What are Google Chrome Extension
Google chrome extensions are tools or software programs that can be used to optimize your browsing experience on Google.
You can find the best chrome extensions for digital marketers on Chrome Web Store.
Sometimes in January, the year 2011, Google released an extension gallery that contained more than 1, 550 extensions.
As the world would have it, there are now over 11,700 extensions on Google for marketers.
An example of the collection includes chrome themes which can be installed to customize the look of your chrome browser.
Who needs Google chrome extensions?
Google chrome extensions are for you if any of the following has ever been your concern:
- How to speed up your browser;
- How to secure your personal information while surfing the web;
- How to minimize your internet data consumption;
- How to share relevant content that you come across on the web.
- The good news is you can solve any of the aforementioned problems with the use of the best chrome extensions for digital marketers.
What are the pros & Cons of Chrome extension
Chrome extensions may have some great benefits for digital marketers. But at the same time, you need to be careful of the other side of the tools.
Pros of chrome extensions
The following includes some of the advantages of using chrome extensions for digital marketing:
- They are in free and paid versions.
- They can be installed with a click away.
- They make your marketing activities on Google very productive and less stressful.
- They go as far as helping you to block ads and save data.
- They can be used to personalize Google chrome and enhance its potential features and functionalities while surfing the web.
Cons of chrome extensions
The following are some of the disadvantages of using Google chrome extensions:
- Too much of chrome extensions can crash the browser. So avoid installing and using too many of them at a time.
- They interfere with your privacy on Google.
- Hackers can use chrome extensions to hack your computer.
- What to check before installing an extension?
The moment you installed an extension on your browser, you lose your privacy. Each extension has the potential to make those who are behind them to trail you on the web.
I’m not saying they steal user information, but that the extension can help them break in if they want.
So, because of an unexpected circumstance, there MUST be a trust-based relationship between you and the creator of the extension to guarantee that you’re safe.
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To ensure an extension is safe for use, carry out the following tasks before installation:
#1. Check the authenticity of the developer
Click on the name of the creator of the extension. That should lead you to their official website. Delve into what they are up to.
Are they legitimate or some kind of hackers that just want to plant a bug in your browser to steal your information or do worst?
#2. Check the star rating
Is the extension gaining a good star rating? If not and the extension is new, it might be because it’s new on the extension gallery.
But if it’s old and it’s not getting enough ratings, it’s possible the extension isn’t good.
If you don’t want to waste your time, then find an alternative immediately.
#3. Read the overview
Every extension has a short description to give you an idea of how it works. The overview also contains the system requirements to have a nice time with the extension.
In that case, you need to take your time to learn more about the features of the extension to know if it’s really what you want.
#4. Read the user reviews
Some people might have used the extension in the past and dropped their feedback on the tool.
So far you’re not the first person to show interest in it, use the reviews to know what others have experienced with the extension and be guided.
If the extension is bad, you don’t have to go through the same hard time with it.
Just find the best alternative.
#5. Screen what you permit
Some extensions require your permission for certain functions on the browser.
If during the installation, you receive a WARNING! in form of a POP-UP message on your screen, pay attention to it.
Don’t grant permissions to any app blindly.
Take, for instance, if an ordinary screen grabber is asking for your permission to access your Google contacts or your browsing history, you should know something isn’t right!
Don’t fall for anything that doesn’t go well with common sense online.
How to install Google chrome extension
Installing a Google Chrome extension isn’t as difficult as you might think. What you only need to do is to follow the steps which I explain below:
STEP 1: Go to the Google web store
Go to the Google Web store to get started. You can get any Google chrome extension you need on the web store.
For easy access, ensure you’re on Chrome. Then use the search box on the top left of the store to search for any Google chrome extension of your choice.
Assuming you need a ‘boomerang for Gmail extension, type the extension’s name in the search box and press the Enter key on your keyboard.
STEP 2. Add extension to Chrome
To add an extension to Google Chrome, click the blue button with “Add to chrome’.
STEP 3. Add extension
A message will POP UP, asking you to add or cancel the extension. The message includes how the extension will interact with your browser.
If you’re okay with it, click Add extension and wait for a few seconds for the extension to propagate on your chrome.
That’s an indication that the Google chrome extension has been installed on your browser successfully.
50 Best chrome extensions for digital marketers
The following top chrome extensions are grouped into six categories, which include:
Top chrome extensions for security
Top chrome extensions social media marketing
Top chrome extensions for productivity
Top chrome extensions for SEO
Top chrome extensions for bloggers
Top new tab chrome extension
Chrome extensions for security
1. HTTPS everywhere
HTTPS everywhere can be used for switching insecure HTTP websites which you access to their secure HTTPS version.
The HTTPS Everywhere was created by EFF and the Tor Project. More than 2.1 million people are using the extension.
