There are so many content marketing tools out there that it can take time to know which ones to use. And once you do find a tool or two, it can be tough to keep up with all the new features and updates.
It gets even more complicated when you are on a budget, especially if you are just starting as a content marketer or running a small business. Subscriptions for content marketing tools can add up quickly and cut into your budget.
We have done the research and here are the best free content marketing tools out there to help you save time and improve your content strategy. These tools have got you covered, from keyword research to social media scheduling.
We have grouped these tools into nine categories: research, SEO, creation, curation, graphics design, organization, publishing, analytics/content tracking, and promotion to make it even easier for you to find the perfect tool for your needs.
Let’s dive in!
Tools for Generating Ideas and Keyword Research
1. WordStream Free Keyword Tool
The WordStream Free Keyword Tool is a quick and easy way to find the right keywords for your content. All you need to do is to enter a word or phrase into the tool and get results in seconds. You can use the keyword tool to find new ideas for blog posts, articles, and other types of content.
Aside from being completely free, what makes WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool a must-have for content marketers is that it provides keyword suggestions based on the words you have entered. This means you can quickly find related terms and save time from researching them manually.
2. Answer the Public
This tool generates questions about your chosen keyword, giving you ideas for FAQs or blog post titles. This tool will be useful for creating content that directly speaks to your audience’s needs and interests.
The program is owned by Neil Patel Digital, which offers a Pro version with additional features for $99/month. You can enjoy the free version with up to five hundred thousand searches monthly!
3. Google Trends
Google Trends shows how often particular terms are searched for on the internet. This can be useful for understanding what topics resonate with people at any given time, allowing you to adjust your content strategy accordingly and boost your digital marketing.
Google Trends is completely free to use, meaning you can save money on other content marketing tools.
4. Portent’s Content Idea Generator
This fun tool generates content ideas based on the keyword you input. Simply enter a keyword, and the program will generate a title for a blog post, article, or even an infographic.
The idea generator is free, but Portent offers a range of content marketing tools starting at $49/month.
Content Marketing Tools for SEO
5. Uber Suggest
Uber Suggest is a free keyword research tool created by Neil Patel. This program will generate hundreds of keywords related to your topic based on searches, helping you find the most popular phrases used in your industry.
On Uber Suggest, you can also access keyword difficulty to ensure you target keywords with enough search volume but not too much competition.
6. Yoast SEO
This plugin is a staple for WordPress users, and it’s free! Yoast SEO helps you optimize your content for the most popular search engine optimization strategies. It also offers an analysis of your content, letting you know what you need to do to make it more SEO-friendly or perform better on search engines.
With over five million installations, Yoast SEO is the go-to SEO tool for anyone looking to improve their website’s visibility in search results.
7. Ahrefs
This program is renowned for its keyword research capabilities, but it also offers other SEO features like backlink analysis and website audits.
Ahrefs has a free version with limited features, but you can upgrade to the paid plan for more advanced tools starting with as low as $20/month.
What distinguishes Ahrefs from other SEO tools is its extensive keyword database, which helps you find the best keywords for your content strategy.
8. Backlinko
This website is run by Brian Dean, an SEO expert who offers comprehensive advice on all things related to search engine optimization. He shares his knowledge through blog posts and videos, which are free to access.
While Backlinko doesn’t offer any tools itself, the information provided can help you understand how to optimize your content for better search engine rankings.
9. Screaming Frog
Don’t think frogs can help with content marketing? Think again! This program is a must-have for any SEO strategy – it crawls your website to identify technical issues and provides useful data like broken links, duplicate content, keyword information, missing meta tags, and more.
The basic version is free, but if you want access to all the features, you’ll have to sign up for the paid plan at $209/year.
Writing and Editing Tools (Content Creation)
10. Hemingway App
Hemingway has acquired a fine reputation as one of the best content-creation tools. This tool helps make your writing clear, concise, and easy to read by highlighting unnecessary adverbs, complex phrases, and passive voice.
It also gives a readability score to ensure your content is accessible to all audiences. The app uses colors to highlight problem areas and has a desktop version available for purchase at a one time payment of $19.99.
