Stape
Search
Contact salesTry for free

20 tools every marketing agency should know

Liudmyla Kharchenko

Liudmyla Kharchenko

Author
Published
Dec 10, 2025

Agencies don’t struggle because they lack tools; they struggle because they’re drowning in options. New platforms launch every month, promising faster setups, better attribution, or smarter creative workflows.

So instead of adding to the noise, we created a clear overview of the tool categories that matter most in 2026, along with the solutions teams actually trust.

i

We’ll cover four core categories:

  • Audit & diagnostics
  • Tracking, analytics & reporting
  • Brand & creative production
  • AI & automation
  • (Plus a bonus category: web building, brainstorming & 3D design)

Whether you’re growing your team, trying to make attribution clearer, or improving your creative work, these tools for digital marketing agency teams will help you scale, deliver efficiency, and produce higher-quality work. So, let’s start with the first category.

Audit & diagnostics

Audit & diagnostics
Audit & diagnostics

1. Website Tracking Checker: site tracking health scanner

Overview

The Website Tracking Checker is a simple but powerful digital agency tool that helps you analyze the tracking health of your website and provides insights on how to improve tracking quality for both web and server-side tracking.

Why this tool is valuable

Without accurate tracking, you risk making decisions based on faulty data. A tracking checker helps you analyze the tracking health of your website and provides insights on how to improve tracking quality for both web and server-side tracking. That means fewer surprises when reports come in, and greater confidence in your analytics.

Key features

  • Analytics: verifies adherence to tracking best practices for platforms like Google Analytics 4.
  • Advertising: evaluates how server-side tracking can improve ad attribution and ROAS.
  • Cookies: checks cookie lifetime and validates consent settings using the cookie scanner.
  • SEO: identifies tracking scripts on your site and measures their impact on page load speed. Highlights scripts that can be removed when using server-side tracking, with support from a free SEO checker.

See what users say

2. SEO Spider Tool: technical SEO crawl diagnostics

Overview

SEO Spider Tool from Screaming Frog is a staple marketing tool for agencies when it comes to crawling a website for SEO signals, broken links, duplicate content, and all the technical stuff that hides under the hood.

Why this tool is valuable

This is not just surface-level SEO; it digs deep. Agencies use it to run complete audits, generating insights that developers and strategists can act on. It makes site health visible, helping teams fix issues before they become bigger problems.

Key features

  • Broken Link Finder: detects 404s and server errors instantly.
  • Redirect Checker: identifies temporary or permanent redirects and catches redirect chains.
  • Meta Data Auditor: flags missing, duplicated, or poorly optimized titles and descriptions.
  • Duplicate Content Spotter: finds exact and partial content duplicates across your site.
  • JavaScript Crawler: renders and scans dynamic, JS-heavy pages with complete accuracy.

See what users say

Overview

Ahrefs is one of the most popular digital marketing agency tools for SEO research, backlink tracking, and content strategy. It gives you everything you need to understand your SEO in one place.

Why this tool is valuable Agencies rely on Ahrefs to understand how clients stack up against competitors: which keywords they could rank for, where their backlinks are coming from, and what content they’re missing. This helps build winning SEO and content strategies.

Key features

  • Backlink analysis and domain authority tracking
  • Keyword explorer with volume, difficulty, and ideas
  • Content gap analysis to find topics your competitors rank for but you don’t
  • Rank tracking over time for specific keywords
  • Comprehensive site audit for SEO issues

See what users say

4. Similarweb: competitor & market analysis

Overview

Similarweb is a powerful online marketing agency tool that gives an overview of traffic volumes, sources, and behavior for any website, including your clients’ competitors.

Why this tool is valuableUnderstanding the competitive landscape is crucial. With Similarweb, you can benchmark clients’ traffic, spot leading acquisition channels in their industry, and discover new market opportunities.

Key features

  • Traffic source breakdown (organic, paid, referral, social, etc.)
  • Competitor benchmarking and market share analysis
  • Trend analysis across geographical locations and industries
  • Engagement metrics: pages per session, bounce rate, session duration
  • Audience demographic data

See what users say

5. Wappalyzer: stack identification

Overview

Wappalyzer is a digital agency tool that reveals the underlying technology stack of any website: CMS, frameworks, analytics tools, advertising tech, and more.

Why this tool is valuableKnowing what tech a client or competitor uses helps your agency better plan integrations, make more realistic pitches, or even decide what to sell next.

