What is BERT?

People let us introduce you to your best (online) friend...BERT. It's a buzzword Google searches…. But what is it and how has it changed the way we all search online?

Highlights

• Thanks to devices like Alexa, BERT is Google’s new algorithm; it interprets the text in a way that it truly comprehends what we mean!  
• It’s an advancement of natural language processing (NLP) models – so for growing businesses answering questions in an engaging way will help you get found by more prospects online.  
• The number one thing you can do is to continue – or start – to write really good quality content. Adjust content or create new articles that answer the questions that users AKA clients are looking for.
• Take business visibility to a new level by staying consistent. Keep writing this will help you use BERT to your competitive advantage!

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What is BERT?

BERT is Google’s new algorithm update and it’s been years in the making. BERT is short for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers and it is the first bidirectional model that can predict masked words. But what does that all mean? Basically, BERT can look at words before and after and predict what words are implied.

BERT’s algorithm can now more accurately answer the questions that someone inputs into a Google search and better understand the finer details of the natural language that humans use. This is a huge advancement in how we search and the results we get recommended to us. Google now has a better understanding of what the user wants and can now identify better their intent during a keyword search.

Is Google Speaking Your Language?

Businesses of all sizes rely on search engine optimization and keyword content for growth. With more people using mobile devices (Siri) or in-home products (Alexa), it is very important to creating engaging content that answers people’s questions!  In the past, computers had a difficult time understanding language.

Sure, it can enter and store text, but now it interprets the text in a way that it truly comprehends what we mean! Crazy right?!

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Before BERT, natural language processing (NLP) models were built to solve this lack of understanding between humans and computers. Including four main models: named entity recognition, classification, sentiment analysis, and question and answering.  But these individual models were only built to do one very specific task.

BERT now takes those individual models, plus uses 11 different models all at once to solve for the majority of NLP tasks. Google is now literally speaking your language! BERT is the end-all-be-all tool for understanding language as we spend more and more time online.  

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Words Matter > Words You Can Use to Increase Sales

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How Will BERT Affect My Company’s Content?

Search engine optimization (SEO) has become an increasingly popular tool that companies can use to promote and place their company higher up in a Google search result (more eyes=more customers).

This has been done historically through keywords. But with Google’s algorithm update, how will this affect SEO content? BERT (like language) is very individual, but there are some basic principles you can follow. The number one thing you can do is to continue – or start – to write really good quality content.  

‍While the BERT algorithm no longer focuses on word count to understand the intent of the user’s search query, businesses and the SEO companies they work with can now use this opportunity to focus on creating highly specific content that engages clients.    

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With BERT, companies need to focus on writing really good content and not as much on keywords!

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What to Consider When Writing Content:

• Think and write for the user first, and the rest will follow
• Create highly specific content
• Be specific and answer the question better than your competitors
• Focus on quality and less on word count or keyword density
• Adjust content or create new content that answers the questions that users are looking for
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BERT shifts away from keyword matching in a search to satisfying the underlying keyword intent.

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The Write Stuff > How to Plan Blog Topics

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Use BERT to Your Advantage

To create captivating content that gets your business found, you need to keep BERT in mind. Use questions for your article titles and throughout your blogs. These are some of the first things that Google reads.

The best way to improve your website and search results are by writing premium content and fulfilling the exact intent that the user is seeking when they use a search query.  Then stay consistent and keep writing this will help you use BERT to your competitive advantage and see the best ROI from your marketing efforts.  

At Charisma Communications, we understand how SEO content blends keywords and natural language. Together, these are fundamental to your growing company’s success. Call on Charisma to see how content marketing and engaging copywriting can increase your business sales. We can take your business’s visibility to the next level. We’re easy to talk to; book your free 30-minute marketing consultation today!