How to Finish Projects: RankBrain SEO Tips and Surviving the Messy Middle [LNIM138 Transcript]

If you have ever started a project with excitement only to find yourself stuck halfway through, unable to finish, this episode is for you. Mark shares three strategies for pushing through what he calls “the messy middle” and actually completing the projects that matter. He also covers Google RankBrain optimization tips and why HTTPS is becoming essential for every website.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• What Google RankBrain is and three practical ways to optimize for it
• Why HTTPS is increasingly important for your website
• What the “messy middle” is and why it kills most projects
• Three strategies for pushing through to completion when motivation fades
• When it is okay to quit a project versus when you need to push through
• Why click-through rate optimization matters for search rankings

Episode Summary

Mark opens with a news item about Google Chrome beginning to show security warnings for websites without HTTPS encryption, reinforcing that converting your site to HTTPS is no longer optional.

The first main segment covers Google RankBrain, one of Google's top three ranking factors alongside content and links. RankBrain is an artificial intelligence algorithm that helps Google understand search queries, particularly the 15% of daily searches it has never seen before. Mark offers three practical optimization tips. First, optimize your click-through rate by writing compelling meta descriptions, clean URLs, and enticing page titles, because these function as sales copy for the click in search results. Second, adopt content formats and structures used by the dominant authority sites in your niche, since RankBrain may associate similar presentation patterns with similar authority. Third, stop targeting a single keyword and instead use the full range of related terms and synonyms that naturally surround your topic. RankBrain analyzes semantic relationships between words, so rich, natural language outperforms keyword stuffing every time.

The main segment tackles the messy middle. Mark borrows the concept from Michael Hyatt and illustrates it with Donald Miller's boat analogy from A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: when you first leave shore, progress is visible and exciting. But eventually you are surrounded by open water with no shore in sight, the wind picks up, and your enthusiasm dies. That is the messy middle, and it is where most projects go to die.

Mark offers three strategies for getting through it. First, stay focused and say no to new opportunities. Lynn Terry's phrase “start to profit” captures the discipline of completing one project before chasing the next shiny object. Mark is transparent about his own failures here, admitting he paused his affiliate marketing course to take an ecommerce course, which is exactly what he is telling listeners not to do. Second, recommit to the project. Go back to your original motivation, reconnect with your why, and make a conscious decision to see it through. Schedule the next steps, find an accountability partner, and reenergize. Third, change the plan. As Helmuth Von Moltke said, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” Your enemy is life. If the original plan is no longer working, revise it while keeping the objective the same. Adjust the timeline, the approach, or the resources, but do not abandon the goal.

Mark closes with an important bonus tip: sometimes it is genuinely okay to quit. If your why has changed, the goal is no longer appropriate, or you have discovered information that makes the project unviable, quitting is a valid business decision. The key is making sure you are quitting for the right reasons and not simply because the messy middle is uncomfortable.

Key Takeaways

• Google RankBrain is one of the top three ranking factors. Optimize for it with better click-through rates, authority-matching content formats, and natural language.
• Stop targeting single keywords. Use semantically related terms and synonyms throughout your content.
• Your meta description is sales copy for the click in Google. Write it deliberately.
• The messy middle is where most projects die. Expect it and prepare for it.
• Stay focused: work one project from start to profit before chasing new opportunities
• Recommit by reconnecting with your original motivation and scheduling the next steps
• Change the plan when needed, but keep the objective the same
• Quitting is okay when the goal genuinely no longer makes sense, but not because the middle is uncomfortable
• Convert your website to HTTPS. It is no longer optional.

What's Changed Since This Episode

Mark recorded this in May 2017, and while his project completion advice is timeless, the SEO landscape has evolved significantly.

RankBrain has been absorbed into a broader set of AI systems. Google has since introduced BERT (2019) and MUM (2021), which dramatically improved the search engine's ability to understand natural language, context, and intent. The practical takeaway remains the same: write naturally, use semantically related terms, and focus on comprehensively answering the searcher's question rather than targeting exact-match keywords.

HTTPS is now universally expected. In 2017, HTTPS was becoming important. By 2026, it is a baseline requirement. Chrome and all major browsers prominently warn users about non-HTTPS sites, and Google confirms it as a ranking signal. If your site is still on HTTP, migrating should be your top priority.

Click-through rate optimization has become more complex. Google's AI Overviews and featured snippets now occupy significant space on search results pages, reducing click-through rates for traditional organic listings. Optimizing your title tags and meta descriptions for compelling, curiosity-driven messaging is more important than ever to compete for clicks in a crowded SERP.

Project management and accountability tools have improved dramatically. Notion, ClickUp, Todoist, and AI assistants can help break projects into manageable steps, create realistic timelines, and maintain momentum through the messy middle. The bottleneck Mark identified, the discipline to push through, remains the same, but the tools supporting that discipline are far better.

Resources Mentioned

• A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Don Miller
• Lynn Terry at ClickNewz.com — “start to profit” framework
• 5 Ways SEO Experts Optimize for RankBrain (Search Engine Land)
• LNIM114 — Switching to HTTPS

Related Episodes

If you found this episode helpful, you might also enjoy:

• LNIM136 — Procrastination Tips: Overcoming Fear
• LNIM139 — Blog Content Ideas
• LNIM140 — How To Get Started Online

Listen and Subscribe

Listen to Late Night Internet Marketing on Apple Podcasts or subscribe at latenightim.com/internet-marketing-podcast/. Have a question for Mark? Call the digital recorder at 214-444-8655 or drop a comment below.