I’ve judged the European Search Awards for three years. I’ve also submitted applications to win awards. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t from both sides.
If you’re thinking about applying for an SEO award, here’s what judges actually look for, and what makes an application stand out.
Why Enter SEO Awards?
SEO awards matter for credibility. They’re third-party validation. When you say “we’re good at SEO”, people are sceptical. When an industry body says “we’re good at SEO”, it carries weight.
Awards also matter for hiring and business development. Winning teams attract better talent. Clients take you more seriously. Partners are more willing to work with you.
The main SEO awards worth considering:
- European Search Awards: Largest in Europe. Very competitive. Top tier for credibility.
- Drum Search Awards: UK-based. Slightly less competitive than ESA. Good for UK teams.
- Industry-specific awards: Many vertical markets have their own SEO awards (ecommerce, SaaS, etc.). Usually less competitive.
Winning a large award is hard. But shortlisting is good enough for marketing purposes.
What Judges Actually Look For
Judges aren’t looking for perfection. We’re looking for:
1. Clear problem definition. You can’t judge the solution if you don’t understand the problem. Start with: “The client’s challenge was [specific problem].” Not vague marketing speak. Real constraints.
2. Measurable results. Not “improved rankings” (vague). Say “improved rankings from position 18 to position 3 for the target keyword, driving an additional 8,000 organic users monthly.”
3. Realistic timelines. If you claim 300% growth in 3 months, judges are sceptical. If you claim 50% growth over a year, it’s believable. Show your work.
4. Evidence of strategy, not just tactics. Judges want to see thinking, not just “we did link building”. What insight drove your link building strategy? Why did you choose that approach over alternatives?
5. Honest about constraints. The best applications acknowledge what was hard, what didn’t work, and how you adapted. Real work is messy. Applications that hide the mess look untrustworthy.
Structure Your Application Like A Case Study
Award applications follow a format. Most award systems want:
Challenge/Brief (20% of your word count): The client’s situation before you worked with them. What was the business problem? What were the metrics? What had been tried before?
Strategy & Approach (30% of your word count): What was your diagnosis? Why did you choose this direction? What made it different from what competitors or previous agencies had tried?
Implementation (20% of your word count): What did you actually do? Be specific. What tools did you use? What process did you follow? If you’re vague here, judges assume you’re hiding weak execution.
Results (20% of your word count): Numbers. Traffic, rankings, revenue, conversions. Show before/after. Show month-by-month progress, not just final results.
Learnings (10% of your word count): What did you learn? What would you do differently? This shows maturity. It also signals that you’re thinking beyond the campaign.
Make Numbers Interesting
Judges see hundreds of applications. Most say “we increased organic traffic by 45%”. Yours should stand out. See thought leadership strategy. See AI marketing training.
Instead of just the percentage, show the journey:
Poor: “We increased organic traffic by 156%”
Better: “Organic traffic grew from 2,000 monthly users (baseline) to 5,100 users by month 8. Month-on-month growth averaged 12%, with accelerating returns as content clusters matured.”
The second tells a story. It shows growth wasn’t random. It explains why growth accelerated. Judges understand that strategy compounds over time.
Avoid These Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Generic metrics. “Improved rankings” tells judges nothing. Always specify: keyword, starting position, ending position, search volume.
Mistake 2: Revenue claims without attribution. If you claim the SEO work generated £500k in revenue, be prepared to prove it. How are you attributing traffic to revenue? Are you accounting for other marketing channels? Judge scepticism is high for big revenue claims.
Mistake 3: Ignoring the client’s strategic goal. Judges care about business results, not ego. “We got 50 rankings in top 10” is not a win if the client needed conversions, not rankings. Always tie your achievement to the client’s actual business goal.
Mistake 4: Using industry jargon to sound clever. “We implemented a programmatic semantic optimisation strategy” makes judges tired. Say what you actually did in clear language. Clarity matters more than terminology.
Mistake 5: Forgetting to mention the team. If it was a team effort, say so. Judges reward collaboration. Trying to take solo credit for team work looks bad.
Mistake 6: No visuals. Awards allow images and charts. Use them. A simple chart showing traffic growth month-by-month is more compelling than paragraphs of text.
Different Award Categories, Different Strategies
Best SEO Strategy: This is about the thinking, not the execution. Show your research process, your hypothesis, why you believed this approach would work, and what alternatives you considered. This is where new ideas win.
Best SEO Campaign: This is about results. Big numbers. Clear before/after. Proof that the strategy worked.
Best In Vertical (B2B, ecommerce, etc.): Judges know your vertical. Show you understand the nuances. What works for ecommerce might not work for SaaS. Show vertical expertise.
Best Use of Technology/Tools: If you’re entering here, the tech choice must be unusual or clever. “We used SEMrush” doesn’t win this. “We built a custom algorithm to identify topical gaps across 200 competitors” does.
Best for Smaller Budget: Often judges value the ROI, not the absolute results. A team that grew 50% on a £5k budget beats a team that grew 100% on a £100k budget.
Common Bottlenecks In Applications
Word count. Most awards have word limits (500-2,000 words depending on category). Every word matters. Edit ruthlessly. Delete anything that doesn’t directly support your narrative.
Timeline constraints. Application deadlines are tight. Start 2-3 months before the deadline. Gather data, write drafts, get feedback. Don’t submit last-minute work.
Client confidentiality. You might not be able to name the client or share exact numbers. That’s okay. Award organisers understand. Explain what you can say: “Due to client confidentiality, we can share that growth was 15x [specific metric] over 18 months.”
Multiple people writing. If three people write different sections, it reads like three different applications. Assign one person to write a draft, then have others review and refine. Consistency matters.
After You Apply
If you’re shortlisted, judges might ask for a presentation. Prepare for that. Be ready to answer: “Why did you choose this approach?” and “What would you do differently?”
If you don’t win, request feedback from the organisers. Most will tell you why your application didn’t make the cut. Use that feedback for the next award cycle.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t win the first time. Best applications are often polished over multiple submissions. Apply every year if you’re doing good work. Law of averages favours persistence.
Is It Worth The Effort?
Yes, if:
- You have a genuinely interesting case study or project
- You can document the results with real metrics
- You have time to write a strong application (don’t rush)
- You plan to use the award for marketing (win or shortlist)
No, if:
- You’re just looking for a vanity award
- You can’t share results due to client confidentiality
- Your case study is weak (small results, unclear strategy)
- You see it as a one-off rather than a yearly tradition
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I submit the same case study to multiple awards?
Yes. Tailor each submission to the specific award’s criteria. A case study can be rewritten for “best strategy” vs “best campaign” vs “best for SMEs”. The story stays the same, the emphasis changes.
Should I hire someone to write my application?
It can help, but not if they don’t know your work. The best applications are written by people who lived through the project. A writer can help polish, but you should provide the core narrative.
How important is winning vs shortlisting?
Shortlisting is still very valuable. You can market it: “Shortlisted for Best B2B SEO Campaign, European Search Awards”. Winning is better, but shortlisting is credible.
Can I apply for multiple categories?
Yes, but submit different case studies. Don’t submit the same project to “Best Strategy” and “Best Campaign”. Give judges variety.
What if I’m freelance, not an agency?
Many awards have freelance categories. Check the criteria. You’re often competing with smaller agencies, not large firms. Your odds might be better.
The Real Value Of Awards
Awards aren’t just about vanity. They’re about accountability. Submitting forces you to document your work, measure your results, and think about your process.
Teams that win awards are often teams that take SEO seriously. They track metrics. They measure impact. They iterate based on data.
That’s the real win.
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