Published by Sue Johns-Chapman
Published Date 19.10.2026 
A look behind the recognition, the people at Die SEA-Experten and the thinking that guides our work in an increasingly automated advertising world.
An international award – and a moment to appreciate the work behind it
What makes a good Google Ads campaign? For us, the answer has never been simply more clicks, more automation or a bigger budget. It is about understanding what a business wants to achieve, making informed decisions and improving performance step by step. That conviction has guided our work for years. Now it has also brought us international recognition: Die SEA-Experten has received Silver at the Global Search Awards 2026 in the Best Use of Search – Retail / Ecommerce (PPC): Small category.
We are proud of the award, of course. But even more, we are proud of what it represents: the expertise, persistence and teamwork that go into solving real advertising challenges every day. The trophy is one moment. The work behind it is an ongoing process.
Who we are: specialists, not generalists
Based in Berlin, Die SEA-Experten is an agency focused on Google Ads and search engine advertising. Since our founding in 2019, we have supported more than 800 projects across e-commerce, services, B2B and other industries. Our work covers strategy, campaign management, tracking and ongoing optimisation – always with a close eye on our clients’ business objectives.
Our focus is deliberate. Search advertising evolves quickly, and we believe real expertise comes from working deeply in a discipline, rather than trying to cover everything. We are a Google Premier Partner, and our qualifications include BVDW and TÜV-related certifications. Just as importantly, our clients work with people who know their businesses, can explain their decisions and are available when questions come up.
What was behind the award-nominated work?
Our entry focused on a retail and e-commerce PPC project with Performance Max at its centre. The challenge was not simply to activate an automated campaign type. It was to think about how search, campaign assets and different stages of the customer journey could contribute to a coherent commercial strategy. The Global Search Awards judging feedback recognised the strength of the full-funnel approach and its business focus.
Because we respect our client’s confidentiality, we won’t share too many details about the campaign’s performance metrics. What we can share, however, is the principle behind the work: technology becomes more valuable when there is a clear strategy telling it what success should look like. This is a principle we apply across projects, whatever the industry or budget.
Automation does not replace the questions that matter
Google Ads has become increasingly automated. Tools such as Performance Max can coordinate placements and bidding across Google’s inventory, but they still depend on the objectives, signals and assets provided to them. An automated system cannot decide for a business whether new customer acquisition matters more than short-term volume, or whether a lead is genuinely valuable to the sales team.
These questions require commercial understanding. What are the margins? Who is the right customer? Which actions are worth measuring? How does the landing page support the decision to buy or enquire? And how do we recognise when a campaign is delivering the numbers we want, but not necessarily the business outcome we need?
Our role is to connect those decisions with the technology. We bring together tracking expertise, performance analysis and sales psychology to build campaigns around actual customer behaviour rather than relying on platform defaults alone.
The people behind the platform
One aspect of our work rarely appears in a campaign dashboard: the conversations. A Google Ads specialist may spot an unusual development in the data. A tracking expert may question how a conversion is recorded. The person closest to the client may provide context that changes how we interpret the results. Good decisions often emerge from connecting those perspectives.
That is why our team works with a six-eyes principle: a dedicated account specialist is supported by SEA leadership and management. It is also why we place so much emphasis on honest communication, clear recommendations and individual attention. Technology can process signals at scale. People still have to understand what those signals mean.
Why we entered – and what Silver means to us
Entering the Global Search Awards meant looking at our work from the outside. We had to explain not only what we had done, but why: the underlying challenge, the strategic choices and the value of a considered approach. Bringing that story together was a useful reminder of how much work happens between the first analysis and a result that truly matters to a business.
“Submitting our work for international review was already valuable. Winning Silver is a wonderful recognition for the people behind every analysis, idea and decision – and a strong motivation to keep improving.”
— Daniel Rakus, founder and managing director of Die SEA-Experten
For the team, the award is not about celebrating a single campaign format. It recognises the collective effort of strategists, campaign managers, tracking specialists and the colleagues who look after our clients. It is a milestone we can share – and one we hope will encourage the same curiosity and ambition in the projects ahead.
The next chapter: smarter tools, stronger judgment
AI and automation will continue to change how search advertising works. We welcome that progress. But we do not believe the future belongs to whoever switches on the most automated features. It belongs to businesses and specialists who know which objectives to pursue, which data to trust and when to question the system’s recommendations.
Our commitment remains straightforward: help companies make better use of their Google Ads budgets with clear strategy, reliable measurement and personal, expert support. The Global Search Awards Silver is an encouraging milestone on that journey. Tomorrow, we will be back doing what we enjoy most: asking the right questions and finding better answers for our clients.
About Die SEA-Experten
Die SEA-Experten is a Berlin-based, specialist Google Ads agency serving companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The team supports businesses with campaign strategy, search and shopping advertising, Performance Max, conversion tracking and ongoing optimisation. Learn more about our Google Ads services or connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram.
