Semrush’s Acquisition Reinforces the Value of Owned Media

It looks like Semrush took notes on CMI’s advice that the best way to launch a content marketing platform is to acquire one.

The search engine software provider acquired Third Door Media, which owns and operates properties that include Search Engine Land, MarTech, Search Marketing Expo, and Digital Marketing Depot.

Semrush’s acquisition of the company with digital publications and events stands as one of the most meaningful content acquisitions in some time. So, we asked CMI’s chief strategy advisor, Robert Rose, for his take. Read on or watch this video for his insight:

Semrush bucks the trend of languishing interest in owned media

In modern marketing, this is the right way to go.

Over the last year, I’ve seen a pullback in owned media property launches. The decline in organic search traffic, social media competition for eyeballs, and bigger walled gardens have discouraged brands from embracing the classic idea of marketing as a publisher.

Ironically, an SEO company recognized — or at least placed a big bet — that the owned-media property battle isn’t over.

It’s not often that I get to go down memory lane, but Third Door Media is one of the most storied digital marketing media companies that you haven’t heard of. Going back to the turn of the 21st century, marketers were reeling from the disruptive changes of this new thing called internet search.

Danny Sullivan was a super smart guy in the space. He started a company called Search Engine Watch and later added an event called Search Engine Strategies, which I attended in November 1999 as a fancy internet strategy consultant. It was when I first saw a small startup company exhibiting that had a funny name called Google.

Anway, five years later, Danny and Chris Elwell started another publication — Search Engine Land — and launched an event called Search Engine Expo.

By 2006, the company Third Door Media was founded, and it has quietly provided great content and events for the last two decades. Along the way, it launched Martech.org and an associated event on marketing technology and even got Scott Brinker and his MarTech Landscape involved.

And now, Semrush, the search engine marketing software company, owns it all. In the announcement, Semrush CMO Andrew Warden says this acquisition is “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.”

Carefully worded, public-relations-generated quote aside, make no bones about it, Semrush executed a content marketing-owned media play. In one fell swoop, it now has access to the first-party data of an incredibly valuable audience that loves the content made by Third Door Media properties.

Semrush also gets multiple built-in customer events, immediately adding a Salesforce Dreamforce-like platform to its content marketing portfolio.

2025 will bring a bigger story and renewed interest

Given that Semrush is a publicly traded company, I expect more information to be revealed in the coming quarters about how it will account for this new acquisition that’s already a revenue-generating platform. It has the potential to be a marketing strategy that pays for itself in short order.

A hearty congratulations to the Semrush and Third Door Media teams. It’s a win-win, especially for such storied content brands now under the stewardship of Semrush.

My only caveat: Don’t mess it up. Acquisitions can be tricky. It’s easy to lose the trust these publications have built over the years.

I look forward to seeing this real-time case study develop. I hope the strategy team at Semrush feels what I feel — having and building a portfolio of owned properties is a trend returning in 2025. I already see some interesting new projects from brands, indicating a new focus on differentiated owned media as a way to generate great marketing.

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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute