Google Ads strategy, campaign build, and monthly optimisation from a Singapore team that cares about your cost per lead as much as you do. Our specialists are Google Ads certified, and you keep full ownership of your account. EDGE Grant eligible for qualifying SMEs.
Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, is the practice of paying for visibility on Google’s search results. When someone in Singapore types ‘plumber near me’ or ‘aesthetic clinic Orchard’, the top three or four results are often ads. Those ads are SEM in action. Done well, SEM puts your business in front of people at the exact moment they are ready to buy. Done badly, it burns budget on clicks that never convert.
In Singapore, SEM matters more than in most markets. Mobile search is near-universal, competition for commercial keywords is high, and local intent is strong. Singapore SEM requires tight geographic targeting, currency-aware bidding, and ad copy that reads as local rather than generic. As an EDGE Grant pre-approved digital marketing agency in Singapore, we build and manage Google Ads that respect all three.
Tuition Centre · 12 Months with PaperCut
+310% Leads in 3 Months
Owner & Founder, Canopy Learning
EDGE Grant eligible. Qualifying SMEs can claim up to 50% back.
Every SEM engagement at PaperCut Collective follows the same rhythm. This is not a template we bolt onto every client; it’s the structure that has delivered results across 100+ Singapore campaigns. What changes is the targeting, the ad copy, and the landing pages — not the cadence.
Deep dive into your objectives, target market, and competitors. Comprehensive keyword research and audience segmentation to craft a focused campaign strategy.
Compelling, human-written ad copy. Continuous A/B testing of ad variations to improve click-through rates and cost per conversion.
Landing page optimisation for UX and conversion — fast loading, mobile-first, with clear calls to action that drive results rather than just traffic.
Data-driven bid and budget management to maximise efficiency. Lead flow becomes consistent enough that our clients hire additional team members to handle demand.
Every PaperCut Collective SEM client gets the same baseline, regardless of package size. You are not paying for features — you are paying for the scale at which we apply them. Search is the core, but we also run Performance Max campaigns, Google Shopping ads, Google Display ads, and YouTube ads when they fit your funnel.
Full Google Ads account build or audit, including account structure, campaign naming, and conversion tracking
Singapore-focused keyword research using SEMrush and Google’s Keyword Planner, including long-tail and competitor keywords
Ad copy written by humans, not templates — at least 3 variants per ad group for testing
Landing page alignment review, so the page a user lands on matches the ad they clicked
Negative keyword management — reviewed weekly for Month 1, fortnightly after that
Bid and budget management aligned to your cost per lead target
Remarketing setup where applicable, including audience lists and creative
Monthly performance reports in plain English, with a recommendation on next month’s focus
A direct Slack or WhatsApp line to your account manager — not a ticketing system
EDGE Grant pre-approval paperwork for qualifying Singapore SMEs
Management fees for SEM in Singapore depend on three things: your ad budget, the number of campaigns and keywords involved, and how much support you need. A single Search campaign sits at the lower end; a multi-campaign account across Search, Shopping and remarketing sits higher. Your ad spend is a separate cost, always paid directly to Google from your own billing account, never through us. We recommend a minimum ad budget of about S$1,000 a month, so a campaign gathers enough data to optimise properly rather than guessing on thin numbers. Eligible Singapore SMEs can offset up to 50% of the management fee through the EDGE Grant from Enterprise Singapore, which materially lowers what you pay. We do not publish a fixed fee here, because quoting one before seeing your account would be a guess. Instead, we review your goals and current setup on the strategy call, then quote a fee you can hold us to.
You’ll see the full fee structure before you sign. The management fee is separate from your ad spend, which always goes directly to Google, billed to your own payment method.
For SMEs running a single Search campaign.
For businesses running multi-campaign Google Ads.
For e-commerce and multi-location brands.
EDGE Grant eligible — up to 50% of the management fee covered for qualifying Singapore SMEs.
Every result below is from a live PaperCutCollective engagement, with the client’s permission.
One Face Clinic
Started at SGD 185 cost per lead on a previous agency’s campaigns. After rebuild and 3 months of optimisation, cost per lead dropped to SGD 62 on Search and SGD 41 on Remarketing.
Nancyho LifeCoach
Launched from zero. Built Search + Meta Ads parallel campaigns. Hit 47 qualified trials in Month 4 at SGD 148 per trial — well inside the SGD 250 target.
Femme 5
Scaled ad spend from SGD 3,000 to SGD 9,500/month while keeping cost per lead stable at SGD 28–34. Owner now hires a second team because the lead flow is consistent.
There are dozens of SEM agencies in Singapore. Here’s how to tell us apart.
