Google-Chrome-extensions
Photo courtesy.

I used to be a Firefox believer …

I had Google Chrome to run Adwords, but still clung tight with nostalgic sentiment to my first “cool” browser that I had grown to love. Plus, I needed Firefox to login to my Gmail account, while simultaneously opening our Google MMC account confined to my dedicated Chrome browser.

That is until I discovered Chrome’s “People” profile accounts.

I could sign in on any computer with my Google account, taking my personal browser anywhere I went. Despite the inherent creepiness of logging my whereabouts (and complete browser history) to Google and who knows who else, the convenience of having a client’s CallRail dashboard within clicking distance on my browser, on any computer with access to the Internet, was just too much for me to pass up.

So the new laptop that I bought a few months ago does not have Firefox installed; I have moved on …

So with all respect to Firefox, this post is about my personal Top 5 Chrome extensions for doing PPC:

Google Tag Assistant

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Why are there 2 Remarketing tags?

Simple to use extension that checks for Google tags on any given webpage.

Looking at source-codes can be fun and all, but this tool also validates whether the code is installed correctly and firing when intended.

Another added benefit is that it also detects tags fired within hidden iframes, as well as tag containers such as Google Tag Manager – tags that are not present when viewing the code of the page itself.

One downside is that Tag Assistant does not detect Bing or other third-party tags – only Google tacking scripts. But for non-coders such as myself, Tag Assistant is an invaluable tool to ensure clients’ Google accounts are setup and tracking the proper data.

LastPass

LastPass

LastPass stores your logins and passwords on the cloud, allowing you to access your “vault” from any computer or mobile device anywhere, all with one login.

It also increases security- Lastpass eliminates the need to store login credentials on shared spreadsheets.

Added bonus – it also features a password generator to create unique and more secure passwords. I can easily generate a new password for the Bing Ads account I just set up, store it securely, and access from my laptop or smartphone later on at home.

Clients entrust thousands of dollars and their business, and it is our responsibility as an agency to take any steps we can take to keep those accounts secure.  Passwords can remain “hidden” from others, so you never have to share passwords, as login forms are auto-filled with a single touch or click.

Toggl

Toggl On.. Toggl Off..
Toggl On.. Toggl Off..

At Clicks and Clients, we often are working on consulting projects or web design that needs to be tracked and billed on an hourly basis.

Toggl creates a single button to start and stop a timer, and then tracks the time back to the client or project.

It also integrates with Project Management platforms such as Basecamp and JIRA-  The Toggl extensions even adds a button conveniently in the Task screens themselves.

Toggl promotes itself as one-click time tracking, and with the browser extension, it truly is.  And even if I forget to click the button when starting on a task, no worries..

I can simply add and organize the time later on.

Time management is crucial to a PPC department, and using the extension to track our time allows us to measure our productivity and make sure we are spending our efforts on the right work.

Boomerang

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Working on the weekend!

Nothing gives me peace of mind quite like a clean and tidy inbox, but how can I keep track of the mob of emails I need to send out to my dozen or so clients?

Boomerang provides a solution – automatically return emails right to your inbox, whenever you feel like boomeranging it back.  1 day, 4 days, tomorrow morning, whatever the message is, I can eliminate the distress about whether my emails are going unanswered.

Another great feature is the Boomerang calendar extension, which allows the quick addition of proposed schedule openings directly in the email.  Boomerang only works with Gmail, sorry to all Outlook users.

Google Hangouts

Boomerang cleans up my inbox, but sometimes I just need to ignore my email altogether.

Google Hangouts extension allows collaboration (while at work) along with chatting with friends (away from work, mostly) whilst avoiding the distraction of new emails.  Added bonus is the mobile app – why  pay for a text plan when the Hangouts app is free?