Marketing agencies require various software solutions to support processes and operations. Their tech stack should include tools to:
Support, plan, and manage all projects and initiatives. This includes marketing strategy tools, social media management platforms, email marketing software, content marketing solutions, graphic design software, media planning and buying software, project management systems, and reporting and analytics solutions.
Manage back-office operations, resources, and processes. This includes resource management, accounting software, email accounts, workspace collaboration tools (like Slack), and CRM software.
We’ve put together this guide with recommendations in each category, organized by bucket. You can easily browse the types of marketing agency tools and build your tech stack with solutions that fit your processes and business needs.
Our post includes digital marketing tools to support:
We also cover operations management tools like:
We’ll also introduce Workamajig — our all-in-one marketing agency software — highlighting the boxes it checks to support your operations and reduce software costs.
To learn more about Workamajig, keep reading or contact us for a free demo.
The following sections review various tools to strategize, plan, and execute your projects and campaigns. We provide links to brand websites and software review sites so you can learn more about the systems that interest you.
Semrush is a digital marketing strategy solution that supports various initiatives, such as keyword research, rank tracking, backlink analysis, search engine optimization (SEO), social media management, and more. It offers a robust suite of features but is generally easy to use and budget-friendly.
Read reviews of Semrush here.
Ahrefs is another popular strategy tool for content marketers and SEOs, offering keyword research, competitor analysis, rank tracking, backlink tools, a site audit feature, and a content explorer with tips for appearing in featured snippets.
Read reviews of Ahrefs here.
SpyFu is a popular competitor keyword research software that allows you to “spy” on your competitors. It provides various tools to analyze competitors' strategies, revealing what keywords they target in marketing campaigns and what performs well for them.
Read SpyFu reviews here.
SEO PowerSuite is a popular technical SEO tool for site audits and resolving website performance issues. It includes backlink analysis, a LinkAssistant for automating link-building campaigns, and a rank tracker.
Read reviews of SEO PowerSuite here.
HubSpot is a software giant offering solutions for digital marketing, CRM, CMS, customer service, B2B commerce, and operations. Its tools integrate seamlessly, making it a popular choice for building tech stacks with plans for all business sizes.
Read HubSpot reviews here.
Honorable mention: Backlinko, founded by Brian Dean, was originally an SEO blog but has evolved to offer an array of tools and resources to support SEOs. The site includes a free keyword research tool and helpful articles for digital marketers to learn about different topics and strategies. It’s a great resource for beginners and digital marketers wanting to stay current in the evolving industry.
Read more about Brian Dean & his SEO background here.
Sprout Social is a robust social media management software that offers social listening, tools to publish and schedule posts across social media platforms, engagement analytics, reporting dashboards, and more. It’s slightly pricey but popular with mid-size and larger agencies. Sprout Social even works with brands like McDonald's and PepsiCo.
Read Sprout Social reviews here.
Hootsuite is popular for social media marketers because it allows them to curate and schedule social media posts across all channels. It also includes a trendspotter and other tools to help spark inspiration during content creation. Hootsuite (and Buffer below) are more popular with smaller digital marketing agencies and in-house social media managers.
Read Hootsuite reviews here.
Buffer is similar to Hootsuite because its primary purpose is to help social media teams create and schedule posts across all their platforms. It includes a helpful content calendar to visualize and plan postings, team collaboration tools, and analytics to monitor engagement.
Read Buffer reviews here.
Constant Contact is a popular email marketing solution for supporting customer acquisition and growing your contact base. It includes lead generation tools and automation to schedule emails (newsletters and recurring emails like birthday messages). It also provides a social media management suite, integrations with CRM and other marketing applications, and offers payment processing tools. It’s user-friendly and popular for smaller agencies but a little more expensive than comparable solutions.
Read Constant Contact reviews here.
