Symptom 01
Spend rising, ROAS flat or falling for two or more consecutive cycles.Stan Consulting · Diagnostic engagement
Find the revenue leak before the next campaign cycle.
A written diagnostic of paid advertising and conversion architecture. Findings ranked by revenue impact. Delivered as a written report, not a sales call.
Request the Diagnostic01
Quick answer
The Conversion Second Opinion is a $999 paid marketing diagnostic. Active campaigns, attribution, conversion paths, and landing pages are reviewed against the standard fault list. Findings are ranked by revenue impact and delivered as a written report within 72 hours of read-only account access. The engagement is one-time. There is no retainer and no follow-up sequence. The fee is final on submission.
Diagnosis precedes prescription. Always.
02
When spend stops producing what it once did, the cause is structural. Not creative.
Most accounts that plateau are not failing because of weak creative or a mistuned bid strategy. The architecture beneath them has drifted out of alignment with how the platform actually rewards performance in 2026. The diagnostic names the structural failures. Cosmetic fixes get demoted.
What an account looks like when the architecture is the issue.
Conversions per dollar fall while platform-reported metrics stay stable. Performance Max consumes branded search and reports it as new acquisition. Retargeting optimises against the conversion event that already happened. The agency adds more campaigns to compensate; the spend grows; the marginal return declines.
The pattern is not unique. It is the predictable result of running 2024 architecture on 2026 platform behaviour. The fix is structural. The diagnostic names which structures, which sequence, and what the revenue impact is per fix.
What the diagnostic does and what it does not.
The diagnostic identifies the structural revenue leaks in the campaign and conversion architecture. It produces a prioritised fix list ranked by revenue impact and implementation effort. It does not run a strategy session. It does not pitch a retainer. It does not solve product, pricing, or category problems. The diagnostic finds marketing leaks, not market-fit ones.
Symptom 02
Performance Max reporting new conversions that branded search would have closed anyway.Symptom 03
Landing pages converting under 1.5% on paid traffic with no clear architectural cause.03
Five layers reviewed against the standard fault list. One ranked report.
The diagnostic moves through five layers in fixed order. Each layer has a documented fault list built from twenty years of paid-media practice. Findings get attributed to a layer, ranked by revenue impact, and sequenced for implementation.
Figure · The diagnostic moves through five layers in fixed order. Findings are attributed to a layer and ranked by revenue impact. Cosmetic fixes are demoted; structural fixes are sequenced first.
The operating principle
A diagnostic that does not name what is structurally wrong is a sales call in disguise.
01
Findings are named.
Each finding cites the account, the layer, and the evidence. No vague generalities.
02
Fixes are ranked
by revenue impact and implementation effort. Not by what is easy to sell next.
03
The engagement ends
at the report. About one in three engagements never go further. That is the design.
04
From intake to delivered report: four steps, four windows.
The process is fixed. The intake form opens the engagement and the $999 fee is final at submission. Read-only access starts the 72-hour clock. The report is delivered as a written PDF with the prioritised fix list embedded.
Day 0
Step A
Intake
The form is submitted. Business context, platforms, revenue range, and the specific commercial problem are stated. Payment is collected once intake confirms fit.
Day 0–1
Step B
Access
Read-only access to the relevant ad accounts (Google, Meta, Shopify) and analytics is granted. The 72-hour clock begins on access confirmation.
Day 1–3
Step C
Diagnosis
The five-layer review runs. Each finding is named, the evidence cited, the revenue impact estimated. Cosmetic fixes are demoted; structural fixes lead.
Day 3
Step D
Report
The written diagnostic report and prioritised fix list are delivered. Optional 30-minute clarification call is available. The engagement closes at delivery.
05
Two columns. State the situation. Pick the column. Save both sides time.
The diagnostic is calibrated for a specific kind of account. Below the calibration line the structural problems are usually visible without a second opinion. Above it, the diagnostic earns its fee in the first finding.
The diagnostic is for
Established paid-media accounts that have stopped responding to optimisation.
- Active spend at $5,000 monthly or more on paid media (Google, Meta, Shopify, or a combination).
- A live commercial site on Shopify, WordPress, ClickFunnels, or a custom build. Not a dormant landing page.
- A commercial result that has plateaued or fallen for two or more consecutive cycles.
- An owner or operator who can grant read-only access to the relevant accounts within 24 hours.
- Willingness to receive findings in writing rather than be sold a retainer on a call.
The diagnostic is not for
Businesses where the structural problem is not in the marketing layer.
- Pre-launch businesses without active paid campaigns. There is nothing to diagnose yet.
- Spend below $1,500 monthly on paid media. The structural failures are usually visible without a second opinion.
- Product-market-fit problems mistaken for marketing problems. The diagnostic finds marketing leaks, not category fit.
- Visitors looking for a free strategy session. The engagement is paid, the deliverable is the report.
- Any case where the visitor is unwilling to grant read-only account access.
06
Six artefacts. One PDF. Each artefact ranked, evidenced, and dated.
The deliverable is a written report. No slide decks, no proposal sections, no pricing for the next engagement embedded in the document. Six structured artefacts, each one usable on its own.
01
Account architecture map
Current campaign type mix, audience overlap, and bid-signal hygiene named at the structural level. Where the architecture has drifted from how the platform rewards spend in 2026.
02
Attribution reconciliation
Platform metrics reconciled against GA4 and against the commerce platform. Branded search audited separately. The number you trust gets named once and defended.
