Semrush acquires Third Door Media, including MarTech

We have some big news to share with you. 

As a reader of the MarTech website and newsletter and an attendee at the MarTech Conference, you’re part of a community of marketers created by Third Door Media, the company that built and continues to invest in MarTech and its sibling brands Search Engine Land and SMX.

Today, our company takes another step in its maturation. Semrush, best known for its software to help search marketers, is acquiring Third Door Media. 

The origin story of the MarTech brand includes two people so dedicated to marketers and their work that they were working over the end-of-year holiday period in 2012. Third Door Media CEO Chris Elwell came across Scott Brinker’s Chiefmartec site and felt an immediate connection. “This guy is talking to me!”

He sent off an email to Brinker asking if he ever thought about launching a trade show around martech. Given the time of year, he didn’t expect to hear back in short order. But he did. About 10 minutes later, Brinker replied. The MarTech Conference celebrated its 10th anniversary this year.

What does this acquisition mean for you? Since that holiday email exchange, MarTech’s mission has been to keep marketing and marketing operations professionals informed about the world of marketing technology. That mission will continue under our new ownership.

Long-time community members have seen our coverage evolve over the years. We routinely write about technologies and platforms that didn’t exist when the company was born.

Based on the results of our recent reader survey (thank you if you took the time to answer), we’re planning new content formats as your needs and our responses to your needs continue to evolve.

What happens to MarTech and the MarTech Conference? Most of the changes will affect those of us behind the scenes on the MarTech team. The editorial and conference teams will remain in place as part of Semrush.

What does it mean for Semrush? While many marketers see Semrush as a software provider, it’s also a martech platform, offering tools that go beyond software to enhance marketing strategies. Earlier this year, Semrush launched its Enterprise SEO solution, providing larger teams with the advanced tools needed to elevate their SEO and search marketing efforts.

Beyond software, Semrush understands the value of investing in content and education for marketers. In recent years, the company also acquired Backlinko in 2022, Traffic Think Tank in 2023 and Ryte and Exploding Topics earlier in 2024. This means our community can anticipate more resources and insights, making Semrush and Third Door Media a solid partnership.

Both organizations are proud to serve marketers with tools and insights, helping them get better at their jobs. Starting today, we’ll be doing it together. 

Here’s the full press release from Semrush:

Search Engine Land to Expand Educational Offerings After Being Acquired by Semrush

Digital marketing publisher Third Door Media acquired by Semrush; brands include Search Engine Land, MarTech, SMX, and Digital Marketing Depot

October 16, 2024 – Third Door Media, a prominent marketing education company and publisher focused on search and marketing technology, has been acquired by Semrush (NYSE: SEMR), a leading online visibility management SaaS platform. The partnership means Semrush will enrich resources, content and industry insights for marketers, while Third Door Media’s portfolio of Search Engine Land, MarTech, Search Marketing Expo, and Digital Marketing Depot, will continue to operate as standalone brands.

Founded in 2006, Third Door Media’s properties are amongst the oldest and largest providers of search engine and digital marketing trends. This acquisition marks a significant milestone for the industry, bringing together two leaders in the digital marketing and SEO sector. Marketers will now have greater access to resources and insights that will enhance their strategies and business outcomes. Integrating Third Door Media’s assets into Semrush’s ecosystem is expected to deliver unparalleled value and innovation to brands and marketers.

“The addition of Third Door Media’s platforms to Semrush’s portfolio not only enhances our content and educational offerings for our customers, it also substantially expands the reach of our world class programming,” said Andrew Warden, Chief Marketing Officer at Semrush. “This is all part of our commitment to inspire and equip both current and future generations of digital marketers with the know-how to succeed in an increasingly competitive landscape.”

The acquisition will allow Semrush’s growing customer base to have access to industry leading marketing tools, education, and top-tier training from industry experts and practitioners. 

Marketers have relied on Third Door Media as a first stop for advanced, timely information on technical marketing technology tactics, strategies, and news. Integrating with Semrush amplifies Third Door Media’s ability to innovate and expand its reach, while ensuring it remains at the forefront of providing essential insights and education to marketers worldwide.   

“Similar to Third Door Media, Semrush empowers high performing marketers and businesses, and their commitment to helping others succeed made this an ideal fit,” said Third Door Media founder Chris Elwell. “This acquisition marks an exciting chapter for us and by combining forces we plan to enrich our digital marketing education and content offerings.”

About Semrush

Semrush is a leading online visibility management SaaS platform that enables businesses globally to run search engine optimization, advertising, content, social media and competitive research campaigns and get measurable results from online marketing. Semrush offers insights and solutions for companies to build, manage, and measure campaigns across various marketing channels. Semrush is headquartered in Boston and has offices in Trevose, Austin, Dallas, Florida, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belgrade, Berlin, Limassol, Prague, Warsaw, and Yerevan.

About Third Door Media

Third Door Media empowers digital marketing professionals by providing trusted content and educational services. The company publishes MarTech and Search Engine Land, which are leading trade publications for marketers. It also is the producer of the MarTech Conference and Search Marketing Expo – SMX conference series. The company is also a leading provider of marketing solutions to purveyors of software and services to the marketing community. Those services include lead generation, content creation and content amplification. “MarTech” and “SMX” are registered trademarks of Third Door Media, Inc.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which are statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “shall,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, enrichment of content and resources, access to leading tools, operation of Third Door Media as a stand alone brand, value and innovation provided to brands and marketers, support for long term vision, product development and consumer growth.

The forward-looking statements contained in this release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including our most recent annual report on form 10-K, and our subsequently filed quarterly reports and other SEC filings. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved. The forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Additional information regarding these and other factors that could affect our results is included in our SEC filings, which may be obtained by visiting our Investor Relations page on its website at investors.semrush.com or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Media Contacts
Jena Sullivan
Senior Public Relations Manage
Semrush Holdings, Inc.
[email protected]

Lauren Donovan
Director of Marketing
Third Door Media
[email protected]

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