---
title: Axley — Waukesha/Madison AdWords Budget Reallocation
type: article
created: '2026-04-05'
updated: '2026-04-05'
source_docs:
- raw/2025-11-17-axley-marketing-meeting-asymmetric-office-102263266.md
tags:
- google-ads
- axley
- budget-reallocation
- waukesha
- madison
- family-law
- geographic-targeting
- campaign-optimization
layer: 2
client_source: null
industry_context: null
transferable: true
---

# Axley — Waukesha/Madison AdWords Budget Reallocation

## Overview

In the November 2025 marketing review, Asymmetric and Axley agreed to cut the underperforming Waukesha AdWords campaign to $500/month and redirect the freed budget toward a new Madison campaign. Simultaneously, the Waukesha Family Law campaign targeting was tightened to focus exclusively on Waukesha County — a high-net-worth market — rather than the broader geographic spread that had been driving up cost-per-lead.

**Source:** [[clients/axley/meetings/2025-11-17-ad-strategy-seo-salesforce]]

---

## Decision

| Campaign | Change | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Waukesha AdWords (general) | Cut to **$500/month** | Underperforming; poor return on current spend |
| Madison AdWords | **New campaign** funded by Waukesha savings | Higher expected performance |
| Waukesha Family Law | **Tighten geography to Waukesha County only** | Outside counties show higher CPC and lower conversion rates |
| DWI Campaign | **Consider reducing spend** | Attorney capacity constraints limiting intake |
| Personal Injury Campaign | **Review; consider narrowing to southern Wisconsin** | Currently statewide; attorneys unlikely to travel north of Wausau |

---

## Geographic Targeting Rationale

The Waukesha Family Law campaign had been expanded county-by-county to increase lead volume, but data showed that clicks and conversions from outside Waukesha County carried significantly higher cost-per-click and lower conversion rates. The recommendation was to pull back to Waukesha County specifically and dominate that market rather than spread budget thin.

> "Waukesha is a very wealthy county, and so the idea of targeting high-net-worth individuals is just seems like a good idea for even the makeup of that region."

This aligns with the broader [[wiki/knowledge/google-ads/geographic-targeting-concentration]] principle: for service businesses with fixed locations, concentrating budget on the highest-converting geography typically outperforms broad coverage even when the broader area is technically serviceable.

The Personal Injury campaign presents a related issue — it runs statewide, but attorneys are unlikely to travel north of Wausau. Narrowing to southern Wisconsin is under review.

---

## Budget Reallocation Logic

The Personal Injury campaign was identified as budget-constrained but was **not** selected as the reallocation target due to its high cost-per-client (~$2,500). Adding spend to a campaign with that acquisition cost was not considered a good use of the Waukesha savings.

Instead, the budget moves to a **new Madison campaign**, where performance expectations are higher and a dedicated [[wiki/knowledge/seo/location-pages|location page]] is being built to support it.

---

## Supporting Actions

These campaign changes are paired with complementary work:

- **Location pages:** Waukesha and Madison location pages launching the week of 2025-11-17 to give Google clear, office-specific signals. See [[clients/axley/projects/location-pages]].
- **Family Law SEO:** Waukesha County Family Law is the next SEO priority, targeting high-net-worth clients with content on complex asset division (stock options, LLCs, prenups). See [[wiki/knowledge/seo/family-law-high-net-worth-targeting]].
- **Google Business Profile:** Three fraudulent 1-star reviews are being disputed via Asymmetric's Google rep contact, which will support overall Waukesha local presence.

---

## Key Principle

This reallocation reflects a recurring pattern in local service advertising: **geographic expansion to chase lead volume often degrades campaign efficiency**. When a campaign is expanded beyond the natural service radius, cost-per-conversion rises and conversion rates fall. The better lever is usually tighter targeting paired with stronger landing pages and SEO for the core geography.

---

## Action Items from This Decision

- [ ] Cut Waukesha AdWords to $500/month
- [ ] Build and launch Madison AdWords campaign
- [ ] Tighten Waukesha Family Law campaign geography to Waukesha County
- [ ] Review Personal Injury campaign; prepare recommendation to narrow to southern Wisconsin
- [ ] Review DWI campaign spend relative to attorney capacity