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Time Business News
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time Business News
What Strategies Do SEO Experts Use To Drive Traffic?
Over the past few years, marketers have made search engine optimisation, or SEO, a top focus. It's simple to see why: greater search engine ranks translate into more leads, traffic, sales, and conversions. But just how does it operate? How might incorporating keywords into different aspects of your website increase the likelihood that it will rank well in search results? The best SEO services in Lahore are designed to improve your brand's online presence and increase targeted visitors. A positive user experience will boost SEO as well as conversion rates. Google takes into account several accessibility elements in addition to site performance and navigation. Although benchmarks vary over time, it's a good practice to make sure your website loads in three seconds or less. Your internet search ranking will suffer if you go above this limit. A slow-loading page can also soon irritate users, who will probably depart in search of a speedier one. An SEO expert may assist in drawing in customers who are actually interested in the goods or services being supplied by concentrating on keywords with considerable value and smart placement. Additionally, by creating captivating keyword descriptions and titles, SEO experts increase click-through rates, which may eventually result in increased client conversion rates. After a page is crawled, it is examined and added to the search engine's index, which is a sizable library of online material. Retrieved pages may be displayed in search results when visitors type relevant queries. To enhance indexing: Make sure the headlines on each page are clear and packed with keywords. For improved comprehension, use image alt text and Meta tags. Steer clear of duplicate material that might confuse search engines. Look for problems with index coverage in Google Search Console. One of the most important factors in determining the ranks of your website are keywords, which are terms that are frequently looked for on Google, Bing, etc. Your pages will eventually move up the leaderboards if you use the appropriate number of keywords in the appropriate locations. Semrush is a go-to tool for analysing SEO competitors. Their tool may save you a great deal of time and make the procedure quite simple. These rival websites are those that target audiences and rank for comparable keywords to yours. You may review all of your rivals and get more detailed information if you click the 'View all…' option. You may find out how many terms you share with each website by looking at the 'Common Keywords' section. You ought to have at least four or five major organic competitors by the time you finish this step. Moving on to those more technical aspects, building backlinks is another essential component of SEO effectiveness. In addition to helping you acquire domain authority, this also directly increases the likelihood that visitors will click through to your internet presence if it is listed on other trustworthy domains. Link-building is the general term for this process, and while you can just approach other websites to exchange links—quid pro quo—there are several other things you can do to expedite it: Blogging as a guest. Testimonials. Responding to queries on Quora and other websites. Producing information that can be shared, including infographics and movies. The data-driven analysis and conclusions that guide your plan are an additional advantage of hiring an SEO consultant. Consultants track customer behaviour and conversion rates by utilising technologies such as Google Analytics to analyse performance statistics. This data helps them to alter techniques as required, ensuring that your SEO efforts consistently improve and respond to trends. Websites are evaluated by the firm they maintain, much like individuals. The number of distinct domain names that link back to your website, which shows how many site owners are using your material in their own, determines your website's ranking. One of the best ways to expand your audience and increase website traffic is by guest blogging. Seize every chance to create content for a different website. Links pointing to your website function as 'votes' for the calibre and substance of your site. It is therefore worthwhile to invest some effort in obtaining them. Search for chances to establish connections that may ultimately lead to links, even if you should never ask another website owner to just link to you. Finally, an SEO consultant offers a cost-effective marketing option. SEO yields long-lasting, sustainable effects, in contrast to transient sponsored advertisements. Businesses may get long-term exposure and a greater return for their investments with a well-thought-out SEO strategy as opposed to short-term advertising strategies. As was mentioned, there are several tools available to assist you in auditing and improving your website. However, you may also examine the techno graphic data to learn more about the technologies that other businesses use most frequently if you want to differentiate yourself from your rivals. Visit Time Business News for more informative blogs. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The people refusing to use AI
