Must-Have Google Chrome Extensions for Marketing

With more than 70% of Desktop market share, Google Chrome is the most popular browser in the world. The good news is that this browser comes with a wide range of digital marketing extensions that are designed enhance the productivity, efficiency and the overall user experience.  

However, with the numerous Chrome extensions out there, finding the best ones for digital marketing can be a time-consuming. This article covers 20 extensions that will greatly improve the efficacy and speed of your marketing tasks:

Soapbox

Developed by Wistia, this is a great extension for creating tutorial and how-to videos. You can capture your webcam and screen simultaneously to create professional-looking demos, presentations and pitches. You can then switch between the split-screen and full-screen view when editing the video. 

Once you have created your videos using Soapbox, they are immediately ready to share. There is no need to process, export, upload or download. And you don’t need any special training or fancy equipment to get started. All you need to do is hit the record button to create amazing videos. 

Soapbox comes with a free plan, solo plan and team plan. With the free plan, you can:

• Customize your player color
• Create and share unlimited videos
• Add a link at the end of your video
• Create a custom thumbnail
• Paste your videos into an email
• Edit videos even after sharing
• Use Wistia to check in-depth video analytics

Grammarly

Written communication is a very important element of any marketing campaign.

Grammarly ensures that your documents, messages and social media posts are impactful, mistake-free and clear. Adding this extension to Google Chrome means that your grammar and spelling will be vetted on Tumblr, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Gmail and almost everywhere else you write on the internet. Once you sign up, you will begin receiving emails every week with personalized performance stats and insights. 

Grammarly’s contextual spelling checker identifies words spelt correctly but used in the wrong context. This means that you don’t have to worry about mixing up homophobes such as weak/week, lie/lay, lose/loose, affect/effect and their/they’re. The grammar checker helps you fix a wide range of grammatical errors, including article use, subject-verb agreement and modifier placement.         

If you want to take your writing to the next level, you could consider signing up for Grammarly Premium. This premium version comes with:

• Ability to check for many other types of errors
• Vocabulary enhancement suggestions
• Suggestions for different writing styles
• Plagiarism detection and citation suggestions   

Buzzstream Buzzmarker

Buzzstream Buzzmarker is a great extension for prospecting and conducting outreach. To use this extension, create an account at BuzzStream.com and start a 14-day trial. 

BuzzMarker, you can:

• Add people, links and websites to BuzzStream, write notes and extract contact details – without leaving the site or blog you are visiting. You can even send out bulk or individual email from the outreach CRM  
• See your team’s relationship and history with web publishers and influencers in one click
• Identify and vet placement opportunities using prospecting tools such as the Navigator and List Highlighter

TubeBuddy

TubeBuddy is a must-have optimization tool for YouTube creators. This extension provides comprehensive analytics of YouTube videos, showing the view counts, tags and the best practices a video abides by. Anytime you upload a video, the extension offers suggested optimizations and tags that will help maximize the reach of your content.   

With just a few clicks, you can add cards or annotations to all your videos. TubeBuddy also comes with Find/Replace functionality which is common with word processors. Using text/branding layers and screenshots, you can create professional custom thumbnails. 

Ghostery

Ghostery is a powerful extension that primarily blocks ads and trackers. The built-in ad blocker eliminates ads from a webpage so that you can focus on relevant content. You can view and block trackers on sites you visit to control who harvests your information. The smart blocking feature also optimized page performance by speeding up the loading time. 

Ghostery also comes with an optional rewards feature that provides high value offers as users browse and make purchases. The rewards can be turned on or off at any time using the extension.

MozBar

MozBar is an all-in-one SEO toolbar that digital marketers would find very useful. With this extension, you can:

• Create custom searches by city, region, country or engine
• Quickly evaluate the Domain Authority and Page Authority of any page or site
• Identify and highlight keywords on a page
• Differentiate links by type; external, internal, followed or no-followed
• Expose HTTP status, markup, general attributes and page elements
• Export your SERP analysis results to a CSV file

With a MozPro subscription, you will unlock premium features such as keyword difficulty, page optimization and deeper SERP analysis.

