There is a new kid on the block known as Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers, also short for "Bert." Ever since its introduction, it's being regarded as one of the most important updates in the last five years. It began it's rolling out on October 21, 2019, for English-language queries.  But, have you ever wondered why so much importance is being given to it? What does it do? Why does it matter? And should you really be spending your time learning about it? Well, let me just start off by telling you that Bert will affect 1 in 10 of your search queries from now on. 

Do you even have any idea how wonderful it is going to bring a significant impact on search engine optimization and its entire landscape? Well, we will get to know that in just a short while, but let us first dive into BERT's general description, what it is and what does it do?

What Is BERT Exactly?

BERT is basically an algorithm update to properly analyze how words or different prepositions are used in a search query and how they relate to one another. In short, before BERT Google used to do search queries much easier by merely omitting certain words from it, such as "for" and "But." However, it soon realized that there was a significant difference between a search query "flights from London to New York" and "flights from New York to London."

Google used to easily provide the same search results by simply ignoring the "from" and "to" from the query. And the results it showed were of no value, mainly due to the massive difference between the search queries, as explained in the example mentioned above. Thus, with the help of this new algorithm update, the search engine aims to give out more accurate results by carefully taking every phrase, word, and syllable into consideration.

Why Is It Important?

Even though Google keeps on making changes in its search engine algorithms every now and then, the introduction of BERT is seen quite impactful. It is developed as an effort by Google to enhance the user's experience. Now, you see, search engines fail to understand a complicated query fully completely; for this reason, a better understanding of language and its nuances is important. BERT makes this job easier, so when you wonder next time, why it matters? This is one of the main reasons. With the help of BERT, Google aims to increase your search rankings by providing more accurate results and enhanced user experience.

Prepare your Website for Google Bert

If, as a website owner, you are looking for ways to increase your search engine rankings, then it's always better to start with a strategy. But this doesn't mean you would have to revamp your search rankings completely, you need to follow four techniques given below to achieve this aim.

1. Incorporate Simple Keywords

One of the most important factors these days for deploying an effective keyword strategy is the use of mixing long-tail keywords of three or more words. Bert tends to prioritize conversational words tightly coupled together, and in this way, it impacts the current trend of your content.

Moreover, BERT follows content that is of high quality and is created naturally. Which means it should be informational. Don't focus on keyword generation too much; you would want to provide genuine information through your content as well. Bert only prefers content that speaks value. Merely, focusing on your choice of keywords won’t be a smart thing to do in this regard. Hence, put in tireless efforts for creating fresh, crisp, and genuine content and let the keywords you have chosen flow naturally.

2. Long-tail Keywords are the Real Deal

As mentioned earlier, long-tail keywords should be your top-most priority while dealing with BERT. Even though BERT content quality is also a priority, a long-tail keyword is also of some relevance, so don't ignore them. While content quality is the number-one priority, BERT will give long-tail keywords equal relevance. When Google receives a search query, it knows that users are typically typing it in by not keeping relevant keywords in mind. They are simply in search of directions, advice, and recipes.

Google understands this by focusing on longer queries and by catering to its users. So, for this reason, it would be a smarter thing to incorporate long-tail keywords. For instance, create content that has the title "8 steps to create a vanilla cupcake" instead of "steps to create cupcake." Searches like these need to be answered. Keeping your audience in mind can also be beneficial. Think from their perspective and what words they utilize to type their query.

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How to find long-tail Keywords?

3. Invest in Creating Informational Search Content

Informational searches refer to queries based on broad topics. It includes questions that get searched most on, and many people want answers to them. Moreover, as BERT also understands languages, it makes providing answers to questions based on general information much easier. Hence, it would be better to start off from creating content that is based on information search.

Start creating how-to articles that provide a step-by-step guide or go for writing blogs that provide tips and benefits on specific topics. There are tremendous opportunities for you to create content based on informational search; what matters most is that all the information that goes into the content must be of genuine nature.

4. Make Use of Stop Words

Now, if you don't know what stop words are, they are the prepositions used in the content which were previously omitted by the search engine. However, now with BERT, Google promises to provide its users with more accurate results. Which means, it would be advantageous for you to put stop words back in your content.

Take Away

This blog illustrates the importance of BERT with some essential techniques which will help your website get back on track and optimize with BERT accordingly. Google is making efforts towards expanding its AI’s capacity to examine the different nuances of language. This means it's more important for websites to come up with content that speaks quality, value, and authenticity. Hence, read on this blog to understand all different concepts for BERT and level up your website ranking game.