Skaalen Monthly Marketing Call — October 2025
Overview
Monthly marketing review for [1] covering SEO health, Google Ads performance, blog traffic wins, CNA recruitment focus, and a list of website content updates. Attended by Kris Krentz and Dawn Zaemisch (Skaalen) and Melissa Cusumano, Matt Ayers, and Mark Hope (Asymmetric).
Date: October 2025
Attendees:
- Kris Krentz — Skaalen (external)
- Dawn Zaemisch — Skaalen (external)
- Maggie — Skaalen (external)
- Jennifer — Skaalen (external)
- Melissa Cusumano — Asymmetric
- Matt Ayers — Asymmetric
- Mark Hope — Asymmetric
Key Decisions
- Domain rating service: Kris approved the $250/year Ahrefs domain rating boost service (pending Melissa confirming the money-back guarantee and timeline for results).
- CNA recruitment push: Focus social media post and potential Google Ads on Certified Nursing Assistants, specifically day and PM shifts. In-house pool recruitment to be revisited once union discussions conclude.
- Testimonials: Melissa will select candidate Google reviews and send to Dawn for team approval before adding rotating testimonials to the homepage.
- Negative review: The 2024 one-star review has already been responded to appropriately; no further action needed at this time.
- Website content updates: Several outdated items to be removed or updated (see action items below).
Performance Summary
SEO & Website Health
| Metric | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Website health score | 99 | Up from ~85 baseline; strong SEO optimization |
| Domain rating (Ahrefs) | 20 | Target is 40; $250/yr service proposed to accelerate |
| Organic traffic | ~1,400 new users | Slightly down (~7% sessions), but still strong |
| Top organic driver | "What is Assisted Living?" blog | Generating significant clicks |
Google Ads (Past ~6 Weeks)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total clicks | 753 |
| Cost per click | $3 |
| Total spend | ~$2,000+ |
| Conversion rate | 13% |
| Impression share | 17% |
| All conversions | 100 (up 23.5% vs. prior period) |
Most search terms are brand-related (users already know Skaalen), with secondary terms around nursing home, retirement services, and assisted living.
Blog Content
Top-performing blog topics driving organic traffic:
- "What is Assisted Living?"
- "What is Assisted Living for Seniors?"
- "What is Memory Care Assisted Living?"
These confirm that educational, topic-driven blog content is effectively pulling new users to the site.
Action Items
| Owner | Action | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Melissa | Confirm money-back guarantee and results timeline for domain rating service; proceed with enrollment | Kris approved at $250/yr |
| Melissa / Asymmetric | Create and boost social media post for CNA recruitment (day & PM shifts) | Check HubSpot queue for existing draft |
| Dawn / Skaalen | Follow up with Sam/Brianna re: ADP career page — fix missing images and investigate hiding job posting age counter | ADP is a third-party system; Asymmetric lacks backend access |
| Melissa | Replace outdated Heritage Center header image (Sherry Kellogg, former employee) with appropriate stock photo | Same warm caregiver/resident vibe preferred |
| Melissa / Dawn | Remove "Full-time RN Unit Manager" bullet from Heritage Center page | Position no longer exists since Sherry's departure |
| Melissa / Dawn | Remove foot care clinic mention from Independent Living page | Service not currently offered |
| Melissa / Dawn | Verify beauty/barber shop "temporarily closed" language is consistent across all relevant pages | Dawn believes this was already updated |
| Melissa | Add accessibility plugin to website | Already deployed on other Asymmetric client sites |
| Melissa | Add rotating testimonials section to homepage (3–4 quotes) | Currently only one static testimonial showing |
| Melissa | Select 3–5 five-star Google reviews; send to Dawn for team approval | Dawn will distribute internally for sign-off |
| Dawn | Resend Patty D. testimonial to Melissa (originally sent July 21) | Confirmed usable; may not have been added to site yet |
| Dawn / Skaalen | Continue sending menus consistently; CC Melissa | Improving but still occasional misses |
| Asymmetric | Continue Google Ads optimization (keyword pruning, negative keywords) | Ongoing |
Website Updates Checklist
- [ ] Heritage Center header image — replace (Sherry Kellogg photo, outdated)
- [ ] Heritage Center page — remove "Full-time RN Unit Manager" bullet
- [ ] Independent Living page — remove foot care clinic mention
- [ ] All relevant pages — confirm beauty/barber shop language is "temporarily closed"
- [ ] Homepage — add rotating testimonials (3–4 quotes)
- [ ] Site-wide — install accessibility plugin
Notes & Context
- ADP career page: Skaalen's job listings are hosted on a third-party ADP portal. Asymmetric does not have backend access. The job posting age counter (e.g., "30+ days ago") is an ADP configuration question for Skaalen's HR/ADP admin.
- Negative Google review (2024): A former family member left a 1-star review after Skaalen declined to readmit their loved one. The team responded appropriately. Google does not automatically purge reviews. No further escalation recommended at this time.
- 125th anniversary event: Skaalen held a smaller campus event on October 1st for residents, families, and visitors. A separate event for "aisle folks" was planned for a few weeks later.
- Holiday/January planning: Dawn flagged that collateral and ad updates will be needed as the holidays approach, with a full reset in January.
Related
- [2]
- [3] (if exists)