2026 Shortlist

BEST USE OF SEARCH - RETAIL / ECOMMERCE (SEO)

beMarketing & Kids 'N Kribs

— Consistent SEO Growth for a Local Specialty Retailer and Ecommerce Store

Dentsu & IKEA

— From Overstock to Opportunity

FRDT Lab & DIY Door Store

— Measure Twice, Rank Once: SERPrecon Intent to a $952K Quarter

IGG & eyebobs

— Improving Visibility in Search

MMP Associates & Flaviar

— Best Liquor

StudioHawk US & Dogline

— Why SEO Was the Harness Dogline's Growth Needed

BEST USE OF SEARCH - RETAIL / ECOMMERCE (PPC)

ATRA & Medical Guardian

— Scaling Sales Efficiency Through Closed-Loop Search Optimization

DEPT & Dr. Martens

— Profitable by Design: How Dr. Martens & DEPT Revolutionized PMax with Margin-Tiered AI

Eight Oh Two & Viking Culinary

— PureGlide Pro Launch

Tombras & Sportsman’s Warehouse

— Hook, Line, and Margin: Reeling in +25% Profit in Q1 to beat Wall Street

BEST USE OF SEARCH - FINANCE (SEO)

Intuitive Digital & Valley Credit Union

— Built for Both Eras of Search

Level Agency & IRA Financial

— One Brand, One Domain: A Three-Site SEO Consolidation That Rebuilt Authority From the Ground Up

Stratabeat & LBMC

— Achieving a Record Level of Organic Leads and Pipeline

Victorious & Instant Financial

— Tipping the Scales for Finance SaaS

BEST USE OF SEARCH - FINANCE (PPC)

ATRA & Jitasa Group

— Identifying the Search Behaviors Behind 44% Revenue Growth

Impressive & Texas Trust Credit Union

— Beyond the Click: How Smart PPC Turned Ad Spend into Funded Accounts

BEST USE OF SEARCH - TRAVEL / LEISURE (SEO)

Milestone Inc. and Cote Hospitality

— Enhancing Digital Experiences and AI Search Visibility

Minty Digital & Dream Yacht Sales

— Making Waves in US Search

Propellic & HEI Hotels (Ashore Resort & Beach Club)

— Outranking OTAs to Grow Organic Revenue by $183 in a Single Year

three&six

— Trailborn Grand Canyon: More Than A Destination

BEST USE OF SEARCH - TRAVEL / LEISURE (PPC)

Harmelin Media & Discover Lancaster

— Paid Search 2026: Turning Searches into Stays

Propellic & Captain Experiences

— Reeling in Record-Breaking ROAS

Sahara & Blue Car Rental

— Taking Search Share as the Market Shrank

The Von Mack Agency & Gasparilla Boat Tours

— Granular PPC Approach to Maximize Bookings

BEST USE OF SEARCH - THIRD SECTOR / NOT-FOR-PROFIT

AIMCLEAR

— Serving Youths, 20X Foster-Home Licensing with Paid Search & Social

Tombras & NMDP

— Team Match: Real-Time Actions Save Lives

BEST USE OF SEARCH - B2B (SEO)

JDI Industrial Services & Kevin Nealey

— Top Local Industrial Mechanical Contractor

beMarketing & Med-Tex Services

— Sustained B2B SEO Growth for an Industrial Safety Training Provider

JJ Koch & Deposco

— SEO as AI Search Infrastructure: Rebuilding Organic for the RAG Era

LSEO & Cooper Strategy

— From Unindexed to Acquired in 8 Months

NUOPTIMA & Cortavo

— $403K in Contracted Sales at 4.6x ROI from SEO and AI Search

SALT.agency & International Filter Products Inc.

