Session 9: Advanced Funnel Audit & Competitive Benchmarking

Block 1: Advanced Strategy, Funnel Mapping & The A1 Deck · Phase 2: The Agency Simulation, continuing from Phase 1 Session 8.

View lecture slides: Session 9 Slides

Template: use the Friction-Fix CRO Memo to write up your single biggest leak — stage, friction, fix, metric.

1-Hour Lecture (Theory & Strategy)

  • In Phase 1 you drew a funnel. In an agency, you audit one — finding where real leaks occur between Awareness → Consideration → Conversion → Retention.
  • Diagnostic questions per stage: What is the conversion rate stage-to-stage? Where is the biggest drop-off? Is the leak a traffic problem, a message problem, or a friction problem?
  • Competitive benchmarking: identify 2–3 direct competitors and estimate their Share of Voice (organic + paid) using free tools (Google search, Meta Ad Library, SimilarWeb free tier).
  • Read the full funnel theory here: Customer Journey concept and Search Engine Fundamentals (for organic SOV signals).
  • Managerial framing: an agency doesn’t get to invent a fresh funnel every time — it inherits a client’s existing (often broken) funnel and must justify every fix with evidence.
flowchart TD
    A[Awareness] -->|stage CR| B[Consideration]
    B -->|stage CR| C[Conversion]
    C -->|stage CR| D[Retention]

    L[Single biggest leak] -.-> C
    D1{Leak type?}
    D1 --> T[Traffic problem]
    D1 --> M[Message problem]
    D1 --> F[Friction problem]

    SOV[Competitive SOV benchmark] -.-> A

    style C stroke:#c00,stroke-width:2px
    style L fill:#ffe0e0

Figure 1: Funnel audit with leak diagnosis

1-Hour Lab (Agency Execution)

Work on your Phase 1 sandbox as if a client had just handed it to you for an agency retainer.

  1. Map your current funnel stage-by-stage using real numbers where you have them (visits, clicks, form fills) or clearly labelled assumptions where you don’t.
  2. Identify the single biggest leak — the stage with the worst relative drop-off.
  3. Pick 2 competitors. Use the Meta Ad Library and a Google search for your core keyword to note: how many ads are they running, what’s their apparent positioning, and one on-page SEO signal (title tag, page speed) you can observe.
  4. Local data baseline: Compare your leak diagnosis against the published Home services stack case — note which layer (Ads or SEO) moved the needle for a similar service business.
  5. Write 3 bullet hypotheses for why the leak exists (e.g., “weak CTA copy,” “no retargeting,” “slow mobile load”).

Deliverable: Feeds Assignment A1

Your funnel audit + competitive SOV notes become the Problem/Opportunity Insight section of your Campaign Strategy Deck (A1). Keep this to one page — you will expand it in Session 10 and 11.