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Choosing the best blogging tools shouldn¡¯t feel harder than writing the blog itself. But with hundreds of platforms, plugins, and ¡°must-have¡± apps on the market, it¡¯s easy to end up stuck in comparison mode instead of growing the blog.

To cut through the noise, here¡¯s curated a list of 40+ tools for bloggers, based on my own 20+ years of experience running blogs, insights from ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø content teams, and reviews from the broader blogging community.

This list includes something for everyone. Some tools shine for beginners who want quick wins and minimal setup. Others are designed for advanced bloggers who care about customization, automation, and squeezing every bit of performance out of their stack.

Table of Contents

• Blogging Tools
• How to Choose the Right Blog Tools
• Frequently Asked Questions About Blogging Tools

How to Choose the Right Blog Tools

The tools a business chooses to integrate into their blogging process will depend on a few things: what they want to achieve, which gaps they want to fill with tools, whether or not the tool is worth paying for, and their preferences.

Here are some steps any blogger can follow to help decide if a tool is right for them.

Step 1: Decide what objective the tool needs to fulfill.

Before spending any time (or money) on a tool, it is important to have a plan. There are thousands of tools out there, and trying to use everything will quickly lead to overwhelm. It¡¯s best to start with a plan and a reason for trying a tool, so start by defining an objective for the tool:

¡°I need the tool to do X because Y.¡±

For example, when I decided to trial Semrush, the most expensive tool in my toolbox, the objectives were clear: I needed a tool that made keyword research, position tracking, and site audits easy, which would save me time and, therefore, money.

If the above were true, the tool would pay for itself, making it a worthy investment.

Think of the objective statement as a hypothesis, then test it to see if it¡¯s true.

Step 2: Test it and determine the frequency of use.

Most tools offer a freemium model or a free trial. When testing a tool, start the trial when you can fulfill these criteria:

• Find the time to use it fully.
• Have a problem to solve.
• Accept the free demo.

Working like this means that teams take the time to understand the tool to its fullest and discover how helpful it is in a real use case.

Step 3: Check the price.

It¡¯s possible to add many tools to a team¡¯s toolbox, but before subscribing to a tool, be sure that they will use it enough to justify the price.

I have trialed and paid for tools I love but don¡¯t need regularly enough. In this circumstance, I¡¯ll usually stop using the tool or opt to buy it monthly as and when I need it. It¡¯s worth weighing up these options. Sometimes, it is cheaper to just subscribe for a year.

Step 4: Consider your preferences.

Whatever tool a team chooses, they want to be happy and satisfied with it. Once a tool is added to the toolbox, users should feel satisfied with it every time they use it.

There are many opinions about which tool is best, and some receive some prestige in industries. Always consider this, but ultimately, you just need to love it.

Before diving into the tool recommendations, it¡¯s important to note that these tools work with most website-building platforms, but each team or user should double-check that they work with their specific platform before downloading them.

If using a , you¡¯re in good shape. The best CMS systems not only support integrations with many of these tools ¡ª they come with some of these functionalities built into their platform, so users don¡¯t have to keep purchasing and adding apps to their tech stack.

Below, discover the tools we use at the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Blog, tools for blog hosting, blog planning, blog writing, blog SEO, AI-powered blogging, blog images, blog promotion, and blog monetization.

The Blogging Tools We Use at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

1.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø uses Asana as a project management tool. Within Asana, writers can find their allocated blogs for the month, which include a detailed description of what needs to be covered and relevant attachments. It¡¯s an excellent tool for both blog management and AI project management.

Key features of Asana as a blogging tool:

• Management of the project workflow.
• Description and sub-tasks to help manage flow.
• Tags to help categorize and search content.
• Functionality to add attachments.
• Assign content to specific writers who are guests or members of the workspace.

I¡¯ve personally used Asana to manage my blogging workflows. I like the Kanban-style boards. I have columns for each step of the process (ideas, content to brief, content in progress, for review, published). The Kanban board is my preferred way of visualizing projects, but there¡¯s also a calendar view on Asana.

Best for: ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø with several contributing writers or solo bloggers who want some extra organization.

2. Google Docs

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø uses Google Docs as part of our blogging process. It¡¯s effective because Google Docs allows for seamless collaboration. Multiple users can view and edit documents in real-time. It saves emailing versions of documents and getting lost in version history.

Key features of Google Docs as a blogging tool:

• A ¡°suggesting¡± feature that writers can use to document exactly what they¡¯ve added or changed within a document.
• Comments for adding notes about writing decisions, which allows for multiple users to collaborate.
• Version history allows teams to see what was changed within a document, when it was changed, and who did it.
• Comparison between versions and the ability to restore an old version if needed.
• Extensions with SEO tools like or .

Best for: Teams who have multiple people editing or viewing a document.

3.

It takes more than a catchy headline to create a good blog post. To keep an audience engaged from the headline to the conclusion, the text must be readable.

Key features of the Hemingway App as a blogging tool:

• Free tool.
• Analyzes a text¡¯s readability.
• Highlights any sentences that are complex or dense, use passive voice, or have too many adverbs so writers can edit accordingly.
• Calculates a readability score to ensure writing aligns with the reader persona¡¯s vocabulary and comprehension.

I love the Hemingway App. When I use it, I don¡¯t implement every suggestion, as Hemingway is there to make a piece of content as simple as possible, and this isn¡¯t always the goal. I especially like the red and yellow highlights of complex or dense sentences, and I often edit these.

, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s senior content marketer and editor, uses Hemingway App and values its role in helping her simplify her writing. Bretous says, ¡°Hemingway is a great self-editing app I rely on to catch run-on sentences and complicated vocabulary. A lot of writing apps only catch grammatical errors, but Hemingway looks beyond that. It really helps me simplify my writing and identify potential comprehension gaps.¡±

Best for: Any blog writer who needs to reduce errors, clich¨¦s, and redundancies in their writing. It¡¯s a better fit for shorter pieces that are light on images and feature only basic formatting, because writers can¡¯t use the Hemingway App in a rich-text editor such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word. However, it¡¯s ideal for distraction-free writing and editing.

