The Paid Search Association: A Brief History

By Mike Freedman, Executive Director

When I look back at what we’ve built with the Paid Search Association, I’m amazed at how far we’ve come. What started as a simple idea has grown into a thriving community of nearly 3,400 marketing professionals worldwide. Let me share the story of how it all began. 

So many paid search leaders have contributed to the growth of the Paid Search Association that I want to start by saying I would like to revise this history to give more recognition to all those who helped. Please feel free to share any information that could build on what I gathered from my memory, PSA records, LLM research and information from Archive.org (The Way Back Machine) to build this history.

The Beginning: From Vision to Reality (2019-2020)

The idea for the PSA came to me from watching our industry operate in silos. I saw brilliant paid search professionals working in isolation, missing opportunities to learn from each other and advance our field together. We needed a place where we could share knowledge, uphold ethical standards, and help each other grow.  

On May 10, 2019, that vision became reality. Working with the law firm of Greenspoon Marder, I filed the incorporation documents with the State of Florida, officially launching the Paid Search Association.  I had already secured the PaidSearch.org domain for $815 and donated it to serve as our digital home. 

My experience in nonprofits included work helping start two healthcare nonprofits, the American Subacute Care Association and the American Academy of Wound Management. That experience and earlier work with the American Heart Association gave me a good foundation to advise early PSA leaders on nonprofit issues.

Building our founding leadership team was crucial. I was honored when David Szetela, author and host of the PPC Rockstars podcast, agreed to serve as our inaugural President. Jamal Hale, a colleague at Ultimate Medical Academy in Tampa, where I was working, stepped up as Vice President and helped with early planning and social media. Lisa Maier, CEO of Directive Group, took on the role of Secretary/Treasurer. Lisa would prove instrumental in our early development.

By October 2019, we assembled what I consider one of the most impressive boards in our industry’s history. These weren’t just names on a letterhead—they were the voices our community trusted: Amy Bishop, Brad Geddes, Navah Hopkins, John Lee, Aaron Levy, Melissa Mackey, Samantha Noble, JD Prater, Lisa Raehsler, Frederick Vallaeys, and AJ Wilcox. Each brought unique expertise and shared our common goal of creating something valuable for the entire paid search community.

The momentum continued into 2020. In January, we expanded our board with even more industry luminaries: Andrew Goodman, Anders Hjorth, William (Bill) Leake, Gianpaolo Lorusso, Ginny Marvin, Christi Olson, Adam Proehl, and Purna Virji. By December, we welcomed Duane Brown, Jason Dailey, Motoko Hunt, Marc Poirier, and Kirk Williams. Watching this community of experts come together around our shared mission was truly inspiring.

Building Infrastructure and Community (2021-Present)

Early Investment and Digital Foundation

One of our first major breakthroughs came through Lisa Maier’s leadership at DirectiveGroup. Her company made a substantial investment of over $20,000 to develop the original PaidSearch.org website. This wasn’t just financial support—it was a vote of confidence in our mission. In recognition of this significant contribution, we featured DirectiveGroup in a partner section and the footer of every page. Their design and development team brought our digital vision to life. 

During the early years I also donated about $8,000 mostly to cover startup costs and some services that helped boost PSA, including graphics, pr services and some legal expenses.

Opening Our Doors Wider

September 1, 2021, marked a pivotal moment in making our organization more accessible. We made individual and student memberships free for one year, opening our doors to professionals who might not have been able to participate otherwise. This decision gave members access to exclusive content, voting rights, opportunities to serve on boards and committees, online resources, event discounts, and news release submission capabilities.

This step may have allowed the Paid Search Association to grow even as many digital marketing organizations closed, including the Search Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO) and the Digital Analytics Association (DAA).

The heart of our community became what is now the world’s largest PPC-centric Slack community. With over 3,250 paid advertising professionals, this highly vetted, free community has become where real conversations happen and relationships are built. 

Our reach extended beyond Slack. Our LinkedIn community generated more than 20,000 impressions in the last 12 months, while Google Analytics showed 6,400 active users of paidsearch.org—a 40% increase from the previous year.

Leadership Evolution

In March 2022, we witnessed a beautiful transition when Anu Adegbola was unanimously elected as our new President, succeeding David Szetela, who moved to an advisory role after his retirement. Anu brought ambitious goals: defining membership benefits, building strategic partnerships, and producing high-quality content.

Our board continued evolving throughout this period. January 2022 brought Brett Bodofsky, Sam Tomlinson, Anu Adegbola, Andrea Cruz Lopez, and Jeremy Krantz. Luna Rocha joined in January 2023, followed by Sarah Stemen in 2024.