Nothing has convinced Sabine Zetteler of the value of using AI. "I read a really great phrase recently that said something along the lines of 'why would I bother to read something someone couldn't be bothered to write' and that is such a powerful statement and one that aligns absolutely with my views." Ms Zetteler runs her own London-based communications agency, with around 10 staff, some full-time some part-time. "What's the point of sending something we didn't write, reading a newspaper written by bots, listening to a song created by AI, or me making a bit more money by sacking my administrator who has four kids? "Where's the joy, love or aspirational betterment even just for me as a founder in that? It means nothing to me," she says. Ms Zetteler is among those resisting the AI invasion, which really got going with the launch of ChatGPT at the end of 2022. Since then the service, and its many rivals have become wildly popular. ChatGPT is racking up over five billion visits a month, according to software firm Semrush. But training AI systems like ChatGPT requires huge amounts of energy and, once trained, keeping them running is also energy intensive. While it's difficult to quantify the electricity used by AI, a report by Goldman Sachs estimated that a ChatGPT query uses nearly 10 times as much electricity as a Google search query. That makes some people uncomfortable. For Florence Achery, owner of Yoga Retreats & More, the environmental impact is one reason why she vows to stay away from AI. "My initial reaction was that AI is soulless and is a contradiction with my business, which is all about human connection," says Achery, based in London. "However, I found out that the environmental impact was awful with all the energy consumption required to run the data centres. I don't think that people are aware of that." While Ms Zetteler admits she respects AI for all the social good it can achieve, she says she's concerned about the wider impact on society. "I'm happy that AI exists for blind people if they can have articles translated by AI and anything that is truly beneficial. But in general, I don't think it will benefit us long-term." Is she worried it might have a knock-on effect on her business, especially if rival companies are using AI? "Like everything, I could save money by sending our agency to Milan on EasyJet flights rather than the train. "Already my profit margins look unsuccessful if that's how you measure success, but how about if you measure success by how much you're contributing to society and how well you sleep?" Sierra Hansen, who lives in Seattle and works in public affairs, also refuses to use AI. For her, she's concerned that the use of AI is harming our ability to problem solve. "Our brain is the thing that helps organise what our days look like, not going to AI Copilot and asking it to tell it how to manage my schedule. "Our job as a human is to apply critical thinking skills, and if you are feeding simple tasks into ChatGPT then you're not solving on your own. It's doing the thinking for you. If I want to listen to music, I don't need AI to create the perfect punk rock album for me." But not everyone has the luxury of opting out of AI. Jackie Adams (not her real name), who works in digital marketing, resisted AI initially on environmental grounds, and because she thought using it was lazy. "I heard about the energy needed to power data centres and the amount of land they take up, and it didn't sit right with me. I didn't understand why we needed it," she says. However, about a year ago her three colleagues at the marketing firm she works for started adopting AI, for tasks such as copywriting and idea generation. Six months ago Ms Adams had to follow them, after being told she had to cut her budget. "Then it was out my control," she says. She feels that continuing to resist would have hurt her career. "I started playing with it a bit more after reading job descriptions asking for AI experience. I recently realised that if I don't implement it into my ways of working, I'm going to get left behind." Now, she says, she doesn't view tapping into AI as laziness anymore. "It can elevate my work and make some things better," adding that she uses it to refine copywriting work and for editing photos. The moment to opt out of AI has already passed, says James Brusseau, a philosophy professor specialising in AI ethics at Pace University in New York. "If you want to know why a decision is made, we will need humans. If we don't care about that, then we will probably use AI," he says. "So, we will have human judges for criminal cases, and human doctors to make decisions about who should get the transplant. But, weather forecasting will be gone soon, and anesthesiology too," says Prof Brusseau. Ms Adam has accepted using AI at work, but she still feels despondent about AI's growing influence. "Even when you do a Google search it includes an AI overview, while some emails have a topline summary, So now it almost feels like we have no control. How do I turn all that off? It's snowballing." What is bug hunting and why is it changing? Who will win the race to develop a humanoid robot? A revolution is under way in India's trainer industry Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
