In its second round of funding, Kenshoo, the Israeli startup that automates the end-to-end process of building and running SEM - search-engine marketing - campaign, received cash infusion from Sequoia Capital and Arts Alliance, its current investor.

Since Kenshoo Search, the flagship creation of the company, automates most of the typical marketing consultants' job, Kenshoo is a competitor of sorts with bid-management software from the online advertising biggies - Omniture, DoubleClick, aQuantive's Atlas Solutions.

However, Kenshoo Search scores above the competitors in the sense that it takes due consideration to the quality of the campaigns. It helps in getting the most out of a search by locating appropriate keywords across diverse search engines and automatically altering campaign specifics accordingly.

Though the company contact person claimed the new funding to be an "up-round" one, the actual amount of the investment has not been revealed. It is being said that as compared to the earlier round of attracting outside capital, the valuation this time has been "50% higher."

The company intends using the new funding in its endeavors to expand, and seek out new business openings in the search marketing space.

There is little doubt that search marketing remains the best customer acquisition tool in the online space. In its recent report about SEO spending in the US, eMarketer has forecast sustained growth from 2008 to 2013.