Key features

  • Detection of CMS, JavaScript frameworks, analytics, and eCommerce platforms
  • Real-time browser extension for quick site scanning
  • Historical usage data to see how a stack evolved
  • Exportable reports to support lead generation or competitive research
  • Integration with lead-enrichment workflows

See what users say

Tracking, Analytics & Reporting

Tracking, Analytics & Reporting
Tracking, Analytics & Reporting

Execution, attribution, and technical setup are at the core of modern marketing tools for agencies. Without reliable tracking and transparent reporting, client ROI and campaign effectiveness suffer.

1. Stape Setup Assistant: free templates for GTM container

Overview

Setup Assistant is a tool made by Stape that makes it easier to set up data tracking with Google Tag Manager (GTM). It creates ready-made templates for GTM based on the platforms you choose. After that, you can import these templates into your web and server GTM containers. 

Why this tool is valuable

Stape Assistant is valuable because it allows you to launch your GTM setup quickly, skipping hours of manual work so you can focus on growth instead of configuration. It offers flexible tracking, letting you select the platforms and destinations you need and automatically generating GTM templates tailored to your configuration. The setup is expert-built, applying proven best practices from Stape experts. It is user-friendly, designed for marketers and business owners with no technical skills required to get started, and all these benefits are available free of charge.

Key features

  • Fully customized and pre-configured GTM setup tailored to your needs.
  • Uses best practices for effective Google Tag Manager implementation.
  • Launch your GTM container in minutes instead of hours.
  • Step-by-step guidance allows setup even without technical skills.

2. GTM tools: sGTM configurations

Overview

GTM Tools is a versatile solution for managing Google Tag Manager, designed for business owners, freelancers, and digital marketing or analytics specialists. It offers functions like container editing, downloading, cloning, and visualization, helping users organize and optimize their GTM containers efficiently.

Why this tool is valuable

The tool is made for anyone needing an easy tag management solution. It lets you organize, edit, clone, and view GTM container assets, saving time and effort.

Key features

  • Easy GTM container management with tools like Inspect (list view) and Visualize (map view) to see dependencies and edit settings.
  • Multiple functions including Inspect, Visualize, Clone, and Workspace for structuring, duplicating, and updating containers.
  • Container audit for web and server GTM setups, helping identify unused Tags/Triggers/Variables to optimize site performance.

3. Eyk: smarter attribution, clearer profits

Overview

Eyk helps agencies map how different marketing channels and touchpoints contribute to conversions.

Why this tool is valuable

Agencies can see what truly drives profit, track conversions accurately, and make smarter marketing decisions. 

Key features:

  • Advanced attribution modelling for smarter, data-driven decisions
  • Centralised profit insights that reveal proper revenue drivers
  • First-party tracking & Conversion APIs to strengthen ad platform algorithms
  • Unique data architecture powered by Google Tag Manager and BigQuery
  • AI- and privacy-ready foundation to future-proof your business.

4. Supermetrics: unify your marketing data, power your decisions

Overview

Supermetrics connects to all your data sources, like ad platforms, analytics, CRM, and pulls that data into Google Sheets, Excel, or Looker Studio so that you can build unified dashboards.

Why this tool is valuable

This tool cuts out the headache of manual reporting. Agencies can automate data pipelines, so reports update themselves, and teams can spend more time analyzing, not assembling.

Key features:

  • Connects 150+ data sources (Ads, Analytics, CRM, etc.)
  • Automated report refresh and data syncing
  • White-label dashboards to share with clients
  • Budget pacing alerts if the spend is off track
  • Secure, compliant data handling (GDPR, etc.)

See what users say

5. Looker Studio: reporting dashboards

Overview

Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) is the go-to online marketing agency tool for building dynamic, visual dashboards that clients can actually understand.

Why this tool is valuable

It offers clarity. Clients see real-time data in an intuitive format, and agencies can tailor dashboards to show precisely what matters: KPIs, goals, and performance.

Key features:

  • Drag-and-drop dashboard creation
  • Multiple data connectors (via Supermetrics, directly, etc.)
  • Scheduled report refresh and email delivery
  • Brandable, white-label reports
  • Real-time collaboration between agency and client

See what users say

Brand Assets

Brand Assets
Brand Assets

These tools are designed for digital agencies to make work easier and faster. They help teams create eye-catching visuals, smooth and user-friendly experiences, and professional-looking brand materials. Everything you need is in one place to make your marketing more effective and impressive. 

