Alex Melen speaks on where paid search is going and what to change now: bidding on conversion value instead of clicks, feed-based formats such as vehicle listing ads and Performance Max, Microsoft Advertising as a cheaper second engine, and the new placements inside ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Copilot. His sessions use numbers from the accounts SmartSites manages, including a year of Microsoft-versus-Google click costs across 73 advertisers and SmartSites’ own ChatGPT Ads spend.
The four bidding eras and why value-based bidding wins, every ad asset worth switching on, custom audiences from your own customer list, vehicle listing ads and Performance Max, Microsoft Advertising, and how to test ads inside AI answers without losing sight of cost per lead.
Every SmartSites client that ran search on both Microsoft and Google for a year: Microsoft was cheaper for 64 of 73 advertisers.
Article · Nov 11, 2026What SmartSites paid in its own ChatGPT Ads account: a $50 CPM and $7.64 a click, plus minimums and billing.
Guide · Nov 11, 2026Value-based bidding ratios, Ad Rank, vehicle listing ads and the SEO plan in hours, condensed from the book.
Article · Oct 27, 2026Across 11 dealerships, the same kind of click cost 46% less on Microsoft than on Google.
ExplainerHow the placements are bought, targeted and measured.
Article · Oct 16, 2026Yes. His paid search sessions cover value-based bidding, ad assets, custom audiences, vehicle listing ads and Performance Max, Microsoft Advertising, and advertising inside AI answers such as ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews. He has presented them at NADA, NIADA, Digital Dealer, DealersEdge, AutosBuzz and Technology for Marketing.
The 2026 sessions add first-party numbers: a year of Microsoft-versus-Google click costs across 73 advertisers, SmartSites’ own ChatGPT Ads account costs, and how ads in Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and Copilot are served from campaigns advertisers already run.
No. The automotive version uses dealership examples such as vehicle listing ads and store-visit bidding. The general version uses e-commerce and lead-generation accounts, since SmartSites manages paid search in every industry.
Alex builds every session for the room. Send the event, audience and dates and he will come back with a proposed talk.