Intuit Mailchimp is a comprehensive email marketing management software with tools to create audiences, build email lists, schedule emails, automate workflows, and review engagement metrics. It also has advanced tools to design more attention-grabbing emails and create landing pages. In addition, Mailchimp boasts a suite of tools to learn more about your customers’ journeys.
Find Mailchimp reviews here.
ActiveCampaign is a digital marketing and CRM solution that offers tools for organizing a contact book, building audiences, creating and scheduling email campaigns, measuring engagement, and improving customer relationships. The plans are more affordable and typically popular with small teams.
Read more about ActiveCampaign here.
Google, Bing, Facebook (Meta), Instagram, Amazon, etc., all include PPC management tools so you can create and manage the campaigns on their platforms. However, you may be interested in the names below if you’re managing PPC campaigns across multiple sites.
Optmyzr is a popular solution for managing Google, Bing, Amazon, and Facebook ads. It provides campaign tools, automation, and analytics tools to measure campaign performance. It features a Magic Quadrants Insights tool to give a bird’s-eye-view of account performance across all channels and an auditing tool to measure campaign and account health. Pricing is average and suitable for all team sizes.
Read Optmyzr reviews here.
AdEspresso (by Hootsuite) allows teams to create, manage, and analyze PPC campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, and Google, and it is more popular for teams with a social media focus. It provides collaboration features for team members to create campaigns, automated optimization to improve budgeting, A/B testing tools, and a user-friendly reporting suite. It helps you understand more about your ideal audiences so you can improve targeting and campaign performance. AdEspresso offers packages and pricing for all team sizes.
Check out AdEspresso reviews here.
Adzooma helps businesses manage powerful PPC campaigns on Google, Microsoft, and Facebook. It provides a user-friendly dashboard to view your accounts, create campaigns, and monitor real-time performance. It provides campaign optimization and automation to help shift and maximize budgets. It also includes a reporting dashboard and AI-powered insights with pointers on where to improve campaigns.
Find Adzooma reviews here.
You may also be interested in Opteo to manage Google Ads or Helium 10 to manage Amazon ads.
The tools below are beneficial when creating optimized content for blog posts, landing pages, or other website resources. In addition to these tools, we always recommend using Grammarly (it’s free!) to double-check your spelling and grammar and improve your writing.
Clearscope is a top-rated content optimization tool with user-friendly SEO reports that guide writers through outlining, drafting, and editing. It also includes a keyword research tool to help you build content plans. Clearscope is popular for its ease of use; the reports provide suggested outlines, topics to cover, and terms to include, and term lists aren’t overly long where content sounds keyword stuffy after optimization. It offers budget-friendly pricing for individuals and teams of all sizes.
Read Clearscope reviews here.
Frase is another commonly used content optimization platform that uses SEO reports to guide and streamline content creation. It also includes an AI writer to speed up content writing further (though the quality of its AI writer is up for debate). In addition to its SEO reports and AI writer, Frase also includes content briefs and a content editor to support all stages of writing. Frase offers a limited free plan and various paid packages.
Find Frase reviews here.
Moz Pro offers SEO reports to guide content creation and check other on-page SEO elements. Moz Pro also has a robust feature set to support pre- and post-writing workflows, including a keyword research tool, content gap analysis, rank tracking, and link-building tools. It also includes a site audit tool to diagnose technical SEO issues. Moz’s starter plan is $49/month (with more advanced plans costing up to $299/month) and is more popular with mid-size and growing agencies.
Read insights from Moz Pro users here.
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Explore more SEO tools with content optimization capabilities. |
Canva is a popular graphic design tool because it allows users to create and share various media and graphics. It’s also user-friendly, so even those without graphic design experience can create stunning content. Canva provides templates for users to design social media graphics, in-line imagery, posters, presentations, and other business documentation quickly and easily. The platform also has free-form tools for creating designs from scratch. Canva offers a limited free plan and affordable paid packages for individuals and teams. It also offers Canva Enterprise.
Find Canva reviews here.
