We are thrilled to announce that Level Agency has been recognized as a finalist in five categories for the 2025 US Search Awards. The ceremony will be held on September 17, 2025, and we are honored to be included among such a talented group of industry leaders.
Being nominated is more than just an award—it’s a validation of our core mission to drive measurable growth for our clients through innovation and strategic execution. This year, we are particularly proud that our work in artificial intelligence has been highlighted, placing us among a select few agencies recognized for leadership in this transformative area.
But what does it actually take to get these results? Here’s a closer look at the challenges, strategies, and outcomes behind our nominated campaigns.
Pioneering the future with AI-powered search
Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from a theoretical concept to a practical necessity in digital marketing. Our nominations in these categories reflect our commitment to harnessing AI to solve real-world business problems.
Best use of AI in PPC | Client: StrataTech Education Group
The challenge:
In the higher education market, attracting a high volume of leads is not enough. Google’s bidding algorithms are built to optimize for quick conversions, but education decisions often take weeks or months. This meant ad dollars were being spent on leads that looked promising but were less likely to enroll.
The real goal was to identify and connect with prospective students who were most likely to become (and succeed as) enrolled students.
Our approach:
Instead of just tracking surface-level metrics, we built a predictive lead scoring model trained on two years of historical CRM data. The model prioritized real enrollment indicators such as distance from campus, search intent, and brand engagement.
We fed those lead scores back into Google Ads as offline conversion signals, allowing the platform to optimize for future students rather than just form fills. This shifted the focus from volume to quality, helping StrataTech direct its ad spend toward the prospects with the highest likelihood of enrolling.
The result:
A more efficient admissions funnel and measurable improvements in both conversion rate and cost per enrollment.
Best use of AI in search | Client: Heggerty
The challenge:
As search engines evolve, visibility is determined by a brand’s ability to provide direct, authoritative answers.
For Heggerty, a key provider of literacy curricula, this meant breaking through in a space dominated by high-authority .edu sites and securing a presence in Google’s emerging AI Overview results. The goal was to become the go-to resource for foundational literacy topics while working within a lean SEO budget.
Our approach:
We developed a forward-thinking SEO strategy focused on aligning content with the way Google’s AI models select and structure answers. This started with applying sitewide schema markup and restructuring key blog content around definitional and comparative queries.
We added refined formatting to boost authority and increase eligibility for SERP features, including People Also Ask and featured snippets. We also created targeted content designed to trigger AI Overview placements for high-intent literacy topics. This ensured Heggerty’s expertise was visible to educators at the moment they were searching for answers.
The result:
A 400% increase in AI Overview appearances, a 90% jump in SERP feature visibility, and a 22% rise in non-branded traffic, expanding Heggerty’s reach to thousands of new educators.
Driving measurable growth in B2B and B2C
Ultimately, marketing efforts are judged on their ability to produce tangible results. Our nominations for B2B and B2C campaigns highlight our focus on delivering clear, measurable ROI for our clients.
Best B2B campaign (PPC) | Client: Vectorworks
The challenge:
For a sophisticated product with a long sales cycle, generating generic leads is inefficient. Vectorworks was seeing too many marketing-qualified leads stall before reaching sales.
The goal was to attract high-intent prospects who were genuinely qualified for a sales conversation. We had to ensure the acquisition strategy could scale without sacrificing efficiency.
Our approach:
We rebuilt their Google Ads program from the ground up. This included refining targeting so ads reached only high-value decision-makers. Connecting their CRM directly to Google Ads to optimize for sales-qualified lead outcomes. Shifting to Smart Bidding strategies focused on sales quality over raw lead quantity.
When the budget increased, we scaled spend strategically while maintaining efficiency, ensuring that growth did not come at the expense of lead quality.
The result:
A 139% year-over-year increase in sales-qualified leads, a 118% increase in customers, and significant cost efficiency gains that positioned PPC as a scalable growth engine for complex B2B sales.
Best B2B campaign (SEO) | Client: Aerotek
The challenge:
In the hyper-competitive B2B staffing space, Aerotek needed to capture an emerging, high-value search territory.
Google’s AI Overviews were beginning to appear for staffing-related queries, but competitor presence was still limited. The objective was to establish authority and secure a first-mover advantage before this new space became saturated.
Our approach:
We built a targeted SEO strategy designed to align with how Google’s generative AI surfaces and structures answers. This meant updating key service pages with schema markup, definitional language, and consistent formatting to improve AI Overview eligibility.
We also focused on non-branded, high-intent search terms that would reach prospects earlier in the decision cycle. We developed supporting content clusters connected to service pages to strengthen topical authority. This combination allowed us to move quickly into an emerging search territory and position Aerotek as a trusted source.
The result:
A 900% increase in keywords appearing in Google’s AI Overviews, along with substantial gains in non-branded search visibility, securing Aerotek a lasting competitive advantage in an emerging search channel.
Best B2C campaign (SEO) | Client: Aviation Institute of Maintenance
The challenge:
For a specialized school like the Aviation Institute of Maintenance, it is critical that no potential student is lost due to technical friction.
The challenge was to uncover and resolve SEO issues that could be limiting visibility, slowing site performance, or creating roadblocks in the user experience. All factors that directly impact lead generation.
Our approach:
We implemented a targeted technical SEO strategy that combined quick wins with long-term structural improvements.
This included building a micro-optimization system to identify high-impact opportunities using real-time search data. We developed schema-layered campus page templates to earn FAQ and Local Pack visibility, and included localized content (such as accreditation details and nearby airport information) to better align with local search intent.
We also optimized for SERP features, ensuring campus and blog pages could capture more high-visibility placements without additional ad spend.
The result:
48% more SEO leads year-over-year, significantly surpassing the growth target. Alongside lead growth, AIM saw a 60% increase in total clicks, a 49% rise in impressions, and nearly doubled SERP feature visibility.
Our guiding philosophy: Good enough isn’t.
These results are not accidental; they are driven by our guiding principle: good enough isn’t. In a market that changes by the second, settling for “good” means falling behind. This philosophy fuels our commitment to continuous improvement, pushing us to rigorously test every assumption, optimize every detail, and hold ourselves accountable for delivering not just results, but market-leading growth. Our clients don’t settle, and neither do we.
We are incredibly grateful to our clients for their partnership and trust, and to our talented team for their relentless pursuit of excellence.
We invite you to see the full list of finalists on the official US Search Awards shortlist page.
If you are ready to see what this strategic approach can do for your business, connect with our team today.
