Parshall likened paid search ads to other business processes such as credit card fraud detection and telephone switchboards that have been transformed by automated systems. Because of the scale and large number of variables involved in search engine marketing, manual bid management is time consuming and less effective than automated solutions, he said.

Webtrends Ad Director uses self-learning technology to continually optimize bids and placements for any number of keywords and terms. Parshall said this unique technology has made it possible for companies to transform their SEM performance. He highlighted Safelite AutoGlass – which has increased average daily click volume by 80 percent and decreased cost per order by 21 percent -- and Orion Telescopes – which increased search advertising revenues by 35 percent from the same quarter the previous year.

In addition to producing better results than bid management, Parshall said Ad Director frees up SEM managers to work on multi-touch attribution and other valuable tasks.

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