The BERT update which rolled out in September 2019 has managed to raise eyebrows in the digital marketing sphere. Any Google search engine update always sends SEO into a fit, but the BERT update is special because it is being seen as a culmination of a long-held belief – content really is king.
For a long time, SEOs have been invested in intensive keyword research while writing content. This has led to the process of content creation becoming more invested in keyword percentages and appearance rather than the actual content itself. According to a study published by Delhi Courses Academy, Content writers are required to be more keyword-focused rather than reader-centric. In fact, the main motivation to write new content is to be discovered on search engines and not actually solve problems being faced by the audience.
Spotsspire | martketMuse | peakvoyages | jetsetrover | trekking-tracks | roam-rapture | oceansailings
One can almost say that the SEO industry has been divided into two factions. One part is obsessed with content and focusing on helping solve any problem a reader might have. The second faction is more aligned with the practical need to maintain a presence on search engines.
What has the BERT Update Done?
The Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers (BERT) update may sound complicated (and it is), its impact on the SEO landscape is largely straightforward.
The BERT update has been launched to help Google better understand the context of a search query. For example, if someone searches a medical examination, it can either mean the medical procedure or actual medical entrance examinations. The BERT update is expected to solve these context-related problems which people have earlier called Google out for says Delhi Courses.
In other words, with the BERT update, Google just got smarter. It is expected to seep down to different aspects of SEO and make the quality and context of content more important than technical factors like keyword research.
This has promoted a shift in many digital marketing institutes as well. The focus has now shifted to writing more quality content and content writing in general. The digital marketing space has opened up for creative writers who can write quality content which onboard the target audience.
Will Digital Marketers Change Their Content Strategy?
This is perhaps the only thing SEOs care about asking. How will the BERT update affect the day-to-day working of SEOs and content writers? Will they need to change a lot or is the BERT update a toothless change?
Let’s put it this way.
If you have been creating quality content and have always kept the interests of the readers at heart, you don’t need to change. The BERT update has been launched to help those who write quality content for their audience.
If you do not generally write quality content and focus more on keyword density and off-page factors, you need to change your content strategy. Google will no longer help you rank high on search queries if your content is not clearly solving a problem for the readers.
The BERT update is also an indication of the direction in which Google is moving. One can expect Google to become more context-oriented and less dependent on keyword density.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, this article covers the BERT update briefly and whether digital marketers need to change their content strategy accordingly.
