Paid channels
Paid social, paid search and Shopping: where rivals advertise and what they lead with.
Stage two · e-commerce · specialist-run
Your store converts the visitors. The channels bring them.
The website comparison scores how your store turns visitors into customers. The channel comparison scores how you and the same three rivals bring visitors in and bring them back. Same format: scorecard, quick wins, bigger opportunities, walkthrough.
Offered · run by a specialist Offered after the website comparison, run by a specialist and quoted per brand on the walkthrough call. Not self-serve.
- From paid social to marketplaces
- Eight channels
- Source: src/app/intel-loops/page.tsx (CHANNELS) · checked 2026-10-13
- Scoped and delivered by a person
- Specialist-run
- Source: src/app/intel-loops/page.tsx (Stage 2) · checked 2026-10-13
- No list price yet
- Quoted per brand
- Source: docs/memory/DECISIONS.md (stage-two fee not set) · checked 2026-10-13
What it is
What it is, and how it works.
The paid second stage after the online-store Intel loop: how you and the same three rivals bring customers in and back, compared channel by channel and run by a specialist.
A store's marketing budget goes on two jobs: bringing people to the site and bringing them back. A website comparison sees neither. The channel comparison is the second stage of Intel loops for online stores. It looks at where you and the same three rivals show up, how, and how hard each channel is working.
It covers eight channels: paid social; paid search and Shopping; organic social; email and SMS; reviews and reputation; off-site search; tracking and measurement; and marketplaces, affiliates and influencers. The output follows the website comparison's format, so the two read together: a scorecard, the top quick wins, the bigger opportunities, and a walkthrough with the specialist.
A specialist runs it. Two channels come from sources the engine already reads: paid-search data and search rankings. The other six are gathered and checked by hand for your brand and your three rivals. Because the work differs by brand, we scope and quote it on the walkthrough call for your free website comparison, and only if it makes sense for you.
The question it answers: which channel to fund next, with evidence about your actual rivals instead of industry averages.
Who it is for
- Stores that have had the free website comparison and want the channel view
- Owners deciding where the next pound of marketing should go
- Teams that want rivals' channel activity laid out in one place
What it does
What it reads, and what you see.
Owned and earned channels
Organic social, email and SMS, reviews and reputation.
Search and measurement
Off-site search, plus whether each store is set up to measure what it spends.
Marketplaces and partners
Marketplaces, affiliates and influencers, where they apply.
By hand, or with it
The same job, two ways.
By hand
- Piece together rivals' channels from scattered sightings
- Fund the channel the loudest voice prefers
- Benchmark against averages, not your actual rivals
- No shared format with your website findings
With Channel comparison
- Eight channels compared for you and three rivals
- The same scorecard format as the website comparison
- Quick wins and bigger opportunities, channel by channel
- A specialist walkthrough
What you walk away with
What you keep.
A channel scorecard
You and three rivals, across eight channels.
A funding case
Evidence on which channel is most worth the next spend.
Quick wins
Channel changes worth making first.
One picture
Website and channels in the same format, read together.
How it works
Three steps.
Have the website comparison
The free first stage, checked by a specialist.
Scope it on the call
If it makes sense, we quote the channel comparison for your brand.
Receive and walk through it
Scorecard, quick wins and opportunities, with the specialist.
Limits
What it does not do.
- It is not self-serve and there is no button to buy it.
- Of the eight channels, only paid search and search rankings come from sources the engine reads automatically today. The rest is gathered by hand.
- Public ad libraries, email sign-up inboxes and backlink data are not connected to the engine yet; where the comparison uses them, the specialist gathers them by hand.
- It describes what rivals do in public, not how well it works for them; spend and results are not public for most channels.
- It follows the e-commerce website comparison; it is not offered on its own.
Price
Start with the free comparisonQuoted per brand on the walkthrough call.
There is no list price yet. We quote it only if the website comparison suggests it is worth doing.
FAQ
Channel comparison: questions
Can I buy it directly?
No. It is scoped on the walkthrough call for your free website comparison and quoted for your brand if it makes sense.
Why is there no price on the page?
Because the work varies by brand and the fee has not been set as a list price. When it is, the pricing page will show it.
Is it automated?
Partly. Paid-search data and search rankings come from sources the engine reads; the other channels are gathered and checked by a specialist.
Do I need the website comparison first?
Yes. The channel comparison uses the same three rivals and the same format, and we scope it from that conversation.
Run it on your own business.
Offered after the website comparison, run by a specialist and quoted per brand on the walkthrough call. Not self-serve.