Client Case Study
Singapore Management University (SMU)
45% increase in leads across all Executive Development ProgrammesAt Glance
45% increase in leads
across all Executive Development Programmes
3.5x higher enrollments
among the C-suites
Background
Singapore Management University (SMU) is one of Asia’s leading institutions for higher learning and executive education. Its Executive Development arm offers programmes designed to help professionals and leaders upskill for the future of work. However, while its courses were highly regarded, SMU’s approach to business development was still largely traditional.
Before working with Brew Interactive, SMU’s team relied on email outreach to past course participants to fill seats for new programmes. While this approach reached existing contacts, it had two major limitations: the reach was confined to a small, known audience, and there was no structured process to attract and convert fresh leads who matched SMU’s ideal participant profile. In short, SMU knew the demand for its programmes existed, but it lacked a scalable, digital-first strategy to tap into it.
The Challenge
SMU relied heavily on email outreach, which severely limited their exposure and ability to tap into fresh, relevant audience bases.
Unlike in other markets, Shopify China does not have an official in-market sales team. Instead, it relies heavily on strategic partnerships with local technology and social media companies to drive paid advertising and outreach efforts.
Despite these efforts, Shopify faced major barriers to growth in China:
Limited Lead Pipeline
Without digital channels in place, SMU’s business development team was struggling to generate a steady flow of new leads for its programmes.
Over-Reliance on Email Outreach
Outreach was primarily sent to alumni of past courses, leaving little room to expand beyond the existing database.
Website Constraints
At the time of engagement, SMU’s main website was undergoing a refresh, which meant building new lead-capture pages internally was difficult.
Need for Guidance
As SMU was new to digital lead generation, its team required expert input on campaign structure, messaging, and landing page best practices.
Our Approach
We partnered with SMU to build a comprehensive digital lead-generation engine from the ground up. This included:
1. Custom Landing Page
Rather than directing ad traffic to a generic programme page, we collaborated with SMU to create a dedicated landing page specifically designed to capture leads.
A custom landing page allows messaging to be tightly aligned with the ads people click on, minimising drop-offs and improving conversion rates. It also gives more flexibility to test headlines, calls-to-action, and form fields without waiting for broader website updates; a crucial advantage while SMU’s main website was undergoing a refresh.
The Call-to-Action section on SMU’s landing page, designed with Brew’s guidance on key components, helped drive visitor engagement and capture high-quality leads.
2. Targeted Paid Media Campaigns
We developed precision-targeted Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads campaigns to reach professionals most likely to enrol in SMU’s executive education programmes.Paid campaigns enabled SMU to go beyond its existing alumni database and attract high-value prospects actively searching for executive education or related career development opportunities.
Each campaign was structured to match different audience profiles, ensuring relevance and higher-quality leads.
3. SEO & Link-Building Strategy
While paid campaigns deliver immediate traffic, organic search visibility is what sustains lead flow over time. We implemented an SEO framework and began link-building, the process of acquiring high-quality backlinks from reputable sites. Backlinks act as “votes of confidence” in search engines’ eyes, boosting a page’s authority and ranking potential. For SMU, this meant gradually earning higher positions on Google for key executive education terms, increasing discoverability even after ad spend ends. |  |
Sections of the in-depth SEO audit and analysis reports Brew prepared for SMU, highlighting key opportunities and strategies to address gaps.
4. Strategic Guidance & Collaboration
Since SMU’s team was new to digital lead generation, we provided hands-on guidance at every step. This included advising on ad copywriting, selecting the right targeting parameters, defining lead qualification criteria, and setting up conversion tracking.
Beyond just running campaigns, we made sure SMU’s internal team understood why each marketing component mattered and how to sustain it, laying the groundwork for long-term independence and growth.
Transforming SMU’s Digital Presence Into a Lead Engine
Within a short period, SMU began to see meaningful results from its new digital strategy:
More Qualified Leads
SMU’s business development team reported a 45% increase in leads across all their Executive Development Programmes, leading to 3.5x higher enrollments among the C-suites.
Significant Increase in Web Traffic
More prospective learners from targeted industries were visiting the landing page and exploring SMU’s executive education offerings.
Higher Search Rankings
SEO and link-building efforts enhanced SMU’s visibility for key search terms, laying a foundation for sustained inbound traffic.
By transitioning from a purely email-based approach to a comprehensive digital lead-generation system, SMU was able to tap into a much wider audience and establish a healthier, more predictable pipeline for its executive education programmes.
Our collaboration not only delivered immediate results but also equipped SMU with the digital know-how to sustain and scale these efforts over time.
