Growth & Strategy
Personas
Ecommerce
Time to ROI
Medium-term (3-6 months)
Picture this: Your business is generating decent revenue, ROAS looks respectable at 2.5, and on paper everything seems fine. But there's this nagging feeling something's wrong. That was exactly where my e-commerce client found themselves - completely dependent on Meta's algorithm and ad costs for survival.
Here's the uncomfortable truth most marketers won't tell you: if your entire growth engine depends on a single platform, you're not building a business - you're renting space in someone else's house. And that landlord can change the rules anytime they want.
Instead of optimizing ad copy or testing new audiences like every "growth expert" recommends, I took a completely different approach. I spent three months building what they'd been missing: a comprehensive digital distribution system that didn't live or die by Facebook's whims.
In this playbook, you'll discover:
Why single-channel dependency is a hidden vulnerability killing businesses
My exact 3-month distribution overhaul process that transformed attribution
How to embrace the "dark funnel" instead of fighting it
The strategic shift from control to coverage that changes everything
Real tactics that work across ecommerce and SaaS environments
Industry Reality
What every marketer has already heard
Walk into any marketing conference or scroll through LinkedIn, and you'll hear the same recycled advice about digital distribution:
"Find your best performing channel and double down." Every growth guru preaches this gospel. Focus your budget. Optimize your funnel. Master one channel before expanding to others.
The conventional wisdom makes logical sense:
Identify your highest ROAS channel
Allocate 70-80% of budget there
Optimize until you hit diminishing returns
Then gradually test other channels
Scale what works, kill what doesn't
This approach exists because it's measurable. CFOs love it. Agencies can show clear attribution. Dashboards look clean with obvious winners and losers.
But here's where conventional wisdom becomes conventional trap: it assumes customer journeys are linear and attribution models are accurate. In reality, customers discover you on Instagram, research you on Google, get retargeted on Facebook, read reviews elsewhere, then maybe convert weeks later through a completely different touchpoint.
The "best performing channel" in your dashboard might just be the one getting credit for conversions that actually started somewhere else entirely. Meanwhile, you're starving the channels doing the heavy lifting of awareness and consideration.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
When this e-commerce client approached me, they were the poster child for what I call "platform hostage syndrome." Their numbers looked solid - consistent revenue through Facebook Ads with that respectable 2.5 ROAS I mentioned. Most consultants would have tweaked ad creative and called it optimized.
But I saw the warning signs immediately. Their entire customer acquisition was running through a single pipe. If Facebook's algorithm hiccupped, if CPMs spiked, if their ad account got flagged - their business would flatline overnight.
The client had fallen into this trap gradually. Facebook worked well in the beginning, so they kept feeding it more budget. Other channels got neglected. Their team became Facebook specialists. Their creative assets were optimized for Facebook formats. Their measurement stack was built around Facebook attribution.
What really opened my eyes was digging into their customer behavior data. I found customers mentioning they'd "seen the brand everywhere" before buying, but Facebook was claiming credit for 80% of conversions. That attribution gap told me everything.
The real wake-up call came during iOS 14.5 rollout. Their tracking broke. ROAS dropped overnight. Suddenly, they couldn't tell what was working anymore. That's when they realized they'd built their entire growth engine on quicksand.
I knew we needed to completely rethink their approach to digital distribution - not just add channels, but architect a system that could survive platform changes and actually capture the complex customer journey happening in the wild.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Instead of band-aid solutions, I led a complete 3-month distribution architecture rebuild. This wasn't about testing new ad platforms - it was about creating multiple pathways for customers to discover and trust the brand.
Month 1: SEO Foundation Building
The first priority was organic search presence. I restructured their entire website for discoverability, not just conversion. We optimized product pages for long-tail keywords, built comprehensive category descriptions, and created content that answered customer questions throughout their research process.
The key insight: customers were searching for solutions, not brands. By ranking for problem-focused keywords, we could intercept them earlier in their journey.
Month 2: Content Distribution Network
Next, we built content specifically designed for different platforms and intents. Blog posts optimized for search. Visual content for Pinterest. Educational videos for YouTube. Email sequences for retention. Each piece of content was native to its platform while maintaining brand consistency.
This created what I call "everywhere presence" - customers encountered the brand across multiple touchpoints, building familiarity and trust over time.
Month 3: Attribution Reality Check
Here's where it gets interesting. Within weeks of launching the SEO strategy, Facebook's reported ROAS jumped from 2.5 to 8-9. Most marketers would celebrate their "improved ad performance." But I knew better.
The reality? SEO was driving significant traffic and conversions, but Facebook's attribution model was claiming credit for organic wins. This revealed the dark funnel in action - customers were discovering through search, researching across platforms, then completing purchase after seeing a retargeting ad.
Instead of fighting this attribution confusion, we embraced it. We stopped trying to track every interaction and focused on expanding visibility across all possible touchpoints. More distribution channels meant more opportunities for customers to discover and trust the brand, regardless of which touchpoint got the "credit."
SEO Strategy
Complete website restructuring for discoverability, targeting problem-focused keywords customers actually search for
Content Network
Platform-native content creation across search, social, email, and video to build "everywhere presence"
Attribution Embrace
Accepting the dark funnel reality and focusing on coverage over trackable control
Results Tracking
Monitoring overall business metrics rather than individual channel attribution
The transformation was remarkable, but not in the way traditional marketers measure success. Instead of focusing on channel-specific metrics, we tracked business impact:
Direct Search Growth: Organic traffic increased 340% within 4 months as the SEO foundation took hold. Customers started finding the brand through solution-focused searches rather than just retargeting ads.
Customer Journey Complexity: Post-purchase surveys revealed customers touched an average of 5.2 brand touchpoints before converting, up from 2.1 when they were Facebook-dependent. This was actually positive - it showed broader awareness and stronger consideration.
Platform Risk Reduction: When Facebook experienced technical issues in month 4, overall revenue only dropped 12% instead of the 60-80% drops they'd experienced previously. The distribution network provided resilience.
Most importantly, the total addressable market expanded. By ranking for hundreds of long-tail keywords and appearing across platforms, they reached customers who would never have seen their Facebook ads - different demographics, search behaviors, and purchasing patterns.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
This experience fundamentally changed how I think about digital distribution and customer acquisition:
Attribution lies, but distribution doesn't: Stop believing your analytics dashboard tells the complete story. Real customer journeys are messy and cross-platform.
Embrace the dark funnel: Instead of trying to track every interaction, focus on expanding visibility across all possible customer touchpoints.
Platform dependence is business risk: Single-channel success creates vulnerability. Diversification protects against algorithm changes and market shifts.
Coverage beats control: You can't control the customer journey, but you can increase your chances of being discovered at multiple stages.
Think distribution, not channels: Focus on creating pathways for discovery rather than optimizing individual platforms in isolation.
Content should be platform-native: Each touchpoint needs content designed for that specific platform and user intent, not repurposed generic material.
Business metrics matter most: Track revenue, customer lifetime value, and market expansion rather than getting lost in channel-specific vanity metrics.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS companies, focus on:
SEO-optimized use case pages and integration guides
Educational content across search and social platforms
Multiple trial signup touchpoints and nurture sequences
For your Ecommerce store
For ecommerce stores, prioritize:
Product-focused SEO and visual content for discovery platforms
Cross-platform social proof and user-generated content
Email sequences for repeat purchase and lifetime value optimization