SEOmoz Memenounces $18 Million in Series B Funding

SEATTLE, WA – May 1, 2012 – SEOmoz, the industry’s most popular provider of search engine and social optimization software, today announced its dislike for the normal press release, and intention to announce their $18 million in Series B funding with a handful of internet memes instead.

The Seattle-based company received $18M in Series B funding today from The Foundry Group of Boulder, Colo., with an additional investment from Ignition Partners of Bellevue, WA. SEOmoz previously raised only a single round of funding in 2007 of $1.1 million from Ignition Partners and Curious Office. SEOmoz's revenue in 2010 was $5.7 million and doubled in 2011 to $11.4 million. The company is predicting revenue between $18-20 million in 2012.

SEOmoz makes software for marketers that focus on inbound channels including SEO, social media, content and community. Moz helps professionals better understand and address the complex field of organic search marketing by using software that crawls websites to find errors or missed opportunities, and then makes recommendations based on best practices. Moz has a current roster of 15,000 paying subscribers and a monthly web count of over 2 million visitors to their very vocal online community.

The new stack of cash will help SEOmoz grow their web index, hire new team members, add more social and content functionality to its software, and even make some acquisitions. 

“In that first phone call with Brad, I knew we'd found someone special,” said Rand Fishkin, CEO. “I was, honestly, scared of starting another fundraising process after our previous two attempts, but the chemistry between Foundry and Moz was instant – we couldn’t ask for a better fit. This new partnership coupled with the continued support of our original investors, Ignition Partners, gives us the ability to achieve some remarkable milestones in the years to come.”

Despite a second failed fundraising attempt in the summer of 2011, Moz grew from $5.7 million in revenue in 2010 to $11.4 million in 2011, and nearly doubled in both customers and site traffic.

With an online marketing community of over 400,000 members, SEOmoz has become the de-facto white-hat source for inbound marketing intelligence on the web. The growth and counter-culture attitude of Moz quickly piqued the interest of Brad Feld at The Foundry Group who committed to a partnership with SEOmoz in one of the fastest fundraising rounds in history.

“SEOmoz is one of those companies that you just know is going to do big things, “ said Brad Feld, Managing Director at Foundry Group. “We love investing in amazing people who are obsessed with their products. Moz has an awesome culture, impeccable character, strong market leadership and the financial growth trajectory to back it all up. Plus, they promised me they'd put the word fuck in a press release."

Co-founder Gillian Muessig will be leaving the board of directors and her active role as President, Brad Feld from The Foundry Group and Sarah Bird, SEOmoz's COO, will be joining the board.

For a more in-depth narrative on the SEOmoz funding, please visit Rand’s blog post. For additional details from our newest favorite person, Brad Feld, please see: http://www.feld.com.

About SEOmoz

SEOmoz is the industry’s most popular provider of search engine and social optimization software, easy-to-use tools and tutorials enabling businesses of all sizes to grow their traffic in the areas where people search most. The company is powered by a passionate group of Mozzers who aspire to provide pioneering technology that empowers users to leverage the reach of the Internet - increasing visibility through organic search and social media marketing. The software’s API capabilities connect the Mozscape web index with web-based campaign applications, Open Site Explorer and dozens of additional third party offerings – helping brands gain greater mindshare easily and effectively. With a mission focused on education as well as technical innovation, SEOmoz hosts a powerful community of contributors and marketers united in bringing beneficial, user-oriented content to the top of the page.

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