LOCALiQ Shortlisted in 4 Categories at the 2026 UK Agency Awards
LOCALiQ has been shortlisted four times at the 2026 UK Agency Awards, recognising the agency’s achievements across SEO, Digital PR, integrated search and agency transformation.
LOCALiQ has been named a finalist in the following categories:
- SEO Agency of the Year
- Agency Growth & Transformation Award
- Best PR Campaign
- Best Integrated Campaign
The UK Agency Awards celebrate the agencies, teams and campaigns delivering outstanding creativity, innovation and measurable results across the UK marketing industry.
These four nominations recognise both the performance LOCALiQ delivers for its clients and the continued investment being made in its people, services and operating model.
The recognition follows another major achievement for LOCALiQ, which was recently named Standout SEO Agency of the Year at the 2026 UK Digital Excellence Awards.
SEO Agency of the Year
LOCALiQ has been shortlisted for SEO Agency of the Year following another year of growth across its people, client base and search marketing capabilities.
The agency has expanded its SEO and Digital PR team from five specialists to more than 20, while SEO revenue and customer numbers increased by 17% year on year.
Client performance has remained strong as the search landscape has evolved. Conversions generated through traditional Google and Bing search reached 330,000 during 2025, while conversions attributed to large language models increased from nine in Q1 2024 to 250 in Q4 2025.
SEO client retention has also remained between 90% and 100% since Q1 2025.
LOCALiQ’s approach is built around the belief that strong SEO foundations are essential for visibility across both traditional and AI-led search. This includes technical performance, high-intent content, local search, reputation, Digital PR and authoritative trust signals.
The nomination builds on LOCALiQ’s recent success at the UK Digital Excellence Awards, where the agency was recognised for delivering sustainable SEO growth, exceptional client retention and measurable commercial impact.
Agency Growth & Transformation Award
LOCALiQ’s second nomination recognises the transformation of its 37-person Fulfilment Department, which brings together specialists across SEO, Paid Media and Website Development.
Over the past two years, LOCALiQ has redesigned its operating model around smaller Hub teams, dedicated people-focused Team Leads, clearer career pathways and stronger collaboration between departments.
Rather than requiring Team Leads to balance people management with client revenue responsibilities, LOCALiQ made coaching, wellbeing, performance and progression their primary focus.
This transformation contributed to a 97% employee retention rate in 2025, with only one employee leaving the department. The SEO team grew from five people to more than 20 while maintaining its culture and delivery standards, and eight out of 21 SEO team members were promoted over a two-year period.
Initiatives including Camp Clinics, SEO Labs and senior team forums have also improved knowledge-sharing, collaboration and strategic client delivery.
The nomination recognises LOCALiQ’s commitment to proving that sustainable agency growth begins with creating the right structure, leadership and development opportunities for its people.
Best PR Campaign: LOCALiQ & The Devonshire Clinic
LOCALiQ and The Devonshire Clinic have been shortlisted for Best PR Campaign for the Expert-Led Skin Health Strategy.
The campaign was created to strengthen the digital presence of the prestigious Harley Street dermatology clinic and establish its founder, Dr Conal Perrett, as a leading national authority on skin cancer and dermatological health.
LOCALiQ moved away from generic health and beauty stories and developed an expert-first strategy centred on timely medical commentary, public health education and evidence-led stories.
This included reacting quickly to breaking news and using Freedom of Information data to expose concerning practices involving underage sunbed use.
The campaign secured 128 backlinks and approximately 250 pieces of media coverage, with an average referring-domain authority of 63.
Coverage appeared across major national publications including The Independent, Daily Mail, Metro, The Mirror and UNILAD.
The campaign also demonstrated how Digital PR can influence a wider digital strategy. Insights from the campaign helped inform SEO decisions, protect the clinic’s medical integrity and ensure its website accurately reflected the outcomes patients could expect.
Best Integrated Campaign: LOCALiQ, Cut & Craft and Lucia
LOCALiQ’s work with restaurant brands The Cut & Craft and Lucia has been shortlisted for Best Integrated Campaign after generating nearly 25,000 Paid Search leads during 2025.
LOCALiQ created an integrated search strategy combining Paid Search, SEO and Digital PR across restaurant locations in York, Leeds, Manchester and Beverley.
Paid Search captured immediate booking demand through location-specific campaigns, seasonal offers and high-intent searches. SEO strengthened long-term visibility across menus, private dining, events, FAQs and other booking-focused journeys, while Digital PR increased authority through culturally relevant and data-led media coverage.
Across the available 2025 campaign data, Paid Search generated 24,818 leads from 196,016 clicks and 881,536 impressions. The campaigns achieved a combined click-through rate of 22.2%.
Lucia increased annual Paid Search leads by 226%, while clicks rose by 187% and average cost per click reduced by 33%.
The Cut & Craft’s Manchester campaign demonstrated how the model could be successfully applied to a newer location, increasing leads by 203% between Q2 and Q4 while reducing cost per click from £0.37 to £0.16.
The campaign shows the impact of creating a connected search strategy built around commercial outcomes rather than managing each marketing channel in isolation.
Part of Newsquest Media Group
As part of Newsquest Media Group, LOCALiQ combines specialist digital marketing expertise with the reach and trust of one of the UK’s largest local media networks.
With access to more than 200 local news brands and an audience of over 45 million consumers across Google, Facebook and Bing, LOCALiQ helps businesses increase visibility, build authority and generate measurable growth.
This combination of national scale, local market knowledge and specialist digital expertise gives LOCALiQ a distinctive position within the UK agency landscape.
Building on an Award-Winning Year
The four UK Agency Awards nominations continue a strong year of industry recognition for LOCALiQ.
Alongside being named Standout SEO Agency of the Year at the 2026 UK Digital Excellence Awards, LOCALiQ also won Hospitality Campaign of the Year at the 2026 UK Paid Media Awards for its work with The Cut & Craft.
Together, these nominations and awards reflect LOCALiQ’s continued focus on delivering connected digital strategies that turn visibility into meaningful commercial results.
They also recognise the people behind that work, from the specialists delivering campaigns to the teams developing stronger processes, services and client experiences across the agency.
LOCALiQ would like to thank everyone across the business whose expertise, collaboration and dedication contributed to these nominations, as well as The Devonshire Clinic, Cut & Craft and Lucia for trusting the agency to support their continued growth.
The winners of the 2026 UK Agency Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony in October.
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