---
title: Year-End Review & 2026 Planning — 2026-04-05
type: article
created: '2026-04-05'
updated: '2026-04-05'
source_docs:
- raw/2025-12-19-axley-marketing-meeting-110166473.md
tags:
- axley
- client-meeting
- marketing
- seo
- ppc
- family-law
- year-end-review
- 2026-planning
- local-seo
- content-strategy
- backlinks
- google-ads
- lsa
- waukesha
- callrail
- ahrefs
layer: 2
client_source: Axley Law
industry_context: legal-services
transferable: false
---

# Year-End Review & 2026 Planning — 2026-04-05

## Overview

Sebastian Gant (Asymmetric) and Nicole Hadaway (Axley) reviewed 2025 marketing performance and aligned on 2026 strategy priorities. The meeting covered strong organic and paid results, a family law page restructure to fix keyword cannibalization, a new PPC pause protocol, and a forward-looking roadmap including LSAs, Waukesha local SEO expansion, and FAQ additions across practice area pages.

**Attendees:**
- Nicole Hadaway — Axley (nhadaway@axley.com)
- Sebastian Gant — Asymmetric
- Paul Buniel — Asymmetric

---

## 2025 Performance Highlights

### Organic Search
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Ahrefs Health Score | ~65% → **98%** |
| New Top-10 Keywords | ~100 gained YTD |
| Google AI Citations | **41** nationwide (from 18 pages) |

- Consistent blogging per the attorney SEO checklist contributed directly to ranking growth.
- Dedicated local pages were built but not yet published; nmh plans to publish in January.

### Paid Ads (PPC)
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Total Conversions | ~900 |
| Cost Per Lead | ~$132 |
| Website Clicks | ~15,000 |

- CallRail was integrated mid-year for better attribution.
- Several campaigns shifted to manual CPC to improve cost control.
- Google's AI optimization feature was enabled at some point and began pulling irrelevant search terms; it has since been **disabled**.

### Year-End Report
- Sebastian built the report in **Gamma** (AI presentation tool); nmh was added as a collaborator to edit slides.
- nmh will use the report for an executive presentation; she may send clarifying questions before the Jan 16 meeting.

---

## Key Decisions

### 1. Family Law Page Restructure (Keyword Cannibalization Fix)
Multiple pages were competing for "divorce" queries. Agreed restructure:

| Page | New Intent |
|---|---|
| `Family Law` | General overview of practice area |
| `Collaborative Divorce` → renamed `Divorce` | Primary divorce page; includes a section on collaborative divorce |
| `Divorce, Annulment, Legal Separation` | Refocused on annulment and legal separation only |

### 2. FAQ Sections on All Practice Area Pages
- **Decision:** Add FAQ sections to all practice area pages.
- Sebastian will draft FAQs for existing and proposed pages; nmh will review and approve before publishing.
- Existing landing page FAQs may be repurposed where relevant.

### 3. PPC Campaign Pause Protocol
- **Decision:** Campaigns may be paused for practice areas at or near capacity to protect ROI and control spend.
- **Process:** Sebastian emails nmh with a pause recommendation → nmh responds with approval or direction before any change is made.
- **Capacity risk assessment:**
  - **Low risk:** Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, Academic Misconduct
  - **Primary risk:** Madison Family Law (especially during long trials — rare, first time in ~a decade)

### 4. 2026 Budget & Spending Thresholds
- PPC spending thresholds to be reviewed and finalized at the **January 16 meeting**.
- Family Law Waukesha spend was already reduced following the prior in-person meeting.

---

## 2026 Priorities

- **Local Service Ads (LSAs):** Launch as a new channel.
- **Waukesha Local SEO:** Expand content and visibility in the Waukesha market.
- **FAQ Additions:** Roll out across all practice area pages.
- **Backlink Profile:** Continue building referring domains and industry partnerships.
- **Reviews Integration:** Add embedded reviews to practice area pages (SEO benefit).
- **Blog Content:** 9 family law articles planned, written by associates using Sebastian's top-10 topic list with focus keywords added.
- **Salesforce Discussion:** Schedule a post-holiday meeting with Mark (flagged from prior in-person meeting).
- **Spotify Advertising / Video Assets:** Exploratory — discussed as potential new channels.

---

## Action Items

| Owner | Action | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Sebastian | Draft FAQs for existing and proposed practice area pages; send to nmh for review | ☐ Open |
| Sebastian | Add focus keywords to the top-10 Family Law blog topic list | ☐ Open |
| Sebastian | Email nmh before pausing any PPC campaign (new standing protocol) | ☐ Ongoing |
| Sebastian | Resend end-of-year SurveyMonkey link to nmh | ☐ Open |
| Sebastian | Cancel next scheduled meeting; keep Jan 16 on calendar | ☐ Open |
| nmh | Review year-end report; send clarifying questions to Sebastian | ☐ Open |
| nmh | Review and approve new criminal defense and family law page copy | ☐ Open |
| nmh | Publish dedicated local pages (built, not yet live) | ☐ Open — January |
| nmh | Complete end-of-year survey | ☐ Open |
| Both | Finalize 2026 marketing budget and PPC spending thresholds | ☐ Open — Jan 16 meeting |
| Both | Schedule post-holiday Salesforce discussion with Mark | ☐ Open |

---

## Next Meeting

**January 16** — Agenda will include 2026 budget finalization and PPC threshold review.

---

## Related

- [[wiki/clients/current/axley/_index]]