1. Adobe Illustrator / Adobe Photoshop / Affinity Designer: branding and illustrating

Overview

Adobe has core creative tools for professional designers: Illustrator for vector work (logos, icons), Photoshop for image manipulation, and Affinity Designer as a powerful, often more affordable alternative.

Why these tools are valuable

These tools let agencies create polished, professional visuals that truly represent a client’s brand. From logos and icons to images for web or print, they help designers make high-quality, scalable assets quickly and efficiently. 

Key features:

  • Vector design (Illustrator) for logos, icons, and scalable graphics
  • Raster image editing (Photoshop) for more detailed composition and photo work
  • Powerful layer and mask management
  • Typography control and effects
  • Affinity Designer offers professional-grade features at a lower cost
  • Export in multiple formats (SVG, PNG, PDF, etc.)

See what users say

2. Figma Create: custom UX/UI and web design

Overview

Figma is a cloud-based design and prototyping tool for UX/UI. It’s built for collaboration: designers, clients, and developers can all work together.

Why this tool is valuable

It speeds up feedback loops, simplifies handoffs, and makes design changes transparent, which is perfect for agile or client-centric workflows.

Key features:

  • Real-time collaboration on designs
  • Interactive prototypes with transitions
  • Shared component libraries and design systems
  • Developer handoff with code snippets and inspect mode
  • Versioning and branching for safe experimentation

See what users say

3. Canva: template-based design tool for non-designers

Overview

Canva makes design simple for individuals and teams. It allows businesses to create professional visuals, social media content, presentations, and print materials quickly, keeping brand identity consistent. With intuitive tools and AI features, teams can save time, collaborate efficiently, and maintain high-quality outputs across all projects.

Why this tool is valuable

It empowers content teams and account managers to produce on-brand visuals quickly, without waiting on a designer for every social post or presentation.

Key features:

  • Templates for presentations, social media, posters, and more
  • AI-powered image, text, and video generation
  • Real-time collaboration with comments and task assignments
  • Brand management with logos, colors, and custom templates
  • Print and digital outputs with direct ordering
  • Access to a rich library of photos, videos, graphics, and fonts
  • Flexible plans for individuals, teams, and businesses

See what users say

4. Cinema4D: professional 3D graphic tool

Overview

Cinema4D is a powerful, industry‑standard 3D software used by designers, animators, and VFX artists. It supports modeling, animation, texturing, simulation, and rendering, all in a flexible and intuitive environment.

Why this tool is valuable

Cinema 4D balances power with usability, since it’s accessible enough for beginners, yet deep enough for advanced professionals. It’s versatile: perfect for motion graphics, architectural visualization, product design, film effects, and more.

Key features:

  • Advanced 3D modeling with polygonal, parametric, and sculpting tools
  • Animation and simulation for dynamics, particles, cloth, and hair
  • Powerful rendering engines, including Redshift, for realistic visuals
  • Character rigging, deformers, and animation tools
  • Texture painting directly on 3D models
  • Integration with other software, like Adobe After Effects
  • Supports multiple file formats (FBX, OBJ, etc.) for easy workflow
  • User-friendly interface with scripting and workflow customization

See what users say

5. Framer: web builder with stylish templates inside

Overview

Framer is a modern website builder trusted by startups and Fortune 500 companies alike. It enables teams to design, build, and launch responsive websites visually, with integrated CMS, SEO tools, analytics, and real-time collaboration, all without touching code.

Why this tool is valuable

Framer streamlines web production for agencies, letting them deliver polished, interactive sites faster. Its AI-powered layout generation, visual design tools, and integrated content management reduce development bottlenecks, improve client handoff, and scale projects efficiently. Agencies can maintain high-quality, dynamic sites while managing multiple clients seamlessly.

Key features:

  • AI-powered page layouts and advanced component generation
  • Responsive design with smooth animations, interactions, and 3D elements
  • Built-in CMS for effortless content updates
  • Real-time collaboration and handoff-free editing
  • Analytics, A/B testing, and performance tracking
  • SEO optimization and fast, reliable hosting
  • Access to community resources and Framer Marketplace components

See what users say

AI Tools

AI Tools
AI Tools

These advertising agency tools help agencies scale content production, automate creative workflows, and experiment rapidly.