SEOquake

SEOquake is a free extension that marketers can use to spy on the competition and derive useful insights. You can:

• Review all major metrics with a click
• Estimate keyword difficulty instantly
• Run a full SEO audit of a page
• Get a full report on external/internal links
• Compare URLs
• Check social statistics for Facebook

SEOquake is user-friendly and compatible with a wide range of browser extensions. 

Page analytics (by Google)

This Chrome extension will show you how customers and prospects engage with your web pages.  You will see metrics such as page views, average time on page, unique page views, bounce rate and the number of active visitors in real time. These insights will give you ideas for improving your site layout, enhancing user experience and thus boosting conversions. You can also use segmentation and date comparison tools directly in the extension. 

LinkedIn Sales Navigator (for Gmail)

Formerly known as Rapportive, LinkedIn Sales Navigator allows you to build a good rapport by providing LinkedIn insights about your customers without even leaving your Gmail inbox. This way, you can use icebreakers such as shared interests, experiences and connections to build a strong relationship with your contacts

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is available in a ‘Lite’ version for free LinkedIn members and a ‘Premium’ version for paid subscribers. The premium version allows you to save contacts in your Sales Navigator account and use TeamLink to find out if potential customers are connected to your business associates. 

Buffer

If you are looking for an effective way to manage your social media accounts, Buffer is the extension you need. With just one click, this tool allows you to share great content on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter from anywhere on the internet. In addition, you can schedule posts, collaborate with your team and analyze performance – all in one place. 

The good news is that Buffer can work with multiple Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. All you need to do is create an account at buffer.com and click ‘Add a social account’.    

Tag Assistant

This extension helps you check whether you have installed different Google tags properly on your page. All you need to do is navigate to any page and the tool will tell you which tags are present, suggest improvements that can be made and report any errors found. Some of the Google tags checked include Conversion Tracking, Adwords Conversion Tracking, Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. 

Using the Google Tag Assistant Recording, you can record to your site and immediately validate, troubleshoot and diagnose problems with your Google Analytics implementation. 

Keywords Everywhere

This is an SEO keyword research tool that allows you to see useful cost per click data and Google keyword search volume on multiple sites. This extension saves you the trouble of manually copying data from different websites and checking the CPC data and relevant search volume using Google Adwords. 

Keywords Everywhere supports a wide range of sites including Google Analytics, Google Trends, Google search, YouTube, Ebay, Bing, AnswerThePublic, Majestic, Soolve and Moz. Besides having access to keyword metrics, users can also download the list in PDF, CSV and Excel formats.  

Mail Track

Mailtrack is a comprehensive email marketing tool that offers a range of powerful features directly integrated into Gmail. With Mailtrack, you can leverage Campaigns, Mail Merge, and PDF document tracking capabilities to enhance your mass email marketing campaigns. You can efficiently send 10,000 emails simultaneously from your Gmail account at the most optimal timing. You can schedule your campaigns to be sent at specific times and save time, improve accuracy and increase engagement rates.

SimilarWeb

With the click of a button, this extension provides insights into any website’s strategy and statistics. This can be a great way of getting detailed engagement and traffic statistics about your competition. How popular is their site? How many visitors does the site receive? What are their main traffic sources? What is the level of engagement on the site? Where is their audience located?

Such information can come in handy for benchmarking yourself against the competition, as well as evaluating the viability of a co-marketing arrangement.

ColorZilla

With almost 2 million users, ColorZilla is one of the most popular Chrome extensions out there. This tool allows you to pick any color off a website page and then store it for future use. You can even tweak the color and then paste it on Google Draw, Photoshop or any other drawing or design tool. 