It can prevent you from losing your personal information cheaply to hackers when surfing an insecure website.
2. Click & Clean
Click & clean is a security and privacy software that helps in boosting and clean your PC with just a click or press (Ctrl+shift+E).
If you are looking for an extension to help clear your browsing history after carrying out a lot of tasks on your PC, I would advise you to go for the ‘Click and clean.
After multi-tasking work on your browser, you can use the click and clean to clear your browsing history.
It can also be used to scan and clean your PC for any virus.
3. Ghostery
Ghostery is a Google chrome privacy extension that serves a similar function as the Adblock extension. In that, it helps to block ads like Adblock.
It helps optimize your browser for easy and fast browsing due to its ads blocking ability.
4. Checkbot
Checkbot is a very powerful security extension tool that does both technical SEO and security check for a website.
Checkbot can crawl up to 100 pages to test for SEO practices and the security of the site.
It can also test for the SEO, security and speed of 250 URL per domain for free.
5. Adblock
The Adblock is an extension that helps remove video ads from YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and your favourite websites.
It also helps in protecting your online safety as third parties cannot track your online activities due to the fact that no ads can be downloaded.
6. Avast online security
The Avast online security is also called the ‘web reputation plugin’. The tool monitors every website you visit for suspicious activities.
The extension notifies you of any suspicious activities / bad reputation of a site.
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The avast online security extension is a must-have for digital marketers as it safeguards you from falling victim to any website with a bad reputation.
7. Disconnect
Disconnect is one of the best extensions for chrome that can be used to speed up your browsing process, protecting your privacy, and keeping you secured.
The extension allows you to visualize and block unseen website that wants to track you.
This extension has won several awards which include the Innovation Award for the best privacy and security software at south by south west in 2015. It was also listed as one of the best innovation of the year by Popular science.
8. Pixel block
Pixel block is a Gmail extension for blocking senders from tracking your activities online. It also indicates with a ‘red eye sign’ that a tracking attempt has taken place inside an email.
Chrome extensions for social media marketing
9. Rite tag
Rite tag is an effective social media marketing tool that helps you to select hashtags and also shows the performance of the hashtags on Twitter and Facebook before publishing a post.
Meanwhile, if you need a tool that can help you to generate the best hashtags for your images and texts, Rite tag will do that.
In fact, the extension generates four different colors to indicate the strength of a hashtag.
When it lights:
GREEN means you would get seen now if you use the hashtag.
BLUE means you would get seen over time if you use the hashtag.
RED indicates your post will not be seen should you use the hashtag.
GRAY implies a hashtag doesn’t worth using because only a very few people follow it.
10. Grammarly
Grammarly is one of the top chrome extensions or trusted tools by digital marketers for editing content.
I personally recommend this tool for you as a digital marker – blogger, content writer, social media marketer or email marketer. You can use it to beautify sentences and eliminate grammatical errors in your content.
11. Buzzsumo
Buzzsumo is a content marketing tool that gives details about the performance of content as well as the social media engagement, page views, likes, and shares.
It can also be used for competitor analysis.
You can use it to check the kind of strategies your competitors are using to promote their content and outrank them by doing efficiently better with those strategies.
12. Bitly
This top Google chrome extension is a tool that helps to shorten a link’s URL. Bitly also helps save content from your browser directly to your bitly account.
It helps to share bit links on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Email.
13. Pinterest save button
The Pinterest Save button is a platform that gives you the opportunity to save any idea you find on various social media platforms, websites and pages to your board so you can easily make reference to it later.
14. Save to Facebook
Save to Facebook is an extension that allows you to save contents, ideas, images that you might want to make reference to later on Facebook.
If you want to use Facebook for marketing and succeed, you need this type of tool.
You can use Save to Facebook extension to keep your saved items organized and also provide privacy options as only you can view your saved items.
15. Discoverly
It’s a tool that helps you connect your social media handles (Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedln) together.
It also goes further to giving you a complete social media details of people you are interested in working with.
16. Lastpass
Lastpass is a software that helps you to secure all the passwords you use for accessing your profiles on various websites.
Lastpass also help save the user details of your website and social media handles.
The extension can also be used to help you generate strong password for your profiles.
What this extension does basically is to save you from the headaches of forgetting multiple passwords for your sites and social media platforms by generating a very strong master password for each and keep them in one place.
17. Giphy
Giphy is an automated search engine that helps you search for GIF and shakers anywhere on the web.
18. Buffer
The reason why I love this tool is that it helps me share scheduled links, contents, images, and videos with just one click on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Linkedln.
Google chrome extension for productivity
19. Stayfocusd
Stayfocusd is one of the best chrome extensions for digital marketers.
As the name implies, it’s an extension, which keeps you focused by constraining the amount of time you spend on time wasting sites.
