Selecting Social Media Goals & Metrics
I sat in a room with a businessman who had reached his breaking point with his under-performing sales team. When asked what he thought the solution was to boost sales, he threw his hands up in frustration and said: “Better get on the Tweeter.” True story. That whole scenario is cringe-worthy, I know. But believe... Read More
Bryan SmithCould 2016 be the Right Year for Canadian Businesses to Expand Abroad?
As we settle into 2016, many companies will be reviewing strategic plans and thinking about sales targets for the year ahead. In order to boost revenue, you might choose to focus strategically on existing markets (as I discussed in this post) or to expand and discover new opportunities. The purpose of this post is to... Read More
Bryan Smith6 Considerations for Marketing to Apprehensive Albertans in 2016
With the recession predicted to last through late 2016, Alberta businesses continue to face tough decisions when it comes to marketing. So, how can you tweak your strategy to ensure that your organization not only survives this difficult time, but comes out of the recession stronger than ever? Race ahead of your competition, get to... Read More
Bryan Smith$120K in Free Advertising for Non-Profits with Google Ad Grants
Updated: January 25, 2019 Get the scoop on Google Ad Grants and how you can secure $10,000 per month in free advertising money for your charity or non-profit. What is Google Ad Grants? Google Ad Grants is the non-profit version of Google Ads. Lots of people have heard of Google Ads, which is the advertising on... Read More
Bryan SmithWeb Analytics: Is Your Focus on the Right Data?
When people think about web analytics often what comes to mind are overrated metrics like: Visits (or sessions) Pageviews Bounce rate Visit duration Marketers often review these metrics for all traffic across a website and present reports to management that often look similar to the screenshot below. This looks great, right? How can management not... Read More
Bryan SmithRethinking Recruitment for Alberta Oil & Gas Jobs
How Online Marketing Can Help Alberta Companies Recruit Smarter The caption under a recent headline by Maclean’s magazine about the best-paying, most hire-happy industries in Canada reads: Why you should learn math and move to Alberta. Working and living in Alberta, we’re all well aware of the challenges Alberta’s companies in the oil and gas... Read More
Bryan SmithOngoing SEO Services – Insurance For Business – Because Mayhem is Everywhere
“Mayhem is everywhere” is the tagline of a popular ad campaign for AllState Insurance. It features actor Dean Winters playing the role of Mayhem, because you don’t expect the things that happen, things you need to be insured against. If you’re a business owner, you don’t think twice about taking out insurance for your business.... Read More
Bryan SmithBluetrain’s Online Marketing Team Expands in Edmonton
The Spring of 2013 has been busy at Bluetrain and we’ve recently grown our team to 13 amazing individuals with the addition of both an SEO Strategist and Account Manager in our Sherwood Park, Alberta office (just outside of Edmonton). Whiz-Bang SEO Strategist – Shauna Carther Our new SEO Strategist, Shauna Carther, comes to us... Read More
Bryan SmithChecklist for an ‘SEO Friendly’ CMS
Updated: This post has been updated from its original version from July 29, 2007. There is a common website design and marketing issue I come across often. The majority of website design firms have a proprietary content management system (CMS) for the websites they develop. The challenge working with many of these systems is that... Read More
Bryan Smith