•Strategy
Online Marketing: The lack of thought and Initiative
After 4 years in Singapore's SEM industry, I've watched companies waste millions on traditional ads while ignoring where 80% of their customers actually search.
Blog
494 posts about AI, learning, and building products
•Google
Google, Yahoo Stock Price before Third-Quarter Earnings announcement 2008
I watched Google stock plummet from $715 to $335 in just 10 months—here's what the 2008 crash meant for tech giants before their Q3 earnings.
•Singapore
Singapore Top Industry Search Terms
I analyzed search data across 19 Singapore industries to reveal what's really capturing local online attention—and the shifts might surprise you.
•Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Marketing Spend in 2009 for SG and SouthEast Asia
While UK search spend hits 58% maturity, Southeast Asia allocates less than 1% of marketing budgets to SEM—I predict 40%+ growth in 2009 as crisis forces smarter ROI.
•Search Engine Marketing
Yahoo Pay per Click platform in SouthEast Asia (cont)
After 5 months testing Yahoo Panama in Southeast Asia, I found conversion costs can be 1/5 of Google's—but Yahoo's plummeting market share and frustrating limitations make it hard to recommend.
•Search Engine Marketing
Top 5 tips on how to choose a SEM (PPC/SEO) agency
Choosing a SEM agency in Asia? Ask about staff turnover first—I've seen clients juggled between 3 managers in 6 months, each clueless about their campaign.
•Singapore
Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, AIG, AIA in SEA context
Using Google Insights data, I reveal how Southeast Asian search patterns during the 2008 financial crisis expose a critical gap in pre-crisis brand awareness.
•Baidu
Baidu Chinese Paid Search (part 3)
Baidu's paid search platform offers minimal reporting (no impressions or CTR data!) and an all-Chinese interface—here's what you need to know to survive it.
•Baidu
Baidu Chinese Paid Search (part 2)
Setting up Baidu PPC? Expect 4-week activation delays, Chinese bank transfers only, and a completely different campaign structure that will force you to rethink Google.
•Search Engine Marketing
SMX in Singapore: First ever
Singapore's first-ever Search Marketing Expo marks the region's arrival as a serious SEM market—if you're in Southeast Asia, this is the event worth flying in for.
•Google
Google Ad Planner in SG and SEA context
Google's free Ad Planner sounds revolutionary for media planning, but with only 250 sites covered and major players like Yahoo missing, here's why it falls short in Singapore.
•Vietnam
Vietnamese Online Industry: SWOT Analysis (part 2)
Six months after my initial SWOT analysis, Vietnam's online threats have materialized—here's how Yahoo, Google, and local services are reshaping the market.