— Making Every Keyword Count: Exponential Growth Through Informational SEO

Stratabeat & LBMC

— Achieving a Record Level of Organic Leads and Pipeline

Victorious & Instant Financial

— Tipping the Scales for Finance SaaS

Viktor Bartak

— Flypix AI: 30,000 Potential Customers/Month from SEO&GEO for AI B2B SaaS

BEST USE OF SEARCH - B2C (SEO)

ClickSlice & AquaFunded

— Finding Customers Where Competitors Weren't Looking

Unframed Digital & Castelblanco Law Group

— From Invisible to In-Demand: 14x Clicks, 17x+ Impressions, and Consistent Lead Growth Across 15 Months of B2C Legal SEO

BEST USE OF SEARCH - B2C (PPC)

Adverge & Blue Sky Pest Control

— Winning by doing the exact opposite

ATRA & Science Care

— Closed-Loop Optimization From Search Visibility to Verified Donor Acquisition

Blackbird PPC

— 719% Increase in Pipeline with 30% Spend Decrease for Composite Decking & Siding Leader Millboard

Critical Mass & First Command

— From Volume to Value: How First Command Slashed Acquisition Costs While Scaling Military Lead Quality

the7stars & Financial Times

— Using Value-Based Bidding to Drive Premium Subscriber Growth

BEST USE OF SEARCH - B2B (PPC)

ATRA & Bolster AI

— Driving Cybersecurity Pipeline Through Search Intelligence and Attribution

ATRA & Jitasa Group

— Identifying the Search Behaviors Behind 44% Revenue Growth

JJ Koch & Deposco

— Pipeline Over Clicks: Same Demand, 180% More Pipeline

LSEO & Network Partners Group

— $46K of Commercial Intent Search, $1M+ in Client-Attributed Pipeline Value

SSDM & Fire Rover

— Lighting Up the Pipeline

BEST USE OF SEARCH – HEALTH

ATRA & Science Care

— Data Consolidation & Full-Funnel Feedback Loop-Powered Search Transformation

beMarketing & A Guide to Wellness

— Multi-State Mental Health Lead Generation Through Intent-Based Search Strategy

Hone Health

— Overcoming Zero-Click Search with Information Architecture

LOCOMOTIVE & Amada Senior Care

— Making Healthcare Visible Where It Matters Most

Pero SEO, Inc. & Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA)

— How Pero SEO Used Animation to Reclaim and Deliver Record Traffic for CHLA.

SALT.agency & International Filter Products Inc.

— Making Every Keyword Count: Exponential Growth Through Informational SEO

BEST USE OF SEARCH - AUTOMOTIVE

Honest Digital & Mercedes-Benz Atlanta South

— Tripling Inventory Visibility in Modern Search

StudioHawk US & Paragon Performance

— Outpacing The Competition With SEO Torque

BEST USE OF SEARCH - REAL ESTATE & PROPERTY

There is no shortlist for the category, the winner will be announced at the award ceremony.

BEST USE OF SEARCH - FASHION

AIMCLEAR

— 2 Agency Puckheads Overturned Sports Sweater Brand’s SEO Technical Debt & AEO Semantics: Half a Mill' for $14K

Crealytics & EILEEN FISHER

— From Cost Shock to Commercial Strength

BEST LOCAL CAMPAIGN (SEO)

C-4 Analytics

— Hyper-Local SEO Lifted a 10-Rooftop Dealer Group's Visibility 28% at $0 Added Budget

CannaContent & The Travel Agency

— Organically increased website clicks by 1698% in a highly competitive NYC local landscape and a highly regulated market

DAC & Multi-Location Fitness Brand

— Winning local search at enterprise scale

Forthea & Hanover Buffalo Bayou

— Hyperlocal SEO for Houston's Most Competitive Luxury Address

GLIDE & Austex Fence and Deck

— Intent Over Volume: 825% Lead Growth in the AI Search Era

Honest Digital & Mercedes-Benz Atlanta South

— Tripling Inventory Visibility in Modern Search

Intuitive Digital & Summit Learning Charter

— Driving Enrollment Through Organic Search

Rabid SEO & Key Development Center

— Local SEO Patient Acquisition Campaign

BEST LOCAL CAMPAIGN (PPC)

Amsive & Golden Krust

— Turning National Attention into Local Restaurant Demand

ATRA & Science Care

— Modernizing Search Localization in an Automated PPC Landscape

B&G Collective & Parkline Contracting

— Owning Richmond's Remodeling Market with Margin-Paced PPC

beMarketing & Z Urology

— Hyper-Local Multi-Location PPC Strategy for Patient Acquisition Across South Florida