4.

Canva is another great tool for creating branded images and templates. To start, users choose from a collection of professional templates, add an image from its built-in photo library, or upload their own, and then layer in some text.

Canva is free, but users can upgrade to its paid plans for more templates and advanced functionality.

Key features of Canva as a blogging tool:

• Create and edit images without any design skills.
• Thousands of page templates, elements, icons, and more.
• Well-documented guides and tips from the Canva community.
• Paid features contain AI features like magic edit, allowing users to edit photos like a pro.

, a ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø manager, has tried several visual design tools but keeps coming back to Canva. He says, ¡°Canva is still the easiest to learn quickly and start using immediately. It allows me to make really professional-looking designs within our brand guidelines. Plus, the new AI features are a fantastic upgrade.¡±

I have to agree with Juviler. I wouldn¡¯t consider myself a designer, but with Canva, even I can create a design that I¡¯m satisfied with.

Best for: Canva is an ideal design tool for large blogging teams and enterprise-level marketing teams. While freelancer bloggers and small marketing teams will benefit from Canva, the tool shines because of its strong collaborative features. For example, it allows a blogging team to create a library of branded templates. It¡¯s a strong alternative to Design Wizard if teams need more powerful design and collaboration features.

5.

Featured is a platform for subject matter experts, journalists, and content creators. Experts can join the platform and pitch responses to journalists or publications. It¡¯s easy to use, intuitive, and full of opportunities for experts and publishers alike.

Key features of Featured as a blogging tool:

• Connect with subject matter experts to find new and insightful thought leadership to include in your content.
• Featured provides the quotes, LinkedIn profiles, and headshots of experts so the admin is easy.
• Free to use.

I¡¯ve used Featured as a subject matter expert and a publisher. I love the platform, and 55% of my responses have been featured in top media. As a writer for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø I use Featured to connect with experts and cite, or even interview, the most insightful people in an industry on a range of topics.

, a ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø managing editor, said, ¡°Featured is by far the most straightforward, reliable resource I¡¯ve used for sourcing quotes/contributions from solid, credible SMEs on pretty much any topic.¡±

Best for: Any writer, blogger, or marketing team that wants to add expert insights into their content. It¡¯s free, bloggers don¡¯t have to include every quote, and Featured has the added benefit of building your network.

6.

°ä´Ç³§³¦³ó±ð»å³Ü±ô±ð¡¯²õ analyzes headlines so marketers can improve them. Marketing pros can start using the tool for free and analyze up to 10 headlines. There¡¯s even more available if they decide to upgrade to premium.

, a senior marketer and editor at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø highly rates °ä´Ç³§³¦³ó±ð»å³Ü±ô±ð¡¯²õ . Chinn says, ¡°I like to use °ä´Ç³§³¦³ó±ð»å³Ü±ô±ð¡¯²õ Headline Analyzer to better optimize my post titles. It¡¯s super easy ¡ª all writers do is type in their headline, and the free version gives them an overall score based on factors like word balance, clarity, and skimmability. This tool also provides suggestions for improvement based on readability and SEO best practices. For me, this is especially helpful when I¡¯m trying to decide between a few title options or if I¡¯m not really loving a title but can¡¯t quite figure out how to make it better.¡±

Key features of °ä´Ç³§³¦³ó±ð»å³Ü±ô±ð¡¯²õ Headline Analyzer as a blogging tool:

• Analyze headlines in seconds.
• The tool provides analysis across a range of factors (word balance, readability, best practices).
• Analyze headlines for blog posts, social media, or email.

Best for: Any blogger or marketer who wants to write the best headlines. The freemium option is really good, so there¡¯s nothing to lose. Users can upgrade to premium features if they want more headline analysis, AI features, SEO recommendations, and more.

Tools for Blog Hosting

To start a blog, bloggers need a hosting platform for their blog. Ideally, this platform will provide the page speed, SEO features, and security needed to create and grow a successful blog.

7.

With the free on Content Hub, bloggers get a blogging platform that¡¯s fully integrated with ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s marketing, sales, and service tools ¡ª and comes with a built-in CRM.

That means bloggers get the functionality they expect from other platforms, like an intuitive blog editor and an option to preview how their posts will look on any device before publishing them. Beyond the basic blog hosting and builder, bloggers can also benefit from powerful marketing and .

Key features of Content Hub as a blogging tool:

• Robust blogging and landing page tools to create search engine optimized content based on the best practices laid out in .
• Simple text editor for blog content, with a drag-and-drop builder for other designs.
• Easy content personalization for blog readers.
• Built-in customer relationship management (CRM) platform to build a deeper connection with blog visitors.
• AI content creation tools to assist with blog creation.
• Add a live chat widget to the front end of your site.

With these features, bloggers can improve conversion rates by optimizing their website¡¯s look and interactive aspects in measurable terms.

Best for: New and established bloggers, as well as small-to-medium enterprise businesses. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s Blog Maker offers everything bloggers need to create a high-performing blog without needing to worry about downloading external plugins and themes. Because it offers strong support from ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø it¡¯s ideal for bloggers who want the support of a company if they run into any issues.

8.

WordPress is a highly flexible platform for blogging. Bloggers and marketers should just make sure they have the time and resources to invest in purchasing, downloading, and maintaining third-party tools and templates. A better understanding of their functionality can lead to more successful execution that readers will enjoy navigating through in a professional blog.

Key features of WordPress as a blogging tool:

• Self-hosted software (or use WordPress.com for a hosted experience).
• Drag-and-drop block editor, so it¡¯s easy to use.
• Over 60,000 plugins and themes to create a customized blog with the exact look and feel that a company wants.
• Plugins like Yoast SEO (more on that later) will help put the site in the top spots on Google.
• Lots of tutorials from the community to help content marketers get to grips with the platform.

