106 mentions since 2003.
Interviews, features and expert commentary on search marketing, AI, automotive and entrepreneurship. For interview requests, get in touch.
2026
-
Simply Commerce's write-up of Alex Melen's FODcast episode, built around his line that "the amount of transformation we're going to see in the next 12 months will be more than the last 12 years," covering AI-led discover…
simply-commerce.co.uk -
Forbes Advisor ranked SmartSites, co-founded by Alex and Michael Melen, No. 1 on its Best SEO Services of 2026 list with a 9.9 "Outstanding" rating, marked Award Winning and Most Popular (list updated September 30, 2026)…
forbes.com -
SmartSites, co-founded by Alex and Michael Melen, ranked No. 27 in the medium-sized category of NJBIZ's 2026 Best Places to Work in New Jersey, a ranking based on an anonymous survey of employees.
smartsites.com -
Microsoft Advertising named Alex Melen a finalist for Trailblazer of the Year in its 2026 North America Partner Awards, and SmartSites a finalist for Rising Partner of the Year and Search Performance Partner of the Year …
about.ads.microsoft.com -
SmartSites, co-founded by Alex and Michael Melen, made NJBIZ's 2026 Top 100 Privately Owned Companies in New Jersey at No. 89, the first year NJBIZ narrowed the list from 250 companies to 100. It ranked No. 101 on the 20…
njbiz.com -
We were lucky to catch up with Alex Melen recently and have shared our conversation below.
boldjourney.com -
SmartSites ranked No. 4,010 on the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies with 60% three-year revenue growth, its tenth straight year on the list (2017 to 2026).
smartsites.com -
A BDEX write-up of Alex Melen's Deconstructing Data interview, quoting him on how AI search visibility actually works and why marketers should measure presence across many prompts rather than chase a single ranking.
bdex.com -
CarCutter's AutosBuzz 2026 Takeaways Quote Alex Melen
In CarCutter's recap of AutosBuzz 2026 in Sitges, Alex Melen "put it bluntly: the keyword list is dead. Google Vehicle Ads now decide whether your VIN even shows up."
-
SmartSites marks 15 years since Alex and Michael Melen founded it in 2011, with both co-founders reflecting on the people and client results behind the agency's growth.
smartsites.com -
Alex Melen’s Insights
We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alex Melen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
2025
-
Alex Melen Endorses Daniel Batty's Book "No Ego Policy"
"If you've ever wanted to build something that truly matters, beyond profit or recognition, this book is your guide. Dan's wisdom runs deep, but it's his humanity that makes his message unforgettable." Alex Melen, Co-Fou…
-
Anatolii Ulitovskyi, an SEO practitioner of 18 years and founder of SEO tools pro, reviewed SmartSites' approach to AI search in a 17-minute video, calling Alex Melen "one of the best modern marketers" who "was ahead of …
youtube.com -
Technology for Marketing, the London marketing-technology show, ranked Alex Melen of SmartSites No. 82 on its list of the top 100 marketing influencers of 2025.
technologyformarketing.co.uk -
Alex Melen of NYC on Life, Lessons & Legacy
Alex Melen shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
-
SmartSites ranked No. 3,418 on the 2025 Inc. 5000, its ninth consecutive year on the list.
smartsites.com -
A bylined article by Alex Melen for NIADA's Dashboard on where generative AI actually helps dealership SEO, social content and paid search, with Victor Figlin of Indy Auto Man on the organic-sales gains from AI-assisted …
niada.com -
NIADA's convention preview of five AI sessions at the 2025 NIADA Convention and Expo in Las Vegas includes Alex Melen's "10x Your Marketing Efficiency with Generative AI," presented with dealer Victor Figlin of Indy Auto…
niada.com -
SmartSites climbed to No. 79 on Inc.'s 2025 Regionals list of the fastest-growing private companies in the Northeast, up from No. 134 the year before.
smartsites.com
2024
-
Alex Melen's contribution to Digital Dealer's 2024 year in review on vehicle listing ads: where VLA budgets leak, what the feeds actually reward and how dealers should set them up for 2025.
digitaldealer.com -
SmartSites ranked No. 43 on Adweek's 2024 Fastest Growing Agencies list, after placing No. 71 in 2023 and No. 61 in 2022.