If SEM isn’t the right channel for your business, we’ll tell you in the discovery call. That saves you SGD 10,000+ in wasted spend.
Not us. If you ever want to leave, you walk away with the full account, the data, and the history. Some Singapore agencies lock this in their own MCC — we don’t.
Not a ticket queue. Not a junior rotating in every 3 months. You get the same person for the life of the engagement, with a mobile number.
We don’t hide behind jargon. Impressions, clicks, CPC, CPL, ROAS — we explain what moved and why.
Up to 50% of qualifying fees covered under the EDGE Grant. We handle the application.
So we understand that paid and organic should support each other, not fight for the same budget. Most of our clients run both, pairing Google Ads with our SEO services.
| SEM | SEO | |
|---|---|---|
| How fast results arrive | Days to weeks | Months, then compounding |
| How you pay | Per click, plus management | Time and content, plus management |
| What it's best for | Immediate leads and testing demand | Durable, lower-cost traffic over time |
| What happens when you stop | Traffic stops with the budget | Rankings hold for a while |
Most clients run both: SEM brings leads straight away while SEO builds a cheaper channel that compounds over time. If you want the organic side handled too, see our SEO services in Singapore.
Keep exploring
Google Ads is one lever among many. Explore the full range of our digital marketing services →
More on paid search on our Google Ads blog:
they have done a great job managing our Google Ads campaigns. quick to make adjustments and keeps us in the loop on performance. The reports are easy to understand, and we've seen a steady increase in quality traffic.
We brought Papercut on to manage our Google Ads and have been happy with the results. Cost per lead dropped, and the leads are more relevant now. Communication has been clear and consistent throughout.
Been working with the team for a few months now and it's been a positive experience. They know their stuff when it comes to digital ads and are pretty quick to respond whenever we have questions or need changes. Happy with how things are going so far.
Clicks and impressions appear within 24 hours of campaigns going live. Qualified leads typically start arriving in Week 2. Meaningful cost per lead data — the number you actually care about — stabilises around Week 6 to 8. Anyone promising conversions on Day 1 is spending your money on brand terms, which is an easy win but not real growth.
You do. The account is created under your Google account, linked to our agency manager account only for access. If you ever end the engagement, you keep the account, the campaigns, the history, and the data.
Three months. Google Ads needs that long to gather enough data for informed optimisation. After the initial three months, we move to monthly rolling — cancel any time with 30 days' notice.
Direct to Google, on your own credit card. We never touch your ad spend. You see every dollar spent in your own Google Ads billing. Our management fee is billed separately, by us.
Yes, for qualifying Singapore SMEs under the EDGE Grant. Up to 50% of the management fee can be covered. We prepare the pre-approval paperwork as part of onboarding.
We'll tell you on the discovery call before you sign anything. If you book a consultation and we think SEO, social, or a different channel is a better fit, we'll recommend that instead. Sometimes that means referring you to a specialist, sometimes it means we deliver the alternative ourselves.
There is no fixed price, because SEM fees depend on your ad budget, the number of campaigns and keywords, and how much support you need. Your ad spend is separate and always paid directly to Google. Eligible Singapore SMEs can offset up to 50% of the management fee through the EDGE Grant. We quote the fee on the strategy call after reviewing your account, rather than guessing a number in advance.
We recommend a minimum ad budget of about S$1,000 a month. Below that, a campaign rarely gathers enough clicks and conversions to optimise properly, so you end up guessing. The ad budget is separate from our management fee and is always paid directly to Google from your own billing account. As results prove out, you can scale the budget up in steps.
SEM, search engine marketing, means paying for visibility on Google through ads, so results arrive in days and stop when the budget stops. SEO earns visibility organically, which takes months but keeps working after you stop paying. SEM is best for immediate leads and testing demand; SEO is best for durable, lower-cost traffic over time. Most Singapore businesses benefit from running both together.
Yes. The specialists who build and manage your campaigns are Google Ads certified, so the people touching your account know the platform properly. Certification reflects the team's individual credentials, earned through Google's own exams, which is what matters day to day for your campaigns.
We run the full range of Google Ads campaign types: Search, Performance Max, Shopping, Display and remarketing, and YouTube. Most accounts start with Search and expand from there as the data justifies it. The right mix depends on your goals and budget, which we recommend on the strategy call.
Email: ask@papercutsg.com
Phone: +65 8079 7401
We provide post-sales support Monday to Friday, 8 AM – 5 PM via on-site visits or teleconference. Reachable 24/7 via email or contact form.
Up to 50% off via the EDGE Grant — limited slots this quarter
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