Get online.

Here's every resource you need to take your business from analog to digital.

If you're not online, most of your potential audience won't even know you exist.

We can help.

Our Essentials of Online Marketing guide walks you through the steps of getting your business online. But that's not all you need.

We publish the Rainmaker Dispatch regularly to give you the news, tips and how-tos you need to build a successful online business. It also includes a link roundup of the best and most important stories of each month.

In addition, we know it can be overwhelming trying to figure out what you need to start building your online presence. We've compiled a list of the most common, popular and largest service providers to help you get online.

This is not an exhaustive list, and we do not recommend any of these solutions; rather, it's a tool to get you pointed in the right direction. Take a look, and if you know another provider that we should list, let us know.

Rainmaker Recommends: The Resource Guide

NOTE: With the exception of our own Rainmaker products & services, Rainmaker Digital Services receives no compensation of any kind from these recommendations. These are purely informational and provided for your convenience.

Host/Domain Providers

  • NameCheap sells domain names and includes hosting.
  • GoDaddy sells domain names and includes hosting; they’re also one of the older website providers with a number of self-hosting options.
  • DreamHost offers domain names, hosting and several professional website-building and marketing services.
  • Network Solutions is primarily a domain name provider but also provides hosting and other marketing and design services.


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Website Providers

  • Rainmaker Platform offers a domain name, website hosting and marketing tools built in.
  • Wix has its own builder and makes it easy to create a website from scratch.
  • Squarespace is one of the easiest website builders to use; it takes only minutes to get a site up, but it can be less flexible as a site grows.
  • WordPress is the default self-hosting option and the most popular back end for websites.


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SEO Tools

  • Screaming Frog is one of the most popular SEO audit tools, with both free and paid options that let you find broken links and bad redirects, analyze content and tags, and more.
  • Google My Business is Google's business page creator, which allows you to get your business details to show up in Google searches. Maybe the most important local SEO tool if your business relies on foot traffic.
  • Google Analytics is Google's free search engine analytics tool, allowing you to figure out where your visitors are coming from and what actions they take on your site.
  • SparkToro aligns market research with SEO to give you a better picture of who your audience is.
  • Moz is one of the most popular SEO software tools, offering keyword research, content optimization, rank tracking and competitive analysis.
  • Google Trends lets you see what terms people are searching for around the world right now.


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Email Marketing Tools

  • MailChimp is one of the most popular email marketing platforms, and works well for eCommerce. It's very easy to use.
  • SendGrid is known for its reliability and scalability, handling huge volumes of email.
  • Kit (formerly ConvertKit) is aimed specifically at creators, and has a strong array of personalization tools.
  • AWeber says it invented the autoresponder, and its tools are still geared that direction. They offer a competitive "beginner" plan.
  • MailerLite is budget-friendly, but less marketing-specialized than other options.
  • Constant Contact is aimed at the small business market, and it includes SMS, social media marketing and a number of third-party integrations.
  • ActiveCampaign has very strong automation features and robust split testing options, making it ideal for ambitious marketers.
  • Campaign Monitor is one of the most straightforward email offerings on the market, focusing on simply creating campaigns with no extra frills.
  • Campaigner offers powerful customization and a wide range of features, and it includes an easy-to-use workflow builder.


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Social Media Platforms

  • Facebook is the most popular social media platform on earth; it has a broad cross section of users, strong paid media tools and a wide variety of content types.
  • Instagram is Facebook’s image and video-heavy counterpart. For visual brands, Instagram is a powerful option.
  • LinkedIn is the B2B platform. It offers a wide variety of content types and good reach to white-collar workers, with particularly good penetration in the C-suite.
  • TikTok is a video platform that offers great reach and the best recommendation algorithm of all major social media platforms, which can let you grow a following fast.
  • YouTube is the default choice for video, especially if you produce medium- or long-form videos. It’s one of the most popular search engines as well.
  • Snapchat has a younger audience and is good for in-the-moment posting.
  • X (formerly Twitter) is often used by news hounds and technology enthusiasts; though it has a broader audience than some other niche platforms, it has lost some mainstream relevance in recent years due to a perception that it’s less “brand safe.”
  • Pinterest is good for anyone selling visually appealing products; with its “boards” allowing users to organize posts by category, it’s perfect for brands that rely on eCommerce.
  • Reddit is growing in popularity due to its power on Google; many brands are now posting on Reddit and using it to boost their visibility. Use with caution. Many Reddit communities are hostile to overtly branded content.


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Social Media Tools

  • Buffer lets you schedule social media posts across a variety of platforms.
  • Brandwatch is an all-in-one social management platform, including posting, monitoring, influencer discovery, campaign management and more.
  • Sprout Social is another all-in-one social solution with a focus on streamlining engagement.
  • Meltwater offers media monitoring and social listening services so you can see what people are saying about you (and your competitors) on the Web.
  • HootSuite has social media scheduling capabilities like Buffer, but it also includes analytics, social listening and engagement tools.
  • HubSpot is one of the most popular all-in-one marketing solutions on the planet and also has customer relations management software, making it a good one-stop-shop.
  • Marketo is more than just an email marketing tool. It's a fully-fledged marketing suite aimed at experienced marketers.


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Since May 1, 2019, Rainmaker Digital Services, LLC (RMDS) has been wholly owned by Nimble Worldwide. Neither Brian Clark, nor any other Copyblogger member, manager, or employee is affiliated with or maintains ownership in RMDS.