Best for: Bloggers who want to create a highly customizable blog on both the front- and back-end of their website. It¡¯s also ideal for those who have the time, money, and experience to manage the design and maintenance process of a WordPress website. Once it¡¯s working for a brand, WordPress is a great CMS.

9.

For bloggers looking for a more lightweight CMS that¡¯s dedicated to blogging, Ghost is an excellent WordPress alternative.

Bloggers can self-host the Ghost software for free or pay Ghost to access a hosted version.

Key features of Ghost as a blogging tool:

• Intuitive editor.
• Built-in SEO tools.
• Responsive layouts.
• Out-of-the-box email subscription.

Best for: Experienced bloggers and marketers who are looking for a customizable blogging platform. It¡¯s especially a good fit if they want a built-in analytics tracker, although it¡¯s worth noting that and WordPress both offer analytics tools. Whether a business chooses Ghost depends on its budget requirements and user interface preferences.

Tools for Blog Planning

The following tools will help marketers define their target audience, find topics that appeal to that audience, and overcome writer¡¯s block so they can plan their blog strategy.

10.

One of the first steps in creating a blog strategy is establishing the target audience. is a free tool by ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø that walks bloggers through the process of building a reader persona.

Reader personas are fictional representations of ideal readers that bloggers and marketers can use to plan and create blog content that addresses their goals, behaviors, and concerns. Creating reader personas will not only ensure writers are creating the right content for the right people ¡ª it will also help inform the tone and style of the blog.

Key features of Make My Persona as a blogging tool:

• Done-for-you process to help understand who you¡¯re writing for.
• Guided Q&A to help think about the target audience.
• An overview that can be saved, downloaded, and shared with writing teams.

I¡¯ve used Make My Persona, and I love the overview that it provides at the end. Once they¡¯ve walked through the guided process, users will have a persona overview to refer to later and share with their wider team. It¡¯ll help with consistency and connection since they¡¯ll know who they¡¯re writing for.

Best for: Make My Persona is a fantastic tool for bloggers and marketers at freelance-to-enterprise businesses. It¡¯s an essential tool for creating ideal personas and buyers for the target readership. It will help writers hone in on their readers¡¯ needs much more effectively than if they were to write to an unknown public.

11.

Semrush is a premium tool that can take blog planning to the next level. It is quite expensive, but it does a lot.

Key features of Semrush as a blogging tool:

• Keyword research, including competitive research and keyword gap analysis.
• Keyword position tracking.
• Site audits.
• Traffic analysis.

With Semrush, marketers can find long-tail keywords that have the best chance of ranking for organic traffic.

I used to use Semrush almost daily. I¡¯ve used most of the features, and it is great. Semrush helped me outrank competitors. The most popular page on my blog came from a competitor search using Semrush. I used the tool to identify top pages on competitor sites, then recreated them with more detail. My blog ranked number one in no time.

Semrush also allows marketers to discover their main paid search competitors and figure out which keywords they¡¯re bidding on. It enables marketers to study others¡¯ regional presence and composition of their ads. This information is essential to creating and managing their own paid strategy.

Best for: Bloggers and marketers who are familiar with keyword research at an intermediate-to-advanced level. If a marketer identifies as a beginner, they might have trouble navigating Semrush¡¯s wide variety of features. As such, they might end up not using the full potential of their Semrush subscription. I recommend trying Keyword Planner instead.

For those who can¡¯t stretch to Semrush¡¯s price, try , which largely does the same thing, but the database isn¡¯t as extensive.

12.

For a free and simpler alternative to Semrush, use Google¡¯s Keyword Planner.

Key features of Keyword Planner as a blogging tool:

• Keyword research.
• Content planning.
• Identify keywords and search volume in a country or area.

To use the keyword planner, a marketer must have a Google Ads account, but it is completely free. Set up the ad account, then pause any ads.

I relied heavily on Google Keyword Planner in my early days as a writer and SEO. With Google Keyword Planner, I built a strategy that received millions of clicks for an ecommerce brand. Bloggers and marketers can do brilliant work with this free tool. I start with a keyword and then use the tool to generate other keyword ideas, including the keyword¡¯s search volume and related words and phrases.

While the tool is designed specifically for ads, many bloggers use Keyword Planner for their content as well. For example, , the founder of Backlinko, increased his site¡¯s organic traffic to with the help of this tool.

Best for: Beginner bloggers and marketers who are starting to navigate the ins and outs of keyword research. It¡¯s especially a good fit for those who have set up Google Ads before or are planning on doing so in the future.

13.

Many bloggers use Keyword Planner in combination with Google Trends because any keywords identified by Keyword Planner can be run through Google.

Key features of Google Trends as a blogging tool:

• See keyword trends.
• Access how search volume fluctuates over time.
• See how keywords perform in specific regions.
• Get content ideation from topics and queries that are related to this keyword.

I use Google Trends a lot, and I like the add-on, which levels up the information available in Google Trends.

The features of Google Trends can help bloggers and marketers create a content strategy that incorporates seasonal trends, attracts a global audience, and includes related keywords that people are looking for.

Best for: Freelance bloggers, marketers, and small-to-enterprise businesses who need to understand the popularity of their product, service, or industry over time. It¡¯s an essential tool for anyone who¡¯s publishing content online, and the best part is that it¡¯s free.

14.

Quora is a crowdsourced Q&A website where users can post questions and get answers from anyone. Quora isn¡¯t just a site for engaging with and building an online community ¡ª it¡¯s also a great place to find ideas for a blog.

Key features of Quora as a blogging tool:

• Research into the questions a company¡¯s audience is asking.
• Trending topics.
• Incorporate diverse viewpoints in blog content.

