If you’re just starting out blogging, you do not need a ton of tools. You just need the basics to get started.
You need good hosting, the ability to collect email, a way to manage your affiliate links, and something that will help you manage your internal linking.
If you have all of these things, you’re in a great place to start growing your blog.
The tools I’ve listed below are what I’d describe as “essential”.
You don’t need all of them, but you will need most. Things like hosting and email software are more important than fancy plugins that make affiliate tables.
If you’re brand new to blogging, these are ALL the tools you need to get started.
#1 – Kinsta (My Preferred Hosting)
The Best WordPress Hosting Around
- Great Choice of Packages – Prices Start At $30
- Runs on Google Cloud; It is Incredibly Fast
- Market-Leading Customer Service
- Free CDN, Cloudflare & Staging Environment
- 100% Uptime. Excellent Security
- 100% Managed. They’ll Even Migrate You For Free
#2 – SEMRush (My Favourite SEO Tool)
The Best SEO & Keyword Research Tool
- Keep Track of Your Site’s Metrics
- Find Keywords By Volume, Keyword Difficulty & Topics
- Backlink Analysis Tool
- Monitor on Your Competitors’ Metrics, Keywords & Backlinks
- Site Health Checker
- Full Site Auditing Suite
- Find Your Top Performing Pages
- Track Your Site’s Growth Over Time
#3 – Thirsty Affiliates (Manages Your Affiliate Links)
The Ultimate Affiliate Link Management Tool
- Manage ALL Your Affiliate Links From One Place
- Geo-Locate Affiliate Links
- Auto-Linking For Specific Keywords
- Incredibly Simple To Use
- Sort Affiliate Links By Topic/Category
- Track How Many Clicks Your Affiliate Links Get
- Cloaks Affiliate Links
- Exceptionally Well Priced
#4 – GetResponse (Best For Email Marketing)
The Ultimate Email Marketing Platform
- Amazing Automations
- Free Up To 1000 Subscribers
- Gorgeous Pre-Made Templates
- Built-In Sales Funnel Builder
- Hundreds of Pre-Made Landing Page Templates
- Tons of Integrations
- Cheaper Than ConvertKit & MailChimp
#5 – Link Whisper (Internal Link Management)
An Essential Tool For Internal Linking
- Simple To Use
- Ability To Auto-Link Specific Keywords (Great For Building Content Hubs)
- Ensures Your Site Has ZERO Orphan Posts
- Click-Tracking
- Powered By AI, Makes Link Suggestions For Your Posts
- This Tool Boosted Traffic Across My Sites By 30%
- Makes Internal Linking A Breeze
#6 – OptinMonster (Optin Forms & Pop-Ups)
Best Plugin For Capturing Emails
- Loads of Templates
- Runs Natively Inside WordPress
- Specific Forms For Mobile, Tablet, & Desktop
- Amazing Targeting & Trigger Features
- Easy To Use, Drag N’ Drop Editor is Great
- Integrates With All Major Email Providers
#7 – AMP For WP (Easy AMP Installer)
One-Click AMP Installer For WordPress
- Install AMP Without Developer
- Free Theme Looks Great
- Pro Version Has Tons of Useful Add-Ons
- Has Built-In AMP Page Builder
- Your Site Will Score 100 In Core Web Vitals With It
- AMP Takeover
- Incredibly Easy To Use
- Excellent Customer Support