Adobe is a highly recognized name, as they offer dozens of software solutions, including top-rated graphic design tools. Adobe’s Creative Cloud includes tools like InDesign, Fresco, Illustrator, Photoshop, and Lightroom for graphic designers and photographers. They’ve also recently released an AI-powered image generator, Adobe Express, for users without a design degree. Adobe solutions are typically more expensive.
Read Adobe Creative Cloud reviews here.
Procreate is a digital art app used to design everything from brand logos to illustrations, sketches, artwork for merchandise, animations, and more. It’s unique from Canva and Adobe since it is available for iPad and iOS devices, so you can create designs from your tablet or mobile device vs. working on a desktop or laptop. Procreate is easy enough for all creative professionals to try their hand at design, but they also have more advanced solutions for skilled designers. In addition to its intuitive design tools, it provides various resources for designing different artwork and media.
Learn more about Procreate here.
Strata/Freewheel media planning and buying software enables agencies to oversee and automate the process of buying ad space across traditional media channels (such as TV, radio, print, and outdoor advertising like billboards). It includes tools to support pre-buy workflows, create and send insertion orders, negotiate rates, manage budgets, and report on campaign performance. It provides a variety of integrations and is well-regarded for its sophisticated reporting capabilities. Strata does not share pricing online, but reviews suggest it's typically more expensive and popular among larger advertising agencies.
Find Strata reviews here.
GaleForceMedia is a popular solution for managing traditional and digital media campaigns. It provides omnichannel media planning tools to create campaigns and select ad placements, as well as tools to place insertion orders and track performance. The platform also includes convenient invoice management functionality to reconcile invoices with insertion orders. GaleForceMedia integrates with various software, including digital marketing solutions like Google Ads and accounting software like QuickBooks. However, it does not publicly share pricing, and reviews suggest it is expensive.
Find recent GaleForceMedia reviews here.
Bionic Advertising System is another all-in-one media planning and buying tool to support pre-buying workflows, execution, and reporting on campaign effectiveness. It also includes invoice reconciliation tools to support invoice management and payment processes. Like GaleForceMedia above, it supports both traditional and digital media campaigns. Teams like Bionic because it’s user-friendly and has powerful workflow automation tools to streamline repetitive tasks, like data entry, which frees up time for more valuable work. Bionic’s solution is a little easier on the wallet, with plans starting at $199/month.
Read reviews of Bionic Advertising System here.
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Read more about media buying and planning tools in G2’s guide. |
Muck Rack offers a centralized platform to manage PR workflows and keep up with the latest trends. It’s used by PR professionals, journalists, and content creators, supporting everything from researching and pitching to reporting. It includes a media database to search for up-to-date information about journalists and content creators (covering digital, broadcast, print, podcasts, newsletters, and social media); tools to create personalized pitches, track engagements, and manage follow-ups; dashboards to monitor press mentions and news that affects your brand; reports to analyze coverage and impact; and custom reporting tools to share key insights with brand stakeholders. Muck Rack does not share pricing, but reviews suggest that the brand works primarily with enterprises.
Read Muck Rack reviews here.
Buzzsumo is a popular tool used by PR professionals, journalists, and other content creators. Users can discover and track new trends, uncover content ideas, connect with influencers, monitor brand mentions across online channels, manage outreach campaigns, and create personalized pitches for journalists (it even includes an AI pitching tool to speed up this process). Their network contains over 300 million online influencers and includes handy stats like followers and retweet ratios to gauge engagement. Buzzsumo pricing starts at $199/month and may be expensive for small businesses.
Read Buzzsumo reviews here.
Cision is an AI-powered PR platform that helps businesses understand, influence, and amplify their stories. It’s one of the most comprehensive global monitoring solutions — with 100 million+ sources from over 190+ countries — and offers several communication and media intelligence solutions (such as the Cision Public Relations Suite and Cision Marketing Suite). Their solution includes a database of over 850,000 journalists, outlets, opportunities, and over 1 billion social profiles. It contains media relationship management tools to target contacts, build lists, and perform personalized pitching and campaigns. Their solutions also support social media listening, PR distribution and placement, content production, investor relations, brand reputation and crisis management, campaign and event reporting, and more. Cision primarily works with Fortune 500 companies and is on the expensive side.
