Who You Will Be Working With
When you engage my services, you work directly with me, Dan Stratford. I am a digital marketing strategist and executive with over 30 years of professional experience, and I currently consult for multiple companies globally. Whether we are building a demand generation strategy for your enterprise or dissecting complex algorithmic evidence for a federal court case, I personally lead the engagement. My background uniquely combines executive-level strategy development with hands-on execution and analysis, allowing me to evaluate both high-level intent and low-level implementation details in digital marketing matters.My Background and ExperienceMy expertise spans the full lifecycle of digital advertising, online branding, audience acquisition, attribution, and monetization.
The Early Internet Era:
I have been involved in the industry since the mid-1990s, when the discipline was commonly referred to as “Internet Marketing”. I began optimizing websites for search visibility in 1997, prior to the existence of Google, when search engines included Yahoo!, Excite, Lycos, and Ask Jeeves.
Enterprise Digital Transformation:
From 2002 to 2006, I worked at Dex Media as a Regional Digital Marketing Manager, where I trained hundreds of sales professionals and became one of the first approximately 350 “Advanced Google AdWords Certified” professionals in the United States. I later held a similar role at LexisNexis / Martindale-Hubbell, educating attorneys and sales teams on digital marketing through continuing legal education (CLE) courses across the country.
Agency Ownership & Executive Leadership:
In 2008, I founded a digital marketing agency that later merged with and operated under the name C1 Partners. My teams and I managed strategies across SEO, paid media, email, programmatic advertising, and eCommerce platforms for small, medium, and enterprise-level businesses worldwide. After selling my agency in 2015, I continued as a senior consultant and executive, managing multi-million-dollar monthly digital marketing budgets and advising executive teams and boards.
What Makes Me Unique
The most significant differentiator I bring to the table is that I am a practitioner-executive hybrid. Most consultants at my level only offer high-level theory, while most agencies only focus on task execution. I do both.
I currently serve as the owner and operator of Kick It 3v3 Soccer, a Colorado-based national soccer tournament company. In this role, I personally develop and execute all digital marketing strategies, including SEO, Google Ads, email marketing, social media, podcasting, Amazon, and programmatic retargeting campaigns. Because I am actively running these systems today, my strategic advice is grounded in current, real-world mechanics rather than outdated theory. Furthermore, my formal education—including a B.S. in Biology and an MBA—ensures my strategies and audits are rooted in rigorous analytical and business fundamentals.
Expert Witness & Litigation Consulting
I apply this deep, practitioner-level knowledge to the legal field by providing expert witness services on a part-time basis. I have been retained and disclosed as an expert witness and consulting expert in multiple state and federal courts.
Scope of Practice:
My expert work focuses on research, analysis, and expert opinions related to digital marketing, SEO, paid search/Google Ads, eCommerce platforms, influencer marketing, platform behavior, and monetization models.
Objective Analysis:
While I am compensated for my time, my opinions are strictly independent, research-driven, and fact-based. I evaluate evidence objectively, analyze both sides of disputed issues, and base my conclusions on industry standards, platform mechanics, and my three decades of professional experience.
Translating Complexity:
A core part of my value to legal teams is explaining technical functionality in an accessible manner. Whether I am conducting keyword intent analysis, evaluating ROAS profitability modeling, or writing an expert report on online tracking practices, my goal is to explain digital data in clear and accessible terms for the Court. My expert services encompass everything from independent research and empirical testing to providing deposition- and trial-ready opinions.