How to Choose a Google Ads Agency in Singapore

Picking a Google advertising agency singapore (Singapore SEM agency) partner in Singapore is tricky. Everyone can launch a campaign, but very few can protect your tracking, hit CPA/ROAS targets, and scale without waste especially around spiky retail windows like 11.11, 12.12, and CNY.

How to Choose a Google Ads Agency in Singapore

This guide shows you exactly what to look for, what to avoid, and how to run an apples-to-apples selection process. Steal the 90-day plan at the end to align expectations before you sign.

Shortlist in 60 seconds

Choose agencies that prove three things before you pay:

1. Data hygiene: GA4/GTM events, consent (PDPA), deduped conversions across Google Ads & GA4.

2. Capture-first competence: Search, Shopping/Feeds, and Performance Max (PMax) structured to harvest intent; YouTube to assist conversion.

3. Accountability: weekly change logs + dashboards tied to CPA/ROAS/MER (not just clicks).

Define “performance” first 

Agree on the scoreboard before an audit or proposal lands, so you don’t get dazzled by vanity metrics.

• CPA / CAC: Cost to acquire a lead or customer.

• ROAS / MER (blended ROAS): Channel-level vs company-level return. MER forces honest budgeting when multiple channels assist.

• LTV:CAC & payback period: Especially important for subscriptions or high repeat rate categories.

• Assist vs last-click: Search/Shopping often close; YouTube & PMax frequently assist. Judge contributions with 7/28-day looks, plus a simple post-purchase survey.

• Decision cadence: Weekly actions (what to cut/keep/scale), monthly strategy shifts, quarterly bets.

Must-have capabilities 

1) Tracking & data hygiene

• GA4 + GTM event map: purchase/lead, add_to_cart, checkout_start; consent handling for PDPA.

• Deduped conversions: align Google Ads conversions with GA4 to avoid over-counting.

• UTM standards and CRM feedback loops: lead quality pushed back to bidding where relevant.

• Server-side tagging (when warranted): not a buzzword useful if you have signal loss.

2) Channel mastery 

• Search: Digital marketing agency singapore themed ad groups, a healthy mix of exact/phrase/broad-with-signals, ruthless negative keywords, and intent-matched ad copy.

• Shopping & Feeds: Content marketing agency titles with attributes, high-quality images, GTINs, Google product categories, promotions, and review integrations.

• Performance Max: Advertising agency singapore asset groups structured by product/intent, brand exclusions to prevent cannibalization, audience signals, and ongoing creative input.

• YouTube (In-Stream & Shorts): short, intent-aligned concepts that warm up prospects, then remarket.

3) Bidding & budgeting discipline

• Start with Maximize Conversions/Value, then move to tCPA/tROAS once you’ve got volume.

• Right-size daily budgets to exit learning in ~7–10 days.

• Peak-season guardrails (11.11/12.12/CNY): bid caps or budget reallocation rules, so you don’t torch spend overnight.

4) Creative & landing collaboration

• Search ad copy that mirrors queries, not brand slogans.

• YouTube creative with a clear framework: hook (0–3s) → claim → proof → CTA; 15–20s variants.

• CRO basics: page speed, trust blocks (reviews/UGC), forms that don’t fight conversions, mobile-first UX.

5) Governance & documentation

• Change logs, naming conventions, test charters (hypothesis → metric → kill/scale rule).

• Shared dashboards; clear ownership of dev/analytics tickets with dates.

The process you should expect 

1. Diagnostic read-only audit, measurement check, KPI tree, and waste map.

2. 90-day roadmap which campaigns launch, test plan, budgets, and “success thresholds.”

3. Build conversion actions, feeds, brand safety controls, draft YouTube scripts/storyboards.

4. Run & learn (Weeks 1–4) stabilize bids, mine queries, add negatives, cut waste.

5. Scale (Weeks 5–12) shift to tCPA/tROAS, expand proven query themes, refresh creatives, and widen PMax assets; CRO for top landers.

6. Quarterly reset a “cut/keep/scale” review; lock seasonal promos and new demand pockets.

If an agency can’t show artifacts for each step, that’s a red flag.

Interview questions that separate pros from pretenders

Search

• “Show an example where you made broad match profitable. What signals and negatives did you use, and what did you kill?”

