Whenever I see a post about tools or extensions or plugins I always wonder whether the writer actually uses all of them or whether they have just Google'd and compiled.
With this in mind I though I would share the Chrome extensions or tools that I use on a regular basis, ones that I know will actually provide value for people who are building links.
Other extensions have come and gone but these are the ones that have stood the test of time for me - hopefully they can help you become a little more productive too!
1. Linkclump
Without a doubt one of the most used tools I have. Period. If you need a review a bunch of URLs you can use it to open them all in new tabs. If you need to copy a list of blogs that you have found for investigation later then this is your tool.
The great thing about Link Clump is how versatile it is, I have different key combinations set up for different actions. Memorise these and get lists of blogs and search results into a spread sheet or some other software super quick!
2. Scraper
As good as any tool is (and I love Link Clump) it doesn't do everything that you want it to. If the URLs are formatted nicely in one long list it is easy to capture them with Link Clump. What if the links that you want have other unnecessary links around them that? Links that you don't want in your spread sheet or master list?
That is where Scraper comes in. Simply add it to Chrome and when you come across some URL's that you want to capture quickly (and Link Clump won't do the job) simply right click and it populates, one more click and it is in a Google Doc for you - magic! Need some more information on Scraper? Here is the definitive post on it.
3. Rapportive
Rapportive is an absolute godsend for any link builders that work in Gmail - and unlike most of the extensions on this list it works in other browsers. If you are conducting outreach you get to see contact details right in the Gmail window. You can see their tweets, you can connect with them on Facebook or LinkedIn and get other details that can help you outreach without ever having to open another window - beautiful.
4. Check My Links
If you are doing any sort of link building from small to large scale you are going to need to find ways to connect with those that you email. You can do this with psychology, using your experience and in some cases helping bloggers and webmasters out. Check My Links is the simplest of simple extensions. When you are reviewing pages that you think it would be quite nice to have a link on you just press go and it checks to see if there are any broken links on that page. If you discover any then you have just found a way that you can help the blogger out and kick-start a relationship.
5. MozBar
We all know that link metrics are not the ideal way for deciding on which sites you would like a link from (note there are no PageRank checkers in this list) but at the end of the day you need to know that the site isnt completely rubbish.
Simply click on the icon and you get all the link data for the site that you need - plus page elements and attributes. As a bonus you also get a SERP overlay so that you can see the link data for sites as you scan through your Google results.
There you go, 5 essential Chrome extensions that I use all the time - do you have any favourites?
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