PAPERCUT COLLECTIVE · SINGAPORE · EST. 2023
SEM Agency Singapore for Businesses That Want Measurable Growth
Google Ads strategy, campaign build, and monthly optimisation from a Singapore team that cares about your cost per lead as much as you do. PSG Grant eligible for qualifying SMEs.
Since 2023
5.1x
Average ROAS across accounts
Since 2023
50%
Average ROAS across accounts
GOOGLE SEARCH ADS
SEM Agency in Singapore
WHAT IS SEM IN SINGAPORE
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. A plumber in Tampines doesn't want leads from Jurong. A clinic in Novena doesn't want traffic from Malaysia. Singapore SEM requires tight geographic targeting, currency-aware bidding, and ad copy that reads as local rather than generic. That's what separates an agency that happens to run ads in Singapore from a dedicated Singapore SEM agency.
Who This Service is for
SEM isn't right for every business. Before we take on a Google Ads engagement, we check that there's
a real fit. These are the businesses we work with best:
SEM isn't right for every business. Before we take on a Google Ads engagement, we check that there's a real fit. These are the businesses we work with best
Service-based SMEs in Singapore with an average customer value above SGD 300. Clinics, law firms, agencies, consultants, home service providers, and B2B service firms all tend to see positive ROAS on SEM. E-commerce brands with a Shopify, WooCommerce, or Wix store, average order value above SGD 80, and a willingness to share product data for Shopping campaigns. Lead-gen businesses with a working website, a contact form that actually notifies a human, and a sales process that responds to leads within 24 hours.
Newly launched Singapore businesses that need visibility quickly while SEO builds in the background. SEM is almost always the fastest way to get your first 50 qualified leads. If you are pre-revenue with no website, or if your monthly marketing budget is below SGD 1,500, SEM is probably not the right starting point. We will tell you so in the first call rather than take the engagement
Tuition Centre • 12 Months with PaperCut
"WE STOPPED ASKING FOR REPORTS AFTER WEEK TWO"
Jia Wei
Owner & Founder, Canopy Learning
+310% Leads / 3 Months
Every SEM engagement at PaperCutCollective 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.
Our SEM Process, Month by Month
Month 1, Foundation
We start with a deep dive into your business objectives, target market, and competitors. Our team performs comprehensive keyword research and audience segmentation to craft a focused campaign strategy designed to maximize your return.
Our copywriters create compelling, clear ad texts that speak directly to your potential customers’ needs. We continuously A/B test ad variations to improve click-through and conversion rates.
We ensure your landing pages are optimized for seamless user experience and conversion, including fast loading speed, mobile responsiveness, and clear calls to action that drive results.
Using data-driven insights, we manage bids and budgets to maximize efficiency, ensuring you get the most value from every dollar spent.
What's Included in Every SEM Engagement
• 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, with 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 the first month and 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
• PSG Grant pre-approval paperwork for qualifying Singapore SMEs
Every PaperCutCollective 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.
Prices
SEM Pricing for Singapore
Businesses
Management fees at PaperCutCollective are transparent. You'll see the full structure before you sign, and the fee is separate from your ad spend, which always goes directly to Google and is billed to your own payment method.
Starter SEM
For SMEs running a single Search campaign with a monthly ad budget of SGD 1,500 to SGD 4,000. Includes full campaign build, weekly optimisation in the first month, and a monthly report.
For businesses running multi-campaign Google Ads with ad budgets of SGD 4,000 to SGD 12,000. Includes Search, Display, and Remarketing, plus landing page consultation and fortnightly strategy calls.
For e-commerce and multi-location brands with ad budgets above SGD 12,000. Includes Shopping, Performance Max, and YouTube alongside Search, with a dedicated strategist and weekly calls. PSG Grant eligible. If you qualify as a Singapore SME, up to 50% of the management fee can be covered under the Productivity Solutions Grant. We handle the paperwork.
Who This Service is for
Results We've
Delivered
Every SEM engagement is different, but the numbers below reflect what's achievable when the process above is followed consistently. Client names are withheld on request, but we're happy to share references on a discovery call
01
Singapore aesthetic clinic, 6 months (One Face Clinic)
Started at a cost per lead of SGD 185 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. Monthly qualified consultations tripled on the same ad spend.
02
Launched from zero. Built Search + Meta Ads parallel campaigns. Hit 47 qualified trials in Month 4 at a cost per trial of SGD 148, well inside the SGD 250 target. ROAS on closed deals exceeded 6:1 by Month 5.
03
Scaled ad spend from SGD 3,000 to SGD 9,500 per month while keeping cost per lead stable at SGD 28 to SGD 34. Key lever was Display campaigns layered on top of Search. Owner now hires a second team because the lead flow is consistent.
What makes us different
Why PaperCutCollective vs Other Singapore SEM Agencies
We say no more often than yes. 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. You own your Google Ads account. 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. Your account manager is a real human with a mobile number. Not a ticket queue. Not a junior
account manager rotating in every 3 months. You get the same person for the life of the
engagement.
Every report is in plain English. We don't hide behind jargon. Impressions, clicks, CPC, CPL, ROAS, we explain what moved and why. We're PSG Grant eligible. Up to 50% of qualifying fees covered under the Singapore government's SME grant. We handle the application. We're also an SEO agency. So we understand that paid and organic should support each other,
not fight for the same budget. Most of our clients run both.
There are dozens of SEM agencies in Singapore. Here's how to tell us apart.
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 Productivity Solutions 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.