Ahead of SearchLove Boston on 3-4 May 2016, we’ve asked our speakers a few questions. If you’re joining us, you’ll find the full Q&A in your booklets at the conference. We noticed that these digital marketing gurus definitely have their fingers on the pulse in terms of services, blogs and email newsletters. So, to help you level up your marketing efforts, we selected 24 of these resources to share with you:
10 of the Most Useful Services You might not Have Heard about
1. BuzzSumo
The popular content marketing service is Larry Kim’s go to service for finding inspiring new content ideas. According to the WordStream Founder and CTO, it’s “hands-down the best way right now to gauge what’s popular in any given topic or niche.”
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Larry Kim is a big BuzzSumo advocate.
For our busy CEO and Co-Founder Will Critchlow, the Buzzfeed News app is the best way to find out about the biggest news stories outside the tech and business bubble, without being dragged down by endless updates and unimportant stories.
3. Headspace
In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, with its constant change and flux, meditation is becoming a popular method of managing the work-life balance and all the stress and pressure that comes with this. Headspace, a popular meditation app, is Mack Fogelson’s service of choice.
4. SERP Snippet
Chosen by Mary Bowling, the Google SERP Snippet Optimization Tool by SEO Mofo is a handy tool to predict how your web page will look in Google’s search result. You can then use this to optimise your SERP snippet for better click through rates.
5. Wistia
Many of you will be well acquainted, but for those not in the know, Wistia is a powerful video hosting service, which allows businesses to fully secure and personalise their videos, and gain useful insight from in-depth analytics. Greg Gifford gives them a deserved shout out.
6. Pitchbox
According to Mike King of iPullRank, Pitchbox is “one of the best tools for scaling and measuring outreach”. The service helps you find targeted opportunities for your outreach, while handling a lot of the ‘grunt’ work that often goes along with this process.
7. Nuzzel
Nuzzel is Rand Fishkin’s pick for a service you might not use yet. According to the Wizard of Moz “It connects to my social accounts and shows me the links that folks in my network have been sharing, which makes my reading and understanding of our industry’s zeitgeist dramatically faster and more comprehensive.”
8. Conspire
We’re going back to 2015, for another of the services that Rand thinks deserves more attention. The service helps you to find the best method of introduction to anyone you want to meet.
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Nuzzel and Conspire are two of Rand Fishkin's picks for underappreciated services.
9. Calendly
Time management and organisation are two must-haves for digital marketers, but saying is a lot easier than doing. Will Critchlow recommends using Calendly to help you organise your calendar (and time) most effectively.
10. Customer
A recommendation from SearchLove Emcee Rob Ousbey, Customer allows for highly segmented email campaigns and triggered messaging. As Rob puts it, “it has found a great sweet spot between being simple to use and having enough features to be powerful.”
9 of the Best Blogs for Your RSS Feed
11. LunaMetrics
LunaMetrics is a Google Analytics Certified Partner with consulting speciality in analytics and data science. Simo Ahava recommends taking a look at their blog where they share their useful insights and guides.
12. Conversion XL
As the name suggests, ConversionXL specialises in conversion optimisation. Another of Simo Ahava’s suggestions, its blog is one of the most respected conversion resources available.
13. Wait but Why
It’s hard to describe exactly what Wait but Why’s (WBW) niche is, but our CEO and Founder Will Critchlow was certainly right to recommend it. WBW does long form content very well, tackling all kinds subjects, from Tesla to the AI revolution.
AJ Kohn’s SEO agency is perhaps best known for its eponymous blog, and Paul Shapiro is one of many SearchLove speakers to have spread the word about Blind Five Year Old over the years. It’s a shoe-in for your RSS feed.
15. Optimize Smart
Another of Paul Shapiro’s list of must-read blogs, Optimize Smart is another consultancy with a top-notch blog. Their list of guides and resources is a Technical SEO haven.
16. PR Week
Moving away from SEO, Distilled’s PR Consultant Britt Klontz recommends reading PR Week. PR Week is undoubtedly one of the most complete resources for PR, with everything from articles to in-depth reads.
17. Simo Ahava
Things get a bit meta here, as one SearchLove speaker (Paul Shapiro recommends another’s (Simo Ahava) blog. With Simo's analytics knowledge, it’s unsurprising to find high-level and cutting-edge analytics resources on his blog.
18. SEO Skeptic
One more blog suggestion from Paul Shapiro. Inject a dose of skepticism into your SEO with this popular blog, which values critical thinking and a questioning attitude as highly as SEO advice.
19. Adweek AdFreak
Charting the best and worst of new adverts, Adweek ‘s AdFreak is a great way to learn about some very successful campaigns, as well as kill some time with videos like this (sorry, hipsters)
5 of the Best Email Newsletters
20. Stratechery
It’s a bold move for an email newsletter to charge a $10 monthly subscription fee, but Stratechery has a loyal following, including our CEO Will Critchlow. Author Ben Thompson provides in-depth analysis of the day’s news and events.
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Distilled CEO and Co-Founder Will Critchlow recommends paying the $10 monthly subscription to stratechery.
21. Quora
A rare email newsletter that’s both insightful and a great way to kill time, Quora is Chris Dayley’s go to email newsletter. “It really tickles the part of my brain that endlessly craves useless trivia” says the Dayley Conversion Founder,
22. First Round
First Round’s email newsletter curates some of it’s best blog content, from insights on how CEOs and founders manage all kinds of challenges, to advice for budding entrepreneurs. Its Mack Fogelson’s pick for your inbox.
Rae Hoffman of Sugarrae has an enviable community base of 48000 marketers. Her 14-year career in SEO and affiliate marketing has given her many industry admirers, including Greg Gifford, who advises you to sign up for her email newsletter.
The author of the successful Growth Engines book, Morgan Brown knows a thing or two about growth strategies for startups and small businesses. Paul Shapiro also recommends subscribing to his newsletter for daily tips and hacks.
Are you coming to SearchLove Boston?
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You can also see the full speaker lineup for SearchLove Boston
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What’s your take?
Do you use any of the above services or blogs, or have you had any suggestions from past SearchLove speakers that have become part of your marketing toolbox? Let us know in the comments section below, or get involved on twitter.