Ross sits down with Andrew Warden, CMO of Semrush, for a behind-the-scenes look at how the company has scaled past a billion-dollar valuation through brand innovation, performance marketing, and fearless experimentation.

Andrew unpacks how he’s built and structured Semrush’s powerhouse marketing team, why they favor in-house execution over agencies, and how data science and AI are reshaping modern marketing ops.

From viral hits like “Be Like Gaby” and “CEO Kiddos," this episode highlights what works—and what doesn’t—when building a global brand.

00:00 – Intro & Nick Eubanks M&A Stories

02:00 – Building the Semrush Marketing Team Structure

04:00 – Why In-House Creative Wins Over Agencies

06:00 – Brand, Digital, and Owned Media: Org Design Explained

08:00 – The Role of Data Science & Marketing Ops at Scale

10:00 – AI Ops: Automating for Speed, Not Just Hype

13:00 – Enterprise vs. SMB: Maintaining Brand Balance

16:00 – Big Wins: “Be Like Gaby” and User-Driven Campaigns

18:00 – When Humor Doesn’t Convert: Learning from the “CEO Kiddos” Flop

21:00 – Why Failure Is Part of the Process at Semrush

24:00 – Scaling Content: Growing the SEO Team from 4 to 40+

26:00 – Localization: What Works, What Doesn’t

29:00 – Brand vs. Performance: How to Actually Measure Impact

33:00 – Traffic Down, Revenue Up: Moving Beyond Vanity Metrics

36:00 – What SEOs Should Actually Be Goal-ed On

39:00 – AI and Search: The Real Impact on Marketers

41:00 – Semrush’s AI Toolkit & ContentShake Overview

44:00 – The Most Underrated Features in Semrush

47:00 – Prompt Engineering & Early AI Adoption Lessons

48:00 – Conference Announcements & What’s Next for Semrush

ContentShake: https://www.semrush.com/apps/contentshake/

Impress your boss commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNCR5XBEM5c

Semrush’s most popular campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRHG5CjsPvo

Andrew Warden on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewwardenSubscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on

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