, Outlook, AOL) can botch your carefully crafted subject lines. Only works in Internet Explorer.
http://www.emaillabs.com/resources/from_subject_line_tool_popup.html 

3…And Test It For “Spamminess”

Run your subject lines through this one to get an idea how spam filters will react to your message.
http://www.localnews.biz/SubjectLine/ValidateSubjectLine.asp

4. Dig Up Keywords

This free tool from Google was created to help their paid advertisers research keywords. But you can use it to dig up potential keywords people use to find your services online. https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

5. How Hard Is Your Website Working?

This valuable tool lets you quickly pinpoint how well your website is converting visitors into leads or sales.
http://www.futurenowinc.com/ccrcalculator.htm

6. Create PDFs Without Spending A Bundle

Want to add downloadble PDFs to your site but don't want to shell out for Adobe Acrobat? This handy freeware lets you can create PDF documents from anything that can be printed.
http://www.primopdf.com/

7. Search For Copycats

Want to see if anyone has copied your website's content? Just type in the URL of a page on your site into this handy tool. All guilty parties will show up. Or, if YOU copied content, they'll show up too.
www.copyscape.com

8. Test Your (Page) Strength

Find out how you measure up to the rest of the web. The SEOmoz Page Strength tool gives you a general idea of how “well known” your website is, based on several useful measurements.
http://www.seomoz.org/page-strength/

9. How Hot Is Your Site?

A cool tool with a funny name, CrazyEgg will create “heatmaps” that show you which parts of your homepage are drawing the most clicks. Use it to refine your layout and put your call to action in the “hottest” parts of your page.
http://www.crazyegg.com/

10. Make Feedback Easy

Whip out totally free online surveys with a basic subscription to SurveyMonkey.com. Easy-to-use and absolutely no annoying ads on the surveys you send.
www.surveymonkey.com

These tools are pretty handy, but don't rely on any one all of the time. Use them to supplement your own marketing smarts, not replace them.