okay i need to rant for a second and then ask if i'm losing my mind.

i've been reading all these threads about semrush turning into a paywall nightmare and tools not being worth it anymore and it's making me realize something that's been eating at me since months.

i was paying $280/month for semrush. not even the full price - that's AFTER i added the traffic analytics addon ($279 extra) and upgraded to track more than 5 competitors (another $100/mo). the base $139 plan is basically useless. you can't do anything without hitting a paywall. need keyword data? paywall. want to see traffic? paywall. more than basic limits? paywall paywall paywall.

and don't even get me started on their cancellation BS. they deliberately hide it, and when you finally cancel they just delete everything after 30 days. years of data, projects, historical tracking - gone. it's like they're holding your data hostage.

i was so fed up i almost rage-quit the whole thing.

then something stupid happened that i can't explain

one of my immigration law clients was going nowhere. six months of "perfect" seo work. local rankings up, in the 3-pack, gbp looking great, citations built, all the metrics agencies brag about in their reports.

but consultations? basically flat. maybe 10-15% bump at best. client was patient but i could tell they were wondering what they're paying me for.

had coffee with another attorney who casually mentioned "google's algorithm doesn't really favor niche practices in local anymore" and honestly that sentence has haunted me ever since.

so i did something probably stupid. i basically stopped doing the most of the local seo grind. dropped semrush down to basic ahrefs lite ($129), kept screaming frog for technical stuff, leaned into search console (free), started using ai for like 50% of content.

monthly tools: $400 → $150

but instead of local seo i just started creating content in the languages their actual clients speak. vietnamese guides for h1b interviews. spanish content about green card processes. mandarin pages for visa requirements. the stuff people are desperately searching for at 2am when they're stressed about immigration paperwork.

kept maybe 20% of the local stuff running because i was scared to completely abandon it.

and this is where i'm confused as hell

month 1: consultations went from 12 to 31 month 2: holding around 28-35

traffic's up but it's all coming from NON-LOCAL searches. people three states over finding the vietnamese content. mandarin visa guides getting hits from across the country.

client is obviously thrilled. more consultations = more money.

but i'm sitting here like... what the hell just happened?

i spent LESS money. did LESS "proper" seo work. ignored most of the local stuff everyone says you MUST do for law firms.

and results went up 3x.

why i'm freaking out

part of me is relieved because holy shit it actually worked and i'm not wasting money anymore.

part of me is angry because did i waste a year and thousands of dollars on the "right way" that was actually the wrong way?

part of me is hopeful that maybe i stumbled onto something real here.

but the biggest part is just confused and worried i got lucky and this is all gonna crash.

like, am i supposed to still be building citations? should i have kept grinding local seo? did i abandon ship too early or right on time?

is this even sustainable or did i just catch lightning in a bottle? right now there's basically zero competition for "h1b interview questions vietnamese" but that's not gonna last once other firms figure this out.

what i'm actually asking

has anyone else just said screw it to the expensive tools and traditional playbook and actually seen it work?

for specialized professional services - is local seo just becoming less relevant or did i get weirdly lucky with immigration law specifically?

should i be hedging my bets and keeping traditional local seo or go all in on this approach?

i feel like i accidentally broke something and got better results but i have no idea why it worked and that's terrifying because what if it stops working and i don't know why?

seriously any perspective would help because i'm second-guessing everything right now.

digitaldave01

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