Scanning this site will uncover questions that get asked most frequently by real people. This can be a great way to supplement keyword research. Quora is free to use ¡ª just create an account.

Quora is a great research tool because, unlike keyword research tools, Quora is current. Keyword research trends work by analyzing the history of a keyword, so keywords available in tools may not be used today. Quora is exactly what people are searching for and talking about in real time.

Best for: Any blogger or marketer who wants to find content ideas for their blog without needing to pay for a more extensive tool such as Semrush. It¡¯s a highly scalable tool that will serve the needs of bloggers just starting out and bloggers with a more established readership.

15.

Bloggers and marketers can implement a similar strategy on X (previously Twitter) using the Trending tab, where they can view the latest trending topics.

Key features of X¡¯s Trending as a blogging tool:

• Research into the questions audiences are asking.
• Trending topics.

For example, marketers can save a search for the trend ¡°SEO.¡± Then, each day, they can look for news and posts related to SEO. This will help them stay up to date on the latest discussions around SEO, which can inform their blog strategy.

Best for: X¡¯s Trending is an excellent tool for freelance bloggers and marketers at small-to-enterprise firms who need to understand which industry topics are generating ¡°buzz.¡± It¡¯s especially a good fit if a blog focuses on news and journalistic content because X is all about buzz, trendiness, and recency. If the plan is to write more evergreen content, Quora and Semrush are better options.

16.

While most tools and platforms so far have focused on how to generate blog ideas, Trello is a great option to stay organized ¡ª an alternative to Asana.

Trello is free to use, but paid plans are available for bloggers who want to connect their boards to Google Drive or need other advanced features, such as keyboard shortcuts or workflow automations for each board.

Key features of Trello as a blogging tool:

• Visual collaboration platform that¡¯s ideal for task management.
• Create cards for every blog post, including the title of the post and any additional notes.
• Assign cards to writers, add a due date, create checklists for each assignment, and organize them into categories with color-coded tags.

I work with a client on Trello, and we love it! It¡¯s the project management tool that we use to manage the content strategy that took the website from 2,940 clicks to 63,300 clicks.

Best for: Small-to-medium businesses with a team of writers and bloggers. It can also work for freelance writers or one-person marketing who like to organize their content writing efforts in one unified place.

Tools for Blog Writing

After identifying some keywords to target, it¡¯s time to start writing. Below are some tools that can optimize headlines, strike the right tone and style for the blog, and ensure the content is free of grammar and spelling mistakes.

17.

Sometimes, brilliant ideas come to us but slip away before we can record them. Or, even if a writer has jotted down words, they may not understand the feelings behind them when revisiting them later. That¡¯s where Notta and AI transcription software come in handy.

Key features of Notta as a blogging tool:

• Efficient transcription speed.
• Brainstorming, processing, and developing concepts and blog ideas.
• Smooth transcription that leads to a shorter overall time spent on article creation, resulting in increased hourly rates.

Best for: Notta is ideal for those seeking enhanced efficiency in organizing, sharing, and editing information, and it is an excellent choice for bloggers, professional writers, and journalists.

18.

Once the target audience is defined and some keywords are identified, it¡¯s time to start writing. If writers need help turning their keyword research into content, is a top resource.

Writers can enter up to five words that represent topics they want to write about in the search bar. Then click ¡°Give me Blog Ideas¡± to see an auto-generated list of five blog ideas.

Key features of Blog Ideas Generator as a blogging tool:

• Get auto-generated blog ideas from keywords.
• Support for the ideation and strategy phase of blogging.

Writers can also fill out a form to access a year¡¯s worth of blog ideas and details on how to advance their SEO strategy. This tool is completely free to use, so it¡¯s worth giving it a try if a writer is not sure where to start.

Best for: Beginner bloggers and content marketers who aren¡¯t sure what to do with the keyword research they¡¯ve just completed. It¡¯s also useful for advanced bloggers and marketers who don¡¯t know what to write about next. At the very least, it¡¯s a tool to keep bookmarked just in case the ideas run dry.

19.

Like ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s Blog Ideas Generator, Portent¡¯s Content Idea Generator provides headlines based on the keywords users type into the search bar. Designed to get both clicks and links, these headlines are intended to be ¡°funny and shocking,¡± according to the

While this strategy won¡¯t work for all brands, it might work for a specific blog, particularly if the goal is to boost social traffic.

Key features of Portent¡¯s Content Idea Generator:

• Content ideation for headlines from a single keyword.
• Headlines that are designed to earn that click.
• Regenerate ideas if the first suggestion doesn¡¯t work.

Best for: Portent is a good backup to ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s blog ideas generator. Writers can also use it in conjunction with ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s tool to get as many ideas as possible and start booking their content calendar well in advance.

20.

The from Advanced Marketing Institute calculates the emotional marketing value of headlines. Emotional marketing refers to the practice of using emotion to make an audience notice, remember, share, or otherwise respond to a brand¡¯s content.

Key features of the EMV Headline Analyzer as a blogging tool:

• Get an objective view of headlines.
• Helps with the planning and ideation phase, as writers can alter headlines until they get a score they¡¯re happy with.

After typing a blog title into the search bar, this tool will search for and analyze the emotional words in the headline. It will then give a score based on its emotional appeal, with a brief explanation. Titles with scores between 30% and 40% will stand out in SERPs and social feeds.

Best for: The EMV Headline Analyzer is ideal for marketers and bloggers who want to optimize their emotional marketing efforts and attract more readers. While emotional marketing serves all industries, it¡¯s most useful for bloggers in the hospitality, beauty, healthcare, and food industries. For a more SEO-centric title testing tool, try .

Tools for Blog SEO

We¡¯ve already covered a few SEO tools to maximize blog planning efforts, including Semrush, Keyword Planner, and Google Trends. Now, let¡¯s look at some blog SEO tools that will help during the writing and publishing phases.