newsfilecorp.com -
A bylined Digital Dealer article by Alex Melen with ten practical uses of ChatGPT and generative AI across dealership SEO, paid search, social and day-to-day marketing operations.
digitaldealer.com -
SmartSites was named an Americas finalist for Channel Partner of the Year at the 2024 Microsoft Advertising Partner Awards, recognized in New York in November 2024.
newsfilecorp.com -
SmartSites moved up to No. 105 on NJBIZ's 2024 list of the top 250 privately held companies in New Jersey, from No. 147 the previous year.
smartsites.com -
SmartSites ranked No. 2,688 on the 2024 Inc. 5000 with 188% three-year revenue growth, its eighth consecutive year on the list.
smartsites.com -
SmartSites earned Google Premier Partner status for 2024, a designation reserved for the top 3% of participating agencies, for the tenth year in a row.
smartsites.com -
5 Predictions for Automotive Websites, SEO, and Pay Per Click for 2024 and Beyond
As we kick off 2024, we thought it’d be a great opportunity get the views of two digital marketing experts in automotive: SmartSites ’ Alex Melen and Overfuel ’s Alex Griffis.
2023
-
SmartSites was named to Adweek's 2023 list of the fastest-growing agencies in the U.S.
smartsites.com -
Auto Remarketing named Alex Melen of SmartSites to its 2023 40 Under 40: Industry list, which recognizes people shaping the used-vehicle business.
autoremarketing.com -
SmartSites made the 2023 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies for the seventh consecutive year.
smartsites.com -
SmartSites was recognized with an Energage Top Workplaces 2023 award, based entirely on feedback from its employees.
einpresswire.com -
SmartSites placed No. 147 on NJBIZ's list of the top 250 privately held companies in New Jersey, up from No. 161 the year before.
einpresswire.com -
ChatGPT has come out of nowhere to become one of the hottest new topics and tools of the year. For example, looking at Google Search interest over time, searches for ChatGPT were 0 before December 2022 (which makes sense…
read.nxtbook.com -
We’re excited to have interviewed New York City SEO Expert Alex Melen from SmartSites for the next installment of our Featured SEO Expert Series!
seoblog.com
2022
-
As we close up 2022 and enter 2023 the good news is that PPC Marketing – specifically search marketing (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads), continues to perform very well. In a world of chasing user attention, search marketing c…
digitaldealer.com -
As we close up 2022 and enter 2023 the good news is that PPC Marketing – specifically search marketing (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads), continues to perform very well. In a world of chasing user attention, search marketing c…
drivingsales.com -
We were lucky to catch up with Alex Melen recently and have shared our conversation below.
youtube.com -
Now more than ever, people are starting their research for a new car online. A Google/Kantar Gearshift Study found that 89% of research for new cars happens online in the U.S. (with both coasts pushing much closer to 100…
read.nxtbook.com -
A bylined article by Alex Melen for NIADA explaining what Google Vehicle Listing Ads are and how independent dealers can set them up and get ahead of competitors.
niada.com -
Your dealership is most likely losing out on its most valuable traffic channel: Organic!
read.nxtbook.com -
The website isn’t the only place your business’ information lives, though, and may not be the first place people get to encounter your company or what you offer.
upcity.com -
21 Proven Business Networking Tips From Sales Experts 2022
Having a concrete goal for a networking event will enable you to craft a plan and elevator pitch that facilitates that desired result. Co-founder Alex Melen shares a few potential goals and recommends crafting an elevato…
-
As we continue to kick off the new year, we find ourselves in some of the most challenging times in recent memory.
read.nxtbook.com
2021
-
Before we talk about how you can drive digital success in 2021, 2022, and beyond – let’s take a step back to look at why digital is important. Pulling up one of my favorite websites, internetlivestats.com – there are ove…
read.nxtbook.com -
Before we talk about how you can drive digital success in 2021, 2022 and beyond – let’s take a step back and talk about why is digital important. Pulling up one of my favorite websites, internetlivestats.com – there are …
martech.org -
I recently signed up for a seven-day free trial to an OTT service with, admittedly, very low intention of becoming a paying subscriber. I had the cancellation deadline on my calendar.
