We're proud to share that RiseUp has been shortlisted in five categories at the European Search Awards 2026. The official shortlist was announced on 27 March 2026, and the awards ceremony will take place on 20 May 2026 in Porto as the event celebrates its 15th year. For us, that makes this recognition feel even more special because it places our work on a European stage built to recognise the best in search, digital, and performance marketing.
This year, our European Search Awards shortlist places span Masters of Mystery and Chummys Bakery across five categories:
- Best Use of Search, Gaming, for Masters of Mystery
- Best Use of Search, Retail / eCommerce SEO, for Masters of Mystery
- Best Use of Search, Retail / eCommerce PPC, for Chummys Bakery
- Best Use of Search, FMCG, for Chummys Bakery
- Best PPC Campaign, for Masters of Mystery
Those shortlisting's correspond to the official 2026 entries "The Global AI Fuelled Mystery Engine", "Scaling a Global E-commerce Brand Through Search", "Turning Search into a Profitable E-commerce Growth Engine", "Turning FMCG Search Demand into Profitable Growth", and "The Global AI-Fuelled PPC Growth Engine".
That spread of categories means a great deal to us. It reflects more than a strong month or one creative idea. Instead, it reflects the kind of search work we care most about at RiseUp, commercially focused strategy, channel expertise, and measurable growth built around real customer intent.
Why the European Search Awards matter
The European Search Awards matter because they are designed to recognise sector-specific thinking, not generic marketing. The campaign categories welcome both paid and organic search, and the organisers say judges are looking for work that meets or exceeds objectives through innovative or creative implementation. In addition, the judging process is robust. Judges pre-score entries to establish the shortlist, then discuss the highest-scoring work to determine the winners. The awards are also accredited "Outstanding" by the Independent Awards Standards Council's Awards Trust Mark.
For us, that context matters. A European Search Awards shortlist is not simply a badge. It suggests the work has stood up to scrutiny on objectives, implementation, clarity, and demonstrable results. The judging criteria also make clear that campaign entries must relate to work undertaken between October 2024 and February 2026, so shortlist recognition reflects sustained performance rather than a one-off spike.
Our five shortlisted categories
Best Use of Search, Gaming, for Masters of Mystery
The official shortlist places RiseUp Agency and Masters of Mystery in Best Use of Search, Gaming with "The Global AI Fuelled Mystery Engine". According to the category description, this award recognises visibility and engagement across the gaming sector.
That matters because gaming search is rarely simple. Audiences are highly competitive, intent can shift quickly, and discovery often depends on how well a brand captures curiosity before turning it into action. For us, this shortlist recognises the challenge of making a distinctive entertainment product visible in a crowded search landscape while still keeping performance accountable to commercial outcomes.
Best Use of Search, Retail / eCommerce SEO, for Masters of Mystery
RiseUp Agency and Masters of Mystery have also been shortlisted in Best Use of Search, Retail / eCommerce SEO for "Scaling a Global E-commerce Brand Through Search". Judges say this category rewards SEO that improves the ranking of brands and products, because making them easier to find also makes them easier to buy.
That description gets to the heart of what strong eCommerce SEO should do. It should not chase rankings in isolation. Instead, it should connect technical SEO, content, site structure, and user intent so discovery leads naturally to conversion. In practice, that is what makes retail SEO valuable. It helps a brand win visibility at the exact moment people are ready to act.
Best Use of Search, Retail / eCommerce PPC, for Chummys Bakery
Our work with Chummys Bakery has been shortlisted in Best Use of Search, Retail / eCommerce PPC for "Turning Search into a Profitable E-commerce Growth Engine". The category description is clear here too. Judges are looking for PPC that improves the visibility of brands and products while spending wisely enough to drive commercial return.
We like that emphasis because it reflects how we think about paid search. Good PPC is not about buying traffic for the sake of it. It is about putting budget behind the terms, products, and moments that can genuinely move revenue. That is especially important in eCommerce, where profitable growth depends on margin, feed quality, intent mapping, and constant optimisation, not just volume.
