SEO(search engine optimization) is organic placement whereas SEM is paid search. Both methods require different skillsets and our agency only specializes in SEM services. We recommend the use of SEM because of its ability to do split-testing, target unlimited set of keywords and to generate quick sales results.

It is not recommended for these 2 type of businesses below to carry out SEM.
 
Businesses with:

Unproven product demand: Traditional industries carry the advantage of having proven demand in their products/services. People have to be aware of the existence of your solution to be able to do a Google search for it. If your business is a disruptive technology, chances are search engine marketing is not suitable. For example, if you are Henry Ford trying to sell car at a time when people were still riding horses, consider social media marketing instead where you create a demand. On Google advertising, you must have existing demand for your products.

Unproven sales process: We always believe that marketing activities should enjoy a positive ROI and pay for itself. If you are investing money into advertising, it becomes extremely important to convert leads generated into customers. Search engine leads are typically qualified serious buyers. However, if you do not have a sales process yet that is proven to convert at good ratio, we highly recommend that you work on it first. That means a prompt follow-up system as well as enough salespeople to handle phonecalls.

In Singapore, search engine tops the list as the no.1 source of information for consumers looking for local businesses. With 91% of people using search engine, it does appear ‘googling’ has become 2nd nature for us.

Yes, Facebook’s costs per click is definitely cheaper than Google’s. What we find unsettling is that the literal costs are highly misleading. Clicks barely mean anything. If you have 1000 clicks and 0 leads, the marketing campaign has bombed, as far as our campaign is concerned. Google visitors are observed to be serious buyers in most cases, giving a much better ROI. (Note that we are not a ‘Google-exclusive’ marketing agency, we provide Facebook advertising services as well)

Great, you have the late mover advantage(no joke). In advertising, being the late mover allows you to examine what your competitor is doing right and not-so-right in order to build on what they have done and understand how you can differentiate. If you are starting from scratch, it is easier to get things done right from the start, as opposed to being held back by legacy issues. This is why it is so important to perform market and competitors analysis before starting the campaign.

Yes, however, not all companies are suitable for our performance-based program. There are several factors. First, companies must be willing to disclose sales figures, have a strong sales team, sell a high-value product/service and be in the B2C industry with a short sales cycle. Companies that do not fall in the above category can still work with Ice Cube on a fixed to hybrid payment model.