21.

All-in-One SEO (AIOSEO) is a complete SEO plugin for WordPress. Marketers can use this plugin to get an in-depth analysis of their on-page optimization. Just set the focus keyword for any post or page, and AIOSEO will check the content for errors and provide actionable tips to unlock maximum traffic.

Key features of AIOSEO as a blogging tool:

• On-page optimization and analysis.
• Readability scores of content.
• Optimizing tips for title tags to improve click-through rate.
• Image SEO.
• Schema markup optimizations.
• Social media integration.
• Dynamic smart tags for titles and meta descriptions.

Best for: Writers and bloggers who are hosting their site on WordPress and who need SEO guidance as they create new blog posts. It¡¯s the closest alternative to the , offering similar benefits that will help with writing SEO-optimized posts.

22.

Like AIOSEO, Yoast SEO is another WordPress SEO plugin designed to improve a blog¡¯s on-page SEO. Like the Hemingway App and Grammarly, Yoast SEO analyzes the readability of the text, offering suggestions to improve grammar, sentence structure, reading level, and more.

What sets Yoast SEO apart from other tools is its SEO analysis. This tool will offer suggestions for adding keywords, optimizing meta descriptions and URLS, and adding internal links.

Key features of Yoast as a blogging tool:

• A traffic light system so writers can see where their SEO efforts are implemented perfectly, or if they need to work on them.
• Readability scores.
• Fields to change title tags, meta description, URLs, and more.
• Similar to AIOSEO, marketers can manage image SEO, schema, social media integrations, and more.

While some platforms, like , will provide these SEO recommendations during the writing process, others will require writers to use Yoast SEO to optimize their blog. Yoast SEO is most frequently purchased and downloaded on WordPress websites, but it¡¯s also compatible with Magento, Drupal, TYPO3, and Neos CMS.

Best for: Yoast SEO is a strong alternative to the SEO tool in Content Hub and AIOSEO. It¡¯s especially ideal for teams using a CMS that¡¯s not Content Hub or WordPress, because Yoast SEO is compatible with additional content management systems. It offers in-depth guidance to optimize blog posts and help them rank in search engines.

23.

For more insight into how SEO-friendly a site is, brands can ask Google. With Google Search Console, marketers can understand how their blog appears to search engines in terms of click-through rates, search queries, crawl errors, HTML errors, and backlinks.

Key features of Google Search Console as a blogging tool:

• Keyword research through analysis of keywords for which a site is earning clicks and impressions.
• Analysis of top pages.
• Internal linking analysis to understand how a site is structured.

Like Yoast SEO, Google Search Console highlights problem areas and opportunities for improvement to boost a blog¡¯s visibility in SERPs. It¡¯s free to use ¡ª it just requires a Google account.

Best for: Google Search Console is essential for all bloggers and marketers who want to track their blog¡¯s performance in Google and improve their posts¡¯ rankings. Getting the data directly from Google makes all of its insights incredibly valuable.

24.

Just Trello helps keep all a team¡¯s ideas in one place, Databox allows teams to view all of their performance data together.

Rather than wasting time logging into multiple tools to see how their blog is performing, teams can mix and match metrics from different sources in one Databoard for a more complete view of their site¡¯s performance.

This means less time spent checking data and creating reports, and more time acting on data.

Key features of Databox as a blogging tool:

• Combine metrics into one place for easy analysis.
• Build custom dashboards to access the desired data easily.

Best for: Databox is an essential tool for seeing all metrics in one place without needing to log in to different apps. It¡¯s perfect for marketers and bloggers who report to senior managers and directors on their blog¡¯s performance. Databox makes it easy to compile all performance information and distill it into insights.

25.

If the data points to a problem with page speed, WebPageTest helps marketers and bloggers dig deeper.

Key features of WebPageTest as a blogging tool:

• Free for most use cases.
• Analyze a blog¡¯s speed on desktop and mobile.
• Dig deep into different areas of performance, including visual loading timelines and waterfall analysis.

To identify page speed, simply type in the URL, and WebPageTest will provide data and ways to reduce the website¡¯s page speed.

Best for: Any marketer or blogger who doesn¡¯t yet have a preferred performance tracking tool. If, for instance, a team is using or to measure their website¡¯s performance, they may not need WebPageTest. However, it makes a great starting point for those who have little experience tracking their site¡¯s performance.

26.

Because all search engine algorithms consider links, . That means marketers need to devote time and resources to adding internal links and getting backlinks to their blog and ensuring that those links are working.

Key features of Check My Links as a blogging tool:

• Free Google extension.
• Automates the linking process.
• Crawls pages and checks for broken links.

Check My Links will identify and report broken links on a site within 20 to 30 seconds. It¡¯s one of the fastest link checkers available.

Best for: Any blogger or marketer who wants to keep their blog posts¡¯ links up to date. It¡¯s ideal for one-time link checking, specifically in Chrome. For those who want a more extensive tool that doesn¡¯t require becoming a Chrome user, they can use instead.

AI-Powered Blogging Tools

With the rise of AI, there are now lots of great AI blogging tools, including free blog writing tools that can help bloggers generate unique content from simple text prompts. Here are some of the best options.

27.

Designed for blog posts, bloggers can use to create new content by giving it prompts or topics. Furthermore, the Blog Writer features built-in reporting capabilities so they can measure the ROI of blog posts.

A part of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s , ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s AI Blog Writer and content tools can help bloggers create content such as emails, landing pages, blog posts, and social media. Simply provide the audience, the intended message, the desired length, and the tone.

Additionally, for quick ideas and inspiration, bloggers can use the software to generate outlines, headlines, and content suggestions.

Key features of AI Blog Writer as a blogging tool:

• Generative AI to write or ideate blogs in minutes.
• Content generation for a range of pages, including blogs.
• Saves time writing, which can help blogs scale.
• Repurpose content for use on different channels (repurpose a blog for social media, for example).
• Integration with ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s blog software.

