SEO & Lead Gen Review — 2026-01-30

Overview

Monthly check-in between Sebastian Gant (Asymmetric) and Nicole Hadaway (Axley) covering SEO content progress, PPC budget status, website navigation cleanup, and a future PI video production project. First meeting since before the holidays.

Attendees: Nicole Hadaway (nhadaway@axley.com), Sebastian Gant (sebastian.gant@asymmetric.pro)

Key Decisions

• SEO is the current top priority — goal is to reduce reliance on expensive PPC, particularly for PI and Family Law where CPCs are prohibitive
• Family Law PPC remains paused until at least April due to overwhelming lead volume (January is peak divorce season); will experiment with Local Service Ads in Waukesha before reactivating
• Criminal PPC budget consolidated — DUI and criminal catch-all campaigns merged into a single $2,000/month combined budget
• PI PPC remains active at its existing daily budget (~$65/day); acknowledged that meaningful lead volume increases would require budget well beyond current levels
• Website navigation restructure confirmed — add a dedicated "Locations" menu item housing all office/directions pages; strip location details from the Contact page (form only); Contact moves to last position in nav
• All PI content to feature Heath exclusively — two retired PI attorneys and one criminal attorney who dabbled in PI are no longer relevant; remove any non-Heath mentions
• PI video ad: produce in 2026, run in 2027 — split the cost across years; prioritize high production quality to avoid the "ambulance chaser" stereotype

Action Items

• [ ] Publish Madison & Waukesha office pages; update nav (add Locations, move Contact last) — @nmh
• [ ] Incorporate Heath's drafted PI FAQs into new PI pages; remove all non-Heath mentions; build out PI nav — @Sebastian Gant
• [ ] Finish final two Family Law pages — @Sebastian Gant
• [ ] Email SEO doc link to assistant to accelerate content approvals — @nmh
• [ ] Email Nicole Madison videographer options; contact drone videographer re: availability — @Sebastian Gant
• [ ] Add Fathom note: high-value divorce landing page opportunity — @Sebastian Gant
• [ ] Email Nicole baseline PI & Family Law organic rankings before any page changes go live; store for post-launch comparison — @Sebastian Gant
• [ ] Coordinate on state bar-compliant award language for ad copy (PI and Family Law) when campaigns resume — @nmh + @Sebastian Gant

SEO & Content Progress

Completed

• FAQs added to all Criminal defense pages
• Final two Criminal pages sent to Nicole for approval
• "From Divorce Through Paternity" page — copy and FAQs drafted (pending tool usage reset to finalize)
• Madison and Waukesha location pages ready to publish as-is (iterative improvement acceptable post-launch)

In Progress

• Remaining Family Law pages awaiting group approval across multiple offices
• PI pages not yet built out; navigation structure still needed

Website Navigation Restructure

Problem: Location information is scattered across the site (Contact page, standalone directions pages), diluting SEO signal and creating a confusing UX.

Solution:
1. Create a new top-level "Locations" menu item
2. House all office addresses, directions, and location-specific content there
3. Strip location details from the Contact page — form only
4. Move Contact to the last position in the nav

Lead Generation & PPC Status

Family Law

• Paused due to overwhelming inbound volume — even organic/website leads are being turned away
• One Family Law attorney going on parental leave in spring; expect on/off toggling throughout 2026
• Next step before reactivating PPC: Test Local Service Ads (LSAs) in Waukesha first
• Opportunity: Dedicated landing page for high-value divorces (complex estates, business assets) — one attorney's specific expertise; note logged in Fathom

Personal Injury

• High CPC environment; competitors like Hupy & Abraham reportedly spending $1M+/year on AdWords — not a winnable arms race at current budget
• SEO improvements to PI pages are the primary lever for organic lead growth
• Award language opportunity: Heath has been named "Best Attorney in Cottage Grove" five consecutive years — could be incorporated into ad copy with state bar-compliant language (Super Lawyers requires specific formatting, trademark symbol, etc.)

Criminal Defense

• Performing well; no changes needed

Future Project: PI Video Ad

Goal: Build a "community lawyer" brand for attorney Heath that counters the negative PI attorney stereotype.

Timeline:
- 2026: Fund and produce the video ad (third-party videographer)
- 2027: Distribute on YouTube and streaming services

Creative Direction:
- Feature Heath walking into recognizable local Madison businesses
- Drone shots of the Madison cityscape
- Tone: approachable, local, community-rooted — not a large firm

Vendor:
- Backflip (previous vendor) is no longer operating
- Sebastian to provide referrals: a Madison-area photographer/videographer contact (has a drone) as a mid-budget option; Mark also has contacts at various production budget levels
- Nicole's preference: mid-range production quality — not $25K for a 15-second spot, but not DIY either

Parking Lot / Future Topics

• High-value divorce landing page — dedicated page targeting complex, high-asset divorce cases; circle back once current page backlog is cleared
• Local Service Ads — experiment with Family Law in Waukesha before broader rollout; potentially explore for PI as well
• Salesforce / CRM automation — not a current priority but remains on the radar; Mark available to assist when ready
• Baseline organic rankings — capture PI and Family Law rankings before page updates go live to enable before/after comparison

Related

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