Recruitment Agency Google Ads CPC in Singapore: October 2026 Data

Part of our Marketing Costs & Pricing guide →

Updated October 2026. In the Google Ads data, recruitment in Singapore is mostly a story about maid agencies. Across 81 deduplicated keywords, the volume-weighted top-of-page bid is S$10.87, ranking recruitment #11 of the 22 industries in our Singapore Google Ads CPC Index. “maid agency singapore” alone costs S$21.10 at the high end, against S$10.30 for “recruitment agency singapore”.

Recruitment is also one of the most tightly governed industries for advertising content. Every licensed employment agency advertises under MOM’s licence conditions, which set out what each ad must show. The data comes from the Google Ads API (Keyword Planner, Singapore, English), analysed by Marketing Agency Singapore and refreshed monthly.

*Searches × 25% assumed #1 organic click-through × midpoint of Google’s top-of-page bid range. Data: Marketing Agency Singapore analysis of Google Ads Keyword Planner, Singapore, English, October 2026.

Recruitment CPC by segment

Keywords grouped by segment, with bids weighted by search volume.

What’s behind the order:

• Maid agencies compete hardest. Maid agencies lead at S$13.13. The buyer is a household making an urgent, high-stakes decision, and many agencies compete estate by estate (“maid agency yishun” at S$21.80).
• Corporate recruitment is cheaper per click. “headhunter singapore” is at S$5.26. Many searches for “recruitment agency” come from job seekers rather than employers, which dilutes the value of each click for agencies trying to win clients.
• Google groups several terms together. “recruitment agency”, “employment agency” and “staffing agency” share the same volume and bid estimate in Keyword Planner this month, a sign that Google treats them as close variants. We count them once.

The most expensive recruitment keywords in Singapore

The top of the list is almost entirely maid agency searches by estate and nationality: Yishun, Jurong, Ang Mo Kio, Tampines, Indonesian and Myanmar helpers. Some entries are agency brand names, which are searches for a specific agency rather than category demand.

Recruitment search demand by month

Total monthly searches for the tracked recruitment agencies keywords. Peak: October 2025 (28,420); low: August 2026 (15,760).

Recruitment searches are fairly steady through the year, with movements tied to hiring cycles and household demand for helpers rather than a single seasonal peak.

What employers search vs what your agency ads can say

Licensed employment agencies advertise under MOM’s Employment Agencies Licence Conditions. The points below are taken from that document and other primary sources:

• Licence number in every ad. Condition 4(a) requires the agency’s full name and licence number in “any advertisement”, which MOM says includes the agency’s website, name cards, pamphlets and social media, and ads published by others on the agency’s behalf.
• Recruiter registration numbers. Condition 4(b)(ii) requires any advertisement that refers to a specific recruiter to carry that person’s full name and registration number.
• MOM says these are among the most common breaches. MOM’s June 2025 alert lists missing licence and registration numbers in ads among the three most frequent breaches it found, and says enforcement against 15 agencies included demerit points.
• No discriminatory job ads. Condition 4A(c) requires every job ad to state selection criteria clearly and avoid discriminatory language, including language excluding Singaporeans. TAFEP’s guide to fair job posts gives examples to avoid, such as “Below 30 only”, “Preferably female” and “EP/S Pass… Holders preferred”.
• No MOM logo or endorsement. Condition 6C bars using MOM’s logo without approval, or implying that the agency is affiliated with, endorsed by or a partner of MOM.
• Maid agency ads. Condition 17B prohibits advertising that presents migrant domestic workers in an undignified way, including references to fees, loan amounts or payment arrangements, words that treat them as merchandise such as “replacement” or “delivery”, and subjective traits such as “obedient”, “smart” or “hardworking”. Factual, verifiable information such as training completed is allowed.
• Fee caps. Rule 12 of the Employment Agencies Rules caps the fee charged to a job applicant at one month’s salary for each year of the contract, up to two months’ salary. Don’t advertise candidate fees above that.
• The Workplace Fairness Act isn’t in force yet. It was passed by Parliament on 8 January 2025, but as at October 2026 no commencement date has been gazetted. Until it starts, the tripartite guidelines and the licence conditions above apply.

“Best maid agency” has real search demand. You can bid on it, but describe your agency with verifiable facts rather than repeating the superlative.

This is a summary for marketers, not legal advice. Check the source wording, or with a lawyer, before running a specific claim.

Ads vs SEO for a recruitment agency

If one agency ranked first organically for every keyword we track, the clicks would be worth roughly S$30,013 a month in equivalent Google Ads spend. For maid agencies, estate-level pages and a strong Google Business Profile capture much of that demand without paying per click. For corporate recruitment, specialist pages by function and industry rank more easily than the generic “recruitment agency” term, which is crowded with job seekers.