Read Cision reviews here.
Marketing agencies also require project management software to plan and execute projects and campaigns. There are a variety of names in this category, with some of the most common solutions being Asana, Zoho Projects, Trello, ClickUp, and Monday.com.
While these names are all top-rated software solutions, they’re more “universal” tools that cater to various industries and professionals. We typically advise marketers to choose specialized agency management software instead. These include project management tools but combine other functionality, like time tracking, financial management, CRM, and accounting software, to provide a more comprehensive solution to cover multiple business areas.
Plus, agency management software pricing is on par with project management software, so choosing the comprehensive agency management software category offers a more tailored solution and more bang for your buck.
We’ll talk more about agency management systems below.
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You can learn more about project management software on G2’s list or check out our guide to project management solutions for marketers. |
There are countless reporting and analytics tools, and most software solutions include native reporting dashboards to monitor your work and campaigns in their tools. For example, most of the tools listed above include reporting functionality.
However, some broader solutions connect with multiple sites and software to collect various data points.
AgencyAnalytics integrates with 70+ data sources to consolidate marketing reporting data. It includes comprehensive dashboards, drag-and-drop report builders, automated reporting, and more. AgencyAnalytics also provides various SEO reports to monitor traffic, rankings, and website health. You can customize reporting dashboards with branding elements like logos and custom colors. AgencyAnalytics offers pricing options for all agency sizes.
Find AgencyAnalytics reviews here.
WhatConverts is a popular lead-tracking and management solution that monitors calls, form fills, and chats to capture new lead details. The platform is particularly popular for call tracking, with phone call recording and keyword call tracking for PPC ads. WhatConverts provides reports on traffic sources to identify origins of leads, as well as advanced tools to manage, sort, and qualify leads. Its comprehensive reporting dashboard includes a metrics explorer, custom reporting, and automated reporting — it also lets you customize reports and dashboards with brand elements. WhatConverts offers a variety of plans and is affordable for individuals and teams.
Find WhatConverts reviews here.
Mixpanel analytics software provides insights into how users interact with products, websites, and mobile applications. You can connect and stream data from a variety of sources, specify the events you want to track, create custom reports, and monitor user interactions in real time. Mixpanel caters to more than just media and marketing teams; it also caters to SaaS, customer technology, financial services, and health and wellness brands. It helps you learn more about your customers and the customer experience, make more data-driven decisions when improving products or changing your websites and apps, and identify new trends. Mixpanel offers a free plan, an affordable ($24/month) paid plan, and custom enterprise packages.
Read Mixpanel reviews here.
RedTrack is an all-in-one performance marketing analytics platform that helps businesses track, attribute, automate and scale their marketing campaigns. It connects with 200+ channels — search engines like Google and Bing; social media sites like Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat; business applications like CRMs and call trackers; e-commerce platforms like Shopify and Magento; affiliate networks like Digistore and BuyGoods; and more — to centralize and simplify campaign reporting. RedTrack has robust reporting dashboards to monitor user engagement, conversions, and revenue, allowing you to monitor real-time metrics. It’s considered one of the best marketing analytics tools available, and pricing is mostly affordable (starting at $149/month).
Read RedTrack reviews here.
Google Analytics is a free tool for monitoring website performance and conversions. It allows you to measure website traffic in various ways, view traffic sources, create conversion goals, learn about your audiences, and set custom reports to track the KPIs most important to your agency. Though Google Analytics is free, it can take some work to learn. Google provides free courses on the program, but many agencies seek outside GA consultants to create the reports they need.
Find Google Analytics reviews here.
