8 Best Blogging Tools for Beginners (things I still use)
I love researching and writing online. It’s rewarding and an awesome way to build an audience and a personal brand. But it takes some patience, focus and a little bit of finesse.
Luckily, there are ways to make things easier. So this is my list of the best blogging tools for beginners.
This is the stuff that I use daily and that helps me make better content and a better user experience for readers.
Now let’s get to it!
Table of Contents Show
Hey there, just a heads up that some of the links in this post may be affiliate links. That means I earn a small commission. This is at no extra cost to you, but helps me keep the lights on. Thank you for your support!
What Are Blogging Tools?
Blogging tools are resources, software or platforms that help bloggers get more done more efficiently.
They’re extensions beyond the core stuff (like your website hosting platform).
And with so much awesome technology readily available (everything from software automations to AI), we’re able to get more done more easily than ever before.
So let’s dig deeper into the benefits of blogging tools.
Why Use Blog Tools Anyways?
You don’t need the fanciest tools on the market to succeed with blogging.
But if you’re intentional, using the right ones will make your life easier (and your blogging better).
So here are some of my favorite benefits of using blogging tools:
Improve your blog productivity and get more done
Improve your content organization and blog structure
Use data to make decisions (such as keyword search volume and competition data)
Improve your SEO, ranking and traffic performance
Be more intentional with your blog planning and content strategy
Scale your blog more easily
Better optimize your blog performance and content
8 Best Blogging Tools for Beginners
This list is just a few examples of blogging tools. Of course, there are many more.
But these are the ones that I use most often and the ones that will be most helpful for beginner bloggers.
1. Your Website + Hosting
The first (and probably most important) tool for beginning is your blog’s home.
Your articles need to live somewhere, so having a website and hosting is essential.
I use Squarespace (you can read my full review of blogging on Squarespace here), but there are a lot of options out there.
Here are a few popular choices and who they’re suitable for:
Perfect for beginners and writers who want to dabble in writing online, but don’t want to start a website quite yet
Perfect for creatives, personal brands and non-techy bloggers who don’t want to compromise on SEO power
Great for bloggers who prefer advanced customization options and are okay with the more technical side of website management
2. Google (lots of Google)
If you’re curious what my most used blogging tool is, it’s Google.
They’re a powerhouse and have a variety of different tools useful for blog owners. Namely, I use:
Google Search
Keyword and competition analysis
Brainstorming ideation
Google Trends
Explore current and historical trends
Compare trends and locations
Google Docs
Write and draft new articles
Organize your content strategy and keywords
Google Analytics (GA4)
Get deep insights on engagement rates and much much more
Learn which articles and topics get the most traffic
Google Search Console
Request automatic indexing for new articles
See your top ranking keywords, submit sitemaps and more
Google Workspace
Professional email account
Collaboration tools and more
Google Analytics, Search Console and Workspace will require a professional account, which can be easily set up by connecting to your website domain.
But suffice to say, if you have a blog, you’ll be using Google.
3. Glimpse (free)
I recently discovered Glimpse and decided to include it since it’s free and it compliments Google (Trends) so well.
Glimpse is a tool that adds search volume data to Google Trends analytics.
For bloggers, this tool can boost your SEO efforts by identifying new and trending search queries and finding untapped keyword opportunities.
While I get most of my keyword data from personal research methods and Ahrefs, Glimpse is another interesting platform worth exploring (especially for catching upcoming trends that other keyword tools won’t have data for yet).
Using multiple keyword tools is also good for cross-referencing data points and making a more informed decision.
4. Ahrefs Keyword Generator (free)
Keyword tools add important data to search terms, which is incredibly helpful.
My favorite tool is Ahrefs – and luckily they have a free version.
Ahrefs Keyword Generator gives you free monthly search volume data and keyword difficulty (KD) scores for an unlimited amount of searches.
As a new blog, I like to aim for keywords with an Ahrefs difficulty score of 10 or less.
But remember, just because a keyword is high competition doesn’t mean you should ignore it altogether.
High competition keywords can serve as important pillar posts for your website, which can be linked back to from your other articles. This builds a solid internal linking structure, which boosts your authority and trust and is good for both UX and SEO.
It’s also helpful to plug your search terms into Google.
For one, keyword tools aren’t always 100% accurate. So even if a search query has a low KD score, the search results may be full of big-brand websites with high domain authority (which would make it difficult to rank as a new blog).
Secondly, you’ll want to double check the search intent and explore what other websites are talking about.
You can also see what related search terms Google recommends, which can further guide your search intent analysis and blog drafting process.
Recommended: Keyword Brainstorming + Research 101
5. Canva (free)
I use Canva a lot. It’s my go-to tool for all of my custom web design jobs.
I create all of my blog posts images and graphics using it. It’s intuitive, powerful and free (although I do pay for premium).
Unless your domain is in art and digital illustration, Canva is an awesome way to get custom images with little to no design background.
They have endless amounts of elements, photos, fonts and assets to use freely in your blog projects.
It’s also super fun and creative to play around with this software.
You can sign up for free here.
6. Frase ($14.99/month)
Frase is perfect for anyone who wants to take their SEO and blog optimization to the next level.
It’s a powerful SEO content optimizer and AI writer.
Fraze analyzes your target keyword and the ranking articles to help you fully optimize all of your titles, H2s and outlines with related phrases and topics to cover.
It also gives a score for how well your posts are optimized and ready for search engine ranking.
It’s pretty cool.
Especially if you’re more on the analytical side of things, this can be the perfect addition to your blogging workflow.
While it costs a bit of money, there is a five-day trial that only costs $1. So you can try things out first before you fully commit.
7. AI (free)
No blog tech tools list would be complete without mentioning AI.
While most tools will have some level of AI integration these days (Canva, Frase and Google all have AI features), some tools excel in this department.
Here are a few of my favorite AI tools for bloggers:
ChatGPT
Great for brainstorming and content ideation assistance
AI tool for all things SEO and content planning
Adobe Firefly, NightCafe and Fotor
AI image generators
Grammarly
Great for editing and checking your grammar
Just remember, if you’re using AI-written content, don’t rely on it exclusively. Go back and add your own flavor, experience and tone of voice.
Google prioritizes articles that use firsthand experience and are genuinely helpful (not generic posts, which AI content often is).
Recommended: How I Do Content Ideation
8. AnswerSocrates + AnswerThePublic (free)
AnswerSocrates and AnswerThePublic are two amazing platforms for blog brainstorming and topic ideation.
Based on a single keyword, these two tools will give you a ton of related terms, organized by question types, comparison phrases and preposition use.
AnswerSocrates is totally free while AnswerThePublic gives you just three free searches per day.
But AnswerThePublic is a clear winner since it gives you a little more to work with, including:
Cool visual graphs showing your target keyword and related queries
A lot of data, such as search volume and cost per click
So if you're looking for some inspiration on topics and subcategories to explore, these two platforms are perfect for the job.
Later ✌️
Blogging success depends more on your mindset, consistency and love of the journey.
Still, there are tools that can make our life easier. This post shared my top picks for the best blogging tools for beginners.
My go-to platforms are Google, Canva, Ahrefs and AI like ChatGPT (for brainstorming and ideation help).
If you’re new to using blog tools, it’s best to try a few different platforms to see what works best for you and your goals and preferences.
So with that, happy blogging!
Want More? Okay. Here’s More.
