SEOblog Interview: New York Metropolis Space web optimization Skilled Alex Melen from SmartSites

We’re excited to have interviewed New York Metropolis web optimization Skilled Alex Melen from SmartSites for the following installment of our Featured web optimization Skilled Sequence!

SmartSites is certainly one of SEOblog’s Prime web optimization corporations in New York Metropolis.

Alex Melen is an award-winning entrepreneur and keynote speaker. He’s the founding father of internet hosting firm T35 Internet hosting, based in 1997, and co-founder of promoting company SmartSite, based in 2011. SmartSites now manages over $100MM/12 months in promoting spend and has six places of work and over 350 staff worldwide. SmartSites has been featured within the INC 5000 for six consecutive years as one of many fastest-growing digital businesses. Alex has been featured in Enterprise Week’s Prime 25 Entrepreneurs, Bloomberg, Forbes, NPR and extra.

SmartSites is an award-winning web site design and digital advertising and marketing company, with a give attention to search engine marketing (web optimization) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and marketing. SmartSites was based by brothers Alex and Michael Melen, who grew up with a ardour for all issues digital. With an progressive imaginative and prescient and quite a lot of onerous work, SmartSites rapidly grew to become certainly one of America’s fastest-growing corporations. Their relentless give attention to their purchasers has led them to over 100 five-star critiques since our inception in 2011. 

What would you say is exclusive and/or difficult concerning the web optimization trade in 2023?

“Identical to we’ve heard for many years, I’m as soon as once more listening to that web optimization will likely be useless in 2023. I imagine 2023 will see the rise of machine studying with companies like ChatGPT threatening the standard points of web optimization. Nevertheless, I really imagine that the tried-and-true guide content material writing will proceed to outperform (for 2023, a minimum of!). Will probably be to see how Google and different engines like google deal with machine-generated content material. I imagine that Google will quickly begin highlighting the machine/AI-generated content material from content material that’s manually produced. In 2023 for the very least, we are going to nonetheless have a bonus in opposition to the AI.”

How does your company stand out in a crowded market just like the NY city space?

“We proceed to satisfaction ourselves on our fame – which is second to none. Our steady dedication to our purchasers continues to shine by way of. As we’ve got since 2011, we proceed to assist our prospects succeed on-line.”

Are you able to share a hit story from a neighborhood web optimization marketing campaign centered round a neighborhood space? Embrace any stats and highlights if attainable!

“I’ve personally been very concerned within the automotive aspect of the enterprise. To that extent, we’ve got lately been capable of create a how-to useful resource heart for a neighborhood Lexus dealership with [hundreds] of pages of content material on how individuals can service, diagnose, and troubleshoot their Lexus. The content material began rating inside a couple of months and now ranks nationally for nearly each single web page of content material. The truth is, most now come up in featured snippets and even come up in voice outcomes!”

What’s the finest recommendation you ever acquired in enterprise?

“One of the best recommendation I’ve ever acquired really was not directly from my brother and co-founder of SmartSites. It’s one thing he practices himself – however the recommendation was to work on the enterprise, not within the enterprise. I typically battle to delegate and consider the larger image, however that authentic idea of engaged on the enterprise nonetheless resonates with me.”

What do you suppose is an important high quality that makes an company actually nice?

“As an company, we don’t make any bodily items; we don’t produce any widgets. For us, our staff are our greatest asset. Maintaining our staff glad and having them be obsessed with what we do continues to be our biggest asset and is what makes our company nice.”

Any predictions for the way forward for web optimization?

“As we briefly mentioned within the first query – I imagine a giant a part of web optimization goes to be coping with AI-generated content material and automation. Each create an enormous problem for Google in figuring out what ought to rank and what shouldn’t. Google themselves have spent large quantities of cash creating their very own AI, and I imagine we are going to see them begin placing it to make use of. I additionally suppose that AI-generated content material will begin being highlighted as such, and a minimum of within the brief time period, will rank worse than manually generated content material. It’s definitely an attention-grabbing time in web optimization, and I feel the following two years will see extra modifications than the earlier decade mixed.”

What’s your response once you hear that “web optimization is dying”?

“It’s one thing I’ve been listening to for nearly 20 years now – so long as we preserve listening to it, we’ll know that web optimization continues to be right here and is as necessary as ever.”

What do you suppose is an important contributor to preserving purchasers glad?

“Being obsessed with serving to your purchasers succeed (together with producing nice outcomes!) will proceed to be an important contributor to preserving purchasers glad. Completely happy & passionate staff – devoted to serving to their purchasers succeed on-line – is how all of us win!”

Concerned with being thought of as an SEOblog “Featured web optimization Skilled”? Attain out to our crew at [email protected]! We’d love to listen to from you and provide you with a heavy-traffic platform to share your web optimization company’s story and insights.