You can also use old-fashioned spreadsheet systems like Excel and Google Sheets to track reporting metrics. However, we don’t recommend these because they require time-consuming data entry, are prone to human error, and don’t support scalability.
Marketing agencies must support themselves with the proper tools to manage staff, vendors, clients, and back-office processes to operate successfully, manage and win new leads, boost employee satisfaction, and keep a steady schedule of projects and campaigns.
As discussed above, the primary solution agencies require is an agency management tool. These are developed specifically for agency workflows and incorporate all the software agencies need to work smoothly and strategically.
The following section reviews agency management systems in more detail. To ensure we cover all bases, we also review a few additional software categories — workspace collaboration, HR and payroll, and software for sourcing freelancers.
Agency management systems like our tool, Workamajig, and solutions like Advantage, Clients & Profits, Scoro, Productive, and Teamwork all provide a plethora of tools — including:
Project management software. Workamajig includes project intake forms, estimating tools, templates, task management, and advanced project monitoring with timeline and budget tracking, customizable Gantt charts, and real-time notifications. Our project monitoring dashboard can also update schedules to accurately display the actual start and projected end dates so managers can quickly gauge whether they’re on schedule.
Resource management. Our system includes an interactive staff scheduling dashboard and productivity reports to see where staff spend their time, measure billable vs. unbillable hours, compare utilization vs. realization rates, and optimize resource usage.
Vendor management. Workamajig lets you submit requests and view bids, generate purchase orders, compare estimates to final invoices, and measure vendor performance to improve sourcing strategies.
Time tracking (via manual time entry, timers, or adding hours from calendar events). Workamajig creates an easy time tracking solution for users to log project management hours directly on task cards. Our system saves employee hourly rates and considers other billable factors to update project budgets with accurate labor costs.
CRM and sales performance reports. Workamajig boasts user-friendly Kanban boards and customizable reports to manage and monitor your pipeline, review won vs. lost opportunities, learn more about your sales strategies, and improve client acquisition.
Financial management & reporting. Our system has project profitability breakdowns, P&L reports in various categories, general ledger reports, cash projections, revenue forecasting, key metrics monitors, and customizable reporting dashboards.
Collaboration tools. Workamajig’s team collaboration tools are available for all project stakeholders (internal and external) to support content creation and feedback discussions. Users can share files, annotate content to request changes, view the change history and side-by-side comparisons, and track each file’s version history.
Not all agency management tools have the same comprehensive toolsets; many don’t include full accounting software to support financial management, reporting, and invoicing workflows.
That separates Workamajig from many of the tools listed above: it includes full GL accounting software to support all standard workflows and best practices — such as client invoicing, expense reporting, receipt management, reimbursement management, vendor invoice management, and more.
Our accounting system meets GAAP, GDPR, and HMRC compliance requirements, is intuitive and user-friendly, and is backed by powerful automation to take repetitive tasks off your plate. It also integrates with various outside applications, like credit card accounts and digital payment gateways, to fully support accounting workflows. It replaces QuickBooks and Xero to condense your tech stack (reduce software costs) and avoid the hassle of working between two systems.
You can read more about our accounting software here: 5 Best Media Accounting Software
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Compare 2025’s top-rated agency management tools in our guide: |
Google Workspace includes Google’s various business applications, including Gmail, GCal, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, Chat, Forms, Currents, Keep, and Site. Google recently released their AI tool, Gemini, to support its apps. Individuals can create a Gmail and use Google’s various apps for free (they charge to buy storage), while Google offers paid packages for organizations creating a Workspace.
Read Google Workspace reviews here.
Microsoft 365 is Microsoft’s cloud-based productivity platform, equivalent to Google Workspace. It combines all Microsoft business applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, and more. Microsoft also includes an AI assistant, Copilot. Microsoft 365 is available for personal use (individuals and families) and businesses. It also offers custom enterprise packages. Microsoft is typically considered the pricier option but offers various packages and price points.