Some of its features are:

• An advanced color picker
• The ultimate CSS gradient generator 
• Palette viewer with pre-installed palettes 
• Displayed element information like size, id, class and tag name
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Pick colors from flash objects
• Get colors of dynamic hover elements
• Color history of recently added colors
• Single click to begin color picking 

It should be noted that this Chrome extension does not track your browsing activities on different sites or collect your data. Users are thus assured of privacy when using ColorZilla.

Pushbullet

Pushbullet allows you to:

• Stay connected – You can conveniently send and receive text messages from your laptop or computer. You can reply to messages using a wide range of apps including Facebook Messenger, Kik and WhatsApp. This extension also allows you to easily share files and links with friends, or between devices.
• Never miss a notification – Using Pushbullet Channels, you can easily subscribe to timely notifications for relevant issues. You will be able to view and dismiss all your phone’s notifications on your laptop or computer

Being able to receive phone notifications and send texts on your computer will save you time. It should be noted that the SMS and notifications are protected with end-to-end encryption. 

Pushbullet has been translated by users into more than a dozen languages.  

 Followr

Followr is an amazing extension that helps you grow your Twitter followers through automation. Once you have set up your account and stated your interests, this tool will find and favorite related tweets every 30 seconds. However, unlike other bots, Followr does not engage in excessive spamming. In addition, this Chrome extension will not collect or send your personal information to any host or server.  

LastPass

Do you ever struggle to remember different passwords for your professional and personal online accounts? If so, LastPass is an extension that you must have. This is password manager that saves all your passwords and grants you access from any mobile device or computer.

All you need to do is create a master password, and then save all your passwords and usernames to LastPass. Using the master password, you will be able to access all the other passwords wherever you need them. This extension supports multiple browsers and operating systems.   

Besides storing usernames and passwords, you can use LastPass to:

• Attach audio, images, PDFs, docs and more
• Save any information you need to keep accessible and safe
• Checkout fast by adding shopping profiles and credit cards
• Add, view, delete, edit and organize your sites
• Generate strong passwords to replace weak ones
• Use multifactor authentication to protect your LastPass account 

Sniply

Sniply is an amazing tool that allows you to add your own calls-to-action to any content that you share online. Whether you are sharing content from BBC, Mashable, TechCrunch or CNN, you can promote yourself using custom messages and drive conversions. 

This Chrome extension integrates seamlessly with multiple social media and sharing platforms including Hubspot, LinkedIn, SproutSocial, Facebook, Buffer, Twitter, HootSuite and Post Planner. It comes with a dashboard that shows the number of clicks your link is getting, and the amount of engagement with the embedded content.

You can use Sniply for selling products, promoting blog posts, capturing leads, driving traffic, getting email sign ups, and anything else that needs exposure. This is an ideal extension for marketers, bloggers, event organizers, non-profits, entrepreneurs, and anyone desiring to drive calls-to-action      

Hubspot CRM

Hubspot’s CRM works within your Gmail inbox to help you know when someone opens your email. This free email tracking tool will also show you what they clicked on. As a result, you will be able to uncover leads faster, follow them up and close deals while managing all your connections from a central database. 

This extension can also come in handy in the following ways:

• Keeping communication organized – Hubspot’s CRM automatically records emails, thus reminding you of the last interaction with a prospect
• Creating and sharing email templates – In order to save time, you can repurpose repetitive emails into templates. You can even measure their effectiveness and share the best ones with your team
• Automating outreach – You can schedule a series of personalized emails that get delivered automatically
• Scheduling meetings – With the free meeting scheduler, all you need to do is send a link to your leads and allow them to select a mutually convenient time. This prevents the back and forth of missed calls and emails
• Managing your sales pipeline – Hubspot’s CRM allows you to speed up your sales process and manage your whole pipeline without bulky spreadsheets or tools

Hubspot’s CRM connects seamlessly with software such as PandaDoc, Gmail, Outlook, Zendesk, Proposify, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Freshbooks, Vidyard, Hellosign and Base CRM.