03
Conversion-path map
From first paid impression to completed transaction. Every drop-off named. Mobile and desktop split. The largest revenue leak in the path is flagged with estimated impact.
04
Landing page review
Above-fold congruence with the ad creative. CTA hierarchy. Speed, trust signals, and form architecture. Two to four named structural fixes per page reviewed.
05
Feed and creative signal
Catalog hygiene, asset rotation, and hook-to-promise fit. Where the feed is silently degrading auction performance. Where creative is starving Performance Max of variation.
06
Prioritised fix list
The action document. Every finding consolidated into one ranked list. Each item has revenue impact, implementation effort, and sequence position. Implement in-house or scope a Sprint.
Specimen · from a 2026 Conversion Second Opinion
Finding 4.2 · Conversion architecture
Cart-to-checkout drop-off on this Shopify Plus instance: 38.2%. Industry median for the apparel vertical: 24.7%. The cart drawer renders three competing CTAs above the fold; eye-track simulation flags the gold "Continue Shopping" as the dominant target. The dominant CTA pulls the visitor backward in the funnel.
RecommendationDemote "Continue Shopping" to a tertiary text link in the drawer footer. Rebuild "Checkout" as the primary action: 64px height, full-width, fixed-bottom on mobile. Preserve "View Cart" as a secondary action only when there are three or more line items.
Estimated recovery 8–12 pts cart-to-checkout drop, first 30-day window. Revenue lift: $42K–$67K monthly at current traffic.
Brand and platform identifiers withheld under NDA. One excerpt of a 27-section CSO deliverable.
07
Four engagements, four diagnostic patterns. Names redacted. Numbers documented.
The diagnostic surfaces patterns the in-house team has stopped seeing because they are inside the account. These are four documented cases. Identifiers redacted under NDA. The structural finding and the revenue impact are not.
Vertical · Shopify apparel
703%
Documented impression spike
Performance Max was cannibalising branded search. Restructure separated brand-protection from acquisition. Impressions on the acquisition campaign rose 703 percent within two cycles.
Case · documented · NDA
2.4×
Qualified-lead rate uplift
SaaS B2B · documented · NDA
Attribution layer was crediting paid clicks with conversions originating from organic. Reconciliation cut reported ROAS by 30 percent and uncovered the actual structural leak in mid-funnel.
41%
Drop in CAC after restructure
DTC consumer · documented · NDA
Above-fold congruence between ad creative and landing page was off by an entire promise. Restructure aligned the hook to the commercial offer. CAC dropped 41 percent on the same media spend.
1 / 3
Engagements end at the diagnostic
Pattern · aggregate
Across the documented engagements, about one in three concluded at the report itself. The in-house team implemented the prioritised fix list directly. The cascade is for the other two.
08
Questions about scope, fee, access, and what comes after.
What is the Conversion Second Opinion?
A $999 written diagnostic of paid advertising and conversion architecture. Active campaigns, attribution, conversion paths, and landing pages are reviewed against the standard fault list. Findings are ranked by revenue impact and delivered as a written report within 72 hours of account access. The diagnostic is a one-time engagement with no retainer.
What does the $999 include?
A structural review of the paid advertising accounts in scope (Google Ads, Meta, Shopify Performance Max, or a combination), the analytics layer (GA4 or equivalent), the conversion architecture, and the landing pages those campaigns send traffic to. The output is a written diagnostic report with each finding named, evidence cited, and a prioritised fix list ranked by estimated revenue impact and implementation effort.
How is the diagnostic delivered?
The report is delivered in writing within 72 hours of read-only account access being confirmed. The report is the deliverable; a phone call is not required. An optional 30-minute clarification call is available after delivery if the findings need walking through.
Is the Conversion Second Opinion refundable?
No. The $999 fee is final on submission of the intake form. The scope of what is reviewed and what is delivered is fully specified above, so the engagement is unambiguous before payment. About one in three engagements end at the diagnostic itself; that is the trust mechanism, not a refund window.
Is a retainer or follow-up engagement required?
No. The diagnostic is a one-time engagement. About one in three engagements end at the diagnostic itself; the findings are enough for the in-house team to implement. The remaining cascade into Revenue Sprint, Consulting, or Marketing System Build only when the situation warrants it. The diagnostic does not auto-renew or up-sell.
What businesses is this for?
Businesses with active paid advertising campaigns where the spend has stopped producing the result it once did. The diagnostic is calibrated for accounts spending $5,000 monthly or more on paid media, with a Shopify, WordPress, ClickFunnels, or custom-built site behind them. Below that threshold the structural problems usually do not require a second opinion to identify.
What businesses is this not for?
Businesses without active paid campaigns. Businesses looking for a free strategy session. Businesses where the issue is product-market fit rather than marketing architecture. Businesses spending less than $1,500 monthly on paid media. The diagnostic finds structural revenue leaks; it does not solve product, pricing, or category problems.
Who delivers the diagnostic?
The diagnostic is led by the principal at Stan Consulting LLC. Twenty years of practitioner experience in paid advertising and conversion architecture, including documented Performance Max work that produced a 703 percent impression spike on a Shopify account. Principal credentials are on the About page; the case study is on Knowledge.
Section 09 · Request the diagnostic
Open the engagement.
Seven fields. Two acknowledgments. The clock starts after access is granted. Not before. Response within one business day; if it is not a fit, that is the response.
703%documented PMax impression lift
41%wasted spend removed after restructure
1/3engagements end at the report