What is BERT?
BERT is the name of an algorithm in Google, introduced in 2019. BERT stands for "Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers" and is a network-based technique developed to understand users' searches better than was previously possible.
BERT focuses on content and allows the search engine, Google, to better understand the meaning and context of sentences, and thereby deliver better search results to the user.
Google has announced that BERT will affect up to around 10% of search results, and they consider it the most important update in 5 years since RankBrain.
Examples of Google BERT
Below you will find one of Google's own examples of the difference before and after BERT on the search "2019 brazil traveler to usa need a visa"
As seen in the after image on the right, Google better understands the search and thereby delivers a better result to the user. This is a great example of Google BERT in practice!
Why BERT?
Google's mission is:
"Our mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."
And thus to deliver results that are as relevant as possible for the user. The BERT algorithm is simply another step in this direction.
When Google can better understand connections and context, it can deliver the right results to its users — their ultimate goal.
When was BERT introduced?
The BERT algorithm was announced by Google on 24 October 2019 and was later rolled out to other countries at the beginning of December.
Google BERT is therefore active in Denmark to this day.
What does BERT mean for your SEO?
Google BERT is not something you need to fear, unlike many other Google algorithms (such as Google Penguin and Panda).
Google BERT can instead help your site rank — for example, if you have content on your site that Google previously had difficulty understanding and thus ranking, it will now be easier for Google to understand, resulting in better rankings.
If you want to learn more about Google BERT, you can read their own original announcement in connection with the launch here.
Are you unsure how Google BERT affects your website's SEO?
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