martech.org -
Data has a cost. It has to be gathered, stored and analyzed. That means storage, apps and IT. For the digital marketer, data produces no revenue until it is activated, and even then, the payoff may not be immediate.
martech.org -
As we wrap up Q2, there are glimmers of hope after an almost-18-month pandemic. The unemployment rate is now at 6% (vs. 4% pre-pandemic, and 14% during the first month of the pandemic). The GDP is forecasted to grow 8% w…
read.nxtbook.com
2020
-
Even with state regulations and other dealership impacts from the pandemic, consumers did not stop shopping – or purchasing – vehicles as there was a new need for the ability to travel safely from the comfort of their ve…
read.nxtbook.com -
Alex Melen : Thankfully, we’re all doing fine. Our headquarters are in Paramus, NJ – next door to NYC, which was hit really bad in the first round of COVID. I’m happy to report that we’re all doing fine, though, and ever…
startup.info -
SmartSites is named to Adweek’s second annual list of 100 fastest growing agencies while achieving a three-year revenue growth of 116%.
martechcube.com -
As we try to navigate the new post-COVID19 world, it’s important to look back on previous nation-wide and global catastrophes to help guide us in today’s ever-changing world. With any major catastrophe, you must remember…
read.nxtbook.com -
SmartSites, one of the fastest growing digital marketing agencies in the U.S., is pleased to announce that it has landed a spot on the NJBIZ Top 250 Privately Held Companies 2020 List.
prdistribution.com -
SmartSites is pleased to announce that we are named one of America’s fastest-growing private companies on the annual 2020 Inc. 5000 list for the fourth consecutive year.
prdistribution.com -
A Google program announced with big fanfare three months ago to help businesses survive the coronavirus pandemic is being criticized for the inconsistent amounts of aid it has provided to recipients and its limited finan…
fortune.com -
In the world of Silicon Valley giants, there’s hardly anyone as vocal in his support of Bitcoin as Twitter’s boss Jack Dorsey. He has never shied away from his love for Bitcoin and the benefits that the top cryptocurre…
-
Running a well-oiled servicing operation can be challenging, and every minute wasted by inefficient systems is a potential dollar lost. In 2020, an age defined by breakneck speed and instant gratification, the most succe…
digitaldealer.com
2019
-
To date, we have witnessed three major technological revolutions in our lifetimes:
digitaldealer.com -
“When we were smaller and were only spending $10,000/mo on marketing, we couldn’t afford to waste any of that. Now that we spend in excess of $100,000/month, we’re able to set aside 10-15% of the budget to experiment wit…
filecamp.com -
Marketing/Sales and Accounting with Alex Melen of SmartSites | SMMA/Digital Advertising Company
Going over the most crucial aspects of business, Alex brings accounting, sales, and marketing into prospective within a digital advertising/SMMA business. I ask Alex about how he started these systems and what he reco…
-
Ep. 005: Building a $50M Agency on SEO with SmartSites Co-Founder, Alex Melen
Alex Melen is Co-Founder of SmartSites, one of the fastest growing ad agencies in the world according to INC5000. Alex’s team manage over $50M a year in advertising dollars. This episode gets into search engine market…
-
Bill Hartzer’s Podcast – Alex Melen, Smartsites – PPC Industry
In this podcast, Bill Hartzer speaks with Alex Melen from SmartSites. We discuss the state of the industry, PPC, and how the industry has changed over the years.
-
New Episode with Alex Melen
In today’s episode of the Thought Leaders Business Lab, Alex Melen shares his experiences from being an entrepreneur and moving into corporate life, and back to entrepreneurship again, to Inc5000 fastest growing company.