Once the time allotted expires, you lose access to the site you blocked for the rest of the day.
20. Momentum
Momentum is a productive and motivational tool that displays a new tab that is designed with the beauty of nature, time, the current weather, and an inspirational quotes
With this tool, you can update your main focus of the day.
21. Todoist
This tool can be used for multifaceted tasks such as helping you to keep track of your daily activities. You can also save content you want to make reference to later on todoist.
22. Toggl
Toggl is a productivity tool that helps you track the amount of time and analyze productivity on various project.
23. Forest
Forest is a self-motivating and productive tools that helps you to break from internet addiction.
It also helps you to cultivate an effective personal time management.
24. Clockify
Clockify is a software application that helps you to keep track of the time spent on a project and analyze your productivity.
25. Noisli
Noisli is a sound tool that help keeps you away from the noise of the environment and helps you stay focused while working.
26. One tab
One tab extension can help you convert all your open tab into a single tab in the form of a list thus making your stay online easy and fast.
27. Panda 5
Panda is a chrome extension that gathers news and content from the different websites which you frequently visit to read news and places it into a new tab.
This can keep you updated with the latest news at the background.
28. Rescue time
This extension keeps track of the total time spent on each website you visit and it also indicates the website you are wasting your time on.
Chrome Extension for SEO
You might need to first read how to do Search Engine Optimization Yourself.
This will help you to understand the major aspects of SEO to focus on while using any of the following chrome extensions.
29. Mozbar
Mozbar is an SEO tool that gives you access to keyword difficulty. It can be used to retrieve the domain Authority (DA) and rankings of any competitor’s website you visit.
30. Keyword everywhere
Keywords everywhere is a keyword tool that shows the monthly search volume of a keyword, keywords of different website and the cost per click (CPC) of a keyword.
31. Google trend
Google trend is a webmaster tool that helps to track the SEO performance of your site using analytics and graphs.
32. Ahref SEO toolbar
This extension grants you direct access to a website domain ranking, number of referring domains, number of backlinks, detailed information represented on chart for pages and domains.
Ahref SEO toolbar is particularly good for digital marketers – bloggers and SEO analysts. It helps you to spy on the keywords your competitors rank for and to also do better with the keywords.
33. Nofollow
Nofollow is another top Google chrome extension, which you can use to detect “nofollow” and “no index” meta tags on a web page.
It supports search engine specific meta tags. In fact, this extension can also be used to disable or enable extensions for defined website.
34. Hunter
Hunter is a search tool that helps you to get the email address, job titles, social networks, and phone numbers of any website you visit.
35. Mangool
Mangool is an SEO tool that helps you to check the domain authority and competitors keyword. It works as a backlink checker, keyword density checker, broken link checker, and a tool for on-page SEO analysis.
36. Detailed SEO extension
Detailed SEO extension is a quick SEO analysis extension that helps check the SEO insight of a page.
37. Alexa traffic rank
Most bloggers and SEO analysts are familiar with these extension. You can give it a shot. It helps bloggers and website owners to monitor how their websites or blogs rank on the internet.
38. SEO quake
SEO quake is an SEMrush chrome extension that shows the Alexa rank, Google index, backlinks of a page you visit.
Best Google Chrome Extension for Bloggers
39. Quick writer text editor
The quick writer text editor can help you to write at your own pace. It creates a new tab and auto save your writings at different intervals while you work.
40. Office editing for Doc sheets and slides
This extension for chrome allows you to copy files from Microsoft office into Google drive where it can be viewed and edited.
41. Google dictionary
The Google dictionary is an effective tools for getting the definition of a difficult word by highlighting the difficult word and paste it on Google dictionary for the best meaning.
42. Writers
It’s an extension that makes writing easy for you. It also does the word count and correct grammatical errors for you.
43. Word count tool
Word count extension can also be used for word count while reviewing your content.
44. Auto text expander
This tool is good for bloggers as it can be used to save time by creating a customized abbreviation for phrases you frequently use.
45. Add to Wunderlist
Add to wunderlist is a chrome extension that gives you the opportunity to save anything from the web to your wunderlist.
46. Evernote web clipper
With evernote web clipper, you can save ideas you see online to your ever note account.
47. Check my links
Check my link is a chrome extension that notifies you of broken links on any website you visit.
So, you can use it to monitor your website or other people’s website and provide them with new relevant links from your website and build backlinks to your website.
48. Full page screen capture
It’s a tool that helps you take a screenshot of an entire page on your PC without asking for permission.
Best new tab chrome extension
49. Blank new tab page
Blank new tab page, as the name implies, is an extension that replaces a new tab with a completely blank page.
50. Start.me
Start.me is an extension that helps you to turn your new page into a dashboard.
It also grants you direct access to your bookmarks, news feeds, notes and web services.
