RULE: 4-15-person service businesses use hub-and-spoke IA, not enterprise matrix. Don't pretend to be Dentons.

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.

Why: The full matrix at 4 industries × 6 services = 24 cells of content. Each cell must be substantively different (per RULE: Every vertical page carries substantively vertical-specific content (case studies, regulations, vocabulary). Generic content gets folded.) or pages get folded by Google (Mueller on near-duplicate vertical/location pages: fold them into one stronger page unless each has something unique). 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.

Hub-and-spoke gives most of the SEO benefit at a fraction of the maintenance cost:

• One substantive hub page per vertical (4 pages, not 24)
• Shared service content authored once, pulled into each vertical via blocks
• Internal linking provides the matrix-like signal to Google

How to apply:

• For 1-3-person clients: single-message IA or 1-2 vertical hubs at most
• For 4-15-person clients: hub-and-spoke as the default
• For 16+-person clients with marketing staff: consider full matrix, but require named content-owners per cell before agreeing
• Make the maintenance burden explicit at engagement scoping — if the client cannot commit to quarterly per-vertical content refresh (RULE: Every page ships with a publish date and a last-updated date. Refresh quarterly minimum.), they cannot have a matrix