Journey Further & Home Genius Exteriors

— Search and Display

Rabid SEO & Schroeder’s Body Shop

— Local PPC Lead Generation Overhaul

Synergize & Elmhurst Toyota

— Geo-Pmax Local Visibility Transformation

BEST LOW BUDGET CAMPAIGN (SEO)

BTV Marketing Group & Go Potties

— Growing Local Organic Visibility

Gratsi & Austin Holdsworth

— How Gratsi reversed a year of non-brand decline into +575% growth without an agency

Honest Digital & Mercedes-Benz Atlanta South

— Tripling Inventory Visibility in Modern Search

StudioHawk US & Paragon Performance

— Outpacing The Competition With SEO Torque

BEST LOW BUDGET CAMPAIGN (PPC)

Amsive & Golden Krust

— Turning Nostalgia into Restaurant Demand

beMarketing & GasTec

— Seasonal Precision: Low-Budget PPC Dominance for Residential Propane

Kanbar Digital, LLC & Centinela Feed and Pet Supplies

— Pet Food Sales & Monthly Specials: Meta Transformation

Synergize & Greater New York TDA

— EV Conquest Pmax: Winning Competitor Market Share on a $4K Budget

BEST INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN

AIMCLEAR & Lightspeed DMS

— Paid. Organic. Social. $10M. Done.

beMarketing & Connor Plumbing

— Integrated Paid Search, LSA, and Social Strategy for Local Emergency Plumbing Growth

ClickSlice & Harridge Business Travel

— Owning Every Search Touchpoint

CMI Media Group & AZ DSI Alliance (ENHERTU)

— TV & Search Coordination Leads to Patients Taking Action

CMI Media Group & DSI

— Increasing Awareness of INJECTAFER

Impressive Digital & AllTerra Central

— From Broken to Best-in-Class: A Full-Funnel B2B Search Transformation

SINE Digital & Broadway Direct

— Enter Stage Right: Total Search

SSDM & Fire Rover

— Lighting Up the Pipeline

Stratabeat & Masttro

— Driving Record Growth through Integrated Marketing

The Media Image & Natasha Denona

— From Pan-European Waste to Localised Growth

MOST INNOVATIVE CAMPAIGN (SEO)

Amsive & JW Pepper

— Great SEO, Reimagined for AI Search

First Optimise & Koupon.ai

— The Challenger's Comeback: From 2 Pages to Page One

Marriott Digital Services (SEO Team)

— Link Building at Scale Across a 1,700+ Property Portfolio

SINE Digital & Broadway Direct

— Setting The Stage For Search Success

Victorious & Instant Financial

— Tipping the Scales for Finance SaaS

MOST INNOVATIVE CAMPAIGN (PPC)

Synergize & Greater New York TDA

— Reinventing Automotive Conquest Through AI-Powered Performance Max

BEST PPC CAMPAIGN

ATRA & Robinson & Henry

— Capturing Colorado's Legal Demand Through Full-Funnel PPC

DAC & Roto-Rooter

— Transforming PPC into a Branch-Level Growth Engine

Level Agency & Ancora Education

— Engineering Enrollment Efficiency: A Portfolio-Wide Paid Search Transformation Across Ancora's Vocational School Network

LOCOMOTIVE & VOYA

— The PPC Overhaul That Unlocked Growth Across Three Markets

Nebo Agency & Brookdale Senior Living

— Navigating Paid Search Volatility Through Strategic Innovation

Synergize & Gulf States Toyota

— Lead Forms with Pmax & AI Max PPC Transformation

The Media Image & Cutwel

— From Data Blackout to Record Revenue: Engineering a B2B Search Masterclass

The Von Mack Agency & Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park

— Geo-Funnel PPC Strategy for a Gulf Coast Attraction

Threshold & Fairways at Star Ranch

— Google Ads Search Campaign

Workshop Digital & Financial Services Client

— How Performance Max Cut CPL by 73% While Doubling MQLs

BEST SEO CAMPAIGN

AIMCLEAR

— 2 Agency Puckheads Overturned Sports Sweater Brand’s SEO Technical Debt & AEO Semantics: Half a Mill's for $14K

