{"id":3051,"date":"2025-07-16T07:41:47","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T11:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/?post_type=wcb_speaker&#038;p=3051"},"modified":"2025-09-10T18:34:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T22:34:14","slug":"alex-melen","status":"publish","type":"wcb_speaker","link":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/speaker\/alex-melen\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Melen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide is-style-default speaker-highlight-column is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b9a46375 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group has-custom-grey-faint-background-color has-background wp-container-content-9cfa9a5a has-global-padding is-content-justification-center is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-7a30299c wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"min-height:100%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full wp-container-content-b1208fed\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" data-attachment-id=\"5672\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/alex-melen-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/files\/2025\/07\/alex-melen.png?fit=800%2C800&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"800,800\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"alex-melen\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/files\/2025\/07\/alex-melen.png?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/files\/2025\/07\/alex-melen.png?fit=800%2C800&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/files\/2025\/07\/alex-melen.png?resize=800%2C800&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5672\" style=\"aspect-ratio:3\/4;object-fit:cover\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/files\/2025\/07\/alex-melen.png?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/files\/2025\/07\/alex-melen.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/files\/2025\/07\/alex-melen.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/files\/2025\/07\/alex-melen.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-group has-custom-grey-faint-background-color has-background wp-container-content-8f85718f has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12dd3699 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p>A digital marketing veteran and co-founder of SmartSites, Alex will update your idea of SEO for the modern world in his talk: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/session\/search-marketing-for-wordpress-in-the-age-of-ai\/\" data-type=\"wcb_session\" data-id=\"3052\">Search Marketing for WordPress in the Age of AI<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a world where AI is changing the ways people find information and discover content, traditional SEO isn\u2019t enough. Alex\u2019s session will show you how to adapt your strategies to thrive in an AI-driven landscape\u2014without feeling overwhelmed by the jargon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you&#8217;re a blogger, small-business owner, or agency pro, you&#8217;ll leave this talk with practical insights to future-proof your business for 2025 and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-accent-1-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-091b0950 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:10px;margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"sessions\">Check out Alex&#8217;s Sessions<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul style=\"padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0;\" class=\"wp-block-wordcamp-speaker-sessions\"><li><p><a href=\"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/session\/beginners-guide-to-seo-title-tdb\/\">Mastering Modern WordPress SEO<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wordcamp-speaker-sessions__session-info\">October 15, 2025 at 3:00 pm in <span class=\"wordcamp-speaker-sessions__track slug-track-1\">Track 1<\/span><\/p><\/li><li><p><a href=\"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/session\/search-marketing-for-wordpress-in-the-age-of-ai\/\">Search Marketing for WordPress in the Age of AI<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wordcamp-speaker-sessions__session-info\">October 16, 2025 at 1:00 pm in <span class=\"wordcamp-speaker-sessions__track slug-track-2\">Track 2<\/span><\/p><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alex on the Socials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Company:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartsites.com\"> smartsites.com<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Personal site:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.alexmelen.com\"> alexmelen.com<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>LinkedIn:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/alexmelen\/\"> linkedin.com\/in\/alexmelen<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Twitter\/X:<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/amelen\"> @amelen<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Give Alex a follow, and don\u2019t miss his\/her\/their talk this October in Ottawa! \ud83c\udf41<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And now for something a little Canadian \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What comes to mind when you think of Canada?<br><\/strong>\u201cOld Quebec City, one of my favorite cities in North America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Canadian food to try in Ottawa?<br><\/strong>\u201cQuebec-inspired poutine, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alex Melen, co-founder of SmartSites, is an award-winning entrepreneur and keynote speaker featured in Forbes and Bloomberg for digital innovation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3657560,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"speaker-series","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_wcpt_user_name":"amelen1","footnotes":""},"speaker_group":[122],"class_list":["post-3051","wcb_speaker","type-wcb_speaker","status-publish","hentry","wcb_speaker_group-first-round"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"avatar_urls":{"24":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b381920a8e32b2e51640d6b984bec83b17067bb3c540eaffff636f633991fe1?s=24&r=g","48":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b381920a8e32b2e51640d6b984bec83b17067bb3c540eaffff636f633991fe1?s=48&r=g","96":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b381920a8e32b2e51640d6b984bec83b17067bb3c540eaffff636f633991fe1?s=96&r=g","128":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b381920a8e32b2e51640d6b984bec83b17067bb3c540eaffff636f633991fe1?s=128&r=g","256":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b381920a8e32b2e51640d6b984bec83b17067bb3c540eaffff636f633991fe1?s=256&r=g","512":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2b381920a8e32b2e51640d6b984bec83b17067bb3c540eaffff636f633991fe1?s=512&r=g"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speakers\/3051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speakers"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wcb_speaker"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3657560"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3051"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speakers\/3051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6939,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speakers\/3051\/revisions\/6939"}],"sessions":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sessions\/6780?_embed=1&context=view"},{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sessions\/3052?_embed=1&context=view"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wcb_speaker_group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada.wordcamp.org\/2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speaker_group?post=3051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}