-
In this episode, Alex Melen , founder of SmartSites , shares us some insights on scaling businesses, building company culture, and hiring and management processes. You also don’t want to miss his SEO tips on making your …
domainmagnate.com -
As we move into the middle of 2019, it’s important to take a step back and evaluate the evolution of the automotive shopper journey. Just a decade ago, the entire automotive shopping experience was purely offline. The fe…
digitaldealer.com -
Did you know that almost a third of all digital spend is wasted on ineffective channels and strategies? In an industry fought with cut-throat competition, your digital marketing strategy becomes your strongest tool in ge…
digitaldealer.com -
Alex Melen is an Award-Winning Serial Entrepreneur & Keynote Speaker. He is the founder and CEO of web hosting company T35 Hosting (founded 1997) and advertising agency SmartSites (founded 2011). SmartSites now manages o…
-
A lex Melen is the Co-Founder of SmartSites . Alex Melen is a thought leader, influencer, and risk taker, and provides the vision and energy that has inspired the creation of SmartSites. Alex Melen joins other leading CE…
dotcommagazine.com -
Alex Melen is an Award-Winning Serial Entrepreneur & Keynote Speaker. He is the founder and CEO of web hosting company T35 Hosting (founded 1997) and advertising agency SmartSites (founded 2011). SmartSites now manages o…
lama-app.com -
In this interview, Alex Melen, Co-founder and CEO of SmartSites, discusses the importance of automation and data-driven decisions
thedigitalenterprise.com -
Alex Melen on Leadership: How To Become A INC5000 Fastest Growing Company
Jon Rognerud interviews noted experts in entrepreneurship, business building, growth hacking, paid media, sales & marketing on which Alex Melen speaks about Leadership and on to becoming an INC5000 fastest growing compan…
-
Once again, Ethereum (ETH) has reclaimed its position as the cryptocurrency with the second highest market cap. We know that in the later months of 2018, we had seen the struggle for the second spot play out between Ethe…
btcwires.com -
Alex Melen, the co-Founder and Co-CEO of SmartSites , grew his company’s revenue from $1.7m in 2014 to $3.5m in 2017, a 110% increase, and now they are on track to hit $5m this year.
player.fm -
Although we have been in a bear rend during the last year, there are several traders and analysts that are expecting Bitcoin (BTC) to start growing once again.
bitcoinexchangeguide.com -
Opening Day Photos & Highlights from NamesCon Global 2019 in Las Vegas Sunday
The 2019 NamesCon Global conference got underway Sunday morning (January 27) in Las Vegas. Domain investors, developers and service providers from around the world have converged at the Tropicana Hotel for the 6th annual…
2018
-
The Closing Days at the 2018 NamesCon Europe (Domaining Europe) Conference in Spain
After opening Thursday at the Sercotel Sorolla Palace Hotel in Valencia, Spain, the 10th anniversary edition of the Domaining Europe conference (that transitioned to its new NamesCon Europe name this week) continued with…
-
NameSummit 2017 , the first digital branding conference, took place in New York City last week.
domaingang.com -
The file is too large to preview. You can see it here. Original Source: https://alexmelen.com/NJBIZ Top 250 Paper.pdf
alexmelen.com -
Interview with Alex Melen – NamesCon
Q&A Describe your company and how long you have been there. I'm a Co-founder at SmartSites, having been here since we started the company in 2011. SmartSites is a full…
-
Today, B2B research, ratings, and reviews company Clutch unveiled 204 companies that provide the best creative, design, and development services in New York. Clutch analysts evaluated and ranked each company based on mar…
markets.businessinsider.com -
Interplanetary, RXM Creative, Gigante Vaz Partners, AMP Agency, BrandTuitive, Fearless Media, milk*, The O Group, Greater Than One, Tronvig Group, OpGen Media, The Byne Group, Eventige Media Group, The Miller Group, Your…
clutch.co -
Alex Melen , co-founder of digital marketing agency SmartSites , was one of the featured speakers at NameSummit, a digital branding conference held in New York in August. Alex spoke about creating brand equity through di…
magazine.babson.edu -
Hey guys! I’m Alex Melen, founder of various tech companies in the last 20 years. I helped pioneer the web hosting industry in the late 1990’s with T35 Hosting and am currently doing the same for digital marketing with S…
foundersama.amafeed.com -
While the Tool Talks continued other sessions were running in an adjacent ballroom. In this one Alex Melen from SmartSites gave attendees tips on Developing a Domain Name and Selling a Business .