Best for: Whether bloggers need a paragraph or an entire blog post, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s AI Blog Writer has got them covered. This tool is a great choice for writing high-quality blog copy.

28.

Surfer AI is an AI content writer that focuses on writing articles optimized for traffic and search engine rankings, rather than generic AI content.

Bloggers can enter basic details about the content that they want to create. Then, Surfer AI will analyze the existing search engine rankings pages (SERPs) and generate an article that¡¯s designed to outrank what¡¯s already there.

Key features of AI Blog Writer as a blogging tool:

• Generate article content based on existing SERPs to increase the chances of the article generating search traffic.
• Approve article outline before generating the full text.
• Choose from different article templates, including options such as product roundups (great for bloggers who monetize with affiliate content).
• Support for 11 different languages.
• Automatically insert images and internal links to save time.

Best for: Bloggers who want an AI article writer with a specific focus on SEO. While it costs more than other AI article writers, the extra price might be worth it for advanced bloggers looking to take their SEO strategies to the next level.

29.

Grammarly got its start as a tool to help bloggers check grammar and spelling, but it¡¯s long since added more advanced AI tools to help with all aspects of creating and optimizing text content.

It excels at helping bloggers optimize their tone and voice, though it can also help with article writing.

Key features of Grammarly as a blogging tool:

• Spelling and grammar checker.
• Paragraph rewrites to improve tone and voice.
• Generative text to help with writing.
• Tone guide so writers can see how their content might be received by the reader.
• Suggestions to improve clarity.
• Options to shorten or lengthen existing text.
• Simulated reader reactions that give insight into how the target audience might receive the text.

Bloggers can draft or copy and paste their blog posts into the Grammarly editor. They can also to offer suggestions as they write in Google Docs, X, LinkedIn, and other sites.

Best for: Blog writers and marketers who need an advanced editing tool that integrates with the writing tools they already use and offers AI tools for enhanced writing. Because it works in Google Docs and on the web, it¡¯s ideal for editing long pieces that writers don¡¯t want to copy and paste into a separate grammar checker. If marketers are doing social media marketing in addition to blogging, they can use Grammarly to double-check their social copy before pushing it live.

30.

Perplexity is an AI-powered search engine that makes a great option for blog post research, ideation, and optimization. While it won¡¯t help bloggers actually write the posts (there are other tools for that, like ), it¡¯s a great solution for making sure blog content covers topics well.

Key features of Perplexity as a blogging tool:

• Easily perform deep background research to write more accurate and helpful content.
• Fact-check content to avoid issues with accuracy.
• Understand the questions that visitors want answers to.
• Use AI to brainstorm additional topics and content ideas.

Best for: Bloggers who want to automate research and fact-checking, rather than just generating text from scratch. It¡¯s a great option for people who want to write blog posts manually while still using AI to speed up research and improve content accuracy.

31.

BrandWell, formerly known as Content at Scale, is an AI content tool for serious bloggers. Its prices start at $249 per month, which will put it out of reach for most beginners. But for advanced users and teams who are willing to pay, it offers a powerful AI feature set with an emphasis on optimizing blog content for traffic.

Key features of BrandWell as a blogging tool:

• Create blog content that¡¯s optimized for both search engines and LLMs.
• Produce AI-generated content that feels human.
• Perform keyword research and topic clustering to build a full blog SEO strategy.
• Analyze existing content to improve its effectiveness and ranking.
• Factor in past content when creating new content and topic ideas.

Best for: Serious bloggers and teams who are willing to invest in a full-service AI tool for content strategy, creation, and optimization. The pricing puts BrandWell out of reach for most beginners and casual bloggers, but it can be a good option for advanced bloggers who want to take their blog strategy to the next level.

Tools for Blog Images

Images are an important part of creating more engaging blog content. With these image tools for bloggers, it¡¯s possible to create great-looking images without taking up much time.

32.

Death to Stock is an artist-owned co-op offering a premium subscription to high-resolution lifestyle photos. Every month, over 35 new photos are added to the library, so bloggers never run out of options. They¡¯ll also be able to access and search its full archive, which contains over 4,500 photos.

Key features of Death to Stock as a blogging tool:

• A growing library of images so a blog will have a fresh look.
• Option to rent and buy images.
• Unlimited downloads.

Best for: Death to Stock is a blogger or marketer¡¯s go-to tool for blog post images, carousels, galleries, and headers. It¡¯s highly recommended for bloggers in more ¡°aesthetic¡± or artistic industries, since Death to Stock offers unique visuals. For more traditional stock images, try .

33.

For bloggers and content marketers who like to create different types of media, like graphics or videos, they should try out Design Wizard.

Key features of Design Wizard as a blogging tool:

• Freemium tool.
• Create visual content with no professional editing experience required.
• Hundreds of design templates.

Design Wizard has hundreds of design templates marketers can use as inspiration, or they can download and customize one for their blog for as little as one dollar. Upgrading to a paid plan allows users to download up to 60 designs monthly.

Best for: Design Wizard is useful for any freelance blogger or single marketer who¡¯s planning to create media files in a variety of sizes, formats, and mediums. If, for instance, a marketer is planning to promote their blog posts over social media channels, Design Wizard is a useful tool for creating a social graphic at the same time they create a blog post banner. It¡¯s also ideal for marketers planning to create video files.

34.

Visme is a powerful design and content creation platform that allows anyone with little to no design experience to create stunning and professional content. Visuals are an important aspect of improving the user experience. That¡¯s where Visme comes in.

Visme offers thousands of templates and millions of design assets, including videos, images, 3D animation, and charts, that allow marketers to create visuals for their blog, lead magnets, forms, pop-ups, and more. Its drag-and-drop functionality equips users with flexibility, and its interactive and animated content features require no coding.

