An Open Letter From The CEO Of Search Engine Journal via @sejournal, @itsduhnise

Dear Readers, SEO Pros, and Digital Marketers,

Hello, I’m Jenise. I’ve been astatine the SEJ helm for 15 years, with Loren Baker and Brent Csutoras astatine my broadside arsenic bulk owners and operating partners.

Yesterday, I woke up to a monumental portion of news: SEO quality steadfast Search Engine Land was purchased by selling instrumentality institution Semrush.

There’s an elephant successful the room, truthful let’s commencement there.

What happens erstwhile a ample hunt selling manufacture subordinate buys a salient media outlet focused connected the hunt selling industry?

Will the publisher’s sum stay nonsubjective and agnostic? Will its authoritative guides see the breadth and extent of tools and platforms and services available  – immoderate of which are successful nonstop contention with Semrush?

What happens to Search Engine Land’s reams and reams of existing content  – articles, achromatic papers, ebooks, videos – that notation to Semrush competitors (umm, not to notation their backlinks)?

What astir credible viewpoints from respected authors that tally antagonistic to the caller firm enactment lines successful immoderate way? Will those voices inactive beryllium published, amplified, quoted connected SEL? Or watered down, oregon adjacent silenced?

So galore questions.

Community reactions, truthful far, person been either of a benign, congratulatory quality oregon other focused connected concerns of bias.

Screenshot from LinkedIn, October 2024

Screenshot from LinkedIn, October 2024

Screenshot from LinkedIn, October 2024

SEL and Semrush some person been progressive successful responding connected societal media, reiterating that:

“Our program is to proceed to stay autarkic and unbiased. Our extremity is to supply prime cognition arsenic we ever have.”

I bash judge that these are their intentions for the existing editorial team, for now.

I’m funny to spot whether this independency volition basal the trial of time, aft the particulate has settled and the quality of this acquisition is lining our integer vertebrate cages.

I’m funny successful uncovering retired if SEL’s editorial state volition basal the trial of shareholder interests successful an NYSE-traded institution that made $305 cardinal successful gross past year. I deliberation we volition request to hold and see.

Here’s Where Search Engine Journal Stands

As 1 of the past autarkic publishers successful the SEO industry, SEJ remains bootstrapped and unbossed.

No 1 pulls SEJ’s strings, controls our backlinks, our coverage, oregon our messaging.

That’s right. SEJ is the chromatic badger of SEO journalism: We study what we want, erstwhile we want, however we want.

SEJ is inactive committed to reporting the information (well, the information until things alteration with the algorithms) astir what is happening successful SEO and marketing.

SEJ is inactive committed to providing unbiased acquisition and champion practices for our readers.

A.k.a. concern arsenic accustomed present astatine SEJ.

Who Is Search Engine Journal Anyways?

Our squad of 26 folks astir the satellite is made up of writers, editors, designers, technologists, the backmost bureau who support things moving smoothly, income operations. They marque maine truthful proud, if I whitethorn brag a little.

We promote transparency, experimentation, accountability. We don’t tolerate bureau authorities oregon toxic behavior. I similar to deliberation we’re close-knit. We share, we cuss, we amuse each different with silly memes. We person laughed unneurotic and cried together.

Most importantly, erstwhile the sh* hits the fan, we propulsion together. We rally. We get gritty. Over and over. I inquire the squad to effort again, to improve, to support learning – and they bash it. And that is erstwhile you cognize you person an A-Team connected your hands.

That’s the full roster 😎. SEJ has nary investors. No firm overlords. And we privation it that way.

Our independency has been challenging astatine times. It would beryllium bully to person a firm Daddy Warbucks who tin “darken the skies with people,” arsenic 1 of my favourite consultants liked to say.

And truthful it does springiness maine intermission erstwhile a rival steadfast is present backed by a multi-national institution with implicit 1,000 employees. That’s a monumental magnitude of resources, firepower, and reach.

But implicit the years, SEJ’s independency has ensured our team’s quality to supply 100% unbiased journalism and acquisition for the hunt selling community.

We bash what we want. And this is what I person religion in: That our readers, our advertisers, our assemblage volition supply what we request to beryllium a formidable David to this caller Goliath.

I invited your comments, feedback, and ideas to marque Search Engine Journal what the hunt selling assemblage needs it to beryllium now. Leave maine a connection here, and I committedness to reply.

Jenise Uehara

CEO, Search Engine Journal

Featured Image: Tanveer Anjum Towsif/Shutterstock