10 SEO Experts Reveal The Web Apps They Can’t Live Without

Apps we know and love and a few surprises!

At Crozdesk we love the way SaaS solutions make our lives easier. Each member of the Crozdesk team has their tried and tested favourites when it comes to web apps, but we wondered which apps are in favour with the great and good of the SEO and link-building world. With our curiosity piqued, we decided to ask the leading lights of SEO what single web app they prefer or currently use most, to be precise, we asked:

“The Crozdesk Team were wondering: What is your favorite/most used Web App and why?”

We received recommendations from the following SEO experts below (in the order they were received), feel free to jump to them:

@JulieJoyce; @IrishWonder; @Dr_Ngo; @bobjones; @matthewbarby; @StevenMacd0nald; @Zen2Seo; @KathrynAragon; @jwidmer and @MattWoodwardUK

We received app recommendations for:

Evernote; Majestic; Asana; Basecamp 3; Trello; SuperOffice; Freedcamp; Microsite Masters; DropBox; Buffer; Alfred and Infusionsoft

Many thanks to all who replied, most of the recommendations are for apps we know and love but a few surprised us – in a good way! Here’s what they said:

#1: Julie Joyce recommends Evernote

SEO expert and owner of link building company Link Fish Media Julie Joyce was the first off the mark, championing Evernote for its organisational efficiency:

Evernote is ideal for saving notes, tracking tasks and saving things you have done online. Set reminders, collect and organise information from around the web. Write notes, save clippings from web articles and collect photos in one place. Evernote allows you to connect and collaborate with people you work with and friends in real-time, without leaving the Evernote platform. Once you’re done, transform all your hard-work into presentation material at the click of a button with screen-friendly layouts.

As Julie points out, Evernote works seamlessly across web, mobile and tablet platforms and is ideally suited to organise information for personal or business use.

Find out more about Evernote on the Evernote Crozdesk provider page.

#2: Irish Wonder prefers Majestic

SEO aficionado IrishWonder recommends Majestic SEO:

It’s no surprise that @IrishWonder recommends 2015 US Search Award winners, Majestic. This powerful search analysis tool surveys around a billion URLs a day and has reportedly created the largest commercial Link Intelligence database tool in the world. Majestic is designed for anyone looking to understand the link profile of their site as a means of enabling rational study of Search Engine positioning. Weapons in the Majestic armory include Site Explorer for detailed domain or URL analysis; Search Explorer for supercharged keyword analysis; Webmaster Tools offering extended domain information relating to your own site, a backlink checking functionality and many more!

Find out more about Majestic.

#3: Charles Ngo champions Asana

Affiliate marketing guru, Charles Ngo selected task management tool Asana:

Track your teams projects and tasks, have conversations about your work all in one place. Teams work better because everyone knows what they should be doing and why. Functions on a range of devices including desktop, tablet and mobile. Set up projects containing individual tasks and monitor project progress instantly with visual displays. Turn team conversations into actionable tasks instantly, a team-specific inbox shows you only relevant team communications.

Other features include sections allowing you to customise Asana to match your project workflows and provide structure to your project; create due dates and times to ensure tasks are completed on time; add files from your Desktop, Dropbox, Box or Google Drive to any task or conversation. Convey approval or affirmation of a task with the heart function; comment directly on tasks to clarify exactly what needs to be done. Team pages enable all a team’s projects to sit in one place. Asana integarates with Dropbox, Slack, Chrome, Okta, Github and Google Drive.

Find out more about Asana on the Crozdesk Asana provider page.

#4: Bob Jones opts for Basecamp 3

Founder of full-service digital marketing and SEO agency Visible, Bob Jones recommends collaberation and project management tool Basecamp 3:

Collabaration and project management tool, Basecamp 3, is designed to facilitate team and project-based communication. Each new team project or “basecamp” you create will have six separate components designed for efficient management of that project:

• Campfire: An instant chat window allowing team members to communicate with one another in real-time
• Messages: A forum-style communications function allowing team members to post new topics which other users can comment on;
• To-Do’s: A list of shared team tasks, each task is made-up of a series of to-do’s which are user-added and can be assigned to individual team members or left open for anyone in the team to do. To do’s can be scheduled for a specific date and time and notes or files can be added to each to-do.
• Schedules: A calendar function allowing appointment and event scheduling
• Automatic Check-in: Automatic check-ins are pre-scheduled messages or reminders which go out to your team on a regular basis. You can send them daily, weekly, or monthly. Everyone in the Basecamp can see the responses.
• Docs and Files: Team file storage facility featuring drag and drop uploads and version control

Find out more about Basecamp on the Crozdesk Basecamp provider page.

#5: Matthew Barby chooses Trello

Matthew Barby, Global Head of Growth & SEO at HubSpot uses project management app Trello:

Designed for the organisation of information, the Trello board is the focus of the app, a list of lists filled with cards for use by a team or on an individual basis. You can drag cards between lists to show progress, add people, and re-order lists as necessary. Trello is set up to adapt to your project, team and workflow. The app updates in real-time and is designed to be intuative to use. Post comments for instant feedback and upload files from your computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, and OneDrive. Checklists, labels and due dates will ensure you stay on top of your tasks while notifications let you know when important events occur.

Find out more about Trello on the Crozdesk Trello provider page.

