In this episode of ROAS Rants, we sit down with Alex Melen, co-founder of SmartSites, to discuss the evolution of digital marketing from the mid-90s to the current AI revolution. Alex shares his journey of starting one of the first web hosting companies and scaling SmartSites to over 400 employees.
We explore the essential role of the digital marketer in an increasingly automated world where tools like PMax and Advantage+ campaigns are standard. Alex highlights why the “human touch,” specialized automotive industry knowledge, and strategic human thought remain the ultimate value-adds.
The episode also features a deep dive into Value-Based Bidding (VBB), showcasing a real-world case study on the Porsche Taycan. Learn how to use conversion ratios rather than just absolute values to train machine learning algorithms to find higher-quality customers.
00:00 – Introduction to ROAS Rants and Happy New Year
01:27 – Meet Alex Melen: The story of SmartSites’ growth
02:44 – The Internet Timeline: Mid-’90s to the Social Media Boom
07:27 – Entering the AI Era: The new “Wild West” of technology
11:48 – AI Analogy: The typewriter vs. PC revolution
16:07 – Why “Prompt Engineering” may not be a long-term career
19:35 – Defining the marketer’s “Value-Add” in an automated world
22:56 – Human Creativity vs. Generic AI Ad Copy
31:07 – Building Client Partnerships (Not Just Providing Leads)
38:12 – Case Study: How agile businesses succeeded during COVID-19
40:19 – Conversion Tracking & Google Analytics as a unifying source
43:52 – Masterclass: Value-Based Bidding (VBB) for Lead Generation
48:12 – Porsche Taycan Case Study: Doubling form submits with VBB
53:06 – Technical Setup: Enhanced Conversions & ID Resolution
57:12 – Marketing Summary and 2026 Outlook
