What an Operator Sees That a Consultant Doesn't
Most paid media consultants came up through agencies — building campaigns, managing budgets, reporting on results. That background gives you execution knowledge. It doesn't give you the view from inside the auction, inside the ad server, inside the vendor relationship.
I spent over a decade on the sell side of AdTech — at Teads, in programmatic, in video advertising across EMEA. I've sat in the rooms where floor prices are set, where DSP deals are negotiated, where attribution models are explained to clients in ways that favor the platform. When I look at your numbers, I'm reading them with that context — not just comparing them to a benchmark table.
- Compare your CPA to industry average
- Suggest "testing different creatives"
- Recommend increasing budget to fix delivery issues
- Tell you your ROAS is "good for the industry"
- Report on metrics without explaining why they're where they are
- Identify whether your ROAS is real or an attribution artifact
- Diagnose whether high CPM reflects poor setup or market conditions
- Explain what your agency's fee structure is actually costing you
- Tell you whether LinkedIn is right for your ICP at your current ACV
- Give you 3 specific fixes with expected impact — not vague suggestions
What I Actually Diagnose
These are representative examples of what operator-level diagnosis looks like — not what generic benchmark comparison looks like.
Common patterns I identify in audits:
What a Real Audit Looks Like — vs. What Most Produce
Most paid media audits follow the same structure: pull benchmark numbers, compare account metrics, list recommendations. The output is a document that says "your CPA is above the industry average, consider improving Quality Score and refreshing creative." Anyone who's received one of these knows the feeling — technically correct, operationally useless.
The reason they're useless is that they diagnose against averages rather than against the specific business's economics. An audit that tells you "your CPA is $120, industry average is $86" gives you no actionable information if your break-even CPA is $180. You're $60 below your ceiling. Everything is fine. The audit made you worried about nothing.
An operator-level audit starts from different questions:
What is your break-even CPA? AOV × gross margin. If you don't know this number, you cannot evaluate whether your current CPA is good, bad, or irrelevant.
What is your actual new-customer acquisition rate? Not total conversions — first-time buyers or new leads specifically. If this number is flat or declining while CPA looks "fine," the campaigns are capturing existing demand rather than growing the business.
Is your platform-reported CPA close to your business-calculated CAC? If CAC is significantly above platform CPA, there's attribution overlap — the platforms are collectively claiming more credit than the conversions justify. Optimizing platform CPA in this situation is optimizing a fiction.
Which variable in the CPA chain changed first? CPA = CPC ÷ CVR. If CVR fell before CPA rose, the problem is post-click — landing page, offer, or audience temperature. If CPC rose before CPA rose, the problem is auction-level. These require different responses. Most audits don't ask the sequence question.
After 10+ years on the sell side of AdTech and in programmatic across EMEA, the patterns I see most often are not the obvious ones. They're attribution inflation masking weak performance, agencies optimizing the dashboard rather than the business, and bidding strategies configured to produce good reports rather than good outcomes. These don't appear in benchmark comparisons. They appear when you understand the mechanics well enough to read the numbers against the business context rather than against an industry average.
Services
Campaign Benchmark Audit
I review your Google Ads, Meta, or LinkedIn account against real 2026 benchmarks — not industry averages, but what your specific setup should be producing given your vertical, audience, bid strategy, and spend level. The output is a written report with the root cause of underperformance and three specific, prioritized fixes.
- CPM, CPC, CTR, CPA, and ROAS diagnosis by campaign type and objective
- Quality Score and relevance score assessment at keyword or ad set level
- Attribution model review — whether your reported ROAS reflects reality
- Bid strategy analysis — whether Smart Bidding is configured correctly
- Audience and targeting efficiency review
- 3 highest-leverage optimization recommendations with expected impact
LinkedIn Ads Strategy Session
LinkedIn's $5–12 CPC is justified for some businesses and completely wrong for others. Before scaling or cutting LinkedIn, run the economics. I'll calculate your break-even CPL from your actual LTV and close rates, review your current targeting and creative architecture, and give you a direct answer on whether LinkedIn makes sense — and if so, exactly how to set it up.
- Break-even CPL calculation based on your actual ACV, LTV, and close rate
- ICP definition to campaign targeting translation — job function vs title vs seniority
- Audience temperature diagnosis — why your CTR and CVR are where they are
- Format and objective recommendation (Lead Gen Form vs website click, CPC vs CPM)
- Budget allocation model across funnel stages
Programmatic & AdTech Advisory
If you're running programmatic display, working with DSPs, evaluating AdTech vendors, or trying to understand what your agency is actually billing you for — this is where sell-side AdTech experience is directly useful. I know how the margins work, where the inventory actually comes from, and what the standard agency markups look like at each layer of the programmatic stack.
- DSP and SSP landscape assessment for your specific use case and budget
- Agency contract and fee structure review — tech fees, data fees, platform markups
- Programmatic CPM, viewability, and IVT benchmark interpretation
- Vendor evaluation framework for DSP, DMP, or attribution tool selection
- PMP deal structure review — whether your deals are priced correctly
Who This Is For — and Who It Isn't
- In-house performance marketers at SMBs or scale-ups — you know enough to implement, but need an outside read
- Agency media buyers who want a second opinion before a client conversation
- Founders running their own ads before scaling spend significantly
- Marketing managers who inherited a paid media setup and aren't sure if it's healthy
- Anyone whose ROAS looks fine but profit doesn't match
- Enterprises with large in-house AdTech teams — you have the expertise internally
- Agencies looking to outsource campaign execution — I don't manage campaigns
- Businesses spending under $3K/month on paid media — the audit cost won't have sufficient ROI
- Anyone looking for a vendor who will tell them everything is fine
How It Works
Submit the form below
Describe your situation — platforms, approximate spend, what you're trying to figure out. No preparation needed; just a clear description of the problem.
I confirm scope within 2 business days
I'll review your request and confirm whether it's a good fit, which service applies, and what access I'll need (read-only account access or a call — depending on service type).
Audit or session
For written audits: read-only account access + 5 business days. For sessions: 60–90 minute call, recorded if you prefer. I work through the diagnostic framework live so you can ask questions in context.
Written output
Every engagement ends with a written document: the specific finding, the root cause, and the three highest-leverage actions — with expected impact for each. Concrete enough to implement without a follow-up call.
Get in Touch
Describe what you're working on. I'll reply within 2 business days to confirm whether I can help and what the right engagement looks like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you manage campaigns?
No. I diagnose and advise — I don't take over execution. The output is a specific diagnosis and prioritized recommendations that you or your team implement. This keeps the engagement clean, fast, and without any conflict of interest.
What account access do you need?
Read-only access to your ad platform(s) for written audits — no ability to make changes. For strategy sessions, a screenshare or exported data export is sufficient. You can revoke access immediately after the report is delivered.
Is there a minimum spend level?
The audit cost makes most sense for accounts spending $3K+/month. Below that level, the fee represents a disproportionate share of your total spend. If you're below that threshold, the free benchmark tools and guides on this site will give you most of what you need.
What if I'm not sure which service I need?
Submit the form with "Not sure yet" selected and a description of your situation. I'll recommend the right engagement type — or tell you the problem is simple enough that it doesn't need a paid engagement at all.