BERT is the most recent Google update that they described as the most important update in the last five years… but it has gone under the radar. It specifically will affect search engine optimisation. According to Google, it will mainly do this by altering complex SQL code. BERT which stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformation which is basically a load of meaningless, big scientific words all thrown together however, it is fairly easy to understand what it does.

The SQL code being altered are search queries which rely on context, the improvements are oriented around improving natural language queries. BERT can help search results be more relevant dependant on the context of the search, attempting to make the statements less ambiguous. This will affect longer queries more efficiently as obviously the longer the query the more context it will include as keywords such as “to” and “for” matter a lot to the contextual meaning. Long story short Google has adjusted its algorithm to understand language better.

The BERT algorithm is a deep learning algorithm related to natural language processing. It allows the program to decipher what different words could potentially mean in a sentence. Google has also made this code open source hopefully as time goes on it can be made more efficient.

Many people online have questioned about how this is going to affect their business and SEO but SEO expert Dawn Anderson says that it only really affects poorly written websites. This is because BERT is better at writing than most humans as linguists will argue for hours over the part of speech a single word is and frequently humans will ask each other “what is your point?”

An example search would be “Can you get medicine for someone pharmacy”.

Before BERT the top results would be a webpage by MedicinePlus with the title “getting a prescription filled”.
After BERT the top results would be a .gov website with the title “Can a family or friend pick up a prescription”.

This may seem like a small difference but after BERT significantly relates more to the question asked.

If you want to keep your rankings the same you might want to consider adapting your SEO strategy, the main solution is to go very specific with your content as Google cares mostly about quality so it is pointless going off at a tangent and talking about 20 different things with a million words. Instead, Google wants you to answer the users’ question as quickly and providing more value in that quick answer. It Is all about informational keywords.

In conclusion, initially your search traffic might drop a little but that is okay as it means all the people that clicked on your site and then straight off because Google recommended it to them after their ambiguous search, won’t happen as much meaning it will make your user metrics look better and decrease your bounce rate. In addition to that, it also creates opportunity to make content that is super, super-specific and allow you to overtake your competitors.

So it’s a YES from us with regards to the BERT update! If you would like to know more or have any questions regarding your current SEO, please feel free to give us a call or drop us a line.