Google BERT (2019)
Better understanding of context and prepositions; affected about 1 in 10 US English queries.
DateOct 25, 2019
PlatformGoogle SEO
TypeNatural language processing
Who it affectsAll sites; long-tail queries
What happened
BERT is a natural-language model that helps Google understand the context of words in a query, including small words like ‘for’ and ‘to’ that change meaning. At launch Google said it affected about one in ten US English searches, mainly longer, conversational queries.
Who it affected
All sites; long-tail queries.
What it means for marketers today
You can’t optimise for BERT directly. Write clearly and naturally, and answer specific questions precisely.