Forbes
09-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
10 Must-Have Tools For The Best Digital Marketing Workflow
getty Digital marketing evolves at lightning speed, and staying effective means leveraging the right tools. From AI assistants to SEO analyzers and customer relationship management systems, the best marketers know what works and stick with it. These tools aren't just helpful—they keep campaigns on track, get leads converted and allow teams to move fast. Below, 10 members of Forbes Agency Council share the most essential tools they can't live without in their daily workflows. Read on to learn how these tools help them win in an increasingly competitive digital world. Perplexity with custom Spaces is my daily digital marketing essential. I've created tailored instructions that I refine regularly to stay current. It's like having a personal AI assistant that understands my workflow and provides insights, campaign tracking and content ideas in one place. This customized AI approach saves me hours of research and keeps me ahead in this fast-paced field. - Meeky Hwang, Ndevr, Inc I rely on Google Analytics daily. It cuts through opinions and shows what's actually happening—real user behavior, real conversions and real problems. Without data, marketing is just guesswork. Analytics turns campaigns from 'hope and pray' into 'test, measure, scale.' - William Polson, Australian Internet Advertising I use Semrush daily to spot ranking shifts, content gaps and competitor moves before they become problems. It gives me the kind of clarity that makes decisions feel less like guesses and more like strategy. It's the one tool that actually changed how I think about search—less like a checklist of rankings and more like eavesdropping on what people are trying to figure out. - Dmitrii Kustov, Regex SEO Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify? Using HubSpot CRM daily streamlines our sales and marketing by centralizing data, automating outreach and providing real-time insights. Our sales team can track deals, prioritize leads and personalize follow-ups, while marketing can nurture prospects with automated workflows. We can drive alignment, improve efficiency and accelerate growth with a unified view of customer interactions. - Elyse Flynn Meyer, Prism Global Marketing Solutions My reminders app is the tool I leverage daily as a digital marketer. I have separate reminder categories for all parts of my workflow—leads to follow up on, proposals to do, content to edit, posts to drop, ideas to work on and more—all compartmentalized nicely within one hub. It's become a crucial part of my marketing success by ensuring I know all I need to do to effectively market. - Tony Pec, Y Not You Media Instant messaging tools remain a go-to for efficient team interaction, real-time collaboration and streamlining workflows. They also help foster a more engaging employee experience through features that support recognition, gamifying work and team dynamics. Combined with calendar integrations, they help keep everyone aligned and on schedule. - Jessica Hawthorne-Castro, Hawthorne Advertising Spreadsheets may not be sexy, but I live in them. Going all the way back to my days as the CMO of Gateway Computers, from forecasting to campaign analysis, spreadsheets give me clarity, speed and control over the numbers. I pour over the precision they provide because when you're making decisions that move fast and affect the bottom line, precision matters. - Mary Ann O'Brien, OBI Creative One tool I rely on daily is Google Search Console. It provides essential insights into keyword rankings, click-through rates and indexing issues. This helps me adapt our strategy based on real-time user behavior, optimize low-performing content and maintain technical SEO health. It's a core part of ensuring our organic performance stays aligned with search intent and business goals. - Ajay Prasad, GMR Web Team I use Ahrefs daily to monitor backlinks, track keyword performance and analyze competitors. Having real-time SEO insights allows me to spot opportunities quickly and adjust strategies before trends shift, keeping campaigns agile and data-driven. - Boris Dzhingarov, ESBO Ltd I personally use ChatGPT daily for the simple fact that I can, in essence, 'collaborate' and build on ideas whenever I need to. Our teams have taken to this as well—creating ad messaging variations, repurposing content and even analyzing data. We love to collaborate as a team; however, when time is short, ChatGPT can be an invaluable tool for ideating, expanding and improving ideas on the fly. - Bernard May, National Positions
Time Business News
09-05-2025
- Business
- Time Business News