11. Grammarly
Grammarly goes beyond your basic spell checker to catch grammar mistakes and spelling errors while offering suggestions for alternative word choices and sentence structure.
The free version is available as a browser extension and can be used on various platforms, including Microsoft Word. They also offer a premium version with advanced features for $11.66/month.
12. Google Docs
This free word-processing software from Google has many of the same features as Microsoft Word and is accessible from any internet-connected device.
Google Docs also makes it easy to collaborate with others in real time, which is perfect for content creation.
The many free add-ons available to enhance productivity, including extensions for grammar checks and mind mapping, make Google Docs ideal for a content marketer on a budget.
Curation and Sharing Tools
13. Scoop.it
Another critical aspect of content marketing is content curation. Scoop.it is a free tool that allows you to find and share relevant content with your audience easily.
With Scoop.it, you can search for content by keyword, topic, or URL. You can also create custom content boards to organize and share your favorite pieces of content.
14. Pocket
Pocket is an excellent solution if you constantly bookmark articles and videos to read or watch later. This app allows you to “pocket” articles, videos, and other types of content from the web or any other app and access it later from your Pocket list.
It also has a built-in search function to find what you’re looking for easily and even tag items for easy organization. The basic Pocket app is free, with a premium version available for $5/month that gives you access to features like Permanent Library and suggested tags.
15. Feedly
Think of Feedly as your personalized news site, where you can add blogs and websites to create a custom content feed. This is a great way to keep up with the latest industry news or find new content ideas, as you can follow any topics that interest you.
Feedly also has a paid Pro version starting at $8/month, offering premium features like integration with Evernote and Pocket.
16. ShareIt
ShareIt is an app that allows you to share files between devices without needing a USB cable or cloud storage.
This is perfect for content marketers who often work on the go, as you can easily transfer files between your laptop, tablet, and smartphone. The app is available for free on Android, iOS, and Windows devices.
17. UpContent
UpContent helps you curate content from over 20 million sources based on your specific keywords. You can also save articles, videos, and other types of content for offline viewing, and the app will even suggest new content based on your interests.
The basic UpContent plan is free, with paid plans starting at $15/month that offer additional features like content recommendations and unlimited saved articles.
Graphic Designs Tools
18. Canva
For a content marketer, graphics are essential for creating shareable and interactive content on social media and developing marketing materials like infographics and eBooks.
Canva is a user-friendly graphic design tool that offers templates for all types of designs, which you can customize with your images and branding.
What makes Canva especially valuable for content marketers is that they offer a wide range of free templates and images, with premium options starting at $12.99/month.
19. Pablo
Pablo is a free image creation tool from Buffer that’s perfect for creating social media-friendly images in just a few clicks. You can choose from a library of built-in images and fonts, or upload your own, and Pablo will even optimize your images for the social media channels you’re using.
20. Snappa
Snappa is another graphic design tool that offers templates for various designs, from social media images to infographics.
What sets Snappa apart from other tools is that it offers a library of high-quality, free stock photos that you can use in your designs. You can also save your designs as templates to use again in the future.
Tools for Staying Organized
21. Trello
Stay organized with Trello, a project management tool that allows you to organize your content marketing projects flexibly and visually.
You can create boards for each stage of the content marketing process, from ideation to publication, and add cards for each piece of content.
You can also assign tasks to team members and set due dates, making Trello a great collaboration tool. Trello is free to use but has additional features on paid plans starting with the Standard plan at $5/month.
22. Google Drive
Google Drive is a cloud storage service that offers free storage for up to 15GB. It allows you to store your content files online and access them from any device. Google Drive also offers powerful collaboration features so that you can work on projects with team members in real-time.
23. CoSchedule
CoSchedule is a WordPress plugin that helps you plan, publish, and optimize your content. With CoSchedule, you can plan your content calendar, track your progress, and measure your results.
Additionally, CoSchedule offers features like social media scheduling and content Brief, making it a comprehensive tool for content marketers.
Publishing Tools
24. WordPress
WordPress is one of the most popular Content Management System (CMS) options, powering over 43% of all websites on the internet, according to w3techs.
The success that this CMS has enjoyed is due to its user-friendly interface, wide range of themes and plugins, and flexibility.