1. Jasper AI: AI writing

Overview

Jasper AI is an AI-powered content platform that helps teams and agencies generate high-quality copy across multiple formats. From blog posts and social media content to marketing copy, emails, and scripts, Jasper streamlines the content creation process with a library of templates and AI-assisted tools.

Why this tool is valuable

Jasper AI accelerates content production, allowing agencies to create engaging, on-brand messaging at scale. Its AI tools reduce manual writing, maintain consistency across channels, and support multiple content types, from marketing campaigns to social media and SEO, helping agencies save time while boosting creativity and output.

Key features:

  • AI text generation for blogs, ads, emails, and social media posts
  • Paraphrasing, rewriting, and text summarization tools
  • Ebook, script, slogan, and professional bio generators
  • Content optimization tools, including SEO and meta description generators
  • Customizable brand voice and style guides
  • Integration with platforms like Jasper Chat, AI Studio, and content pipelines
  • AI-assisted creative tools for visual content and multi-format copy

See what users say

2. Surfer AI: AI-assisted content audits

Overview

Surfer AI is a tool that helps you create content that ranks on Google. It combines AI writing with SEO insights so you can write articles fast and make sure they reach the right audience.

Why this tool is valuable

Agencies can create high-quality content quickly without hiring extra writers. It helps teams plan, write, and optimize articles all in one place. This saves time, cuts costs, and improves clients’ search visibility.

Key features:

  • Generate articles in minutes
  • SEO suggestions based on top-ranking pages
  • Create outlines with headings and FAQs
  • Write in multiple languages
  • Check for plagiarism and optimize content automatically
  • Use custom brand voice and templates
  • Track how your content performs in search

See what users say

3. Lumen5: AI social video

Overview

Lumen5 is an AI video maker that turns text into videos in minutes. You can use blogs, articles, scripts, or just bullet points and quickly make videos for marketing, education, or communications.

Why this tool is valuable

Agencies can create videos fast without needing special skills or extra staff. It helps teams stay on-brand, save time, and produce more content without losing quality.

Key features:

  • Turn blogs, PDFs, and ideas into videos
  • Drag-and-drop interface, no learning curve
  • AI script writing and voiceover
  • Brand templates and controls
  • Create videos for marketing, education, or internal communication
  • Fast, scalable video production

See what users say

4. Synthesia: AI avatar video

Overview

Synthesia is an AI video platform that turns text into studio-quality videos in minutes. You can use AI avatars and voiceovers in over 140 languages. No cameras, mics, or actors are needed.

Why this tool is valuable

Agencies can make professional videos fast, at lower cost, and scale video production without extra equipment or staff. It keeps videos on-brand and makes localization easy.

Key features:

  • Create videos from text, scripts, or documents
  • AI avatars and voiceovers in 140+ languages
  • Collaborate in real-time with your team
  • 1-click translation for videos
  • Screen recording with instant editing
  • On-brand videos with custom logos and colors
  • Export to SCORM for LMS integration
  • Analytics to track video performance

See what users say

5. Lovable: AI landing pages & prototypes

Overview

Lovable helps you create websites, apps, and prototypes by chatting with AI. You can quickly turn ideas into landing pages, blogs, or interactive prototypes without coding.

Why this tool is valuable

Agencies can speed up design and prototyping, test ideas faster, and deliver client-ready websites or apps quickly. It reduces manual work and keeps the creative process flexible.

Key features:

  • Create websites, apps, and internal tools using AI
  • Generate landing pages and blog content
  • Prototype designs fast
  • Customizable themes and visual edits
  • Attach files and content for AI to use
  • Community templates and remixes to jumpstart projects
  • Real-time AI assistance while building

See what users say

Final thoughts

Picking the right tools for your marketing agency isn’t just about finding the newest app. It’s about having a set of tools that work together and support everything your agency does. The best agencies in 2026 will:

  • Use audit and check-up tools to spot problems early
  • Use tracking and reporting tools to make decisions based on data
  • Use creative tools to make high-quality, on-brand work
  • Use AI and automation to work faster and improve constantly

It’s not about having more tools; it’s about working smarter, not harder.

Want to switch to the server side?Sign-up now!

author

Liudmyla Kharchenko

Author

Liuda is a Content Manager at Stape, writing about server-side tracking and tech that simplifies work. She helps businesses improve data accuracy, find the right customers, and build connections.

Comments

Try Stape for all things server-side