Shopping/Feed

• “Walk me through your title attribute playbook and how you test images/promotions to lift CTR and CVR.”

PMax

• “How do you structure asset groups and prevent brand cannibalization? What do you monitor weekly?”

YouTube

• “What’s your 15–20s script framework and what KPIs matter beyond views (e.g., view-through conversions, assisted search uplift)?”

Attribution

• “How do you credit YouTube/PMax assists vs last-click Search? What windows and survey methods do you use?”

Ops

• “Show a real change log and the last three tests you killed. Why?”

Compliance

• “How do you handle PDPA and restricted categories on Google?”

You’re not fishing for perfect answers; you’re checking for systems, not vibes.

Pricing models 

• % of spend simple at scale; watch for perverse incentives to grow spend without efficiency.

• Flat retainer predictable; scope discipline is critical (how many tests, which assets, which pages).

• Hybrid with performance bonus aligns incentives; define attribution rules (GA4 primary, platform secondary, post-purchase survey assists).

Common add-ons: feed management, landing builds, video production, analytics projects. Ask what’s included monthly vs project-based.

Red flags 

• Guaranteed #1 positions or ROAS guarantees.

• No negatives, dozens of tiny campaigns, or “set and forget” PMax.

• Brand campaigns used to inflate results while starving non-brand.

• Zero dashboard access or change logs; vague ownership of dev fixes.

• Reports full of impressions/clicks with no revenue/CAC.

Decision matrix match the agency to your situation

• Ecommerce, AOV ≤ S$80, need sales now Choose capture specialists: Shopping + PMax with strict feed governance; limited YouTube boosts; tight retargeting.

• Ecommerce, large catalogue / multi-market Choose feed & PMax pros: advanced product segmentation, country feeds, hreflang awareness; Search to protect high-margin terms.

• Lead gen with short cycle (clinics, home services) Choose high-intent capturers: Search + Local extensions; lead quality gates; rapid CRM routing; light YouTube for objections.

• B2B / considered purchases Choose Search + YouTube sequencers: optimize to SQLs/pipeline, not MQL volume; landing pages and content alignment matter.

What a good first 90 days looks like 

Weeks 1–2

• GA4/GTM audit; map conversions; dedupe platform events.

• Fix feeds (titles, images, GTIN, categories).

• Build Search (brand + 2–3 non-brand themes), Shopping, starter PMax groups.

• Draft YouTube scripts (two 15–20s concepts).

Weeks 3–4

• Launch; stabilize bids; mine search terms; add negatives.

• Early YouTube test to warm remarketing; start building audience signals for PMax.

• Set guardrails for CPA/ROAS; pause anything 1.5–2× off target with no momentum.

Weeks 5–8

• Move winners to tCPA/tROAS; expand exact themes.

• Refresh ad copy and images; first CRO pass on top landing pages (headline, proof, form friction).

• Add PMax asset groups for breakout products; supply better creative inputs.

Weeks 9–12

• Structured scale: +20–30% budgets on proven campaigns; rotate seasonal promos.

• YouTube v2 concepts; stronger remarketing segmentation.

• Quarterly review: cut/keep/scale; lock Q2/Q4 seasonal bets.

FAQs 

How long until stable CPA/ROAS? You’ll see signal within 1–3 weeks and stability by weeks 4–8 if budgets allow the campaigns to exit learning.

Is Performance Max worth it for SMEs? Yes with clean feeds, brand exclusions, quality assets, and weekly monitoring. Treat PMax as a complement to Search, not a replacement.

Do I need YouTube? Usually yes. It lifts branded search and warms audiences; evaluate assists and view-through conversions, not just views.

How do I avoid cannibalization between PMax and Search? Use brand exclusions, query monitoring, and campaign priorities. Keep non-brand Search explicit and well-funded.

What dashboards should I insist on? GA4 revenue, channel CPA/ROAS, assisted conversions, and a transparent change log. Add a one-question post-purchase survey for qualitative attribution.

Conclusion:

Pick the team that can social media agency sg prove capture, protect data quality, and iterate weekly. Demand a diagnostic → 90-day roadmap → change log → dashboard before you sign. Then hold both sides accountable to the scoreboard you set at the start.

If you want an objective, Singapore-specific plan you can use with any vendor budgets, test matrix, and KPI targets:

👉 Book a free 20-minute audit at papercutsg.com.