Recommended Resources for SEO, Social Media, Technology

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Here are the products, services, and web sites I love.

SEO Tools

SEOmoz Pro — A full suite of easy-to-use tools for keyword research and link acquisition. They have a super helpful blog and active community forums, where you can post questions and get quality answers. I particularly like their Keyword Difficulty, Rank Tracker, and Open Site Explorer tools. You can use a few tools for free, but not much. A Pro account is $100 per month.

Raven Tools — Fairly new set of SEO and social media tools; link building tools come highly recommended. You can get a solo account for $19 per month, though it’s fairly limited. Other plans are $99 and $249 monthly.

Google Insights for Search — A useful, free tool that helps you see search trends by region (down to metro area), time period, and so on. Great for discovering which keyword terms are rising in popularity–which can help you get ideas for news stories and blog posts.

Google AdWords Keyword Tool

Google Wonder Wheel

Social Media Tools

HootSuite

Klout

Bit.ly

WordPress & Web Hosting

Bluehost web hosting service – Makes installing WordPress.org software a snap. Reasonably priced hosting plans, too, as well as good phone support.

DIYthemes Thesis theme – I chose this theme for my site because (a) it’s easy to make changes to my site’s look and feel and (b) it comes with lots of SEO options.

GoDaddy.com – Inexpensive domain name registration. One troubling thing I’ve noticed, however: Sometimes I’ve researched domain names on GoDaddy, not made a purchase, only to come back a day later and found someone has snapped up the domain. Coincidence? Not so sure. So now I do my domain name searches elsewhere, then buy them on GoDaddy.

All in One SEO Pack (WordPress plug-in) — Essential for anyone who wants to optimize their WordPress site’s pages and posts, which should be anyone with a WordPress site or blog.

Technology

Apple iPad 2 — It’s not a big iPhone, and it’s not a laptop alternative, it’s…an iPad, a thing of beauty all its own. I understand why Steve Jobs doesn’t like Flash, but the iPad’s lack of support for Flash is its only serious usability disadvantage.

Zagg iPad keyboard case — Sleek, aluminum-backed Bluetooth keyboard for your iPad. It’s comfortable to type on and has an on/off switch, so you won’t inadvertently turn it on while it’s inside your bag.

Apple iPhone 4 — A better phone than previous iPhones, but that’s kind of a backhanded compliment. Still, for an Apple loyalist like me, it’s the only phone worth considering. I’m still using AT&T but may jump to Verizon with the next iPhone, early termination fee be damned.

Apple MacBook Air 11-inch — The laptop I’ve always wanted. It’s super light, compact, fully functional, and the screen is legible when I go to Dolores Park on a sunny day. Love, love, love my MacBook Air.

Apple iMac — Do you get the sense by now I’m an Apple loyalist? Trust me, I’ve lived in the Windows world for many years. I always kept a Mac, though. Macs just last longer, are easier to use, and are a joy to use. An iMac is an ideal desktop computer.

Casio Tryx digital camera — Just bought this for travel purposes. I wanted an easy way to snap self-portraits of my partner and I as we traipse around the U.K. and Italy this fall. This is a one-of-a-kind, quirky, fun camera to use. Just don’t make it your only camera. It lacks optical zoom and a flash.

Amazon Kindle 3 — As much as I love my iPad, I can’t read books on it in bed. My doctor says it wrecks my ‘sleep hygiene’; the bright light stimulates me too much and before I know it, it’s time to pop a Sonata. Plus I can’t read books on the iPad outdoors. For these two reasons, I have a Kindle 3.

Google Chrome web browser — It’s fast. I love the single bar for URLs and search queries. By now, there are plenty of good plug-ins. I’ve switched from Firefox and had no regrets.

Chrome plug-ins