SEM Tools of the Experts

[AussieWebmaster]

I asked a bunch of the best and brightest in our industry what five SEM tools they would use if limited to just them. The answers are good.

Let me know what you would use... try and give reasons

[Mel66]

I'm with Amanda.

Excel: while somewhat old-school, it performs so many tasks with ease that it's still irreplaceable. I can create and upload new campaigns in minutes using Excel.

Google's keyword tool: KW Discovery, WordTracker, and others are good too, but I can get almost everything I need from Google's tool.

A good analytics program: Have used several (NetTracker, WebTrends, ClickTracks, Atlas, Google Analytics, proprietary stuff) and they all have pros and cons, but if you set any one of them up properly, the data you get is invaluable.

The search engines themselves: best research tool for what's actually going on, and to see what the engines are testing. I love what Google's doing with Local results right now, and you can't get a feel for that without going to Google and looking for yourself.

My own brain: There's no substitute for experience and gut feel. Tools can only do so much, and then a human has to interpret all that data and make decisions based on it.

Oh, and a sixth one: The great SEM community here at SEW and elsewhere on the web, as well as at conferences. It feels like we have a lot of super-smart experts all working toward the same goal.

Great post Frank, lots of good stuff!

Melissa

[AussieWebmaster]

Thanks Mel
... thought it gave some insight and some suggestions

[an52]

1. Google Analytics - great bang for (no) buck.
2. IBP Business - handy all-purpose tool
3. Firefox Developer Toolbar - analyse pages and too many features to mention
4. SEOpen extension for Firefox - Highlight nofollows, rank toolbars
5. YSlow/Firebug for Firefox - Identify slow elements of web pages

[AussieWebmaster]

Originally Posted by an52

1. Google Analytics - great bang for (no) buck.
2. IBP Business - handy all-purpose tool
3. Firefox Developer Toolbar - analyse pages and too many features to mention
4. SEOpen extension for Firefox - Highlight nofollows, rank toolbars
5. YSlow/Firebug for Firefox - Identify slow elements of web pages

Seems GA is getting popular but offers no where near what the paid tools include.

[an52]

Correction - I meant Searchstatus for nofollows, not SEOpen, which I also use for doing mass checks of backlinks/indexed.

Yes, GA is fine for its price, but G wants people to get the high-end version with the help of its analytics partners. At work we use Omniture.