Our Approach
When Collectius came to us with significant gaps in their SEO expertise and online visibility, we tailored a comprehensive approach that was designed to overhaul their digital presence and drive measurable improvements. Here's how we proceeded:
- SEO Audit: An on-page and off-page SEO audit was conducted to identify areas for improvement
- Google Search Console Installation: Google Search Console was installed on the Collectius website to monitor and track their analytics
- Digital Content Strategy: We produced a digital content strategy pack to help Collectius enhance their SEO goals
- Backlink Acquisition: Backlinks were purchased to improve Collectius' domain ranking Keyword Research: Extensive keyword research was performed to align content and SEO strategies with relevant search trends
Comprehensive SEO Audit
We initiated our process by conducting a detailed SEO audit for Collectius. This audit was crucial in pinpointing several critical areas where the company was underperforming.
Key issues we found included suboptimal keyword utilisation, missing meta descriptions, and poorly optimised content that wasn't fully aligned with target search queries.
Having identified areas for improvement, the Brew team worked with Collectius’ web development team to implement these fixes.
Following the initial SEO audit, we conducted a focused technical SEO audit for Collectius. A technical SEO audit is a thorough examination of a website’s technical infrastructure as it relates to its visibility and performance in search engines.
It evaluates several key elements, including site architecture, page speed, mobile-friendliness, indexing, crawlability, security, and use of technologies that may impact search engine access and efficiency.
This was a critical step to ensuring that the website’s infrastructure met modern search engine standards, which is pivotal for improving search rankings and user experience. Our audit revealed several key technical issues that needed immediate attention:
Slow Loading Speeds: We identified that the Collectius website had slower than optimal loading times. Slow speeds can significantly affect user experience and negatively impact search engine rankings. To address this, we optimised image sizes, minimised the use of blocking JavaScript, and implemented more efficient caching policies to enhance page load performance.
The Lack of a Sitemap: The absence of a sitemap was another critical gap. Sitemaps are essential as they help search engines more intelligently crawl the site and understand its structure. We created and submitted a comprehensive sitemap to Google, which facilitated better indexing of the website’s pages.
Mobile Optimization: Our audit also found that Collectius’ website was not optimised for mobile users. The Brew team provided detailed guidance to Collectius' web development team on best practices for mobile optimization going forward. This included advice on implementing accelerated mobile pages (AMP), optimising button sizes and touch targets, and ensuring text readability without requiring zoom.
Tracking & Monitoring of Collectius’ Web Performance
To better monitor and track the effectiveness of our strategies, we installed Google Search Console (GSC) on Collectius’ website. GSC allows us to gain valuable insights into the site's traffic, search performance, and any crawling errors, thereby enabling us to make data-driven decisions.
With data from GSC, we can identify which pages are performing well and which might require further optimization. This helps us refine SEO strategies and target specific issues with precision.
Digital Content Strategy
Recognizing the importance of content in SEO success, we crafted a comprehensive digital content strategy pack specifically tailored to Collectius' needs.
This strategy involved developing four customer personas and two end-user personas, representing the diverse segments of Collectius' audience. These personas helped us understand the distinct needs, behaviours, and preferences of different user types that interact with Collectius' services.
From this foundation, we were able to pinpoint the types of content and topics that would resonate most strongly with each persona. Leveraging these insights, we developed a series of SEO-optimised articles.
Each article was carefully written by our copywriter who made sure that keywords used were relevant with Collectius’ offerings and aligned with the interests of potential clients.
Taking this approach allowed us to attract more organic traffic to their site and significantly enhance visibility for these targeted search terms.
Backlink Acquisition
To strengthen Collectius’ domain authority and improve their search engine ranking, we strategically acquired high-quality backlinks. This effort was aimed at boosting their profile against competitors and increasing the trustworthiness of their site in the eyes of search engines.
Through our targeted backlink acquisition efforts, we gradually improved the organic traffic to Collectius' site.
As their domain authority increased, so did their visibility in search engine results, leading to more visitors naturally finding their way to the website without the need for paid advertising.
This steady increase in organic traffic not only enhanced their online presence but also contributed to higher engagement and conversion rates.
Outstanding SEO Results for Collectius
Our comprehensive SEO strategy delivered impressive results for Collectius, significantly enhancing their online visibility and search engine performance. Here are some of the key achievements:
Significant Traffic Growth
Over a period of six months, we achieved more than a 60% increase in organic traffic to Collectius' website. This surge in visitors was a direct result of our focused improvements in SEO practices and content strategies.
Expanded Keyword Reach
There was over a 70% increase in the number of organic keywords that Collectius ranks for on Google. This expansion in keyword coverage helped broaden their visibility and reach a wider audience interested in debt collection and financial services.
Top Rankings in Local Searches
Collectius' website achieved first-page rankings on Google's Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) for targeted searches in Singapore and Malaysia. Ranking on the first page for relevant searches significantly boosted their brand's visibility and accessibility in these key markets.