Nimbus Screenshot

Once in a while, you will come across a web page that you would want to save for future reference. Nimbus screenshot is a tool that helps you capture an entire web page, or a particular section of it. It also allows you to edit your screenshots by:

• Resizing and cropping 
• Adding text boxes and graphics
• Adding stickers and arrows
• Blur specific sections to conceal private details
• Add comments 
• Add watermarks (for the premium version)

Screenshots can be saved in PNG and JPG formats, and uploaded on platforms such as Dropbox and Google Drive. 

Besides capturing screenshots, Nimbus also helps you record video from your webcam or screen. You can also:

• Add your own watermark (premium)  
• Customize the video screen frame rate and resolution
• Annotate video with different shapes, including rectangles and arrows
• Convert from WebM to GIF and MP4
• Trim your video (premium)
• Crop your video (premium)
• Record video from another active platform
• Save your video on your disk or Nimbus Note
• Upload videos to Dropbox or Google Drive (premium)
• Publish screencasts on YouTube (premium)

Nimbus is verified for education by the following:

• CSPC (California’s Student Privacy Certified)
• iKeepSafe (Privacy Compliance Organization)
• FERPA (Family Education Rights & Privacy Act)
• COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection)

Yesware

Yesware is another great email tracking tool for digital marketers. Monitoring, managing and keeping tabs with your email contacts has never been easier. 

Just like Hubspot CRM, this tool will help you keep track of the opens and clicks on your emails. You can save time with email templates and schedule personalized emails to send whatever time you prefer. In addition, you can conveniently make bookings using the meeting scheduler. 

Yesware integrates well with other tools such as Salesforce email and calendar, as well as LinkedIn Sales Navigator. Users can try out the features at no cost for a short time trial.  

Evernote

Every marketer needs to have a strategy for managing their inspirations, ideas and experiences in order to be productive. Evernote is a very popular tool that makes it easy to save information on your phone or computer, and access it from anywhere. 

Here are some of the things you can do with Evernote:  

• Save all your projects, research and notes into one place
• Clip informative web pages using Evernote’s plugins and browser extensions
• Create to-do’s and task lists to remind you of what needs to be done
• Attach PDFs, audio, images and more

Evernote allows you to organize your notes using tags and notebooks. This allows you to find your notes easily using keywords or phrases.   

Free downloadable versions of Evernote are available for iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, BlackBerry and more.

Momentum 

Momentum replaces the default new tab page with a personalized dashboard that brightens your boring browser and inspires you to be more productive. See the weather forecast, set a daily focus, get inspired with a quote and fill in your to-dos. With a reminder of your daily focus and to-dos throughout the day, you can beat procrastination and get more done.     

Feedly 

With more than 15 million users, Feedly is the world’s leading blog and RSS reader. This extension allows you to add websites and pages that you find to your feed all through the day. You will then be able to access this content later at a convenient time. In addition, you can share the pages on Facebook, Twitter or email with a simple click of the mouse. Feedly even allows you to curate and tag pages, thus making them easier to locate.    

Right Inbox

Installing Right Inbox will allow you to perform the following tasks within your Gmail account:

• Attach private notes to your emails
• Use templates to save time
• Schedule emails to be sent at a later time
• Set reminders do you don’t forget important communications 
• Switch between multiple signatures
• Sync emails with CRM applications 
• Send emails sequences with automatic follow-ups
• Embed GIFs within your email

Users can sign up for the premium plan to enjoy more features.

Conclusion

Though this list is not exhaustive, the Google Chrome extensions listed can be very useful in the arsenal of any digital marketer. 

Are there any important Chrome extensions that we missed in this post? Feel free to share with us in the comments section.

Charles Mburugu is a HubSpot-certified content writer/marketer for B2B, B2C and SaaS companies. He has worked with brands such as GetResponse, Neil Patel, Shopify, 99 Designs, Oberlo, Salesforce and Condor. Check out his portfolio and connect on LinkedIn.