Google Chrome Extensions: 8 Must-Haves for Marketers & Business Owners

Personalise your browsing experience, save time and maximise efficiency with our go-to guide to Google Chrome Extensions for Digital Marketers.

In the busy world of digital marketing, time is money. The more organised you are, the more time you save. The more time you save, the more hours you can put into your online and offline presence, promotions and brand. The more effort you put into this, the more money you’ll make.

The more money you’ll make, the more… Okay, I’ll stop. This ongoing loop could send you into a never-ending cycle of business and marketing, but that would be wasting time, right? Instead, I’m choosing to spend my valuable minutes this afternoon by sharing some of my favourite time-saving Google Chrome Extensions.

Each of these magnificent tools has enhanced a huge range of my digital marketing responsibilities and challenges. From graphic design and web development to social media marketing, keyword research and content creation, take just a few minutes out of your hectic day to download these FREE Chrome Extensions and you’ll never look back.

1) Whatfont

Ever liked the look of a font but can’t for the life of you figure out what it is? Maybe you’re designing a branded or graphic for a client but are unsure what font is used on their website or logo… Whatever the dilemma, the Whatfont Chrome Extension has got your back.

Once you’ve added this to your Chrome account, click the Extension and hover over any piece of text to determine what font is being used.

2) ColorZilla

Graphic designers, rejoice! My second Chrome Extension recommendation for marketers follows a similar theme to my first, only this one covers colours, not fonts.

ColorZilla is able to identify the exact shade, tone and pigment of any colour on your web browser, giving you the Hex code to copy and paste into Photoshop or your graphic design software.

3) LastPass

Facebook… Google… Twitter… WordPress… Part of working in marketing and owning your own business involves creating, saving, sharing, (and often losing!) passwords. With hacking technology more intelligent now than ever before, the need for unbreakable passwords and a secure, safe place to store them has never been stronger.

Enter, LastPass: the software and Chrome Extension that allows you to generate, autofill and share login information for all of your online accounts.

After creating a LastPass account and downloading the Extension, saving and storing your passwords has never been easier. Each time you head to the likes of Facebook, Twitter and so on, the LastPass Extension will give you the opportunity to A) Save new login information, or B) Log in to an existing account using its autofill feature.

4) Facebook Pixel Helper

Facebook Pixel Helper, in its own words, is “a troubleshooting tool that helps you validate your pixel implementation.” Confused? Don’t worry, this sounds way more complex than it actually is.

Essentially, a Facebook Pixel helps you track activity on your website from Facebook users, particularly those who have arrived via a Facebook Ad. Installing one on your website is an absolute must for digital marketers, as it allows you to measure the success of your ads and optimise, target and remarket towards your web traffic.

As many marketers will know, installing the Facebook Pixel is not always as straightforward as it seems. This is where the Facebook Pixel Helper Chrome Extension really comes into its own: allowing you to see A) Whether or not a Facebook Pixel is installed on your webpage(s), B) Whether it is tracking activity and conversions as it should be, and C) What that Facebook Pixel ID is (who it belongs to).

5) Grammarly

Spelling and grammar should be high on your priorities list as digital marketers and business owners. Even the best content marketing in the world can be ruined by a blatant typo or error in a Facebook post, blog or tweet. But we have all fallen victim to it. Now, we have no excuse.

Do you live in constant fear of the ever-present threat of a grammar-nazi pulling you up on an embarrassing spelling or grammatical error? Does your hand quiver, full of dread, as you’re about to click send on that important email or “Publish” on that LinkedIn draft you’ve been staring at for the past 20 minutes?

We have just two words for you: Download Grammarly.

6) Google Tag Assistant

Google Analytics… Google Optimize… Google Tag Manager… Tag this… Tag that… It’s easy to lose track (and your marbles) of what Google products are installed on your website, which is the thought process behind Google Tag Assistant.

The easy-to-use Chrome Extension indicates and verifies which Tags are currently working as they should be on your website. From reporting errors to suggesting improvements, this really is a pivotal Extension for web developers, marketing reports and tech analysists.

7) Buffer

For those of you unfamiliar, Buffer is a social media management tool that enables you to share and schedule content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Signing up to Buffer is free for up to 3 social media accounts. The Buffer Chrome Extension is also free to install, and offers you the opportunity to instantly share news and webpages to your social accounts at the click of a button. Simply land on something you think will be of interest to your followers, and select the Buffer Extension to start creating your content.

8) Bitly

By now, most of you will have at least heard of link-shortening software, Bitly. However, not everyone is aware that it offers a Chrome Extension.

The Bitly Chrome Extension offers all of the invaluable tools of the website: link shortening, URL optimisation and tracking and so on, but without the need to copy and paste links. Simply head to the page you want to share and click the Bitly Extension to shorten the URL.

Find more Chrome Extensions & Marketing Guidance

Looking for more time-saving Chrome Extensions? Explore the selection and find your own helpful hacks and tools: Chrome Extension Library