The Ultimate Guide to Modern SEO Strategies: Beat the Algorithm with Smarter Tactics
Search engine algorithms are evolving faster than ever. In 2025, winning top positions in Google isn't just about keywords—it's about intent, experience, and adaptability. This guide walks you through modern SEO strategies that not only meet current best practices but also future-proof your rankings in a constantly changing landscape. SEO strategies are high-level plans that guide how you optimize your website to increase visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). Unlike SEO tactics, which are specific techniques (like updating a meta description), strategies define your overall direction—such as focusing on topical authority or targeting high-conversion intent keywords. Think of strategy as your roadmap and tactics as the turns you take. For example: Strategy: Become the go-to source for digital marketing knowledge in your niche. Tactic: Publish three blog posts per week targeting long-tail informational keywords. By clearly distinguishing the two, you'll execute more purposefully. Today's SEO isn't just about appeasing algorithms—it's about delivering user-first experiences. Google's advancements in machine learning (e.g., BERT, MUM) mean that content relevance, quality, and engagement carry more weight than ever. Without a strong strategy, even great content can fail to perform. If you want to outrank your competitors in 2025, you need to build a holistic, adaptive strategy. Here's what should be at the core: Modern keyword research focuses less on volume and more on intent. Tools like Semrush, Ahrefs, and Google's Keyword Planner can still help you identify terms, but it's your job to determine the user's goal behind each query. Tip: Group keywords by intent—informational, navigational, transactional—and tailor your content accordingly. While optimizing titles, H1s, and meta descriptions still matters, modern on-page SEO also includes: Content layout & scannability Accessibility (alt text, ARIA tags) Engagement signals (time on page, scroll depth) Make sure every page is built for users first, bots second. Search engines won't rank what they can't crawl. Focus on: Core Web Vitals Mobile usability HTTPS security XML sitemaps and optimization Canonical tags and proper redirects A well-maintained site foundation supports every other SEO effort. Google's E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) has become a key ranking factor. Establish topical authority by: Covering your niche comprehensively Updating outdated content Adding author bios and source citations Using internal linking to signal content hierarchy Spammy links can tank your rankings. Instead: Earn links through original research, guest posts, and digital PR Use HARO to connect with journalists Leverage broken link building on relevant blogs A handful of high-quality links from authoritative sources outweigh hundreds of weak ones. Smarter Tactics to Beat the Algorithm With AI-driven updates like Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE) changing how results appear, modern SEO demands more than the basics. Below are tactical approaches that align with your strategy—and help you beat the algorithm without gaming it. AI writing tools can boost productivity, but overuse can result in robotic, generic content. Worse, poorly humanized AI content can trigger detection tools used by publishers, educators, and even Google (indirectly). Smarter tactic: Use AI for outlines, ideation, and first drafts—then rewrite with a human voice. Tools like Content at Scale, Koala Writer, or Writesonic can help, but always edit to infuse expertise and natural flow. Aim to pass both human readers and AI detectors. 'AI humanizers' like and AISEO are designed to rewrite content so it appears human. However, they often fail to mimic authentic tone, insight, and emotional resonance. Smarter tactic: Go beyond mechanical rewrites. Include first-hand experience, examples, case studies, and unique analogies. Break the AI mold by writing as if you're speaking to one person, not an audience of bots. Pro tip: Google's Helpful Content System rewards content created for users by humans—don't forget the 'experience' in E-E-A-T. Schema markup helps search engines understand your content better—and can get you featured with rich snippets, FAQs, carousels, or video thumbnails. Smarter tactic: Use JSON-LD to add structured data for: Articles FAQs Product reviews Events How-to guides Tools like Google's Rich Results Test and Validator can help ensure proper formatting. Internal links aren't just for navigation—they signal topic clusters and distribute page authority (link equity). Smarter tactic: Link to cornerstone content from supporting pages Use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text Keep your internal links natural, not forced Maintain a flat site structure for easy crawlability Bonus: This tactic also reduces bounce rate and boosts average session duration. Google's SERP has evolved—ranking #1 doesn't guarantee top visibility. Featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, and video carousels now dominate page one. Smarter tactic: Structure your content with clear H2s/H3s to qualify for featured snippets Add FAQ schema to target People Also Ask Embed optimized YouTube videos with relevant transcripts By aiming for these SERP features, you earn more visibility—even if your organic result is technically 'below' others. Final Thoughts: Staying Ahead of SEO in an AI-Driven Era Modern SEO isn't about gaming the algorithm — it's about working smarter. With the right strategy, quality content, and user-first mindset, you can stay ahead in search engine results pages (SERPs), even as algorithms evolve. Keep your focus on intent, experience, and adaptability. SEO success in 2025 belongs to those who create for people — not just for search engines. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Business Wire
07-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Semrush Announces First Quarter 2025 Financial Results
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Semrush Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SEMR), a leading online visibility management SaaS platform, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025. 'I am thrilled to be part of the Semrush team as we leverage our best-in-class data platform to seize the emerging marketing opportunity presented by AI and extend our reach into the enterprise market," said Bill Wagner, CEO. "We reported a strong start to the year, delivering first quarter revenue growth of 22% along with strong margins and free cash flow. We are especially pleased by the early traction of our AI products and continued momentum of our Enterprise SEO Solution.' First Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights First quarter revenue of $105.0 million, up 22% year-over-year. Loss from operations of $0.1 million for the first quarter, compared to income from operations of $1.5 million the prior year's quarter. First quarter operating margin of (0.1)%, compared to 1.7% in the prior year period. Non-GAAP income from operations of $12.2 million for the first quarter for a non-GAAP operating margin of 11.6%, compared to non-GAAP income from operations of $9.7 million in the prior year period for a non-GAAP operating margin of 11.3%. Q1 free cash flow of $18.5 million and free cash flow margin of 17.6%. ARR of $424.7 million as of March 31, 2025, up 20% year-over-year. Approximately 118,000 paying customers as of March 31, 2025, up approximately 5.1% from a year ago. Dollar-based net revenue retention of 106%, as of March 31, 2025. See 'Non-GAAP Financial Measures & Definitions of Key Metrics' below for how Semrush defines ARR, dollar-based net revenue retention, non-GAAP income from operations, non-GAAP operating margin, free cash flow, and free cash flow margin, and the financial tables that accompany this release for reconciliations of each non-GAAP financial measure to its closest comparable GAAP financial measure. First Quarter 2025 Business Highlights We remain committed to empowering our customers with a best-in-class platform designed to boost their online presence and gain an edge in the market. We advanced and expanded many of our offerings and continued investments in Generative AI to provide enhanced, more efficient content creation and marketing capabilities through Semrush's platform and App Center: Launched AI Optimization (AIO), now in open beta, a Semrush Enterprise Solution that provides businesses with the tools to track, control, and optimize brand presence across AI-powered search platforms. Released AI Toolkit, a solution that simplifies how businesses assess their visibility in AI-driven search results and guides strategic decisions to improve performance and positioning. Semrush customers who pay more than $10,000 annually grew by 39% year-over-year. Semrush customers who pay over $50,000 increased 86% year-over-year to 388. Ended the quarter with over 1.0 million registered free active customers. 'We reported a strong first quarter - overachieving on our top line growth and profitability, as we executed on our cross-sell and up-sell strategy and continued to expand our average revenue per customer,' said Brian Mulroy, CFO of Semrush. 'We saw increased adoption during the quarter of our Enterprise SEO solution and continued momentum building our enterprise cohort, delivering 86% year-over-year growth in customers paying over $50,000. Non-GAAP operating margin increased to 11.6% and cash flow from operations increased to $22.1 million. Looking ahead, we are confident about our ability to drive growth, profitability, and free cash flow generation, and we are reiterating our previous full year 2025 guidance.' Based on information as of today, May 7, 2025, we are issuing the following financial guidance: Second Quarter 2025 Financial Outlook For the second quarter, we expect revenue in a range of $108.2 million to $109.2 million, which at the mid-point would represent growth of approximately 20% year-over-year. We expect second quarter non-GAAP operating margin to be approximately 11%. Full-Year 2025 Financial Outlook For the full year, we expect revenue in a range of $448.0 to $453.0 million, which at the mid-point would represent growth of approximately 20% year-over-year. We expect full year non-GAAP operating margin to be approximately 12%. We expect the full year free cash flow margin to be approximately 12%. To note, our full year 2025 guidance now absorbs an incremental $8.0 million expense headwind due to the recent movement in exchange rates. Our previous guidance assumed a EURO to USD exchange rate of 1.05 and we are now modeling an exchange rate of 1.13. Reconciliations of non-GAAP operating margin and free cash flow margin guidance to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are not available without unreasonable efforts on a forward-looking basis due to the high variability, complexity and low visibility with respect to the charges excluded from these non-GAAP measures, in particular the measures and effects of share-based compensation expense, employer taxes and tax deductions specific to equity compensation awards that are directly impacted by future hiring, turnover and retention needs. We expect the variability of the above charges to have a significant, and potentially unpredictable, impact on our future GAAP financial results. Conference Call and Webcast Details Semrush will host a conference call and webcast to discuss its financial results, business highlights, outlook and other matters, the details for which are provided below. Date: Thursday, May 8th, 2025 Time: 8:30 a.m. ET Hosts: Bill Wagner, CEO, and Brian Mulroy, CFO Conference ID: 923956 Participant Toll Free Dial-In Number: +1 833 470 1428 Participant International Dial-In Number: +1 929 526 1599 The live webcast of the conference call as well as the replay can be accessed for a limited time from the Semrush investor relations website at About Semrush Semrush is a leading online visibility management SaaS platform that enables businesses globally to run search engine optimization, advertising, content, social media and competitive research campaigns and get measurable results from online marketing. Semrush offers insights and solutions for companies to build, manage, and measure campaigns across various marketing channels. Semrush is headquartered in Boston and has offices in Austin, Dallas, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belgrade, Berlin, Munich, Limassol, Prague, Warsaw, and Yerevan. Forward-looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which are statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as 'may,' 'will,' 'shall,' 'should,' 'expects,' 'plans,' 'positioning,' 'anticipates,' 'could,' 'intends,' 'target,' 'projects,' 'contemplates,' 'believes,' 'estimates,' 'predicts,' 'potential' or 'continue' or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, guidance on financial results for the second quarter and full fiscal year of 2025 (including revenue, non-GAAP operating margin, and free cash flow margin); statements about transition and the impact of recent changes to our executive management team; statements regarding the expectations of demand for our products and cash flow generation; statements about improvements to and expansion of our products and platform, and launching new products; statements about future operating results, including revenue, growth opportunities, variability of expenses, ability to realize efficiencies, future spending and incremental investments, business trends, our ability to deliver profits, and growth and value for shareholders; and assumptions regarding foreign exchange rates. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC'), including in the sections entitled 'Risk Factors' and 'Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations'' in our filings with the SEC, including our most recent annual report on form 10-K, and our subsequently filed quarterly reports and other SEC filings. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved. The forward-looking statements in this release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Additional information regarding these and other factors that could affect our results is included in our SEC filings, which may be obtained by visiting our Investor Relations page on its website at or the SEC's website at Non-GAAP Financial Measures & Definitions of Key Metrics We believe that providing non-GAAP information to investors, in addition to the GAAP presentation, allows investors to view the financial results in the way management views the operating results. We further believe that providing this information allows investors to not only better understand our financial performance, but also to evaluate the efficacy of the methodology and information used by management to evaluate and measure such performance. We also believe that the use of non-GAAP financial measures provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing our financial results with other companies in our industry, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures to investors. We also believe free cash flow margin is useful to investors as we monitor it as a measure of our overall business performance, which enables us to analyze our future performance without the effects of non-cash items and allows us to better understand the cash needs of our business. The non-GAAP information included in this press release should not be considered superior to, or a substitute for, financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP financial measures presented by other companies. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures provided in the financial statement tables included below in this press release. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is defined as the total subscription revenue as of a given date that we expect to contractually receive over the subsequent 12 months from customers on an annualized basis, assuming no increases, reductions or cancellations. This ARR definition was updated in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2024 to simplify the explanation of our calculation around the treatment of monthly and longer-term contracts, and to be more consistent with other SaaS businesses, which we believe improves the ability for investors to compare our metric against other businesses. Additionally, our definition was updated to note that we do not assume there will be any increases, reductions, or cancellations. Given our efforts to retain and win back customers, and our belief that we will be successful in many of those retention efforts, we believe the updated definition is more accurate. We are not recasting ARR results to conform ARR under the prior definition to the updated definition as there is no variance between the two definitions for the periods presented. Dollar-based net revenue retention is defined as (a) the revenue from our customers during the twelve-month period ending one year prior to such period as the denominator and (b) the revenue from those same customers during the twelve months ending as of the end of such period as the numerator. This calculation excludes revenue from new customers and any non-recurring revenue. Free cash flow and free cash flow margin. We define free cash flow, a non-GAAP financial measure, as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less purchases of property and equipment and capitalized software development costs. We define free cash flow margin as free cash flow divided by GAAP revenue. Non-GAAP income (loss) from operations, and non-GAAP operating margin. We define non-GAAP income (loss) from operations as GAAP income (loss) from operations, excluding Stock Based Compensation, Amortization of Acquired Intangible Assets, Acquisition Related Costs, Restructuring Costs and other one-time expenses outside the ordinary course of business (for example, our Exit Costs incurred primarily in 2022). We define non-GAAP operating margin as non-GAAP income (loss) from operations divided by GAAP revenue. We believe investors may want to consider our results with and without the effects of these items in order to compare our financial performance with that of other companies that exclude such items and to compare our results to prior periods. Stock-based compensation. Stock-based compensation is a non-cash expense accounted for in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. We believe that the exclusion of stock-based compensation expense allows for financial results that are more indicative of our operational performance and provide for a useful comparison of our operating results to prior periods and to our peer companies because stock-based compensation expense varies from period to period and company to company due to such things as differing valuation methodologies, timing of awards and changes in stock price. Amortization of acquired intangible assets. Excluding amortization of acquired intangible assets from non-GAAP expense and income measures allows management and investors to evaluate results 'as-if' the acquired intangible assets had been developed internally rather than acquired and, therefore, provides a supplemental measure of performance in which our acquired intellectual property is treated in a comparable manner to our internally developed intellectual property. These amounts are inconsistent in amount and frequency and are significantly impacted by the timing and size of acquisitions. Although we exclude amortization of acquired intangible assets from our non-GAAP expenses, we believe that it is important for investors to understand that such intangible assets contribute to revenue generation. Restructuring and other costs. Restructuring and other costs include restructuring expenses as well as other charges that are unusual in nature, are the result of unplanned events, and arise outside the ordinary course of our business. Restructuring expenses consist of employee severance costs, charges for the closure of excess facilities and other contract termination costs. Other costs include litigation contingency reserves, asset impairment charges, relocation expenses associated with the migration of employees in 2022 that occurred throughout 2022 and early 2023, and gains or losses on the sale or disposition of certain non-strategic assets or product