Salesforce for digital marketing and SEO teams

A Bloomberg Terminal for online visibility and digital marketing professionals

• SEO Toolkit: A comprehensive suite of tools for optimizing website visibility in search engine results, including keyword research, technical SEO audits, and backlink analysis.
• Content Marketing Platform: Tools designed to help users create, optimize, and distribute high-performing content, covering topic research, content writing assistance, and content audit.
• PPC/Advertising Research: Functionality to analyze competitors' paid advertising strategies, identify profitable keywords, and monitor ad copy performance.
• Social Media Management: Tools for scheduling social media posts, tracking performance, and analyzing competitor activity across various social platforms.
• Competitive Intelligence: Provides market insights and traffic analytics to understand competitor strategies and market trends across various digital channels.

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Bill R. Wagner, Chief Executive Officer

Bill R. Wagner assumed the role of CEO of Semrush in March 2025, having served on its Board of Directors since September 2022. Prior to joining Semrush, he was the CEO of GoTo Group (formerly LogMeIn) from 2015 to 2022, where he successfully expanded the company's revenue from $140 million to over $1 billion. His leadership at LogMeIn culminated in its acquisition for approximately $4.2 billion in 2020. Wagner has also held significant roles at Vocus, Fiberlink (acquired by IBM), and AT&T. He currently sits on the boards of Avery Dennison Corp. and BlackLine, Inc.

Brian Mulroy, Chief Financial Officer

Brian Mulroy became the Chief Financial Officer of Semrush in 2023, bringing over two decades of financial leadership experience to the role. His background includes executive and senior leadership finance positions at prominent technology companies such as Microsoft (Senior Vice President-Finance from 2022 to 2023), Nuance Communications (Senior Vice President-Finance from 2019 to 2022), and Progress Software.

Oleg Shchegolev, Founder and Chief Technology Officer

Oleg Shchegolev co-founded Semrush in 2008 with Dmitry Melnikov and transitioned from CEO to Chief Technology Officer in March 2025. He was instrumental in developing SEOquake in 2006, which laid the groundwork for Semrush. Under his leadership, Semrush grew from a startup into a publicly traded company, completing its IPO in 2021.

Dmitry Melnikov, Co-founder & Chief Operating Officer

Dmitry Melnikov co-founded Semrush in 2008 with Oleg Shchegolev and serves as the Chief Operating Officer. He has been critical to the operational development and global expansion of the company, helping it grow from a startup to a global SaaS digital marketing business with multiple offices. Prior to Semrush, Melnikov was a co-founder and COO of the SEOquake Team from 2006 to 2011, and also served as CEO of tirnet.ru from 2007 to 2011.

Eugene Levin, President

Eugene Levin serves as President of Semrush, having previously held the position of Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer since March 2016. Before joining Semrush, he was an Investment Director and Partner at Target Global from 2014 to 2017. He also co-founded AggroStudios, where he served as Head of Marketing from 2013 to 2014, and was a Partner at Foresight Ventures.

The key risks to SEMrush's business (SEMR) are primarily centered around the highly dynamic and competitive digital marketing landscape, its ability to retain and grow its customer base, and its susceptibility to economic fluctuations.

1. Intense Competition and Rapid Technological Advancements, particularly AI: SEMrush operates in a rapidly evolving digital marketing industry characterized by constant technological advancements and a crowded competitive landscape. The company faces significant challenges from direct competitors such as Ahrefs, Moz, and Similarweb, as well as indirect competition from specialized tools and emerging AI-powered solutions. The increasing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) into marketing tools is a key trend, requiring continuous innovation to maintain a competitive edge. There is also market concern that "AI overviews" could weaken search engine advertising, which is a core area for SEMrush.

2. Reliance on Customer Renewals and Upgrades: As a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, SEMrush's business and operating results are significantly dependent on its paying customers renewing and upgrading their premium subscriptions. A stagnating or declining paying customer count, as noted in recent analyses, even if attributed to a strategic pivot towards higher-value enterprise customers, could harm the business if this segment does not grow as anticipated or if churn rates increase.

3. Vulnerability to Economic Downturns due to Small and Midsize Business (SMB) Reliance: A notable vulnerability for SEMrush stems from its reliance on the Small and Midsize Business (SMB) segment. An economic downturn could significantly impact SMBs' ability or willingness to invest in digital marketing tools, thereby posing a risk to SEMrush's revenue and growth.

The rapid advancements and widespread adoption of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) represent a clear emerging threat. These technologies are increasingly capable of automating and streamlining digital marketing tasks traditionally facilitated by platforms like SEMrush, including content generation, keyword research, SEO analysis, competitor analysis, and ad copy creation. This trend creates two primary risks: first, businesses may increasingly leverage AI tools directly or through integrations with their existing content management systems and advertising platforms, reducing the perceived need for a dedicated, comprehensive suite. Second, the emergence of highly specialized, AI-first tools focusing on niche marketing functions could fragment the market and challenge SEMrush's market share for specific features.