Key features of Visme as a blogging tool:

• User-friendly interface that requires little to no design skills.
• Access to thousands of customizable social media templates and millions of design assets.
• AI-powered tools to streamline the content creation process and provide engaging visuals and captions.

Best for: Visme is the best Canva alternative for SMEs, content creators, and enterprise teams that need a design tool that scales with them as they grow. Beyond helping blogs to have highly engaging and conversion-focused content, it offers AI-powered tools, collaborative workspace features, along with a myriad of tools and templates at a reasonable price point.

35.

Another easy-to-use tool that offers multimedia editing options is VistaCreate (formerly known as Crello).

Key features of VistaCreate as a blogging tool:

• One-stop shop for static and animated graphic designs.
• Over 650,000 stock photos ready to be put in blog posts.
• Premade HD animations and video clips to optimize a web page according to the desired theme.

VistaCreate is an amazing option for those who want to quickly make designs for their favorite social media platforms.

Build modern graphic designs from VistaCreate¡¯s wide range of template images, or personalize them with proprietary images. This service isn¡¯t free but provides budget-friendly pricing to those trying to work more extensively in a team or take advantage of online support.

Best for: Bloggers and marketers at small businesses who need powerful features, templates, and collaboration tools at a cheaper price tag. For a 10-person Canva subscription, for example, teams would pay $48/month, while VistaCreate offers a flat subscription of $10/month. Keep in mind, however, that Canva does offer more templates and stock photos.

Tools for Blog Promotion

Once the writing is done, marketers need to promote their blog so that their target audience can find, read, and share it. After all, what¡¯s the point of going through the trouble of planning, writing, and optimizing a blog without bothering to promote it?

Below are some tools that can help get brand content in front of the right people at the right time, so they can convert visitors into leads.

36.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s free marketing tools ¡ª including ads, email marketing, live chat, forms, reports, and more ¡ª are powered by the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø CRM so bloggers can convert more of their visitors into leads.

Key features of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s Free Marketing tools as a blogging tool:

• Include CTAs to sign up for a blog newsletter and begin converting readers into subscribers.
• Easily see which blogs are converting best, which need to be optimized, and which topics you should be writing about.
• Promote content in targeted Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google Ads with the free ad tools.

Best for: ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s free marketing tools are an essential addition to any blogger or marketer¡¯s tool set. It will help them market their blog through email marketing and social advertisements, which will grow their audience.

Bloggers at an enterprise-level team can upgrade to a , which offers additional functionalities and features to grow their enterprise blog.

37.

Moosend¡¯s all-in-one email marketing platform will help marketers simplify content distribution and help promote their blogs across various channels.

Key features of Moosend as a blogging tool:

• Drag-and-drop builder is perfect for beginners.
• Experienced users can craft campaigns from scratch or choose one of the .
• Set up RSS campaigns to keep readers in the loop by delivering the latest content the moment something is published on the website. Then, all marketers have to do is add their content URL and let the platform distribute the content on autopilot.

Best for: Moosend¡¯s affordable pricing is ideal for bloggers who want to build their audience and promote their content through email. Apart from the email builder, they can also use the newsletter signup form and landing page editors to expand their subscriber list and create specific content pages for their readers.

38.

BuzzSumo can help bloggers and marketers decide how best to promote their content.

Key features of BuzzSumo as a blogging tool:

• Monitor the performance of content to understand the ideal days and times of the week to post and the ideal lengths of posts.
• Track the performance of content in specific niches or around the web.

I love using BuzzSumo to track content. All I do is enter a topic or a URL into the BuzzSumo search box and get back a wealth of information ¡ª including its share counts across the most popular social media sites. I use this information to understand which topics and types of content perform best on different social media platforms.

Best for: Marketers and bloggers who don¡¯t have a preferred performance tracking tool. For instance, if a business is already using a plugin or content management system that measures engagement metrics for their content, they may not need BuzzSumo. But if the analytics user interface is difficult to read or sift through, then BuzzSumo is worth checking out.

39.

After hours of researching and writing, the idea of uploading the blog posts to multiple social media platforms can be overwhelming. If a company¡¯s blogging platform doesn¡¯t include built-in social tools, it can use a third-party tool like Buffer to automate this process.

Key features of Buffer as a blogging tool:

• Schedule blog posts on different social channels.
• Schedule posts to be sent multiple times, using different headlines and images each time.

Best for: Buffer¡¯s low price point and powerful features make it a great choice for freelance bloggers and marketing teams at small businesses. However, for teams already using a tool such as Marketing Hub to , they might not need Buffer.

40.

Movavi Video Editor is an all-in-one visual content creation tool that caters to bloggers and marketers looking to enhance their visuals with ease.

Key features of Movavi as a blogging tool:

• Powerful and user-friendly photo editing functions include AI auto enhancement, quick image background removal, and AI restoration of old photos.
• 100+ effects and filters.
• Precise object removal.

These features help optimize colors and contrast, remove unwanted elements, and apply artistic filters, all without consuming hours of editing time.

Movavi Video Editor also provides users with stock photos for added convenience. To add videos to a blog, the tool offers screen recording, background removal, noise removal, and 8x upscaling, enabling the creation of engaging and professional-looking video content.

Best for: Movavi Video Editor is an ideal solution for beginner bloggers and marketers who want to incorporate videos into their content but find professional software like Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Pro too hard to handle. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, Movavi is an excellent tool to quickly edit photos and videos for a blog without spending hours learning complex software.

Tools for Monetization and Affiliate Marketing

There are also blog tools that can help bloggers earn more money from their blogs, whether that¡¯s optimizing general affiliate marketing, integrating with Amazon¡¯s affiliate program, or inserting custom ads and sponsorships.

41.

Lasso helps bloggers more effectively earn money using affiliate links. It has an especially deep integration with the Amazon Associates program, but bloggers can also use it with other affiliate networks and programs.

