Second Step started with a single belief: a marketing team that can't engineer is half a team. Seven years later, we're the proof of concept.
We're not an agency with a tech offering bolted on. We're a team where every engagement starts with data, tracking is non-negotiable, and automation isn't the "next phase" — it's built in from month one.
// 2017 — the start
Started as a solo consultant managing Google Ads for small businesses in India. The work was simple: set up campaigns, monitor spend, report on clicks. But the recurring problem was always the same — clients couldn't tell if it was working.
That's when the obsession with attribution started. Not because it was required. Because it was the only honest answer to "is this working?"
// 2019 — the shift
Took on larger accounts — $10K/month, then $30K/month. At that scale, broken tracking doesn't just leave gaps in reporting. It actively destroys campaign performance. Smart Bidding learns on wrong signals. Budgets shift to the wrong campaigns.
Rebuilt every client's tracking from scratch. Learned GTM, GA4, server-side implementation, Enhanced Conversions before most agencies had heard the term. Performance followed — not because of better bidding, but because the machine finally had real data.
// 2022 — the team
Added Swati, Rakshit, and Natasha — each deep in their domain. Not generalists. Specialists who complement each other. Swati runs large Indian-market accounts. Rakshit owns international retainers. Natasha handles reporting and automation infrastructure.
For the first time, we could take a client from zero — build their tracking, structure their campaigns, automate their reporting — without handing anything off. One team, start to finish.
// 2024 → today
The AI shift changed everything about our infrastructure. We've built audit engines that run 40+ checks on client accounts weekly. LLM-powered workflows for copy testing, keyword research, and competitive analysis. Custom agents that replace analysts for routine reporting tasks.
Second Step is now a team of 4 humans and several AI systems working in parallel. The goal: give clients enterprise-grade marketing operations at the cost of a boutique retainer.
// the team
Four people. Each owns a domain completely. No juniors on client work, no account managers between you and the people doing the work.
Leads overall account strategy, tracking architecture, and AI ops. 7 years in paid media across US, UK, India, and Canada markets.
Manages large Indian-market accounts (Awign, ACI). Specializes in lead gen optimization, PMax restructuring, and performance reporting.
Runs US and Canadian retainers (Barten Bros, Redpath). Deep in local services Google Ads, conversion rate optimization, and landing page strategy.
// how we work
These aren't values written for a website. They're the things that have caused us to lose deals — and kept us from taking on clients who weren't a fit.
01
We won't run campaigns without clean attribution. If your tracking is broken, we fix it first. Always.
02
You own all accounts, all access, all data. We walk away empty-handed if the relationship ends. That's the only way trust works.
03
We don't take a % of ad spend. Our incentive is performance, not volume. Your budget goes to platforms — not to us.
04
Weekly updates, weekly changes, weekly wins. If something's wrong, you find out in 7 days — not when the monthly report drops.
// work with us
Start with a free audit. We'll review your setup and tell you honestly if and how we can help.
$ run audit.sh