Understanding Google's new algorithm - what is Google BERT?

So what will BERT mean for the ordinary Google user?

The short answer is: even more relevant and credible results - and therefore a better user experience.

Because the better Google understands how people actually talk and search, the better and more relevant search results it will be able to show users. With the update, Google's SERP will therefore be even better at showing users pages that answer their questions - and not just pages with keywords or selected words from the query.

Let me illustrate with an example:

You want to stop smoking. But you want to do it without using nicotine products like patches and gum. So you google "quit smoking without nicotine products".

At present, Google will typically match single words and phrases like "quit smoking" and "nicotine products" with words in search results - without taking into account the highly relevant relationship word "without". This means that the search engine will show you search results with nicotine products - contrary to your query purpose.

But with the BERT update, Google will decode the linguistic context and thus understand the relationship of the relationship word to the other words in your query. Or to put it another way: You'll see pages that answer how to quit smoking without using nicotine products.

In short, Google is trying to become more user-friendly with the BERT update.

It all depends on whether you've kept your SEO up to date - or you're still thinking SEO, as you were in 2010.

As I mentioned in the post "Why your business should write blog posts", content marketing plays a crucial role in SEO anno 2019 (2020 just around the corner). Relevant and valuable content that answers users' questions has become best practice in search engine optimization.

This means you don't have to fear poor rankings in search results with the arrival of BERT if your web copy is user-friendly and well-written.

Is your go-to SEO hack to tightly pack your landing pages with the primary keyword? Or do you write a myriad of landing pages with different variations of a keyword, even though they all answer the same question?

Then you should probably consider revising your SEO strategy if you don't want to be left behind in search results in 2020, when Google expects to roll out BERT in Denmark.

In fact, BERT will primarily affect information keywords - i.e. the keywords that users google when seeking information on a particular topic. For example, keywords such as "What is Google BERT?"

This means that it becomes less lucrative to write long landing pages and blog posts where your exact match keyword appears unnaturally many times in the text. Instead, focus on how you can give your users answers to their questions.

I hope that my post has given you a little understanding of Google BERT - although of course I have only just scratched the surface of the almost inexhaustible knowledge that such a complex algorithm throws off.

Now I have tried as far as possible to describe BERT with objective glasses. But what do I think about BERT as a SEO copywriter - how will the update affect my work?

The short answer is: positive!

In a previous position at another Danish web agency, I often had to write up to ten variations of the same landing page for the same client to hit the most exact match searches. This could be frustrating because I sometimes felt like I was writing to Google - and not to people. Those days, thankfully, are a thing of the past.

Today, it is common knowledge that SEO depends more on the relevance of the content for users. And with BERT, good content marketing will only get easier, because Google will be able to figure out more easily what makes sense to the user.

This means that keyword density and the use of exact match keywords become even less relevant - and that it therefore becomes significantly more fun and easier to write web texts that are both SEO friendly and valuable for users.

Not sure if BERT will penalise your landing page's Google ranking? Or do you just have questions about BERT and SEO in general?

Then write to me directly at ak@webamp.dk, or contact Webamp at 70 60 50 28 or info@webamp.dk, and have a no-obligation chat with one of our SEO specialists.