{"id":214,"slug":"rule-small-distributor-use-hub-and-spoke","title":"RULE: 4-15-person service businesses use hub-and-spoke IA, not enterprise matrix. Don't pretend to be Dentons.","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","claude-code","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["agency-methodology","information-architecture"],"reference_body":"**Rule:** For Candid client businesses in the **4-15-person size range**, default to **hub-and-spoke IA**: one hub page per vertical, with shared-service content pulled in via blocks/partials/includes. **Do not** build a full Industries × Services matrix (Dentons / Crowe pattern) unless the client has a dedicated content team capable of maintaining the matrix.\n\n**Why:** The full matrix at 4 industries × 6 services = 24 cells of content. Each cell must be substantively different (per [[rule-vertical-pages-need-substantive-content]]) or pages get folded by Google ([[mueller-fold-near-duplicate-pages]]). 24 substantively different pages is **enterprise content-team labor**. A 4-person firm cannot maintain it — the matrix decays into stub pages within a year, defeating the IA.\n\nHub-and-spoke gives **most of the SEO benefit at a fraction of the maintenance cost**:\n- One substantive hub page per vertical (4 pages, not 24)\n- Shared service content authored once, pulled into each vertical via blocks\n- Internal linking provides the matrix-like signal to Google\n\n**How to apply:**\n- For 1-3-person clients: single-message IA or 1-2 vertical hubs at most\n- For 4-15-person clients: hub-and-spoke as the default\n- For 16+-person clients with marketing staff: consider full matrix, but require named content-owners per cell before agreeing\n- Make the maintenance burden **explicit at engagement scoping** — if the client cannot commit to quarterly per-vertical content refresh ([[rule-publish-and-last-updated-dates-mandatory]]), they cannot have a matrix","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"mueller-fold-near-duplicate-pages","title":"Mueller on near-duplicate vertical/location pages: fold them into one stronger page unless each has something unique","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"dentons-find-your-team-matrix-pattern","title":"Dentons: explicit Industries × Practices matrix at /find-your-dentons-team/ — \"organized around your business agenda\"","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"fastenal-no-industries-ia-counter-example","title":"Fastenal: NO /industries/ IA at all — product+service-first nav. The steel-manned alternative.","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-ia-multi-vertical-service-business","title":"Research brief: Information architecture for service businesses with multiple verticals (piece 6 of 15)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T19:40:49.165Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T19:40:49.165Z"}