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What is Google’s New Bert Algorithm and will it Affect YOUR SEO?

At Media Venue, we are always watching for shifts in the digital marketing industry so we can help businesses succeed under the new changes. In fact, Media Venue offers a variety of SEO services, including content development for SEO, SEO consulting, and more. One of the most recent industry changes was the introduction Google’s new algorithm, Bert. The Bert algorithm is not only the biggest algorithm change in almost 5 years, but it will also affect 10% of search results and (an undisclosed number of) advertisements.

So, what exactly does this new algorithm include? Why is it important? How does it relate to SEO? Why is it important for you and your business? Media Venue has the answers to these questions and more:

What is the New Bert Algorithm?

The Bert algorithm is Google’s biggest algorithm update in almost 5 years (when the RankBrain algorithm debuted). “Bert” stands for “Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers” and essentially focuses on better understanding the way humans use language and how that affects search engine queries.

Essentially, Bert is now looking to better understand the bidirectional relationship of a keyword (the words coming before and after the keyword), slang words, and homonyms (words with multiple meanings). Bert’s goal is to use the better understanding of these words and phrases to present more relevant search results.

How Will the Bert Algorithm Affect My Business?

Like we mentioned before, the new Bert algorithm will change the way 10% of search results appear in Google (thereby affecting their PageRank for a keyword or a keyphrase) and the way ad results will appear. In addition, the new algorithm will also affect featured snippets.

Although these are all important, especially if you’re ranking for a particular keyword, multiple sources have pointed out that most of these changes will be impacting long-tail queries. Long-tail queries are especially relevant in the rise of voice-search with virtual assistants such as Alexa and Siri. An example of a long-tail query would be “budget organic flower shop near Nashville, Tennessee” rather than just “flower shop Nashville” or “organic flower shop” (both of which are short-tail queries). Essentially, your PageRank or snippet would primarily be affected under the new Bert algorithm if your long-tail keyword includes slang or homonyms, or if Google decides there’s a more relevant long-tail keyword.

Any or all of these can impact your business with the roll out of the new algorithm, so it’s important to watch for how these changes may be affecting your business and begin focusing more on your business’ SEO. Need help? Just give Media Venue a call at 502-855-4786!

What do I Need to do for the New Bert Algorithm?

While the Bert algorithm is important, it’s imperative to note that the new Bert algorithm isn’t replacing any older algorithms; instead, it is merely an add-on that is working alongside the RankBrain algorithm to bring consumers better search results.

However, the new algorithm highlights how important it is to have a solid SEO foundation in place for your business, especially due to its focus on long-tail queries. Building up SEO through strong website content and claiming your Google MyBusiness (GMB) listing can help improve your SEO and all-around performance on search engines.

How Can Media Venue Help?

At Media Venue, we’re always watching out for any changes in search engine algorithms to make sure our approach to SEO is up to date and we are proud to offer these SEO services to clients. Whether you need assistance in content development, SEO consulting, SEO performance, and more, Media Venue can help you see better search engine performance in the future.

For more information on our SEO services or for general digital marketing inquiries, please contact David Clark at 502-855-4786 or at [email protected] to learn more on how Media Venue can help your business succeed.

Copeland, Rob. “Google Rolls Out Improved Search.” The Wall Street Journal, 26 Oct. 2019, pp. B3–B3.

Devlin, Jacob, and Ming-Wei Chang. “Open Sourcing BERT: State-of-the-Art Pre-Training for Natural Language Processing.” Google AI Blog, 2 Nov. 2018, ai.googleblog.com/2018/11/open-sourcing-bert-state-of-art-pre.html.

Schwartz, Barry. “Welcome BERT: Google’s Latest Search Algorithm to Better Understand Natural Language.” Search Engine Land, Search Engine Land, 25 Oct. 2019, searchengineland.com/welcome-bert-google-artificial-intelligence-for-understanding-search-queries-323976.

Schwartz, Barry. “Why You May Not Have Noticed the Google BERT Update.” Search Engine Land, Search Engine Land, 28 Oct. 2019, searchengineland.com/why-you-may-not-have-noticed-the-google-bert-update-324103.