Google's Launch of BERT Sparked an Enormous Buzz in the SEO Industry. Here's How BERT Affects SEO and How You Can Optimize For It
The BERT, short for bidirectional encoder representations from transformers, is the most significant update in the last five years, according to Google.
You can consider it the most shaking-caused update from Google since the launch of RankBrain on October 26, 2015. By all means, there is an excellent chance that BERT will impact your website. If it has not yet affected your website, it will ultimately affect it as your traffic ramps up.
Is the buzz justified over the BERT update?
The buzz over the BERT update in the SEO community is legitimate since it is molding search more about the true meaning behind the words instead of the words themselves. Put it another way, the phenomenon of search intent is more crucial now than ever.
Interesting fact: the BERT update will affect 1 in 10 search queries.
Since experts in the SEO community strongly believe that there will be a considerable impact by BERT on searches, the importance of quality content is significantly higher.
What exactly has the BERT targeted?
Essentially, the BERT update has mainly targeted language processing. It makes it easier for Google to retrieve the more accurate results in its search engine upon the user's query.
The search engine will behave more intelligently and analyze your query in a more nuanced manner. Thus, a user can expect more intended results while searching on Google.
BERT in Action
Let's assume you search something like
do aestheticians stand a lot at work
on Google.
Previously, Google used to incline in matching terms. The internal mechanism of its algorithm might assume the word
stand as similar to
stand-alone.
It now perceives that the word
stand has a context related to physical demand.
Let's see another example. Suppose you type something like
can you get medicine for someone pharmacy
on Google.
You can visibly understand the difference between the results of before and after. Now, it shows more relevant results.
Have a look at what BERT is not at all
One should bear in mind that BERT does not alter the way a website undergoes a process to get judged. The given update is dissimilar to previous updates of Google, such as Panda and Penguin. It does not incline to flag a website as either negative or positive.
It primarily enhances the search results in conversational search queries. As a result, a user gets able to see results better match the intent behind them.
The purpose behind the BERT release
The BERT update targets the voice search. It helps to retrieve better results in return for conversational queries.
Understandably, no one would love to write a long sentence when it comes to searching on Google. The same person might not say two words when he would say in voice assistant. Google has improved its algorithm, considering how a person behaves when he says something using a voice assistant, and how the same person behaves when he decides to write on the search bar.
On the other hand, we humans indulge in broken language as well. When we want something to see on Google, we type it there without caring much about language fundamentals. Google has enhanced its algorithm in the view of such human behavior as well. With its advanced algorithm, it can now better predict and construct contextual assumptions about the real meaning behind intricate search terms.
It is good that Google has decided to transform its algorithm for a better search experience for the less tech-savvy, average searcher. It is a gigantic step from Google to retrieve the intended result in return for an intricate search.
How to optimize for BERT?
It is impossible to optimize for BERT as there is nothing to optimize, according to Google. We can understandably feel an echo of their statement during the release of RankBrain.
Anyhow, SEO experts always find out the tricky ways of understanding an algorithm update creatively and uniquely. As a result, it enables us to come up with tactics that will help our website navigate through the ever-changing algorithms of Google.
That said, here are some straightforward strategies that can assist you with the fresh BERT update.
Simple content
Google repeatedly reminds us that we should write for the users, not the search engines. Therefore, it is not worth focusing on keyword placement, keyword density, etc. Alternatively, it is good to heed your focus on the quality of the content.
Unambiguously speaking, BERT concentrates on the context of the words used within the sentences. So, you need to indulge in quality content, directly expressing the point.
Avoid fancy language as much as possible, and say your point succinctly. Your content should include useful and fresh information that is beneficial for the readers.
Topic cluster
It is always a good idea to target a specific topic that solves a particular problem rather than trying to rank your site on any keyword. In this way, you can transmit signals to search engines that you are influential when it comes to the given topic, and your website contains useful information.
Surprisingly, you will see that search engines will drive traffic to your website if you tactfully encompass the useful information solving a problem.
Be specific
Learn to see things from the perspective of a searcher. To understand your searcher, you need to go through the same process. Imagine what you type if you want to have a laptop, assumably. In return, what kinds of search results would you expect?
More often, we forget about search terms and long-tail keywords, and this is what BERT is indeed trying to achieve. You ought to think about related searches as well as Google autocomplete to improve the potential of your website ranking on the first page of search engines.
Conclusion
Although the BERT is a massive update in terms of its effect, it is a means to an end. We all know what exactly Google is trying to achieve at the end. It wants webmasters to upload useful, fresh, and exciting quality content on their websites.
Hence, it is an opportunity to create specific content. Even if you miss traffic, find out the pages that dropped. You ought to create new content for search queries that you are losing. By coming up with new and useful content on those queries, you will rock once again.
