Search-engine marketing tool Kenshoo raises new funds to fuel growth

Kenshoo, a company that provides software to help online marketers manage campaigns, has closed an undisclosed round of funding with Sequoia Capital. The company plans to use the funds to grow its client base, deepen profitability, broaden offerings (for example, into social media) and expand internationally.

Kathryn Barry, Kenshoo’s director of marketing, explained that, although the company has been growing exponentially and is already profitable, the added funding would help take the business to the next level. She said the company has distinguished itself with its client base thanks to the flexibility and scalability of the platform and the company’s ability to hire talent. Additionally, the fact that the software supports a multitude of languages has been an added benefit for large multinational customers.

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Kenshoo competes with a host of companies, including SearchIgnite and Adobe’s Ominture division. Nevertheless, according to research firm Forrester, spending on search engine marketing boasts a yearly compound growth rate of 15% and should reach US $20 billion by the end of 2011.

Additionally, the company’s focus on integrating its platform with a host of international search engines such as China’s Baidu provides some differentiation. Also, enabling marketers to closely manage campaign quality seems to have resonated with customers as evidenced by the more than 300 million ads that have been managed by the platform.

The company was founded in 2006 in Tel Aviv, Israel and has offices in New York, San Francisco and London. Kenshoo last pulled in funds from Sequoia back in December.