Did you hear? Semrush just bought Search Engine Land

Looks like Semrush is on a buying spree again.

At this rate, only the strongest SEO tools and blogs might last till the end of the year (I’m sure Sitechecker and Ahrefs will make it).

Just a reminder that in the last few years Semrush also acquired:

  • Backlinko
  • Explodingtopics
  • Ryte

I wonder what Ahrefs thinks about this. Do they avoid acquisitions because they have a better plan or just because they’re confident in their own approach?

What do you all think?

Ahrefs seems quite confident (Tim often mentions how they skip most marketing activities), but maybe that’s a smarter strategy.

Many SEOs think this is a clever move by Semrush, but perhaps it’s just a distraction that doesn’t add much value. Every reader of Search Engine Land already knew about Semrush and was likely seeing their ads everywhere.

What does Semrush gain by buying so many smaller SEO assets?

@Amanda
They’re a public company that needs to make moves to boost their stock price.

ThreadTactician said:
@Amanda
They’re a public company that needs to make moves to boost their stock price.

Exactly.

They need to show growth, and if they can’t achieve it organically, buying other companies is a quick fix, but only in the short term.

The issue is, if you can’t grow without acquisitions, and your new acquisitions aren’t growing either, you have more work to keep up the growth.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Semrush adjusting their prices aggressively in the next year.

ThreadTactician said:
@Amanda
They’re a public company that needs to make moves to boost their stock price.

Absolutely, it’s probably part of a long-term growth plan that may not achieve much. Maybe they believe their main product’s market has limited growth potential.

I just hope Search Engine Land remains impartial. I wouldn’t want Semrush telling the editors to write content that promotes their software.

properganda said:
I just hope Search Engine Land remains impartial. I wouldn’t want Semrush telling the editors to write content that promotes their software.

Agreed. I was actually hoping it would be Search Engine Journal. I’ve always found Search Engine Land to be the better of the two, so I hope their quality stays the same.

properganda said:
I just hope Search Engine Land remains impartial. I wouldn’t want Semrush telling the editors to write content that promotes their software.

Start writing? They won’t get to that right away. First, they’ll be busy reworking the existing content, placing Semrush at the top of every list and removing any links to their competitors.

Seems like they’re really in a rush

Yes, it’s quite an aggressive move.

It shows how strong their marketing is, though I’ve always found their tools to be so-so. It’s SEO for people who don’t really know what they’re doing, mostly just going through the motions.

@NooserMooker
What tools do you recommend instead?

@NooserMooker
If you thought their tools were so-so, maybe you should check them out again. They have the best complete set of SEO tools available.

Danielle said:
@NooserMooker
If you thought their tools were so-so, maybe you should check them out again. They have the best complete set of SEO tools available.

Who? Semrush?

Tracy said:

Danielle said:
@NooserMooker
If you thought their tools were so-so, maybe you should check them out again. They have the best complete set of SEO tools available.

Who? Semrush?

Yes.

Danielle said:
@NooserMooker
If you thought their tools were so-so, maybe you should check them out again. They have the best complete set of SEO tools available.

To be fair, I have not played for a while. I’ll have a peek.

@NooserMooker
They have an option to schedule a demo. I’d recommend it. Someone from their team can show you the features that suit your needs.

Danielle said:
@NooserMooker
They have an option to schedule a demo. I’d recommend it. Someone from their team can show you the features that suit your needs.

Cool. Cheers.

@NooserMooker
Good point, thanks!

What do they think about this at Ahrefs?

Hazel said:
What do they think about this at Ahrefs?

I’m not from the Ahrefs team; I’m with Sitechecker. I’m also curious about what Ahrefs thinks about this. Ahrefs is the closest brand to Semrush and their main competitor.