Technical Details of the BERT Update

The BERT update happened because of Google’s work on the science of language understanding. This was possible thanks to machine learning and improvement in comprehending queries. Last year, Google introduced and open-sourced a neural technique for natural language processing (NLP) called Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (abbreviated as BERT). This enabled anyone to train their own question answering system. This was a result of the giant’s research on transformers, which are models that process words in relation to the other words in the query and not one-by-one in order. Therefore, they (the models) are able to consider the full context of any word by also checking the ones that come before and after it.

Moreover, this algorithm is so powerful that the number of resources necessary for its operation forced the corporation to place it entirely in the cloud and to use Cloud TPUs for the first time.

What BERT Update Has In It For Users

Google states that the introduction of the BERT update will help users find useful information. Longer, conversational queries and searches will specifically be improved. When using prepositions like “for” and “to” which having an impact on the meaning, Google’s search will understand the context of the words in the query. Therefore, users will be allowed to search in a much more natural way and find the information they are actually looking for. Take a look at the examples below presented by Google.

As you can see, the results after the introduction of BERT seem to be more accurate for users.

Moreover, Google states that this update will improve the search for people all over the world. The algorithm learns from one language and is able to apply what it learned to other languages. So, as models learn in English, they will then apply their knowledge to languages like: Spanish, Polish, French, etc. The BERT model will also improve featured snippets in countries where this option is available.

What BERT Update Has In It For Websites

Well, BERT will probably change a lot for websites’ owners and SEO experts. It looks like over the past few months we could already have been affected by BERT’s tests. But if you are thinking about what you should introduce into your SEO strategy right now, so this update does not affect your website – hold your horses. This update will not punish or reward different websites. It simply changes the understanding of keywords by the search engine algorithm by making them more relevant to what users are looking for. The only thing you can do is to catch the key phrases that your website ranks lower for and optimize it better with the keywords users use in a more natural way for them. You can read about optimizing your website with questions and conversational keywords here.

All in all, the BERT should force you to focus much more on your users. Try to put yourself in their shoes, think like your website’s potential visitors. Moreover, be critical of your actions and your thoughts on your product and offer. Ultimately, the user decides whether your website meets their expectations.

One Step Forward in Voice Search Development

In my opinion, this update will help Google to move forward in voice search development and match better users’ queries with the search results. That is why the most important thing you need to do is to keep your website’s user, your potential customer, in mind. Then, focus on optimizing your website with proper keywords and look at the technical aspects of your website that will help you rank higher for voice queries. Optimizing your website for voice search is not that difficult, you just need to keep an eye on it because Google’s search will be constantly improving, and introducing more major updates.

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Google search has become our life advisor in many aspects. We ask it for “the best food near me”, “the cheapest smartphone”, “where to buy medicines”, or even more complicated questions, including ones regarding a medical diagnosis. If we need or want to know something, we just ask Google. That is why website owners need to adapt more to this shift in our behavior online. They need to put more effort into creating high-quality content that meets users’ needs and expectations. They also must be more flexible to meet the requirements of search engine algorithms. That is why we need to know more about how to optimize any website for voice search.

Let’s dig into it in this article! You will learn:

• How voice search works
• How voice search will impact an SEO
• What steps you need to take to optimize your website for voice search.

How Does Voice Search Work?

Voice search uses speech recognition to understand a query that a user has made. Then, it tries to find out answers online and show them to a user in search results. This usually directs users to a website if they are searching on a mobile device. Using smart speakers and voice assistants, it is more likely that they will read out the information that answers the question best.

How Voice Search Will Impact an SEO?

I think voice search will be growing really fast in the nearest future. Voice assistants are already being used more frequently. The global market of voice search increased by 187% last year, according to Canalys research. And this trend will persist, especially in China, because around 52% of all voice queries come from there. Moreover, business analytics say that by 2024, the entire voice search market will be worth around $ 30 billion. That is a big cake to share. That is why you should focus on voice search and optimize your website for it in order to be ahead of your competition.

How to Optimize a Website for Voice Search?

Follow my tips to optimize your website for voice search and drive more organic traffic to your site! Of course, this does not mean that we do not care about SEO basics like domain authority or high-quality content. We just add more aspects that matter more for voice search.

Let’s take a closer look at what we can do!

Page Speed Matters a Lot for Voice Search Optimization

That is one of the most important factors that can help optimize your website for voice search. If your page is loading slowly, you will not get any results for voice search queries. Users will not usually wait until your website loads. They will leave it to find another result that loads faster, not necessarily a better one. That is why you need to check your page speed, especially for your website’s mobile version. You can check it here or find other online tools.

Improve your website’s page speed as much as you can, do not neglect any of the aspects that can speed up your website’s loading time. There are many issues that can slow it down, for example, the size of your images is too large. You might have uploaded badly-optimized videos on your website. Your website can have issues with javascript, etc. Remember that most of the voice searches happen on mobile devices, so your website needs to load fast even though the internet connection may be of poor quality.

Question Keywords Are a Must

You should optimize the content on your website with question keyphrases like “What is the best meal”, “Where is the best bakery”, “How to find the best matcha”, “how do I use voice search”, etc. Put the phrases in the headers. Create particular topics as separate subpages, that is how every tip or piece of information is easy to find, read and comprehend. You need to take care of high-quality data and information, so it can be displayed in a featured snippet in search engines.

Use Conversational Keywords

Conversational keywords are crucial for voice search. Take a look at several examples:

• “Why can’t I lose weight”
• “Why can’t I find a healthy diet”
• “Why can’t I use voice search”.

Focus on key phrases like these above. Think of questions that are natural for people as they speak and look for the answer using voice search. One of the finest solutions that allow you to include all of these key phrases is to create an FAQ for your website.

How-to Structured Data

How-to structured data is “an instruction that explains how to achieve a result by performing a sequence of steps.” You can use it to markup content that comes in a how-to form, but that is not a recipe. Google has confirmed many times that structured data is beneficial for your search engine ranks. You should use Google’s How-to structured data for the content of your questions. Optimize your content with step-by-step instructions, bullet lists, and images.

Google My Business for Better Visibility

Create Google My Business for your website, especially if you operate locally. Optimize it with data to make your website more visible for local queries. When people use voice search, they often expect results for local queries like “Where is the nearest gas station” or “Where is a pharmacy near me”. If you provide information like contact details, office hours and your business address, both your website and Google My Business will have better chances to rank high for local queries. Moreover, you can encourage users to leave a review. If you get more positive reviews, your business will seem more reliable and trustworthy, and this is highly appreciated by Google.

Test Voice Search Optimization for Your Website

Run the tests with voice search and check if your website is shown on demanded queries. If you do not see your website in voice search results, take a closer look at the results that are presented. Analyze them thoroughly and optimize your website better. This is an ongoing process and there is always room for improvement. Your website has to be well-optimized to be ranked in voice search results. Try to run a detailed technical audit if you have trouble with noticing what should still be improved. If you eliminate all the errors, your chances to rank high in voice search will increase.

Voice Search Is the Future

Looking at the growth of voice search and the development of home assistants that use it, I can definitely say that voice search is the future. And that is both good and bad for marketers, SEO experts, and website owners. It is good for those who want to be ahead of their competition and who have already started to optimize their websites for voice search. It is bad for those, who do not know how to do it or are ignoring this trend. Your SEO strategy must include voice search nowadays if you want your business to thrive. This is hard work that needs a lot of your attention and knowledge, but voice search optimization also makes your content more user-friendly. It needs to meet users’ needs, therefore it is better and hopefully, created with a lot of thought.

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