Best Use of Search, FMCG, for Chummys Bakery
Chummys Bakery is also shortlisted in Best Use of Search, FMCG with "Turning FMCG Search Demand into Profitable Growth". The awards site notes that FMCG businesses have moved online and that search has become central to how they build visibility and sales.
For us, this category highlights something many brands still underestimate. FMCG search is not only about convenience. It is about making sure repeat-purchase products are present at the right moment, with the right message, and in the right format. The pace is fast, competition is intense, and customer loyalty can shift quickly. Therefore, strong search in FMCG has to balance efficiency, visibility, and brand recall all at once.
Best PPC Campaign, for Masters of Mystery
Our fifth shortlist place is in Best PPC Campaign for Masters of Mystery with "The Global AI-Fuelled PPC Growth Engine". The category asks judges to look at the whole process, from research and targeting to the final click, and to assess how that process has contributed to ROI and engagement.
That is an important distinction. Best PPC Campaign is not just about headline metrics. It is about whether the full campaign system works. In other words, strategy, targeting, creative, data, automation, and landing page experience all need to pull in the same direction. We are especially pleased with this shortlist because it recognises not only output, but the thinking behind the output.
What these shortlistings say about our approach
One reason these five European Search Awards shortlist places mean so much to us is that they cover both SEO and PPC, and they span very different commercial contexts. Masters of Mystery sits at the intersection of gaming, entertainment, and eCommerce. Chummys Bakery operates in a fast-moving consumer environment where product demand, gifting behaviour, and margin discipline all matter. Being recognised across both shows the value of adapting search strategy to the sector, rather than forcing every client into the same template.
At RiseUp, that is how we approach digital growth more broadly. Our own positioning is performance-focused and data-driven, and that only works when strategy stays close to the commercial goal. On the Chummys side, our published case study reports 105% sales growth, a 70% increase in ROI, and an 87% increase in conversion rate after a wider digital overhaul that included paid search, SEO, paid social, web, and creative work. On the Masters of Mystery side, our previous awards coverage describes an SEO strategy that helped position the brand as the number-one murder mystery store online, supported by AI-driven keyword clustering, content optimisation, and global schema automation.
Just as importantly, the shortlist spans category types that test very different skills. Retail / eCommerce SEO asks whether a brand can earn discoverability and demand through organic search. Retail / eCommerce PPC tests paid efficiency and commercial discipline. FMCG asks whether fast-moving products can still build profitable search momentum. Gaming demands visibility and engagement in a competitive, intent-driven space. Best PPC Campaign then looks across the full system to judge whether the research, targeting, delivery, and return truly hold together.
Meanwhile, those shortlistings reinforce a simple point. Search does its best work when it is not treated as a silo. SEO needs technical clarity, content depth, and strong commercial pages. PPC needs clean data, sharper audience signals, creative discipline, and constant testing. When the two support each other, brands gain more than traffic. They gain a stronger route from visibility to revenue.
What this means for brands looking for marketing support
If you are a brand reading the European Search Awards shortlist and wondering what good search actually looks like in practice, we think these categories provide a useful answer.
First, search needs to be commercially accountable. Whether the work is SEO or PPC, it should help people find the right product or service and move them closer to action. Secondly, sector context matters. Retail, gaming, and FMCG all behave differently, so the strongest campaigns are built around the realities of that market rather than copied from another one.
At the same time, integration matters more than ever. The best search work rarely lives in one channel alone. It depends on better feeds, better content, better landing pages, clearer reporting, and decisions shaped by data rather than guesswork. Ultimately, that is the kind of work we want to keep doing more of. We want to help brands become easier to find, easier to trust, and easier to choose.
The European Search Awards ceremony takes place on 20th May 2026 in Porto. We are beyond grateful to our clients for trusting us with ambitious briefs and grateful to our team for bringing creativity, precision and consistency to every campaign.
Being shortlisted in five categories at the European Search Awards 2026 is a proud moment for RiseUp. However, it is also a reminder of what matters most. Great search is never only about rankings or ad positions. It is about building visibility that leads somewhere meaningful.
If your business is looking to sharpen its SEO, improve PPC performance, or build a more joined-up search strategy, that is exactly where we can help. We are honoured to see our work recognised on this stage, and we are just as motivated by what comes next.
