uctor acquires Searchmetrics in big enterprise SEO merger //
Today, Enterprise SEO platform Conductor announced that it had acquired Searchmetrics. This is another platform for enterprise SEO and one of its closest competitors.
The terms of this deal are not known. Conductor has made this the second major acquisition in the past year. Conductor purchased Content King on February 16, 2022.
To find out more about the deal for Conductor’s customers and Searchmetrics employees, I spoke to Seth Besmertnik, CEO of Conductor.
What does it mean for Conductor? Searchmetrics has 1,000 global customers, according to the company’s About Us page. They are mostly located in Europe.
It will also expand Conductor’s European capabilities. Conductor will be able to provide better global support because of the European “know-how”, Besmertnik stated. Conductor has 90 percent of its clients headquartered in the United States, but the majority are multi-national.
Besmertnik also pointed out that Searchmetrics is a strong company with good engineering talent and interesting data. This will allow them to continue improving the Conductor platform.
The current uncertain economic environment was another factor that contributed to this consolidation. Conductor customers are currently under great pressure, according to Besmertnik.
They don’t need ten or five different tools. Besmertnik stated that they want fewer tools, but more useful tools. They want consolidation.”
Conductor intends to continue building and improving its “everything is in one place” tool for businesses, where all components (not just some) are great. Besmertnik stated that Conductor continues to invest between $15 million- $20 million annually in research and development.
Besmertnik stated that although the Conductor and Searchmetrics platforms were created in different ways, their goals have always been nearly identical.
What it means to Searchmetrics. Searchmetrics was established in 2005 and will now be a Conductor product. Besmertnik stated that the plan was to merge both platforms into one platform within 18 months.
Besmertnik stated that he is excited to share the Conductor experience with Searchmetrics customers, and offer them more value for their money. He stated that Conductor would be a partner who is committed to innovating and anticipating their needs.
Besmertnik stated that Conductor was not the only or best financial option for Searchmetrics. However, their leadership wanted to be part Conductor.
Searchmetrics also considered other factors when deciding to sell. Rival enterprise SEO platform BrightEdge.
Searchmetrics had to pay a lot of legal fees for four years in fighting a patent infringement lawsuit brought forward by BrightEdge. This contributed in part to Searchmetrics’ slow growth.
Conductor plans to make Searchmetrics’ Berlin office its European headquarters and create a tech hub.
ContentKing one year later. Besmertnik stated that Conductor is still working with ContentKing to integrate the two. The company is currently rebuilding its product. Conductor will be rolling out the remaining integrations (in the next 12 month), all within one interface. He said that customers would be amazed by it.
Why do we care? Customers can benefit from the merging of two enterprise SEO platforms, such as new tools and features. It can create friction, however. For example, the learning curve to fully comprehend its UI and how it works in order to continue driving and reporting on your organization’s SEO success. This merger should provide value for all its clients.
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