For years, marketers have built their strategies around the funnel — awareness, consideration, conversion. But that linear model no longer reflects how people actually search. Queries are getting longer, journeys more comparative, and decisions less predictable. Welcome to Google’s Messy Middle: the space between trigger and purchase where users explore, evaluate, and loop back before making a choice.

In this session, we’ll show how to evolve from funnel-based planning to Messy Middle optimization. You’ll learn how to map intent in non-linear journeys, design content that supports complex decision patterns, and align metrics with how people really behave — not how we wish they did. The old world of marketing isn’t obsolete, but it needs translation into a system where discovery and decision happen simultaneously. This is where strategy meets psychology, and where great marketers stay relevant.