How to craft a winning Search Engine Land Awards entry: Past judges share their advice

Since inception in 2015, the Search Engine Land Awards has identified unparalleled marketers on an annual basis — showcasing their oustanding work, providing successfully-earned publicity in coverage and interviews, and bestowing upon them the absolute most practical honor in search.

Nonetheless the freeway between deciding to initiate an application and a success the award on the full is an extended one. Even though this yr’s submission process has been drastically streamlined — it’s never been sooner or more uncomplicated to educate to the Search Engine Land Awards — there’s mute a story that has to be informed. And while the vogue in which you repeat that story is entirely as much as you, we idea we’d ogle again on some advice from past judges about what in point of fact wows them, what they would fetch to leer more of, and what areas are finest avoided...

Map conclude learning for 17 pointers for setting up an award-righteous submission:

What impresses the judges most:

1. “What impresses me is when folks maintain clearly aligned the tools and substances they’re using to the targets they’re looking to raise out. It sounds straightforward, but the entries which are aim-oriented as one more of centered on tactics are repeatedly strongest.” – Ginny Marvin
2. “When entries maintain a contemporary fetch on a scenario or feature and talk about about into how their technique is diversified from the norm, and show conceal why is their technique or tactics are award-righteous.” – Brad Geddes
3. “When submissions are succinct but concrete of their campaign summaries, show conceal examples (i.e., ad inventive the build relevant) and utilize straight-ahead English as one more of advertising keep in touch.” – Greg Well-behaved
4. “When applicants are ready to transcend percentages of will increase and show conceal tangible outcomes of how the campaign without delay impacted the underside line of the commerce. Furthermore, it helps to position outcomes into perspective — so moderately than merely pronouncing: ‘Ahead of the campaign, the consumer turned into as soon as finest bringing in this # of leads, clicks, and so on — but the campaign raised that quantity to XXX’ offer an instance of how the campaign impacted the commerce total and now not correct the analytics. – Amy Gesenhues
5. “When entrants half quite just a few technical details around their case study.” – Barry Schwartz
6. “When entries repeat their point with stats, graphs, and in particular screenshots of GA/PPC Engine/ diversified paid search tech suppliers. Too many correct convey, ‘we increased commerce [some huge number]’ without a device to again it up.” – Brad Geddes
7. “It in point of fact impresses me when entrants show conceal how they retooled, revitalized [a campaign] or did something extraordinary to raise out extraordinary outcomes. Or, how they outfoxed a competitor in a suave device – anything that presentations how extraordinary outcomes came from in point of fact contemporary work.” – Matt Van Wagner

What judges are looking to leer more of:

1. “I fetch to leer orchestration — when groups utilize tools, tactics and substances in intriguing ways to solve complications and construct on a technique.” – Ginny Marvin
2. “Images from the campaign and details illustrating concrete outcomes. Calling out what turned into as soon as revolutionary or in particular predominant or high-quality about the campaign.” – Greg Well-behaved
3. “Tales around how the campaign turned into as soon as ordinary from diversified campaigns the agency and/or consumer had implemented within the past and the tools aged to implement the campaign. Furthermore, did you study anything from the campaign that you just’ve been ready to introduce to diversified campaigns/buyers. Personal been there any unexpected benefits that played out for the length of the route of the campaign?” – Amy Gesenhues
4. “I’d fetch to leer more details from our entrants that pinpoint successes or disasters of their case study.” – Barry Schwartz
5. “Entries that show conceal the challenges they’d to conquer which are initiate air of the norm (the scrappy startup against goliath, goliath exhibiting it can innovate mute against the scrappy startups stealing market half, and so on), which will be market prerequisites, a commerce commerce, and so on.” – Brad Geddes

What entrants maintain to reside doing:

1. “It’s astronomical to study contemporary betas, but having rep admission to to betas doesn’t build you a astronomical marketer. Be determined your entry doesn’t lean on implementing the most recent beta substances as evidence of working a a success campaign. That’s now not adequate.” – Ginny Marvin
2. “Padding their discussions, using advertising jargon or bloated writing. I’d additionally fetch to leer less self-congratulation.” – Greg Well-behaved
3. “The utilization of language care for world-class, finest-in-class, and so on. to account on your campaign. Talk hiss numbers and outcomes. The utilization of flowery language to construct-up the campaign takes away from steady/quantifiable outcomes. (In diversified words, let the numbers keep in touch for themselves.)” – Amy Gesenhues
4. “No longer differentiating on technique or tactics. Whereas it’s major that we peep ‘finest or trendy practices’ are in self-discipline in an yarn, we are additionally purchasing for a detailed explanation of technique that in point of fact differentiates the work from others… As an illustration, an yarn attempting out contemporary ad extensions / formats or a landing page that breaks convention but delivers spectacular conversion details.” – Brad Geddes
5. “Claiming will increase of 200% whenever you happen to indubitably imply 100%. A 100% build bigger technique you doubled your quantity. Going from $100 to $137 is now not a 137% build bigger. It is a 37% build bigger. I’d care for it that whenever you happen to advise ROAS, you show conceal the components you aged to calculate it. A 1000% build bigger is quite repeatedly now not noted as a metric. It is some distance the reverse of spectacular – it is suspicious. It is perchance you were doing minute or no before and now you are doing moderately more than nothing.” – Matt Van Wagner

The last closing date for the 2021 Search Engine Land Awards is September 3, 2021 at 11: 59 pm PST. Review the categories for 2021 and originate your application right here.