Expensive Readers, web optimization Execs, and Digital Entrepreneurs,
Hiya, I’m Jenise. I’ve been on the SEJ helm for 15 years, with Loren Baker and Brent Csutoras at my facet as majority homeowners and working companions.
Yesterday, I woke as much as a monumental piece of reports: web optimization information writer Search Engine Land was bought by advertising and marketing instrument firm Semrush.
There’s an elephant within the room, so let’s begin there.
What occurs when a big search advertising and marketing business participant buys a outstanding media outlet centered on the search advertising and marketing business?
Will the writer’s protection stay goal and agnostic? Will its authoritative guides embrace the breadth and depth of instruments and platforms and providers out there – a few of that are in direct competitors with Semrush?
What occurs to Search Engine Land’s reams and reams of present content material – articles, white papers, ebooks, movies – that discuss with Semrush rivals (umm, to not point out their backlinks)?
What about credible viewpoints from revered authors that run counter to the brand new company celebration strains in a roundabout way? Will these voices nonetheless be revealed, amplified, quoted on SEL? Or watered down, and even silenced?
So many questions.
Neighborhood reactions, to date, have been both of a benign, congratulatory nature or else centered on issues of bias.
Screenshot from LinkedIn, October 2024
Screenshot from LinkedIn, October 2024
Screenshot from X (Twitter), October 2024
Screenshot from LinkedIn, October 2024
Screenshot from X (Twitter), October 2024
Screenshot from X (Twitter), October 2024SEL and Semrush each have been lively in responding on social media, reiterating that:
“Our plan is to proceed to stay impartial and unbiased. Our aim is to supply high quality information as we all the time have.”
I do consider that these are their intentions for the present editorial workforce, for now.
I’m curious to see whether or not this independence will stand the take a look at of time, after the mud has settled and the information of this acquisition is lining our digital fowl cages.
I’m fascinated with discovering out if SEL’s editorial freedom will stand the take a look at of shareholder pursuits in an NYSE-traded firm that made $305 million in income final yr. I feel we might want to wait and see.
Right here’s The place Search Engine Journal Stands
As one of many final impartial publishers within the web optimization business, SEJ stays bootstrapped and unbossed.
Nobody pulls SEJ’s strings, controls our backlinks, our protection, or our messaging.
That’s proper. SEJ is the honey badger of web optimization journalism: We report what we wish, once we need, how we wish.
SEJ continues to be dedicated to reporting the reality (nicely, the reality till issues change with the algorithms) about what is going on in web optimization and advertising and marketing.
SEJ continues to be dedicated to offering unbiased schooling and finest practices for our readers.
A.okay.a. enterprise as traditional right here at SEJ.
Who Is Search Engine Journal Anyhow?
Our workforce of 26 people all over the world is made up of writers, editors, designers, technologists, the again workplace who preserve issues operating easily, gross sales operations. They make me so proud, if I’ll brag somewhat.
We encourage transparency, experimentation, accountability. We don’t tolerate workplace politics or poisonous habits. I prefer to assume we’re close-knit. We share, we cuss, we amuse one another with foolish memes. We have now laughed collectively and cried collectively.
Most significantly, when the sh* hits the fan, we pull collectively. We rally. We get gritty. Again and again. I ask the workforce to strive once more, to enhance, to continue to learn – they usually do it. And that’s when you recognize you will have an A-Staff in your fingers.
That’s your complete roster 😎. SEJ has no traders. No company overlords. And we wish it that method.
Our independence has been difficult at instances. It will be good to have a company Daddy Warbucks who can “darken the skies with folks,” as one in every of my favourite consultants appreciated to say.
And so it does give me pause when a rival writer is now backed by a multi-national firm with over 1,000 workers. That’s a monumental quantity of sources, firepower, and attain.
However through the years, SEJ’s independence has ensured our workforce’s capability to supply 100% unbiased journalism and schooling for the search advertising and marketing neighborhood.
We do what we wish. And that is what I place confidence in: That our readers, our advertisers, our neighborhood will present what we should be a formidable David to this new Goliath.
I welcome your feedback, suggestions, and concepts to make Search Engine Journal what the search advertising and marketing neighborhood wants it to be now. Go away me a message right here, and I promise to answer.
Jenise Uehara
CEO, Search Engine Journal
Featured Picture: Tanveer Anjum Towsif/Shutterstock