In addition to helping bloggers manage their affiliate links, it also includes tools to optimize revenue and more effectively display and promote affiliate products in blog content.

It has a deep integration with WordPress via its dedicated WordPress plugin, but bloggers can also use Lasso with other platforms, including social media.

Key features of Lasso as a blogging tool:

• Automatically detect broken affiliate links to avoid missing out on potential revenue. Lasso can also detect out-of-stock products on Amazon.
• Track revenue and link clicks to find the highest-converting products.
• Create high-converting product displays and comparison tables.
• Shorten affiliate links with your own branded domain (when allowed by affiliate network terms).

Best for: Bloggers who are serious about monetizing their blogs with affiliate marketing. While Lasso is a paid subscription rather than a one-time purchase, it will pay for itself for bloggers who use its tools effectively.

42.

AAWP is a WordPress plugin that helps bloggers monetize their websites using the popular Amazon Associates affiliate program.

For bloggers who rely heavily on promoting products from Amazon for monetization, this plugin is a great way to more effectively promote Amazon products and also stay compliant with Amazon¡¯s strict rules for displaying information.

For example, it can help bloggers display product prices, descriptions, and images via Amazon¡¯s API. This is essential because Amazon does not allow bloggers to display a lot of this information without the API.

AAWP starts at €79 for use on a single WordPress website.

Key features of AAWP as a blogging tool:

• Display product prices and information using the Amazon Associates API, which helps bloggers stay compliant with the Amazon Associates¡¯ rules.
• Easily generate affiliate links for products, including adding tracking IDs.
• Automatically geotarget affiliate links to visitors¡¯ local Amazon stores, which improves conversion rates for global traffic.
• Create optimized product displays, including product boxes with CTAs, comparison tables, lists, and more.
• Track affiliate link clicks, including finding out which CTAs are the most effective for driving affiliate sales.

Best for: Bloggers who want to monetize their blogs by promoting Amazon products. Because AAWP focuses specifically on Amazon Associates, it¡¯s able to offer a deeper integration than a lot of more generic WordPress affiliate plugins.

43.

Ad Inserter is a WordPress plugin that helps bloggers display all kinds of advertisements.

Bloggers can use it for AdSense, other advertising networks, custom ads, sponsored content, affiliate product promotion, and more. The plugin also makes it easy for bloggers to promote their own offers, such as courses, coaching, or other similar monetization strategies.

As the plugin¡¯s name suggests, it makes it easy to automatically inject ads or promotions anywhere on a site and manage all of the ads from one central interface.

Key features of Ad Inserter as a blogging tool:

• Manage all ads and offers from one centralized interface.
• Automatically inject ads on a site. Bloggers can manually place ad slots using shortcodes, blocks, or code. Or, bloggers can also choose automatic injection, such as inserting an ad after the second paragraph in a blog post or after the first image (or even randomly).
• Rotate ads automatically, which can be great for finding what works best.
• Display different ads and/or use different ad rules for different types of content. For example, bloggers could display a different ad for a certain category of blog posts.

Best for: Bloggers who need to manage a variety of different ads and promotions. It can work equally well for display ads, direct sponsors, affiliate offers, or even self-promotion. It¡¯s also great for testing different offers to find what leads to the most revenue.

Frequently Asked Questions About Blogging Tools

Which tool is used for blogging?

There isn¡¯t a single tool used for blogging ¡ª successful blogs are built with a stack of tools that work together. At a minimum, most bloggers use a content management system (CMS) like , WordPress, or Wix to publish posts, along with writing tools, image editors, SEO software, and analytics platforms.

Beginner bloggers tend to benefit from all-in-one platforms that handle hosting, design, and publishing in one place. More advanced bloggers usually mix specialized tools ¡ª like SEO platforms, analytics, and email marketing software ¡ª to gain more control, scalability, and monetization options.

What is the 80/20 rule for blogging?

The 80/20 rule in blogging means that roughly 80% of your results ¡ª traffic, leads, or revenue ¡ª come from about 20% of your blog content. A small number of posts typically drive the majority of a blog¡¯s performance, especially evergreen or high-intent articles.

Smart bloggers use this rule to guide their content decisions. Instead of spreading effort evenly across every post, they use analytics and SEO tools to identify and promote those top-performing posts.

What is replacing blogging?

Blogging isn¡¯t being replaced so much as it¡¯s being supplemented. Short-form video, social media posts, newsletters, and podcasts have become popular ways to distribute ideas, but they rarely replace the depth and search visibility that blogs provide. Additionally, those channels are often built on someone else¡¯s platform, whereas blogs give bloggers a self-owned channel to connect with their readers.

For many creators and businesses, blogs now act as the foundation of their content strategy. Other formats ¡ª like video or social ¡ª often point back to long-form blog content that captures organic traffic, builds authority, and supports conversions over time. Tools like can help bloggers easily repurpose their blog content for other platforms, without wasting time on duplicating effort.

Are blogs losing popularity?

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø aren¡¯t losing popularity, but the way people use them has evolved. Casual, diary-style blogging has declined, while purpose-driven blogs focused on education, SEO, and business growth continue to perform extremely well.

In fact, blogs remain one of the most reliable long-term assets for driving organic traffic. When paired with the right tools ¡ª especially for SEO, performance, and content optimization ¡ª blogs can perform very well.

Start Growing Your Blog Today

Blogging tools can help with all aspects of running a blog, from creating the blog itself to writing content, promoting posts, creating images, maximizing revenue, and more.

In my experience, building a successful blog requires the use of multiple tools. Finding the right set of tools requires some trial and error, but it¡¯s worth putting in the effort, regardless of writer experience level.

To save time and simplify your tech stack, consider all-in-one platforms where possible. For example, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø¡¯s Blog Maker can help you not just make a blog, but also access useful SEO tools, AI blog writing, and many other useful blogging tools.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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