Google has a new search update powered by artificial intelligence. The latest update is significant as it is one of the largest updates the search engine giant has implemented in recent years. The company is using breakthrough neural network techniques to comprehend user intentions when conducting online searches. These enhanced techniques will provide search engine results that are that much more relevant for at least one out of every ten searches conducted in the English language in the United States. Though a 10% impact might not seem like a big deal, it is a major step forward as most search engine updates generate comparably minor results. Support for additional languages and locations outside of English and the United States will be provided at a later date. Let’s take a closer look at the importance of Google’s latest update.
Why Google’s Latest Update is Important
When it comes to search engine updates, algorithms changes are typically minor tweaks. Google’s latest search engine update is much more significant. Instead of affecting 1% to 2% of search engine results, as is often the case with such improvements, it’s the latest update that affects 10%. The update will function best for lengthy queries that tend to be conversational in nature. Google prefers that searches are conducted with entire sentences as opposed to a couple of keywords. Once the update is implemented, it will be that much easier for sleuths to find the information they are looking for assuming they type a sentence or two rather than a couple of keywords.
The technology powering Google’s new neural network is referred to as the acronym of BERT. BERT stands for bidirectional encoder representations from transformers. The company first discussed BERT a year ago. In fact, the company open-sourced the BERT code to facilitate its implementation. Transformers are at the core of Google’s latest search engine update as they function particularly well for information in which a sequence of elements is critical. Therefore, transformers are quite a helpful tool for working with words, including online search queries. The BERT update is also important in that it is the first time Google is implementing its tensor processing unit chips to improve online search engine results.
An Explanation of the BERT Update in Plain English
Let’s cut to the core of what the BERT update is really all about. Once BERT is fully implemented, Google Search will prove that it is much better at comprehending what online sleuths are looking for. The search engine will provide results as well as featured snippets that are especially relevant to the words the sleuth searches for. In other words, the new system was created to parse lengthy, complex sentences instead of just a combination of a couple of words.
Google’s logic in bolstering its search engine with this technology is to significantly improve the interpretations of the seemingly countless online queries it processes daily. This way, the results generated from an online search will resemble language much more closely than keywords. Though Google has not perfected online searches, the latest update is a meaningful step in the right direction. Initial components of the BERT update were recently implemented, so search engine users are likely enjoying the improved method of finding information at this very moment.
Why the Update Matters
Those who are 30 years old or older remember the early days of the internet when numerous search engines generated reasonably accurate results. The competition has since dwindled to the point that Google now lacks meaningful competition for web searches. However, the company’s dominance of online searches does not mean it has rested on its laurels. Enhancements to Google’s core search technology are still relevant as the company still competes with companies such as Amazon in adjacent areas such as voice computing.
The new BERT system is particularly effective at generating that many more featured snippets in its search engine results outside of the United States. Featured snippets are blocks of texts pulled from websites that are relevant to the information entered into the search engine. However, the new BERT system will be implemented for search results in English before any other language. The linguistic expansion will be rolled out gradually, yet company representatives have not commented on whether the change will affect search advertisements.
BERT’s Importance in the Context of On-Page SEO
The BERT update will certainly help people find the websites they are looking for, yet sites with poor writing will not receive the same boost. All in all, BERT enhances nearly a dozen language processing tasks. In fact, this technology exceeds human understanding as linguists often cannot agree about the nuances of language, such as what part of speech certain words are. Pronouns have been particularly challenging for search engine queries to comprehend, yet, BERT will ameliorate this problem. BERT’s bi-directional nature makes it that much easier for the search engine to understand what, exactly, the sleuth is searching for and provide relevant results in a second or less.
An Example of BERT in Action
Let’s take a look at an example of BERT to illustrate its merits. Consider someone who hops on the web, goes to Google’s search engine, and searches “2019 Canada traveler to United States need a visa”. The relationship of “to” to the other words in the query are essential for an accurate understanding of meaning. Before the implementation of BERT, the search engine was incapable of comprehending the importance of such a connection. As a result, the search engine would generate results about United States citizens looking to take a trip to Canada. Now that BERT is available, The search engine can understand the nuance and understand the often-used word “to” is quite important. As a result, the query will generate results that are that much more accurate.
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