In 2024, Brett Bodofsky was elected President with Navah Hopkins as Vice President. Together, they expanded our educational offerings while working toward gaining tax-exempt non-profit status—a goal that had been on my mind since our founding. 

Most recently, in March 2025, Sarah was unanimously elected President alongside Vice President Jeremy Krantz, continuing our tradition of smooth leadership transitions.

Educational Excellence and Industry Impact

Programs That Matter

We’ve built a comprehensive educational ecosystem that include videos, blogs, PPC training materials, guides, and curated links. Our PPC email newsletter has become a trusted source of industry insights, while our regular webinars—launched in October 2021—provide ongoing professional development opportunities. Gianpaolo Lorusso has been instrumental in creating bi-monthly PSA blog posts covering important paid search news. Melissa Mackey, David Szetela and Brett Bodofsky developed an important mentoring program in 2021.

From the beginning, we made our annual conferences accessible to everyone. By operating virtually since 2020, we’ve enabled global participation across events in 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025. These conferences tackle cutting-edge topics including smart bidding, AI in search engine marketing, and advanced analytics, ensuring our community stays at the forefront of industry evolution. The 2025 PSAC speakers included Ameet Khabra, Dez Carlton, Cory Henke, Gianpaulo Lorusso, Fred Vallaeys, Navah Hopkins, Sophie Logan, Sophie Fell, Nico Brooks, Brittany Sager, Jyll Saskin Gales, Mike Rhodes and Ginny Marvin. Earlier PSAC conference speakers also included David Szetela, Andrew Goodman, A.J. Wilcox, Aaron Levy, Bill Leake, John Lee, Motoko Hunt, Purna Virji, Brad Gedes, Melissa Mackey, Lisa Maier, Christi Olson, Clare Sode, Lisa Raehsler, Adam Prohl and others.

In 2024 Sarah Stemen hosted a series of important webinars on paid search topics, with speakers including Greg Finn, Chris Cabanis, Jyll Saskin Gales, Menachem Ani and Anthony Higman. Earlier webinar speakers included Brad Geddes, Frederick Vallaeys, Sam Tomlinson, Aaron Levy and many others.

PSA championed new ways to interpret performance. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, upending ad budgets and behavior overnight, PSA’s free virtual conferences became an anchor for thousands navigating chaos. As automation surged—from Responsive Search Ads to Performance Max—PSA hosted candid conversations, empowering marketers to wield algorithms without losing agency. By 2023, as Google’s embrace of broad match and Smart Bidding reshaped account structure, and AI-powered search interfaces began rewriting the user journey, PSA stood as both oracle and operator—advancing education, hosting thought leaders, and uniting a global community at the intersection of machine intelligence and human creativity.

With both PSAC and webinar efforts we reached thousands of search marketers with information aimed at helping them thrive.

Strategic Partnerships and Recognition

Our growth has been supported by leading companies in the paid search space: AdAlysis, AdWords Experience, CallTrackingMetrics, JumpFly.com, Klever, Microsoft Advertising, MTB.com, PPCAdEditor.com, Xtropy.net, and many others. Jeremy Krantz, our current Vice President, has done exceptional work as Sponsorships Chair, maintaining these crucial industry relationships.

My background in public relations proved valuable in establishing our industry presence. I worked to secure coverage in major publications including Search Engine Land, Search Engine Journal, Search Engine Watch, MediaPost, and many other publications and websites.

Motoko Hunt has been instrumental in arranging partnerships with paid search events, and these collaborations are now featured prominently in our events calendar.

Historic Milestones

2024 was a landmark year in our evolution. Under Brett Bodofsky and Navah Hopkins’ leadership, the PSA achieved 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, officially transforming from an industry organization into a recognized educational charity.  We worked with the Chisolm Law firm which specializes in 501c3 filings for expert help. This milestone validates what I believed from the beginning—that our commitment to advancing professional education, industry standards and public awareness serves a genuine public good. 

Recently the Paid Search Association formed a Governance Committee, chaired by Lisa Maier, this committee includes PSA Board Members Motoko Hunt, Aaron Levy, Melissa Mackey and Ginny Marvin. The Governance Committee will work to align PSA governance with its new role as a 501c3 and recommend changes to the full board.

Looking Forward

Today, as I reflect on our journey from that initial vision to nearly 3,400 engaged marketers worldwide by mid-2025, I’m reminded of that first board meeting in Tampa. We proved there’s extraordinary power in community. From four curious professionals with a shared vision to thousands of passionate practitioners, our story demonstrates that the future of paid search is brightest when we build it together.

Our focus remains what it’s always been: providing valuable resources, fostering meaningful collaboration, and advancing the paid search industry for the benefit of both the public and the professionals who call this dynamic field home.