The sheer number of inbound marketing tools out there can be overwhelming. And trying to figure out the best among them can take forever.
The good news? You are not alone!
We help businesses make the right software decisions by testing software and tools ahead of time so they don’t have to go through the same rigorous process again.
That said, we have outlined the best inbound marketing tools for executing an effective inbound marketing strategy, ensuring your content is valuable and optimized for search results.
What Are Inbound Marketing Tools?
Inbound marketing tools are the tools you need to create useful, SEO-friendly content to attract prospects to your business, keep them engaged, and convert them into customers. Content in this context includes blog posts, social media posts, graphics, and videos.
When you have the right inbound marketing tools, you won’t need to reach out to people and lure them to buy from you. Your ideal customers will come to you naturally.
Why Should You Use Inbound Marketing Tools?
Inbound marketing tools offer significant benefits to businesses. These include:
- Generate better leads
- Enhance audience engagement
- Improve SEO efforts: help you rank highly in search engines
- Save time through automation
- Streamline your marketing efforts for increased efficiency
Top 7 Inbound Marketing Tools for Success
Let’s get into the details right below.
1. SEMrush
Source: SEMrush
SEMRush is a standout inbound marketing tool that provides you with the data you need to succeed in your content marketing strategy. Its topic research, keyword research, and content optimization tools help users create valuable content that drives conversion.
With SEMRush’s comprehensive marketing tools, you can create and implement a robust data-informed content strategy that aligns with your audience’s needs.
Key features
- Keyword research to find the best-performing keywords
- Competitor SEO analysis to see what your competitors are doing better
- Content optimization with personalized recommendations
- Market analysis to gauge the market and discover trends
Limitation
- Too expensive for small businesses
Pricing
- Free
- Paid plans start at $117.33/month, billed annually
2. Canva
Source: Canva
Canva is an AI design tool that has changed how people design graphics today. Businesses and individuals use the tool to create stunning images to enrich their audiences’ visual experience across multiple platforms.
The AI-powered tool hosts a pool of design templates for social media content, whiteboards, infographics, and more. Choose the template you want, edit it to suit your needs, download it, and upload the design to your website or social media sites to trigger engagement.
Beyond graphic designs, you can use Canva to create immersing marketing videos from scratch or its AI tool to generate captivating video content. Its customizable video templates can suit any marketing purpose. All you have to do is choose your favorite template and edit it to meet your needs.
What’s more? You don’t need prior design or editing skills to use this inbound marketing software. However, you can turn to Canva’s resource center or its reliable customer support if you need assistance.
Key features
- User-friendly interface for beginners
- Generates immersive AI videos from text prompts
- Premium templates with quick and easy customization
- Integrates with Dall-E, Google Drive, Slack, Enhancer, Imagen, YouTube, TypeCraft, and more
Limitation
- Limited templates for free users
Pricing
- Free
- Paid plans start at $120/year for one person
3. ClickUp
Source: ClickUp
You can find it hard to get your team to work on various projects and collaborate at the same time without an inbound marketing tool like ClickUp.
ClickUp leads as an all-inclusive project management software for businesses and professional individuals. Its Kanban boards, whiteboards, calendar views, and real-time collaboration opportunities make the tool a go-to for simplifying marketing campaigns.
ClickUp users can invite their clients as guests to their workspace, allowing both parties to view, comment, and edit ongoing or finished projects in real-time.
Best of all, you can use ClickUp to automate repetitive tasks. This reduces manual mistakes, saves time, improves productivity, and frees up the effort you need for other crucial tasks and projects.
Key features
- Intuitive dashboard for managing projects and tasks
- Streamlines workflows and enhances productivity
- Responsive technical support
- Integrates with 1,000+ apps and tools
Limitation
- Not all features are functional on its mobile app
Pricing
- Free
- Paid plans start at $7/month, billed yearly
4. HubSpot
Source: HubSpot
As one of the best inbound marketing tools, HubSpot is a CRM tool designed to help businesses thrive online. It comes with robust features for building the best experience for your customers. Some of its features include marketing, operation, sales, content management, and customer service.
With HubSpot’s Marketing Hub®, you can create helpful content to attract the right audience, generate qualified leads, convert prospects into customers, and scale your business at large.
Key features
- Automates repetitive tasks
- Builds SEO-friendly landing pages, web pages, and blogs
- Offers seamless integration with various marketing channels
- Comprehensive analytic reports and dashboards
Limitation
- It has a steep learning curve
Pricing
- Free CRM
- Starter plans start at $20/month for each of its hubs
- You can also create a custom hub bundle
5. Buffer
Source: Buffer
Buffer is an essential social media management tool in inbound marketing. Users can add their social media accounts and schedule posts in advance, allowing them to reach their audience at peak times, even when they’re not online.
The inbound marketing software also has an integrated AI assistant that helps users generate content ideas, rewrite published posts, and optimize content to become more valuable and relevant.
You can use Buffer analytics to gain insights into how your audience interacts with your content and further optimize the content to attract more people.
Key features
- Transforms ideas into captivating posts
- Automates content publication
- Simplify team collaboration
- Offers analytics and reports
Limitation
- It sometimes glitches
Pricing
- Free
- Paid plans start at $5/month/channel, billed yearly
6. Surfer SEO
Source: Surfer
Surfer SEO is a cutting-edge tool among the best inbound marketing tools on this list. It allows businesses to rank highly in search results, enhance their visibility, and drive targeted traffic to their business.
Surfer’s comprehensive, easy-to-follow SEO workflow lets you analyze your content performance against the competition. Its content editor offers real-time keyword suggestions for optimizing your content as you write.
Key features
- Automatically inserts internal links
- Allows multiple contributors in one content editor
- Optimize existing content via its URL
Limitation
- Credits expire with each billing cycle
Pricing
- Free trial
- Paid plans start at $89/month
7. WordPress.org
Source: WordPress
Without WordPress, this ultimate list of the best inbound marketing tools can be incomplete. After all, a crucial aspect of inbound marketing is to publish valuable content, which WordPress makes possible for free.
WordPress is a self-hosted, open-source content management system (CMS). You can use the platform to build a business website or professional blog and share content to attract your target audience.
Apart from buying a domain name and a hosting service, WordPress has virtually everything — themes and plugins — you need to customize your website or blog for increased visibility.
Key features
- Beginner-friendly content management software
- Flexible: create a business, portfolio, or any website or blog
- Publishing options: make posts public or private, save drafts, schedule posts, or secure pages and posts with a password
- Manage media across posts and pages
- Extend customization with themes and plugins
Limitation
- Premium themes and plugins can be too expensive for newbies
Pricing
- Free, open-source software
Start Creating Helpful Content
These are some of the best inbound marketing tools you need for success. While they are great for scaling your business, not using them means leaving money on the table. So, start making the most out of these tools today.