What’s Google BERT Update?

Google BERT stands to Bidirectional Encoder Representatives from Transformers. Google BERT is an algorithm which better understands and infers users’ needs when they enter something into search engines. It works as a neural network that powers user queries. BERT is an open-source intelligence which allows computers to better understand user questions through natural language processing. Google hopes you will imagine Bert from Sesame Street.

Google is constantly making adjustments to make its search functions more user-friendly. However, it can take time for businesses to see the impact on their SEO practices. Google BERT, a recent update, is expected to impact 10% of all searches.

Although it may sound small, it is huge when it comes to ranking.   

It’s actually one of the most significant updates to Google’s website in the last five years. It’s likely to have a significant impact on small and large businesses. Find out how BERT affects search queries and how it could disrupt your content marketing plan.

What’s Natural Language Processing (NLP),?

Google will automatically show you the status of a flight number when you enter it. It will display how your business is doing that day when you enter a stock number.

Google can accurately predict what you are looking for when you enter these numbers. However, Google is unable to process more vague terms.

Google released an update. It gave the following search term as an example. “2019 Brazil travelers to the USA need a visa” Without natural language processing, Google would interpret it as a U.S citizen seeking advice on traveling to Brazil.

Google will theoretically be able to understand the context of the query with the BERT update and present more relevant results to Brazilians looking for information about visas to travel to the U.S.

These are some other examples of Google’s BERT in action:

Query: Can estheticians do a lot of standing at work?

Google used to interpret the term “stand” before the BERT update as “stand alone.” This meant that the search results did not focus on physical demand but rather the ability to practice in an individual office. Google now interprets it with the context intended.

Query: Is it possible to get medicine for someone else?

The results used to include tips on filling prescriptions. They now have more relevant results on how to pick up a prescription from someone else.

Google’s BERT update has an impact on more than search queries. It also updates featured snippets. The featured snippets, as the name suggests, are pages that contain blocks of content that allow users to identify whether the page contains the information they require. Google BERT also uses its natural language processing algorithm for featured snippets to help it rank higher in search results.

Google will place too much weight upon the word “curb” in the featured snippet, “Parking Hill No Curb,” which could affect search results. Users can now find more relevant featuredsnippets to help them park their vehicle on a hill.

How will BERT affect my company’s SEO?

Google always makes changes to their search engine results pages, and there are always concerns about how they will impact SEO practices.

First, BERT does not penalize anyone based on their current SEO practices. What works for you today, should also work tomorrow. By using the most advanced technology in artificial intelligence, BERT aims to improve search engine understanding of user queries.

This will not have any effect on your existing website content. However, every update should be accompanied by a review of your existing SEO strategy.

Because BERT has an impact on user queries, it is helpful to understand the three main ways people search for information via Google:

• Informational queries
• Navigational queries
• Transactional queries

These three questions can be combined. This is how it would work.

• Informational: A query that someone asks when they need to know the answer to a question. One common example is “How to avoid getting fat” as we get closer to the holidays. Once they search for information, they will find information on how to stick to a diet plan over the holidays, portion control, and other useful tips.

• Navigational They might try to narrow down the search results, especially if they’re trying to follow a particular diet. A navigational query might include “weight watchers diet”.

• Transactional After they have found the answer they seek, they may participate in a transactional question: “weight watchers holiday recipe” or “weight watchers membership.”

Now, after BERT has been inactive for a few months, 

Experts in SEO have discovered that BERT can affect top-of the-funnel keywords which are informational queries. This information is useful for companies who want to use SEO to stay ahead of their competitors. Get more specific in your content to maintain or rise in your SERPs rankings.

SEO best practice advises that you write long-form content when creating content for your website (the best way for Google to rank you for information keywords and queries).

Although you may have heard that long-form content is more popular on Google, the important thing to remember is not to focus on word count. Google algorithms are more focused on quality content and longer-form content offers you more opportunities to achieve that.

These are the key takeaways of the Google BERT Update, as confirmed by the gurus from Google:

• Create compelling, unique content. Specifics will rank higher than generic content. If you’re writing about “how to avoid holiday weight gain” and not Atkins or Keto, you should not be writing about fad diets. Instead, we recommend that you focus on all possible options, including portion control, simple food swaps, and timing your food intake.

• Don’t think about keyword density. In recent years, most SEO professionals have been shifting away from keyword density. Keyword density will be obsolete with the BERT update and future AI updates. As Google’s algorithm learns more about the context and what users are actually searching for, keywords density will be less relevant.

• To fully take advantage of BERT, those who wish to do so will need to create long, detailed, and comprehensive content. This aligns well with BERT’s mission, which is to provide the best possible answer to user questions.

• A drop may occur after BERT. However, this is less of a punishment than a decrease in traffic. People will go elsewhere if they don’t find what they are looking for on your site. This increases your bounce rate. Your current content can now be used to reach more users. You can revisit your keywords if you are experiencing consistent drop in traffic and write long, relevant content that speaks to your target audience.

Businesses that create unique, meaningful content should not worry about BERT. This update helps to better understand user queries. Those who create detailed content with specific keywords will see improvements in their on page SEO. Businesses can harness the power and potential of BERT to increase traffic and conversions by leveraging content and not paying attention to keyword density. Google will get smarter every year.