If you are not using Google Chrome as your browser you should. And if you are and you’re not taking advantage of the millions of useful extensions (ok, at least thousands) then you are missing out. Check out these Chrome extensions to get you started.
When it comes to your marketing suite, if you’re making do with the out-of-the-box Google Chrome that comes with the setup, you’re missing out on a treasure trove of extensions that can enhance and personalise your marketing efforts.
For the uninitiated, a Chrome extension is software that tailors Google Chrome’s functionality to better suit your specific needs. Extensions can do anything from simply offering an improved spelling and grammar check to digging out hard-to-find email addresses from the web. There are endless marketing-focused extensions available with at least a basic version offered for free.
Hunter
Cost: free (basic only). For marketing professionals and business owners looking to target relevant messaging to a specific individual, Hunter can help source the relevant email addresses to make that possible. Simply visit the site and click the Hunter icon to get every email address associated with the site. You get 100 free requests per month and can upgrade your account for more.
The Great Suspender
Cost: free. Ok, I know this is not really a marketing tool but this extension is perfect for anyone who’s guilty of hoarding tabs to the point where your CPU shuts down, which apparently is a lot of us as this extension has over a million downloads and boasts a 4.4 /5 rating from more than 3,800 reviews in the Chrome Web Store.
The Great Suspender can keep your PC purring by suspending tabs you haven’t viewed in a while, thereby freeing up the memory and CPU. The extension is fully customisable and can be set to ensure tabs with audio continue to play or that tabs with half-completed forms don’t freeze and lose their data.
SimilarWeb
Cost: free. SimiliarWeb enables you to find out how popular any website is as well as giving insight into where traffic to that site is coming from. As part of this offering, SimiliarWeb also collects anonymised click-stream data from the domains you browse while you’re running the extension. Due to the data-collecting nature of this extension, its developers advise you to take a look at its privacy policy before downloading.
BuzzSumo
Cost: free. This clever little extension adds a script onto all web pages you view to show you how many times the page has been shared on social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
ColorZilla
Cost: free. As the name suggests, ColorZilla offers web developers a huge array of colour-related tools, including colour picker, eye dropper and gradient generator, among others. It also allows you to take a colour from anywhere on your browser, including all tabs, and copy that colour into your own program.
Wappalyzer
Cost: free. Wappalyzer is a cross-platform utility that uncovers the technologies used on any website. It shows its users the content management systems, e-commerce platforms, web frameworks, server software, and analytics tools that make up a website.
Wappalyzer has more than 800,000 users and is available in 17 languages.
MozBar
Cost: free. MozBar is a search engine optimisation (SEO) toolbar that’s added to your browser to assist in market research. The toolbar offers instant SEO-related metrics on the website you’re viewing. Analysis can be customised to search by a specific engine, country, region, or city.
Grammarly
Cost: free (basic only). Simply, Grammarly will ensure you avoid any awkward typos or grammatical errors in your work. It’s compatible in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, as well as email platforms such as Gmail and Outlook. There are many spelling-checker extensions out there but none that come close to Grammarly’s more than 10 million userbase and impressive 4.5 /5 rating from nearly 35,000 reviews on Chrome Web Store. They also send you a cool email each month that lets you know how you compare with the other users.
Armed with these extensions you’re ready to kick your marketing campaign up a gear or at least be a little more productive. As the old saying goes: ‘work smarter, not harder’. Chrome extensions are the epitome of this philosophy and by adapting your setup to maximise its potential you can make all aspects of your business easier.
Do you know of any solid Google Chrome extensions I have not added to this list?
If so please add them in the comments.