dnjournal.com -
SmartSites is a full service digital agency in Paramus, New Jersey. They realized that as the world is becoming increasingly mobile-centric, more and more conversions are coming from phone calls. Their clients in industr…
dialogtech.com
2017
-
I’m the co-founder of SmartSites. We’re a full-service digital marketing agency. We do everything from website design, development, SEO, PPC, social media marketing. Usually, we try to provide full-service solutions to o…
clutch.co -
Here’s one indicator that all is not what it seems: HitBTC ‘s SegWit2x Futures , or bets on the future value of a hypothetical S2X Bitcoin currency, still have value. Sure that value plummeted from over $1,200 USD to $15…
bitsonline.com -
The Digital Dealer Workshops aims to equip car dealers and other key stakeholders working in the automotive industry with digital tools and education to stay ahead of the technology curve. Attendees will have the opportu…
digitaldealer.com -
To say that cryptocurrencies have become a craze is no understatement. The industry as a whole has increased its market capitalization multiple times over. Bitcoin, which was worth 5c, when it was first traded in 2010, u…
financemagnates.com -
NJ-Based Digital Marketing Agency, SmartSites, Debuts On Inc. 5000 List Of Fastest Growing Companies
PARAMUS, N.J., Aug. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — Inc. Magazine has just revealed their annual Inc. 5000 List of fastest growing companies today, and has named SmartSites ( www.smartsites.com ) as one of the new debutan…
inc.com -
Alex Melen attended NameSummit 2017 in New York City; the first digital branding conference attracted professionals from a wide range of industries.
domaingang.com -
If you didn’t attend NameSummit 2017 in NYC, the first digital branding conference, you’ll have the opportunity to do so in 2018.
domaingang.com -
Closing Day Photos & Highlights from the 1st NameSummit Conference in New York City
The next session featured another quintet - this one detailing a Marketing Strategy Holistic Approach for Clients to Maximize ROI. It featured (left to right - participating in a group photo…
-
The white hot cryptocurrency Ethereum went on a wild ride on Wednesday, plummeting from around $320 to around 10 cents in a so-called “flash crash.” The price soon recovered but not before some investors took a terrible …
fortune.com -
In a popular 3pm panel discussion the topic was how to Develop a Domain and Sell a Business . The panelists (left to right) were David Seelos (HasTraffic.com), Michael Gilmour(ParkLogic), moderator Braden Pollock, Rob Mo…
dnjournal.com -
NameSummit 2017 brings Alex Melen and the leading branding and digital media experts together for a two-day conference in New York City
namesummit.com -
SmartSites’ Alex Melen to Speak at HostingCon Global 2017
The marketing world is a tricky maze. Navigating the ins and outs of promoting one’s business is not for the faint of heart, which is why Alex Melen, the CEO…
2016
-
Interview with Alex Melen of T35 Hosting-ReviewBox
Q&A T35 Hosting has quite an interesting past. The company was first conceptualized in the late 1990s and was launched in 1997 and then incorporated in 1999. Can you please…
-
Top 25 Entrepreneurs under 25 Years Old in America
The success of the entrepreneurs behind Digg, YouTube, and Facebook will undoubtedly inspire a growing breed of the young, energetic, and self-reliant who are more than willing to gamble that their startups will fly. But…
-
Americas Young Entrepreneurs-Alex Melen
Alex Melen T35 Hosting www.t35.com Fair Lawn, N.J. Age: 22 Alex Melen founded T35 Hosting in 1999, at about the same time that a number of free Web hosting sites…
-
( www.divshare.com ) It’s free to upload videos to YouTube and photos to Flickr. But on ad-supported site divShare, you can upload an unlimited amount to one personal account, keep them there forever, and access them wit…
web.archive.org
2013
-
Original Source: https://www.alexmelen.com/National_Entrepreneurs'_Day-White-House.pdf
alexmelen.com
2009
-
T35 Hosting to almost a million users worldwide: Alex melen on how it all started and still changing
13 years ago when alex decided to start his first company i was still super excited using my first computer, typing away on microsoft word(Microsoft word 95 i remember..Oohh them days i cherish), challenging my friends o…
yhponline.com
2007
-
Over the years, Melen has batted away offers from big Internet companies looking to buy out his T35 Hosting service for fear that they would take away the offering that most distinguishes it from competitors: unlimited s…
web.archive.org -
Mashable included T35 Hosting, the free web host Alex founded, in its 2007 roundup of 130+ web hosting resources.
mashable.com
2003
-
Original Source: https://alexmelen.com/YoungBiz.pdf
alexmelen.com
Working on a story?
Alex is available for interviews on AI search, digital advertising, automotive marketing and building an agency. Same-day turnaround for most requests.