The winners of the Friends of Search Awards 2025 were announced during Friends of Search 2025. In the Best SEO category, Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland took home the award, while KLM Royal Dutch Airlines claimed victory in the Best PPC category.
Case Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland – SEO as a tool for public discourse
The SEO jury unanimously chose Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland as the winner, recognizing how SEO can be leveraged not only as a marketing tool but also as a means to shape public debate. Their campaign served as the foundation for a broader multichannel strategy, demonstrating the true power of organic search.
Barry Adams, Chairman of the SEO jury, explains:
“The SEO jury was unanimous in choosing Vluchtelingenwerk’s case as the winner. It was a great example of using SEO to guide public debate, and as a starting point for multichannel campaigns as well. It’s not often we see an award submission that somewhat understates its own success. In Vluchtelingenwerk’s submission, they showed us some ranking examples that are insanely difficult to achieve, yet presented without fanfare or emphasis. What they have managed to do with limited internal resources is truly special.”
Case KLM – Innovative PPC with Sustainable Impact
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was awarded for their innovative value-based bidding strategy, integrating airplane emissions data to improve both ad performance and sustainability.
Frederick Vallaeys, Chairman of the PPC jury, praised KLM’s approach:
“We are thrilled to announce KLM Royal Dutch Airlines as the winner of the 2025 Friends of Search PPC Award. Their submission stood out for its innovative use of data to deliver significant improvements in ROAS through a value-based bidding strategy. By incorporating airplane emission data into their value-based bidding, KLM successfully reduced their carbon footprint while enhancing search advertising performance. Their approach clearly demonstrates the powerful potential of modern PPC strategies when creatively integrated with industry-specific data.
The impact of KLM’s strategy extends beyond their own operations, influencing sustainable practices across the broader airline industry, including expansion to Air France. Given the highly competitive field and the impressive volume of submissions this year, KLM’s meticulously and clearly presented case truly earned them this recognition.”
Additionally, the jury awarded an honorable mention to LedLoket for their innovative use of generative AI to drive upper-funnel traffic effectively and unlock new marketing opportunities.
An International Jury of Experts
Entries were judged based on strategic insight, innovation, effectiveness, tangible results, clarity, and responsible data use. The jury comprised an international panel of independent SEO and PPC experts, including Barry Adams (Polemic Digital), Frederick Vallaeys (Optmyzr), Jyll Saskin Gales (Google Ads coach), Lottie Namakando (Human Behaviour), Tetsuo Konno (Google), Jes Scholz (Jes Scholz Consulting), Arnout Hellemans (OnlineMarkethink), and Linda Hogenes (Coolblue).