The digital world is constantly changing and evolving to fit new standards and new ways of working. One of the areas that has changed the most is online marketing and the types of tools and platforms that can be used to do it. When it comes to marketing online, there are a variety of tactics, strategies, and tools that can be used to reach your target audience.

However, not all tools are equal, and not all strategies and tactics are created equal. This is why you should consider the tools that you are already using to market your business, as well as the ones that you might consider using in the future.

Marketing Charts

If you are looking for a free tool to analyze marketing data, then you should definitely check out Marketing Charts. Launched in 2012, the platform allows marketing executives to analyze website traffic, social media activity, and email marketing with one, simple dashboard.

Matching this simplicity is a set of tools that allow you to track and analyze your key marketing performance indicators. These tools are:

• Web Analytics
• Social Media Analytics
• Content Management System
• Email Marketing
• Marketing Automation
• Sales Automation

All of these tools can be accessed from a single place, and this makes them extremely efficient for SEO and content marketing campaigns. For example, if you decide to use HubSpot’s Content Marketing Platform, you will be able to access all of these tools through one dashboard.

BuzzStream

BuzzStream is another tool that can be used for analyzing website traffic and social media activity. Similar to Marketing Charts, BuzzStream was established in 2012 and allows marketers to track the “buzz” (talk about, twitter, blog posts, etc…) around their brand or website.

One of the appealing things about BuzzStream is that it is completely free to use. However, this also means that it is restricted to fairly simple analysis. For example, you cannot download all of the reports that you will find using BuzzStream, as this will cost you $15/mo. A more detailed analysis can be performed for $25/mo.

The reports that you can download using BuzzStream are really quite basic, and it only takes a few minutes to fully understand what is going on with your site or social media channels. This makes it an extremely efficient tool for gaining a broad understanding of what is going on with your online marketing.

Google Analytics

Last but not least, we have Google Analytics. Google Analytics is one of the most popular and well-known tools when it comes to analyzing website traffic and social media activity. It was launched in 2008 and continues to be one of the top web analytics tools available today.

However, just because it is one of the most popular tools, it does not mean that it is the best tool out there. Actually, when it comes to SEO and content marketing, Google Analytics is quite the opposite. It is one of the simplest and most efficient tools to use.

The benefit of using this tool is that it is completely free. You will only need to create an account and then begin analyzing your website traffic and social media activity. From there, you can develop valuable insights into your organic search performance and determine what is and is not working for your website.

So Which One Should You Choose?

So, which one should you choose? The answer is simple. It depends on your needs. If you are looking for a free tool to simply understand the overall traffic to your website, then you should go with either Marketing Charts or BuzzStream. These tools are extremely simple to use and allow you to enter a few basic details about your site and then begin analyzing your website traffic.

However, if you are looking for an all-in-one tool that can be slightly more complex, then you should go with Google Analytics. Not only is this tool extremely popular and fairly easy to use, but it also gives you the flexibility to drill down into specific areas of analysis, should you wish.

The fact that these tools are free does not mean that they are not highly effective. In fact, just the opposite is true. This is because the developers behind these tools understand the value that they provide and wish to keep their product free for as long as possible. Don’t get me wrong, they do offer paid plans for those who wish to take advantage of the more advanced features.