lines. Acquisition-related costs. In recent years, we have completed a number of acquisitions, which result in transition, integration and other acquisition-related expense which would not otherwise have been incurred, are unpredictable and dependent on a significant number of factors that are deal-specific or outside of our control, are not indicative of our operational performance (or that of the acquired businesses or assets) and are likely to fluctuate as our acquisition activity increases or decreases in future periods. By excluding acquisition-related costs and adjustments from our non-GAAP measures, management is better able to evaluate our ability to utilize our existing assets and estimate the long-term value that acquired assets will generate for us. The following table sets forth a reconciliation of our (loss) income from operations and operating margin to non-GAAP income from operations and non-GAAP operating margin, respectively (percentage amounts may not sum due to rounding): The following table sets forth a reconciliation of our net cash provided by operating activities and net cash provided by operating activities (as a percentage of revenue) to free cash flow and free cash flow margin, respectively (percentage amounts may not sum due to rounding): Semrush Holdings, Inc. (in thousands) As of December 31, 2024 Assets Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 64,665 $ 48,875 Short-term investments 197,125 186,693 Accounts receivable 11,034 8,955 Deferred contract costs, current portion 10,161 10,044 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 14,461 21,617 Total current assets 297,446 276,184 Property and equipment, net 6,401 6,534 Operating lease right-of-use assets 12,133 11,126 Intangible assets, net 33,007 32,055 Goodwill 57,682 56,139 Deferred contract costs, net of current portion 3,379 3,080 Other long-term assets 6,453 5,825 Total assets $ 416,501 $ 390,943 Liabilities, noncontrolling interest, and stockholders' equity Current liabilities Accounts payable $ 14,218 $ 10,463 Accrued expenses 21,606 20,216 Deferred revenue 79,926 71,827 Current portion of operating lease liabilities 5,202 4,669 Other current liabilities 5,750 6,913 Total current liabilities 126,702 114,088 Deferred revenue, net of current portion 235 235 Deferred tax liability 1,634 1,621 Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion 8,569 7,602 Other long-term liabilities 1,203 1,045 Total liabilities 138,343 124,591 Commitments and contingencies Stockholders' equity Class A common stock 1 1 Class B common stock — — Additional paid-in capital 331,917 322,586 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (311 ) (2,221 ) Accumulated deficit (62,913 ) (63,762 ) Total stockholders' equity attributable to Semrush Holdings, Inc. 268,694 256,604 Noncontrolling interest in consolidated subsidiaries 9,464 9,748 Total stockholders' equity 278,158 266,352 Total liabilities, noncontrolling interest and stockholders' equity $ 416,501 $ 390,943 Expand Semrush Holdings, Inc. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (in thousands) Three Months Ended March 31, 2025 2024 Operating Activities Net income $ 655 $ 2,003 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities Depreciation and amortization expense 3,424 2,183 Amortization of deferred contract costs 3,474 3,016 Amortization (accretion) of premiums and discounts on investments (659 ) (1,071 ) Non-cash lease expense 1,257 1,164 Stock-based compensation expense 9,112 5,115 Change in fair value included in other income, net (1,164 ) — Deferred taxes (55 ) (100 ) Other non-cash items 880 844 Changes in operating assets and liabilities Accounts receivable (2,167 ) 782 Deferred contract costs (3,891 ) (3,455 ) Prepaid expenses and other current assets (379 ) (2,275 ) Accounts payable 3,559 1,012 Accrued expenses 1,632 1,414 Other current liabilities (299 ) (390 ) Deferred revenue 7,873 5,658 Other long-term liabilities 158 — Change in operating lease liability (1,301 ) (1,121 ) Net cash provided by operating activities 22,109 14,779 Investing Activities Purchases of property and equipment (725 ) (759 ) Capitalization of internal-use software costs (2,879 ) (2,015 ) Purchases of short-term investments (27,156 ) (46,706 ) Proceeds from sales and maturities of short-term investments 18,000 25,000 Funding of investment loan receivables — (7,000 ) Proceeds from repayment of investment loan receivables 7,676 — Cash paid for acquisition of assets and businesses, net of cash acquired (512 ) (501 ) Purchase of noncontrolling interest (90 ) — Net cash used in investing activities (5,686 ) (31,981 ) Financing Activities Proceeds from exercise of stock options 365 844 Repayment of acquired debt (611 ) — Payment of finance leases (99 ) (410 ) Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (345 ) 434 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (288 ) (507 ) Increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 15,790 (17,275 ) Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period 49,060 58,848 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period $ 64,850 $ 41,573 Expand
