Google BERT and SEO – How to Keep Up with the New Google Standards?

Google’s latest algorithm update encourages websites to create content that satisfies user’s queries rather than Google search engines.

Google has been constantly working to improve ways to gratify the user’s curiosity. In one of the Google blogs Pandu Nayak, Google Fellow and Vice President, Search, says that everyday Google receives billions of queries and 15% of those searches are the ones that are never receive to the global search engine before. He further added that Google Search is all about understanding the language in which the query is receive. Its responsibility of Search to provide users with relevant information from the web regardless of how the words in query is spell.

What is BERT?

Google can now understand your queries as a fellow human and not by being a robot.

To achieve relevant results, Google rolled out the new Natural Language Processing (NPL) model called Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers aka BERT at end of October in 2019.

BERT, a neural network-based technique for natural language processing pre-training is Google’s newly set standards for website ranking. In simple words, the technique will train and help Google to understand the connection of words in search queries better.

The key technical innovation of Bert is to apply the model to the language modeling system. The bidirectional-trained program can help achieve a deeper understanding of language contact. This contrasts with Google’s previous effort that allowed Search to understand text sequence from left to right or combined left to right and right and left.

To understand this phenomenon better, Google has given an example:

The search engine said that with a query for “2019 brazil traveler to the USA needs a visa,” the word “to” will have the same importance for Google search as the rest of the words in a sentence.

BERT helps Google in catching the nuance of each word even if it is as common as the word “to.”

This particular change influenced after having BERT on board, as previously Google would not understand the importance of connecting words.

Google BERT Advanced – Top Stories Carousel

Soon after expanding its ability to understand language to 70 languages on December 10, 2019, BERT started fetching an in-depth understanding of the results within the Top Stories Carousel.

Google’s top stories carousel is algorithmically created collection of the top news stories, which are relevant to what users search. The top stories carousel includes content with thumbnail, headlines and puts location date, according to SEO & digital PR director at Effective Spend, Greg Barkley.

To simply state, Google’s top stories carousel in Google’s program to provide users with the most recent news about the topics they research.

How to Get Your Content in the Top Stories – Tips By SEO Experts

The latest algorithm update raised numerous questions in the minds of marketers. While some of the markets are questioning the unusual name of the language-training program, others are wondering how this NLP would affect their SEO ranking.

This is not the first time that Google has made changes in its search algorithm. SEO experts were surprised with over 3,000 search algorithm changes in 2018 by Google. However, this is the first time that the search engine has claimed to introduce “one of the biggest leaps forward in the history of search.”

With such major changes in the Google search engine, it will be critical for companies to get their articles added in the top news carousel.

Nevertheless, by modifying their content strategies according to Google BERT standards brands can increase their chances to get noticed and drive brand awareness.

Start Using Accelerated Mobile Pages

AMPs help Google in displaying content with the faster speed that satisfy searchers. The SEO account manager at Seer Interactive, Zaine Clark says that the Utilization of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is an important factor for SEO. For brands to win over Google search engine creating the second version of their web pages with simplified AMP is crucial.

Web pages with simplified AMP HTML and AMP JS published to a CDN increase the chances of pleasing the SEO God.

Focus on Website Speed

Regardless of having a high-speed DSL, a searcher wants a webpage to load with a blink of an eye.

There is no way an SEO expert would not guide you about working and focusing on your website speed. Nothing forces your customers to fly immediately from your website than extended page load time.

CTO and Co-founder at INK, Alexander De Ridder say that websites that if you do not want to use AMP should focus more on their page speed. In order, to achieve it use static site generator (SSG) and CDN or simply move away from legacy web technologies.

SEO experts, content marketers and brand website owners should understand that Google is in a constant phase to provide its users with the most relevant content from the websites that work well. Therefore. It is highly crucial to work on a website’s performance to keep up with the standard of Google Bert update.

Conclusion

Google will keep on releasing periodic updates like Panda, BERT, and you as an SEO expert and content marketer will keep on modifying your content marketing strategies to achieve high ranking.

However, no matter what SEO tactics or content marketing strategies you apply nothing please the search Google and its algorithm updates than a quality content curated to satisfy user’s queries ONLY. Therefore, creating and publishing relevant and engaging content directed purely towards the user and not Google is crucial to attain success.