Alex has given 117+ keynotes, sessions and podcast interviews across 12 countries since 2009. Every talk is rebuilt for the room, using live data from the 1,000+ businesses SmartSites markets for.
Now booking: Q1–Q2 2027 keynotes, breakouts and workshops
Alex Melen is a keynote speaker on AI search, generative engine optimization (GEO), SEO, paid search and scaling marketing agencies. He is the co-founder of SmartSites, a 400+ person digital marketing agency in New Jersey that works with more than 1,000 businesses, and the author of Automotive Search Marketing: A Car Dealer's Guide to Google & AI Search (Second Edition, 2026). Since 2009 he has given 117+ keynotes, conference sessions and podcast interviews in 12 countries on three continents, including Technology for Marketing / eCommerce Expo London, Digital Marketing Europe Lisbon, WordCamp Canada, DigiMarCon World, NADA, Digital Dealer, NIADA, LeadsCon, DrivingSales Presidents Club, AWSummit Bucharest, TES Affiliate Conference, NamesCon and MadConNYC, plus 51+ marketing podcasts.
His most requested topics in 2026 are Ranking in AI Search, Advertising Inside the Answer, 10x Your Marketing Efficiency with Generative AI and Stop the Junk Leads. Every talk is built on first-party data from SmartSites' client base rather than secondhand trend reports, and he speaks to marketers, e-commerce brands, automotive dealers and agency owners at the Head of / Director / Executive level. He is based in the New York metro area and speaks across the United States, Europe and Asia.
These recordings have a written summary, key points, chapters and a full transcript:
How ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews decide which brands to recommend, and what to change on your site, your content, and your ads so you show up when buyers ask AI what to buy.
How ads work inside ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity, where early adopters are winning and where brands are wasting spend, and a practical testing and measurement framework for a channel with no traditional SERP.
A practical tour of how a 400-person agency actually uses AI day to day: where it saves real hours, where it fails, and how to roll it out without wrecking quality or brand voice.
Drawn from the book. Where dealership marketing budgets leak, how to win the searches that actually produce buyers, and how vehicle listing ads and AI search are rewriting the playbook for franchise and independent dealers.
The unglamorous decisions behind growing SmartSites from two brothers to 400+ people: hiring, pricing, retention, reputation, and what still works when everyone else is chasing the next channel.
30 to 60 minute mainstage sessions built for the room, not recycled slides.
Hands-on sessions where attendees leave with a checklist they can run on Monday.
Comfortable moderating or being moderated; happy to prep with your other panelists.
40+ podcast appearances. Studio-quality audio and video setup, flexible on scheduling.
“Alex is a fantastic speaker to work with. He has an exceptional understanding of the latest AI trends and industry developments, while always translating them into practical, actionable strategies that our audience can implement. Every session leaves senior leaders with a clear 12-month roadmap, helping them understand what to prioritise and where to focus their efforts as AI continues to evolve.”
“Having experts like yourself sharing your knowledge with our members is vital to our success - and we are truly grateful.”
“A few attendees mentioned that Alex's presentation was the highlight of the sessions!”
“Alex brings a rare combination of deep digital marketing expertise and forward-looking insights that make his presentations immediately actionable for marketers.”
“NIADA prides itself on providing the best education in the industry, and we were excited Alex was a part of our program [in 2025].”
“Alex has been such a helpful resource to us for many years… He is also a who's who of automotive… He is truly a wealth of knowledge and connections in the automotive space.”
“I found it absolutely brilliant, easily the best session of the day.”
“There is no #1 on ChatGPT. That line from Alex Melen talk at eCommerce Expo in London stayed with me all week.”
“A huge shout-out to Alex Melen for an awesome session. His breakdown of early ChatGPT advertising ad results and why performance was so hit-or-miss was really interesting.”
“Thank you for your brilliant presentation today; it was incredibly insightful.”
“Great presentation… I'd love to have a follow up call with you to consider the topics you discussed in relation to our presence in the UK.”
“Alex Melen gave his unique and valuable perspective on how to grow an agency (make yourself replaceable!).”
“Solid point on presence rate replacing rank as the metric that matters. Shifting the team's thinking from “where do we rank” to “are we in the answer at all” is exactly the conversation most paid media owners haven't started.”
“Thanks for your talk this morning regarding ads in AI answers - it was most useful.”
“Thank you for your very informative presentation this morning… your book and slides would add great value to the businesses.”
Attendee quotes come from emails and LinkedIn messages sent to Alex after his talks, and from public LinkedIn posts. First names only.
Alex Melen is the co-founder of SmartSites, one of the largest independent digital marketing agencies in the U.S. with 400+ employees, and the author of Automotive Search Marketing: A Car Dealer's Guide to Google & AI Search. He speaks internationally on AI search, digital advertising, and scaling companies.
Alex Melen is an award-winning entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and author. He co-founded SmartSites in 2011 with his brother Michael, growing it from a two-person startup into one of the largest independent digital marketing agencies in the United States, with more than 400 full-time employees, six offices, and over 1,000 active clients. SmartSites has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies for ten consecutive years and to the NJBIZ list of top private companies in New Jersey.
Alex started building websites in the early 1990s and founded T35 Hosting in 1997, one of the first free web hosting providers (in the same wave as GeoCities, Angelfire and Tripod), which grew to more than a million users worldwide. He was named one of YoungBiz Magazine's Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs in America in 2001, received Babson College's Student Business of the Year Award in 2006, and was named one of BusinessWeek's Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25 the same year. In 2012 he was invited to the White House to meet with the Obama administration on young entrepreneurship.
Today Alex speaks regularly at marketing, automotive, e-commerce, and technology conferences on generative engine optimization (GEO), AI in advertising, automotive digital marketing, and what it takes to scale an agency. His book, Automotive Search Marketing, is now in its second edition with a new section on AI search, ChatGPT ads, and AI measurement.
Our next speaker started his first company at 13, built one of the first free web hosts to over a million users, and then co-founded SmartSites, a 400-person digital marketing agency that has made the Inc. 5000 list ten years in a row. He wrote the book on automotive search marketing, literally, and has just released its second edition covering AI search. Please welcome Alex Melen.
Own slides (16:9, Keynote or PowerPoint), lavalier or handheld mic, confidence monitor appreciated. Travels from the New York area; international dates welcome. Book signings and dealer-group sessions available alongside conference talks.
AI search and generative engine optimization (GEO), advertising inside AI answers including ChatGPT ads, using generative AI to run a more efficient marketing team, automotive dealership SEO/PPC/AI marketing, and scaling an agency from zero to 400+ people without outside capital.
Keynotes (30 to 60 minutes), breakout sessions and workshops, panels and fireside chats, and podcasts or webinars. Sessions are built for the specific audience rather than reused.
Alex is based in the New York metro area (northern New Jersey) and speaks across the US and internationally; recent dates include London, Lisbon, Ottawa, Bucharest and Prague.
Use the contact form with the event name, dates, city and audience. You will hear back within two business days with availability and a proposed session.
Send the event, audience and dates. You will hear back within two business days with availability and a proposed session.