ClickSlice & AquaFunded

— Beyond Rankings: Building a Conversion Engine

ClickSlice & Harridge Business Travel

— Building Search Authority in the AI Era

Critical Mass & Johnson & Johnson's The Discovery Prescription

— Designing Healthcare Content for Search & AI

First Optimise & Koupon.ai

— The Challenger's Comeback: From 2 Pages to Page One

Forthea & The Hanover Company

— Luxury Meets Strategy for a Competitive SEO Boost with Hanover Brazos Street

Hive Digital

— Fairbank Equipment: The Structural Overhaul That Doubled Organic Traffic

Honest Digital & Mercedes-Benz Atlanta South

— Tripling Inventory Visibility in Modern Search

Menerva Digital & Aras

Propellic & Ashore Oceanfront Hotel

— Growing Organic Revenue by $183,514 and Surviving a Domain Migration: A Two-Phase Hotel SEO Turnaround

The Media Image & Secret Sales

— From Scroll to Sale: Turning Organic Social into a Q4 Revenue Engine

Victorious & Instant Financial

— Tipping the Scales for Finance SaaS

BEST AI SEARCH OPTIMIZATION CAMPAIGN

Acadia & AirSculpt

— Optimizing Visibility in the AI Search Era

Amsive & JW Pepper

— Unlocking Infinite Paths to the Right Music

Brafton & Edelman Financial Engines

— Winning AI Visibility in a Competitive Industry

C-4 Analytics

— Growing Dealer AI Search Traffic 4x Across 10 Dealer Groups

JJ Koch & Deposco

— Pipeline Over Prompts: An Attribution Model for AI Search

Razorfish & Dove

— AI Search Pilot

BEST USE OF CONTENT MARKETING

Adsy & Fello Tech Marketing Agency

— Building Search Authority Through Strategic Content Marketing

BTV & Neon Museum

— Enticing Locals and Tourists Through Vegas' Storytelling

Re:signal & Self Financial

— Side Hustle Statistics

BEST USE OF DATA (SEO)

DIY Door Store

— Unhinged Growth Training Agents to Sell Doors: The SERPrecon Signal

Forthea & Paul Davis Milwaukee

— Making SEO Accountable: AI Call Scoring & Revenue Attribution

POLARIS & Detecon International

— Protecting and Growing Qualified Organic Traffic

POLARIS & Lasernet Group

— The Clean Break: Managing Search Equity Through an M&A Split

Propellic & TravelAI (rentbyowner.com)

— Data-Driven Template Optimization at Scale

BEST USE OF DATA (PPC)

Amsive & 99 Restaurants

— Measuring What Brand Search Is Really Worth

ATRA & Medical Monks

— How Profit Data Powered Scalable Growth

ATRA & Robinson & Henry

— Practice Area-Level Conversion Intelligence for Legal Search

ATRA & Ward Law Group

— Using Data Intelligence to Scale Personal Injury Case Acquisition

Workshop Digital & Financial Services Client

— How Performance Max Cut CPL by 73% While Doubling MQLs

BEST USE OF AI IN PPC

ATRA & Medical Guardian

— Using AI-Powered PPC Optimization to Scale Profitable Growth

Synergize

— Applied AI: Scaling PPC Through Contextual Intelligence & Human-Guided Optimization

BEST USE OF AI IN SEARCH

CB/I Digital & First Citizens Bank

— Engineering AI Search Visibility in Finance

Flow Agency & Forcepoint

— Breaking Into a New Product Category in AI Search & Turning It Into Pipeline

BEST USE OF AI IN CONTENT

Acadia & AirSculpt

— Scaling High-Authority Medical Content with AI

Milestone Inc.

