Dave Ashley

I grew up in Moncton, or more specifically Riverview, but left in 1999 to get my Bachelor of Computer Science from Dalhousie in Halifax. After I graduated, I decided to make a big move to Vancouver. I started programming as a freelance contractor.

One of my clients was a local man who had bought a ton of courses, software and digital products from the many gurus out there who promise riches if you just buy their course. He shared whatever he had with me, and most of it was junk, but when I looked over the Google AdWords/affiliate marketing course I saw real potential. I decided to teach myself AdWords and spent my own money running affiliate offers. I made a few thousand dollars but continued to apply for programming jobs.

One day while looking through programming jobs, I found a company looking for someone familiar with AdWords marketing. I applied and ended up working there for two years, and by the end I was the head of their media department. I bought a brand-new dirt bike and spent lots of time in Squamish exploring the trails. However, I became disillusioned with the MLM clients we were selling the leads to and decided to start my own agency.

After a few months of travelling to see my brother in Southeast Asia, it was time to get down to business. I started Ashley Marketing Group in 2006, and at the time I thought I could deliver everything. However, I quickly figured out most businesses didn't have thousands of dollars for web design, a few thousand for SEO, and of course money for ads and to pay me.

A year later, in 2007, I decided to concentrate on just paid ads and let my workers go. Since then, Ashley Marketing Group has been a group of one, plus some contractors I use along the way. I may hire employees again, but for now if you work with Ashley Marketing Group, you work directly with me.

Around 2013, business was good, and my girlfriend (now wife) and I moved to the Sunshine Coast in BC to start our lives together. We became avid scuba divers, hiked trails, and generally saw more wildlife than I'd ever seen in my life (watching orcas off the beach, elk, bobcat kittens, octopuses, wolf eels, and the list goes on). We got married and had our first child, then our second… then COVID hit.

As many did during COVID, we decided to make a big change, so we sold our house and moved back to Moncton. I continued with paid media, and over the years I helped a few local businesses get better results from their paid ads. Along the way, I often ended up fixing their websites or Google profiles.

I learned how to use AI to manage accounts and build websites, which lets me deliver more for less. Now I help smaller local businesses with a new offering alongside my paid search work.