Read Microsoft 365 reviews here.
Slack (by Salesforce) is a popular instant messaging tool to support asynchronous work. It provides chat, video and audio calls (with up to 50 people), and huddles to screen share and collaborate. It also offers convenient file sharing. Slack integrates with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and many other business applications, including Workamajig, to share conversations across different platforms. It also offers lightweight project management tools to kick off tasks, track task status, and collaborate on files. Slack is inexpensive, at $15/user/month.
Read Slack reviews here.
Skype (by Microsoft) and Zoom are two of the most popular, commonly-used video conferencing tools (for personal use and businesses). They earn thousands of positive reviews and are easy to learn and navigate for all users. Both brands offer free basic plans and paid packages for businesses.
You can find Skype reviews here and Zoom reviews here.
ADP offers comprehensive human resources software for recruiting, onboarding, and employee engagement. Its vast feature set includes payroll, time and attendance tracking, benefits administration, talent acquisition and management, performance reviews, and workforce management. ADP also offers critical compliance features to help businesses adhere to all employment laws and regulations related to payroll and taxes.
Find ADP reviews here.
Workday is an AI-powered platform that combines HR management, payroll, time tracking, and financial management applications to help businesses manage their people and money. It assists with workforce decision-making, skills tracking, optimizing resource management, and driving organizational growth. Their AI tool, Illuminate, can automate and transform different business processes to free up staff for more valuable work. Workday also conveniently integrates with various business applications, including many of the marketing software we’ve mentioned in our guide. Workday is typically more expensive, with pricing ranging from 30K to 300K+.
Find Workday reviews here.
Rippling’s workforce management system offers a variety of solutions, including business suites, global management, human capital management (HCM), IT management, and spend management — and all apps work together seamlessly. Marketing agencies use Rippling to hire, pay, and manage global talent compliantly. It can also be used to manage identity, devices, and inventory globally, and control company spending worldwide. It allows HR teams to manage daily operations and enables IT teams to manage devices, apps, security, and more, in one place. Rippling does not share pricing online, but reviews suggest they offer reasonable quotes for all business sizes.
Check out Rippling reviews here.
It’s not uncommon for marketing agencies to source external talent. In cases where you need an outside hand, consider checking these marketplaces:
Freelancers join these marketplaces when they’re open to accepting work. They create profiles listing their skillsets, experience, and portfolio examples so you can search and filter to find the professionals that meet your needs.
You can send proposals, view bids, communicate (and store those communications), assign work, and manage payments through systems.
Most of these sites offer free and paid programs, and all sites are relatively budget-friendly.
Note: Some agencies also have luck sourcing freelancers on LinkedIn.
Workamajig is one of the most comprehensive agency management software, and it includes all of the features and benefits we listed above. Our solution combines both software and guided training so we can learn more about your challenges, show you our best practices, and optimize Workamajig for your agency needs. Providing more personalized, tailored solutions for our customers.
You’re paired with a dedicated customer support agent at the start of onboarding who will serve as your ongoing Workamajig partner, and they will:
Plan set-up and training schedules with you. (Most organizations are up and running within 60 to 90 days.)
Configure Workamajig settings to your specifications.
Walk you through Workamajig to ensure you understand how to use all the available features; they’ll show you how to create new templates, add staff members, connect vendor sites, create custom reports, set automation rules, and more.
Of course, they’re always available after onboarding to answer questions and adjust Workamajig settings to support your evolving processes and goals.
We offer packages for agencies and in-house marketing teams. Packages are based on team size, with options for teams at all growth stages. You can compare packages and pricing here.
Check out a brief overview of our platform below:
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You can explore Workamajig further by requesting a free demo. You can also learn more about our solution for marketers in our guide: |
We offer 30+ years of experience working with agencies and the creative industry. We’ve developed our solution during our years to support all areas of operations and drive greater agency success.
Contact our team to see how Workamajig can support your marketing agency!
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