— AI Content Studio: From Content Creation to AI Visibility

PMG & Rothy's

— Building AI-Ready Content to Own the Clog Conversation

BEST USE OF AI FOR DATA

Acadia & Compass

— A Search Economics & AI-Impact Platform That’s Solving AI-Era Search Attribution

Honest Digital

— Reverse Engineering AI Search

OuterBox & LOOP Analytics

BEST SOFTWARE INNOVATION

Adthena’s AI Overview Dashboard

— Protecting performance in the AI era

Optmyzr Sidekick

— Your Flexible, Always Available AI Assistant

BEST PPC MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE SUITE

Adpulse

— adpulse.app

Shirofune

— Shirofune

TrueClicks

— PPC Management & AI Assistant Platform

BEST SEARCH SOFTWARE TOOL

Adthena’s AI Overview Dashboard

— Protecting performance in the AI era

Swydo

— Swydo Reporting & Monitoring Platform

TrueClicks

— PPC Management & AI Assistant Platform

BEST AI SEARCH SOFTWARE SOLUTION

Adthena’s AI Overview Dashboard

— Protecting performance in the AI era

LSEO & LSEO AI

— The AI Visibility Platform That Turns Brands Into Recommendations

Milestone Inc

— AI Visibility Flywheel

BEST LLM ADOPTION & INTEGRATION BY AN AGENCY/IN-HOUSE TEAM

There is no shortlist for the category, the winner will be announced at the award ceremony.

BEST IN-HOUSE TEAM

Critical Mass

DIY Door Store & DemandSphere

— The 35-Person Door Company Outrunning Big Box Retailers

Slack SEO

EMERGING TALENT AWARD

Emily Souydalay

Madison Fleetwood

BEST SMALL PPC AGENCY

Blackbird PPC

BEST LARGE PPC AGENCY

There is no shortlist for the category, the winner will be announced at the award ceremony.

BEST SMALL SEO AGENCY

Hive Digital

Kanbar Digital LLC

Stratabeat

— Remarkable B2B SEO Results

dentsu

BEST LARGE SEO AGENCY

Honest Digital

Razorfish SEO Team

Re:signal

BEST SMALL INTEGRATED SEARCH AGENCY

AIMCLEAR

— RE-Founded

Unframed Digital

— Best Small Integrated Search Agency

BEST LARGE INTEGRATED SEARCH AGENCY

DAC

OuterBox

Synergize

The Media Image (TMI)

Our Event Sponsors & Partners

$DON\'T PANIC$

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Testimonials

"This is an extraordinary honor for the company at the US Search Awards, held annually to recognize the ever-expanding world of search marketing, is known for being the premier celebration of SEO, PPC, and content marketing in various territories across the globe."
beMarketing

"The US Search Awards ceremony is a momentous event in the digital marketing industry, celebrating outstanding achievements and innovation within the sector. Block & Tam’s multiple nominations underscore their dedication to excellence and their ability to consistently exceed client expectations."
Block & Tam

"These nominations are confirmation that we have created an excellent software offering that agencies are finding essential to their client work and strategic planning." Manick Bhan, CTO
LinkGraph

"Report Builder 2.0 is the best reporting tool on the market and deserves to be recognized as such. Plus, it has the power to change the industry, so reaching the final of the US Search Awards and getting the thumbs up from the expert judges helps take us one step further towards the change the industry needs when it comes to reporting."
Dragon Metrics

"As a company that has submitted to the US Search Awards in the past, we're thrilled to say that the US Search Awards is a platform that celebrates excellence and innovation in the search industry. Participating in this prestigious event not only provided us with unparalleled recognition but also offered us an invaluable opportunity to connect with the best in the field. The US Search Awards is a beacon of inspiration, pushing us to strive for higher standards and achieve greater success in our digital endeavours." Ryan Edwards
Tombras

"Winning these awards is a huge deal for our business, it encourages the team members to know that what they do is verifiably excellent, and it encourages the clients who see the value in our offerings when it comes to generating business and brand awareness on their behalf." Tobias La Cour
Somebody Digital

"From the moment we submitted our entry, the Don’t Panic team has been nothing short of excellent. The entry process was clear and well-structured, and the communication has been top-notch. We truly appreciated the transparency, the reminders, and the sense of excitement leading up to the shortlist."
rankingCoach

"Working with Don’t Panic on the US Search Awards was a genuinely pleasant experience. Despite being based across the Atlantic, the team was consistently responsive, professional, and a pleasure to speak with over the phone. Their attention to detail and smooth coordination made the entire process seamless. We’re thrilled to be finalists in our submission category and are grateful for the positive experience throughout." Evan Burr
Level Agency

Awards Ceremony

Days 13

Hours 00

Mins 40

Seconds 18