How to optimize for Google’s BERT algorithm for technical SEO

Google’s BERT algorithm, which stands for “Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers,” is a neural network-based technique for natural language processing (NLP) that was introduced in October 2019. BERT is designed to better understand the intent behind a user’s search query and the context in which the query is being used. This allows Google to deliver more relevant search results to users.

As a technical SEO, it’s important to understand how BERT works and how to optimize your website for it in order to improve your search engine rankings. In this blog post, we’ll cover the following topics:

1. How BERT works and how it impacts search results
2. How to optimize your website’s content for BERT
3. How to optimize your website’s technical SEO for BERT
4. How BERT works and how it impacts search results

BERT is a pre-trained language model that is fine-tuned for specific NLP tasks, such as question answering and sentiment analysis. It is trained on a massive dataset of text, which allows it to understand the nuances of natural language and the context in which words are used.

One of the key features of BERT is its ability to understand the relationship between words in a sentence. For example, it can understand that “I like to eat pizza with pineapple” is different from “I like pineapple on my pizza.” This allows BERT to better understand the intent behind a user’s search query and deliver more relevant search results.

BERT also has a significant impact on search results. Google has stated that BERT has been applied to about 10% of all search queries and has made it possible to return more relevant results for complex queries. Additionally, BERT has had a positive impact on Featured Snippets, which are the summary answers that appear at the top of search results for certain queries.

2. How to optimize your website’s content for BERT

To optimize your website’s content for BERT, it’s important to focus on creating high-quality, relevant content that addresses the user’s intent. Here are some tips for optimizing your content for BERT:

• Use natural language: BERT is designed to understand natural language, so it’s important to use language that sounds like it’s coming from a human. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that might be confusing to the average person.
• Use long-tail keywords: BERT is able to understand the context of a query and the relationship between words, so it’s important to use long-tail keywords that accurately reflect the intent behind a user’s search query.
• Use headings and subheadings: BERT is able to understand the structure of a webpage, so it’s important to use headings and subheadings to organize your content and make it easy for BERT to understand the main topic of the page.
• Use structured data: BERT is able to understand the relationship between different pieces of information on a webpage, so it’s important to use structured data, such as schema markup, to provide additional context about your content.

3. How to optimize your website’s technical SEO for BERT

In addition to optimizing your website’s content for BERT, it’s also important to optimize your website’s technical SEO. Here are some tips for optimizing your website’s technical SEO for BERT:

• Use a responsive design: BERT is able to understand the structure of a webpage, so it’s important to use a responsive design that makes it easy for BERT to understand the layout of your content.
• Use a fast-loading website: BERT is able to understand the structure of a webpage, so it’s important to use a fast-loading website to ensure that BERT can quickly and easily crawl and understand your content.
• Optimize your website’s URLs: BERT is able to understand the structure of a webpage, so it’s important to use clear, concise URLs that accurately reflect the content of the page.
• Use internal linking: BERT is able to understand the relationship between different pieces of content on your website, so it’s important to use internal linking to help BERT understand how your content is related.

In conclusion, Google’s BERT algorithm is a significant advancement in natural language processing that has had a significant impact on search results. As a technical SEO, it’s important to understand how BERT works and how to optimize your website for it in order to improve your search engine rankings. By focusing on creating high-quality, relevant content that addresses the user’s intent, using natural language, long-tail keywords, headings and subheadings, structured data, responsive design, fast-loading website, optimized URLs and internal linking, you can help BERT understand your website and deliver more relevant search results to users.

4. Optimize your website’s meta tags: Meta tags such as the title tag and meta description are important for providing context about your website’s content to both users and search engines. Make sure that your meta tags accurately reflect the content of the page and include keywords that are relevant to the user’s search query.
5. Monitor your website’s performance: It’s important to monitor your website’s performance to ensure that it is being crawled and indexed correctly by BERT. Use tools such as Google Search Console to monitor your website’s performance and identify any issues that may be affecting your search engine rankings.
6. Monitor your website’s backlinks: Backlinks are an important factor for determining the authority and credibility of your website. Make sure that your website has a healthy number of high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites. Use tools such as Ahrefs or Majestic to monitor your website’s backlinks and identify any potentially harmful links that may be affecting your search engine rankings.
7. Monitor your website’s user engagement: User engagement is an important factor for determining the quality of your website’s content. Make sure that your website’s content is engaging and relevant to users, and that they are spending enough time on your website. Use tools such as Google Analytics to monitor your website’s user engagement and identify any issues that may be affecting your search engine rankings.
8. Monitor your website’s mobile performance: With the increasing use of mobile devices, it’s important to ensure that your website is optimized for mobile. Make sure that your website is responsive and loads quickly on mobile devices, as this can affect your search engine rankings. Use tools such as Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check your website’s mobile performance.
9. Monitor your website’s load time: BERT is able to understand the structure of a webpage, so it’s important to use a website that loads quickly. Use tools such as Google’s PageSpeed Insights to check your website’s load time and identify any issues that may be affecting your search engine rankings.

By following these tips and best practices, you can optimize your website for BERT and improve your search engine rankings. Keep in mind that optimizing for BERT is an ongoing process and you should regularly monitor and update your website’s performance. By staying up to date with the latest changes and advancements in BERT, you can ensure that your website is delivering the best possible experience for users and is well-positioned to rank well in search results.

10. Optimize your website’s images and videos: BERT is able to understand the context of images and videos, so it’s important to optimize them for search. Use descriptive file names, alt tags and captions to provide context about the image or video. Additionally, make sure that your images and videos are properly compressed to ensure that they load quickly.
11. Optimize your website’s local SEO: BERT is able to understand the intent and context of a query, so it’s important to optimize your website for local SEO. This includes including your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) in the website, and making sure that it is consistent across all your online listings, including Google My Business, Yelp, and other local directories.
12. Optimize your website’s voice search: With the increasing use of voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant, it’s important to optimize your website for voice search. Make sure that your website’s content is written in a conversational tone, use long-tail keywords, and include structured data to help BERT understand your website’s content.
13. Optimize your website’s international SEO: If your website caters to an international audience, it’s important to optimize it for international SEO. This includes creating country-specific content, using hreflang tags to indicate the language of your content, and using a country-specific domain extension (e.g. .fr for France, .de for Germany)
14. Optimize your website’s content for featured snippets: Featured snippets are the summary answers that appear at the top of search results for certain queries. BERT has had a positive impact on Featured Snippets, so it’s important to optimize your website’s content for them. This includes providing concise, accurate, and complete answers to user’s queries, using structured data, and including headings and subheadings.

By following these tips and best practices, you can optimize your website for BERT and improve your search engine rankings. However, keep in mind that search engine algorithms are constantly evolving, so it’s important to stay up to date with the latest changes and advancements in BERT and the SEO industry in general. Additionally, it’s important to keep in mind that optimizing for BERT is only one aspect of SEO, there are many other factors that you should consider to improve your website’s search engine rankings.