Addressable Markets for SEMrush's Main Products and Services

• SEO Software Market:
  • Global: The global SEO software market size was estimated at USD 74.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 154.6 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 13.5% from 2025 to 2030. Another estimate values the global SEO software market at USD 84.94 billion in 2025, projected to surpass USD 265.91 billion by 2034, with a CAGR of 13.52% from 2025 to 2034.
  • U.S.: The U.S. SEO software market size was estimated at USD 23.49 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach around USD 75.05 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 13.75% from 2025 to 2034.
  • North America: North America held the largest share of the global SEO software market, accounting for 35% in 2024.
• Content Marketing Software Market:
  • Global: The global Content Marketing Software Market size was valued at USD 9.76 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 38.99 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 21.9% during the forecast period. The broader global content marketing market (not just software) size was USD 524.73 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 989.84 billion by 2030, with a 13.53% CAGR.
  • North America: North America dominates the content marketing software market. It also led the overall content marketing market with 40.83% revenue in 2024.
• Social Media Management Software Market:
  • Global: The global Social Media Marketing Software Market size was valued at USD 71.55 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 196.39 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 14.84% from 2026 to 2032. Another report states the global social media management market was valued at USD 27.03 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 124.63 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 21.2%.
  • U.S.: The U.S. social media management market is predicted to grow significantly, reaching an estimated value of USD 26.55 billion by 2032.
  • North America: North America dominated the global social media management market with a share of 39.77% in 2024.
• Competitive Intelligence Software Market:
  • Global: The Global Competitive Intelligence Software Market was valued at USD 459.79 million and is projected to reach a market size of USD 991.31 million by the end of 2030, growing at a CAGR of 11.6% from 2024 to 2030.

SEMrush (SEMR) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several key initiatives:

1. Expansion in the Enterprise Segment: SEMrush is heavily focused on growing its enterprise customer base, which has shown significant momentum. The company has observed accelerated growth in this segment, with new enterprise products contributing to a substantial increase in average revenue per user (ARPU). In Q3 2025, the enterprise customer base expanded significantly, and the number of customers paying over $50,000 per year increased by 72% year-over-year. The average revenue per user in this segment now exceeds $10,000, and there's a perceived path to over $100,000 average ARR for customers adopting the enterprise platform.

2. Development and Adoption of AI-Powered Products: Artificial intelligence is a critical driver for SEMrush's future. The company has been actively launching and enhancing AI capabilities, with its AI portfolio seeing its annual recurring revenue more than double from Q2 to Q3 2025. Initiatives like the AI toolkit, AI optimization products, Semrush One, and the Enterprise AI Visibility Index are not only attracting new customers but also driving unprecedented growth from existing ones.

3. Cross-sell and Upsell Strategies: SEMrush continues to focus on increasing its dollar-based net revenue retention through effective cross-selling and upselling to existing customers. This strategy has been a primary driver of growth in average revenue per customer. The company believes its dollar-based net revenue retention will improve over time due to investments in its enterprise go-to-market strategy and product offerings.

4. Launch of New Products and Services: Beyond its core offerings and AI focus, SEMrush is consistently introducing new products, particularly tailored for its enterprise customers. The company has launched several new products for its enterprise customers within the last 15 months, including an enterprise SEO solution that saw strong adoption in Q4 2024, and the new enterprise site intelligence product in Q3 2025. These new offerings are crucial for attracting and retaining high-value clients and expanding the platform's utility.

Share Repurchases

• SEMrush Holdings, Inc. announced a share repurchase program for up to $150 million of its Class A common stock on August 4, 2025.
• The share repurchase program has no expiration date and does not obligate the company to acquire a specified number of shares.

Share Issuance

• SEMrush priced its initial public offering (IPO) of 10,000,000 shares of Class A common stock at $14.00 per share on March 24, 2021, raising at least $140 million.
• The number of shares outstanding increased from 0.12 billion in 2020 to 0.148 billion in November 2025, with an 11.14% increase in 2021, indicating ongoing issuance including through employee stock option schemes and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) that have a dilutive effect.

Outbound Investments

• In Q3 2024, SEMrush acquired Ryte to strengthen its product offering for the enterprise segment by specializing in optimizing user experience on websites for organic search performance.
• Earlier in 2024, SEMrush acquired a 58% stake in Brand24, a SaaS platform for brand awareness and user sentiment analysis, for $13.5 million in cash.
• In December 2023, the company acquired a 60% stake in Datos for $13.86 million (including $7.5 million in convertible notes) to secure high-quality clickstream data for its analytics system, critical for AI capabilities and competitive intelligence products.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures for SEMrush were $17.32 million in the last 12 months, as of November 2025.
• The company has focused investments on Generative AI to provide enhanced content creation and marketing capabilities through its platform and App Center.
• Investments also aim to strengthen its product offering for the enterprise segment, as evidenced by acquisitions like Ryte.