Current state of Axley's paid search campaigns as of the January 2026 review. Family Law is paused due to seasonal demand overflow; Criminal and PI are active within defined budgets. Several near-term experiments and optimizations are queued.
| Practice Area | Status | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| Family Law | Paused (until ~April 2026) | $0 |
| Criminal Defense (incl. DUI + Academic Misconduct) | Active | $2,000/month combined |
| Personal Injury | Active | ~$82/day (~$2,460/month) |
Family Law PPC was paused due to overwhelming inbound lead volume. January is peak divorce season; the firm is turning away leads even without paid traffic. One Family Law attorney is also going on parental leave in spring, which further reduces intake capacity.
When it resumes: Campaigns will be turned on and off dynamically based on attorney capacity. Before reactivating standard PPC, the plan is to first experiment with Local Service Ads (LSAs) in Waukesha to test that market more cost-effectively.
Optimization queued for reactivation: Ad copy should incorporate state bar-compliant award language (e.g., "Named #1 Divorce Attorney in Madison" with required Super Lawyers formatting — italics, trademark symbol). Nicole to provide exact approved language before campaigns go live.
Previously split into separate DUI and criminal catch-all campaigns with overlapping budgets. These have been consolidated into a single combined budget of $2,000/month covering:
- Criminal Defense (general)
- DUI
- Academic Misconduct
Criminal campaigns are performing well and require minimal intervention.
PI campaigns are running but face structural budget constraints. Cost-per-click in the PI space is extremely high — competitors like Hupy & Abraham are estimated to spend over $1M/year on AdWords, making volume competition impractical at Axley's budget level.
Current constraint: At the existing daily budget, lead volume is limited. A meaningful increase in leads would require roughly doubling spend, making PPC alone an inefficient PI growth lever.
SEO is the primary long-term strategy for PI lead generation. See [1] and the SEO content work tracked in the shared SEO doc.
Optimization queued: Update PI ad copy to highlight attorney Heath's community recognition — e.g., "Best Attorney in Cottage Grove" (five consecutive years). Must use state bar-approved language and formatting.
Before reactivating Family Law PPC, run LSAs in Waukesha as a lower-risk test. LSAs may also be worth piloting for PI given the high CPC environment in standard search.
One Family Law attorney specializes in high-asset divorces involving business interests. A dedicated landing page targeting this niche is a noted opportunity — distinct from the general divorce pages already written. Flagged in Fathom for future scoping.
"We could definitely do a separate page for that... her expertise is like breaking out high-value estates where there's a business involved." — Nicole Hadaway
Both PI (Heath, Cottage Grove) and Family Law (Madison's #1 divorce attorney) have award credentials that are not currently reflected in ad copy. Updating copy with compliant language is a quick win once campaigns resume.