WordPress’s simplicity is such that you can create a professional-looking website or blog without coding knowledge. WordPress is free to use, but you’ll need to pay for hosting and a domain name.
25. Medium
Medium is a social publishing platform that allows anyone to share their ideas and stories. Medium is especially popular with content marketers because it’s a great way to build an audience and drive traffic to your website or blog. With Medium, you can also share your content on social media accounts, making it a powerful tool for distribution.
26. Quora
This is an excellent platform for content distribution because you can share your expertise and build an audience at the same time. You can also use Quora to find ideas for new content, by searching for questions that people are asking in your industry.
Quora is particularly famous for its Q&A format, which makes it an excellent resource for content research.
Analytics and Content Tracking Tools
27. Google Analytics
Have you ever wondered how people find your website? Or how much traffic your website gets? Google Analytics is a free tool that answers these questions and more. Google Analytics is a free web analytics service that allows you to track your website traffic.
This tool makes it possible to see how people find your website, what they’re doing on it, and where they’re coming from. This information can be invaluable for understanding your audience and improving your content marketing strategy.
28. Google Webmaster Tools
Google Webmaster Tools is a free service that allows you to monitor your website’s performance in Google Search. Some of the functionalities that Google Webmaster Tools offers include keyword research, site map submission, and robots.txt file editing.
This tool can help you understand how your website is performing in search results and for improving your SEO strategy.
29. Open Web Analytics
A free and open source web analytics framework, Open Web Analytics allows you to collect, store, and analyze data about your website traffic. Open Web Analytics can track multiple websites, so it’s a great tool for agencies or consultants who manage multiple clients.
Open Web Analytics offers a wide range of features, including content analysis, conversion tracking, and heat maps.
30. Clicky
Clicky is a web analytics platform that offers real-time data reporting. What Clicky offers that other web analytics tools don’t is the ability to track individual visitors. This means you can see what each visitor does on your website, which can help understand user behavior. Clicky also offers a range of features, including heatmaps, cross-device tracking, and content analysis.
31. SEMRush
SEMRush is a tool that offers both free and paid features for tracking your website’s performance. With SEMRush, you can track your website’s traffic, SEO, and social media metrics.
You can also use SEMRush to spy on your competitor’s websites and see what’s working for them. This information can help you understand your industry landscape and improve your content marketing strategy. SEMRush offers free trial plans for all their features, so you can test out the tool before committing to a paid plan.
32. Followerwonk
Talk about a powerful free content marketing tool! Followerwonk is a Twitter analytics platform that allows you to analyze Twitter users and compare different accounts. For content marketers who use Twitter, this is invaluable for understanding your target audience and finding influencers to collaborate with. Followerwonk allows you to search Twitter bios, compare accounts, and track engagement metrics.
Content Promotion Tools
33. Missinglettr
Missinglettr is a content promotion tool that helps you create automated promotional campaigns for your blog posts. When you connect Missinglettr to your blog, it will automatically generate a social media campaign for each post. This can help ensure that your content gets the visibility it deserves. There is a free version of Missinglettr and a paid version with more features for $19/month.
34. Taboola
Taboola is a content discovery platform that helps publishers promote their articles to new audiences. It works by showing your articles as “recommended content” on other websites and can be a great way to get your content seen by new people.
If you have a website with good traffic, you can also sign up to be a Taboola publisher and make money by showing other people’s content on your site.
35. Outbrain
Outbrain was founded by Co-Founder and Co-CEO Yaron Galai and Co-Founder, Chief Technology Officer, and General Manager, Ori Lahav in 2006. It is a web recommendation engine that helps you promote your content by showing it to new audiences.
Outbrain works with various major brands and media companies and can be a great way to get your content in front of more people.
Conclusion
At your disposal now is an arsenal of the best free content marketing tools out there which would be helpful in your content marketing efforts. Whether you need to track your website’s performance, analyze Twitter accounts, or promote your content to new audiences, these tools can help you achieve your goals.
With so many powerful and user-friendly options available for free, there’s no excuse not to start using them today.
But never forget that the sword doesn’t make the hero, only the right strategy and implementation do. Tap into these tools, develop your content marketing plan or social media calendar, execute them and watch your success grow!
