Google Updates BERT

There is a reason Google is the most popular search engine platform in the world. The Google team is committed to providing its users with the most relevant and accurate sources of information. In order to do so, they need to first understand exactly what the user is searching for.

With the help of Google’s latest update, the search engine will be able to better understand and respond to queries. The BERT algorithm, which stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers, is a language processing software that will serve to help Google understand sentences or larger bodies of text.

With the invention of Google Homes and text-to-talk features, users have become more conversational and formal with their searches. A majority of users speak to Google as they would speak to another human being.

For example, instead of searching “best Baltimore restaurant Italian”, users typically search “What is the best Italian restaurant in Baltimore?”

In response, Google realized a more natural language processor was needed to respond and react to these conversational tones. BERT is able to do just that. Rather than looking at the meaning of each word individually, BERT is able to look at

the entire string of words to understand context and nuances. By looking at the words before and after, BERT can better interpret the meaning of the word within the sentence.

Impact on SEO

This natural look at language allows BERT to better comprehend conversational queries, and ultimately, allows Google to give superior search results. But what does this mean for SEO?

It is important to note that the BERT algorithm is used to better understand search queries, but it will have no effect on how Google understands the content on webpages.

For now, BERT will only be used for a limited amount of searches: about 1 out of 10. But as Google improves its understanding of natural language and can effectively recognize the true context of a search, it will be able to find better matching search results.

In an effort to optimize webpages, companies should concentrate on publishing quality and relevant content. Take an in-depth look at what the audience is asking, commenting, or searching for – this will give you specific content ideas that are likely to appear in search result listings for your target audience.

Impact on Featured Snippets

With Google’s latest BERT update, featured snippets are more important than ever. BERT is able to better identify the type of search query, whether informational or navigational. For informational searches, Google will emphasize the most relevant information from the most relevant website in a featured snippet.

To appeal to BERT, companies are encouraged to include FAQs, how-to guides, images, videos, recipes, numbered lists, bullet points, or any content that is direct and pertinent.

If you would like more information about Google’s BERT, need help managing the impact of BERT on your website or other digital marketing services contact Pink Dog Digital at (410) 696-3305, email us at info@pinkdogdigital.com, or visit us on the web at www.pinkdogdigital.com.