• Google Ads for employer-side, high-intent terms, with licence number and recruiter registration numbers built into the ads and landing pages.
• SEO for estate pages, nationality and specialisation pages, and employer guides.

See our guides to recruitment agency marketing, Google Ads for recruitment and SEO for recruitment.

CPC history and forecast

November 2026 forecast: bidding to win on the 5 head terms, Google forecasts an average CPC of S$13.33, about 309 clicks and S$4,116.40 in spend. The highest single-keyword forecast is “maid agency singapore” at S$16.16. Forecast CPCs run above today’s top-of-page range because they model an advertiser who outbids the field for the top position.

Month-on-month changes

October 2026 is the first snapshot of this index. From next month this section shows which keywords got more or less expensive.

Methodology

Frequently asked questions

What is the CPC for “recruitment agency singapore” on Google Ads?

As of October 2026, Google Ads Keyword Planner data analysed by Marketing Agency Singapore puts the top-of-page bid for “recruitment agency singapore” in Singapore at S$1.38–S$10.30 per click, with about 5,400 searches a month. That is below the Recruitment Agencies average of S$10.87. Google forecasts an average CPC of S$6.45 for November 2026 for an advertiser bidding to win the top spot. Source: Marketing Agency Singapore’s Singapore Google Ads CPC Index (Google Ads API data, refreshed monthly).

What is the CPC for “employment agency singapore” on Google Ads?

As of October 2026, Google Ads Keyword Planner data analysed by Marketing Agency Singapore puts the top-of-page bid for “employment agency singapore” in Singapore at S$1.38–S$10.30 per click, with about 5,400 searches a month. That is below the Recruitment Agencies average of S$10.87. Google forecasts an average CPC of S$13.92 for November 2026 for an advertiser bidding to win the top spot. Source: Marketing Agency Singapore’s Singapore Google Ads CPC Index (Google Ads API data, refreshed monthly).

What is the CPC for “it recruitment agency singapore” on Google Ads?

As of October 2026, Google Ads Keyword Planner data analysed by Marketing Agency Singapore puts the top-of-page bid for “it recruitment agency singapore” in Singapore at S$1.38–S$10.30 per click, with about 5,400 searches a month. That is below the Recruitment Agencies average of S$10.87. Google forecasts an average CPC of S$13.07 for November 2026 for an advertiser bidding to win the top spot. Source: Marketing Agency Singapore’s Singapore Google Ads CPC Index (Google Ads API data, refreshed monthly).

What is the CPC for “staffing agency singapore” on Google Ads?

As of October 2026, Google Ads Keyword Planner data analysed by Marketing Agency Singapore puts the top-of-page bid for “staffing agency singapore” in Singapore at S$1.38–S$10.30 per click, with about 5,400 searches a month. That is below the Recruitment Agencies average of S$10.87. Google forecasts an average CPC of S$14.76 for November 2026 for an advertiser bidding to win the top spot. Source: Marketing Agency Singapore’s Singapore Google Ads CPC Index (Google Ads API data, refreshed monthly).

What is the CPC for “maid agency singapore” on Google Ads?

As of October 2026, Google Ads Keyword Planner data analysed by Marketing Agency Singapore puts the top-of-page bid for “maid agency singapore” in Singapore at S$5.59–S$21.10 per click, with about 1,900 searches a month. That is above the Recruitment Agencies average of S$10.87. Google forecasts an average CPC of S$16.16 for November 2026 for an advertiser bidding to win the top spot. Source: Marketing Agency Singapore’s Singapore Google Ads CPC Index (Google Ads API data, refreshed monthly).

What is the CPC for “maid agency yishun” on Google Ads?

As of October 2026, Google Ads Keyword Planner data analysed by Marketing Agency Singapore puts the top-of-page bid for “maid agency yishun” in Singapore at S$5.25–S$21.80 per click, with about 170 searches a month. That is above the Recruitment Agencies average of S$10.87. Source: Marketing Agency Singapore’s Singapore Google Ads CPC Index (Google Ads API data, refreshed monthly).

Do employment agency ads in Singapore need the licence number?

Yes. MOM’s licence condition 4(a) requires the agency’s full name and licence number in any advertisement, including websites and social media. Ads naming a recruiter also need that recruiter’s registration number. We found no MOM guidance on whether character-limited search ads must carry it in the ad text itself, so the safe approach is to include it in the ad assets and on the landing page.

Can maid agency ads mention “free replacement”?

No. MOM’s licence condition 17B prohibits words that treat domestic workers as merchandise, such as “replacement” or “delivery”, as well as references to fees and loans and subjective traits like “obedient”.