The Google BERT algorithm update in October 2019 was announced as their largest update to affect Google search in 5 years. BERT, meaning Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers, aimed to improve the understanding of search queries and improve search results.
By understanding the meaning of the words used in a search query, the system learns about distinctions rather than relying on matched keywords. The benefit of this to the user is that the search results provided will be much more accurate and relevant.
Google uses a natural language processor to understand and learn distinctions between how a word can be meant by its context.
BERT gradually improves the quality of the search results it provides and rewards high-quality content that is well written and cites sources.
The Main Focus of the Algorithm Update
The main focus of the Google BERT algorithm update in October 2019 was to improve the quality of results users are provided, by understanding the natural language used in search queries.
How to Protect Your Site Against This Algorithm Update
The BERT update would reward your site for following good SEO practices and guidelines by providing high-quality content and getting backlinks from authoritative and relevant sites. Optimising content, images, and videos are essential for a high-ranking website.