#6: Steven Macdonald boosts his productivity levels with SuperOffice

Steven Macdonald, Content marketing, SEO and Conversion Rate optimisation expert at Kingspoint recommends all-in-one CRM solution SuperOffice:

Integrating with all MS Office applications including Microsoft Office 365, Google Apps for Work and email apps such as Exchange, Outlook, Notes, Gmail and all IMAP based mail servers, SuperOffice CRM helps store important customer contact details in a central location for everyone in your organisation to access, whether its contact details, emails, phone calls, documents or meeting notes. A shared calendar function allows activity scheduling, project planning and availability tracking – if everyone’s busy, the system will automatically provide an alternative date when all team members are free.  Appointments are tracked in the system so that you can always go back to see what happened when. A simple-to-use mailing tool can send visually attractive, customised emails and documents. The optional calendar synchronizer will ensure your SuperOffice calendar is never out of step with your diary in Outlook, Exchange or Google. This versatile and adaptable tool was not one we had come across before at Crozdesk – thanks for the heads up Steven!

Find out more about SuperOffice.

#7: Giuseppe Pastore favors Freedcamp, MicrositeMasters, Trello and Evernote

SEO, Content and Link Building specialist Giuseppe Pastore uses a host of web-app solutions including Freedcamp for project management, MicrositeMasters for accurate SERP tracking, as well as Trello and Evernote:

Freedcamp

Project organisation hub, Freedcamp aims to make project organisation, time and task management simpler and more efficient. Features include a dashboard, task lists and stickie notes as well as individual and grup task assignment and prioratisation. Interestingly, Freedcamp’s core functions are, as the name suggests, completely free to use. Business users can however opt to pay for business-focused features as and when they need them, these features include:

• CRM: Contact and campaign management is the aim of this feature, users can also stay on top of deals and leads with minimal fuss: $12.99 /month
• Issue Tracker: This feature handles more complex tasks and offers saved searches, bulk actions, advanced status options and unique issue ID’s: $10.99 /month
• Invoices+: Create and send visually attractive invoices; this function also integrates with Freedcamp’s time tracking app: $6.99 /month
• Wiki: Advanced document creation tool, Wiki, includes multiple version functionality and the option to make the documents public or private as necessary: $2.99 /month

Find out more about Freedcamp on the Crozdesk Freedcamp provider page.

Microsite Masters

Microsite Masters is an SEO toolbox that offers accurate and up-to-date ranking information for websites and keywords. Microsite Masters allows you to measure the impact of your SEO groundwork on your search rankings. Advanced tracking metrics include daily rank tracking and advanced campaign management tools, allowing a trial and error approach to SEO strategy. The Microsite Masters Keyword Tool offers webmasters a detailed view of their site’s performance and rankings for other sites according to your chosen keywords. The SEO Scoreboard function provides a view of the top performers for a given search term while integration with Analytics and Clicky allow users to see which rankings lead to increased traffic and revenue.

Find out more about Microsite Masters.

#8: Kathryn Aragon chooses DropBox, Buffer and Asana

8. Kathryn Aragon, Award-winning Marketer, Author and Director of Content for Mirasee (formerly Firepole Marketing) favours Dropbox, Buffer and Asana:

DropBox

Dropbox is a hosting service that allows users to create folders on their computers, which are then synchronized, accessing the same folder, regardless of which computer is used to view it.  Anything users add to Dropbox will automatically show up on all their computers, phones and even the Dropbox website — so they can instantly access it from any location. Dropbox also makes sharing and collaboration easier, by inviting other users to any folder in Dropbox. Features include:

• Designed with an easy-to-use interface
• Free and relatively fast syncing of files, even with the basic plan
• Robust photo and video presentation and sharing

Find out more about Dropbox on the Crozdesk DropBox provider page.

Buffer

Buffer is a tool for collating and sharing online content through multiple social media channels. A simple, low-cost and user-friendly social media marketing tool, Buffer allows you to schedule posts across multiple channels, driving traffic and increasing engagement with target audiences. Features include:

#9: Joel Widmer picks Alfred

Joel Widmer, founder of Dallas-based Fluxe Digital Marketing —a marketing shop that specializes in content marketing strategy and training for businesses and authors opts for Mac OS X Productivity App, Alfred for seamless integration between Mac and online content.

Award-winning Mac OS X app Alfred allows users to search your Mac and the web seamlessly, as well as control your Mac with the Powerpack, a function allowing customised actions such as application launching and file finding. Alfred prioritises results as you type while hotkeys, keywords and customised search options help you claw back all that time spent trying to find a file. Users can also import community-created workflows to improve their productivity.

Find out more about Alfred.

#10: Matthew Woodward selects Infusionsoft

Award-winning SEO and Affiliate Marketing Blogger, Matthew Woodward recommended all-in-one sales and marketing tool, Infusionsoft.

Infusionsoft offers a subscription based all-in-one sales and marketing SaaS product for small businesses with fewer than 25 employees. The integrated platform lets users manage their small business by pulling together data points related to sales, marketing, leads, payments, customers, and more. It includes products to streamline the customer lifecycle, customer relationship management, marketing automation, lead capture, and e-commerce. Features include:

Find out more about Infusionsoft on the Crozdesk Infusionsoft provider page.

In Summary: SEO Expert Recommendations:

We received some great feedback on the must-have web apps in favor with SEO experts around the world. There are some fantastic apps in the shortlist, here is a reminder of the recommendations we received:

#1: @JulieJoyce recommends Evernote

#2: @IrishWonder recommends Majestic

#3: @Dr_Ngo recommends Asana

#4: @bobjones recommends Basecamp 3

#5:@matthewbarby recommends Trello

#6: @StevenMacd0nald recommends SuperOffice

#7: @Zen2Seo recommends Freedcamp; Microsite Masters, Trello and Evernote

#8: @KathrynAragon recommends DropBox, Buffer and Asana

#9: @jwidmer recommends Alfred

#10: @MattWoodwardUK recommends Infusionsoft