--- title: What is Google’s BERT Algorithm and How Does It Work? description: As users' search tendencies have shifted, Google's algorithm has too. By introducing BERT, Google is changing the way its search engine understands you. image: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1477013743164-ffc3a5e556da?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1000&q=80 --- [![logo-white-2020](https://blog.seedspark.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-white-2020.png?width=80&height=80&name=logo-white-2020.png "logo-white-2020")](https://seedspark.com/) [![logo-square](https://blog.seedspark.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-square.png?width=55&height=54&name=logo-square.png "logo-square")](https://seedspark.com/) [![Contact Us](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1546797/3ad3da3a-9602-4c46-afb0-274659a1f959.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1546797/3ad3da3a-9602-4c46-afb0-274659a1f959) - [**](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/google_bert_algorithm&title=What%20is%20Google’s%20BERT%20Algorithm%20and%20How%20Does%20It%20Work?&description=As%20users'%20search%20tendencies%20have%20shifted,%20Google's%20algorithm%20has%20too.%20By%20introducing%20BERT,%20Google%20is%20changing%20the%20way%20its%20search%20engine%20understands%20you.) - [**](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?source=https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/google_bert_algorithm&text=What%20is%20Google’s%20BERT%20Algorithm%20and%20How%20Does%20It%20Work?%20-%20https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/google_bert_algorithm) - [**](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/google_bert_algorithm&title=What%20is%20Google’s%20BERT%20Algorithm%20and%20How%20Does%20It%20Work?&summary=As%20users'%20search%20tendencies%20have%20shifted,%20Google's%20algorithm%20has%20too.%20By%20introducing%20BERT,%20Google%20is%20changing%20the%20way%20its%20search%20engine%20understands%20you.) 09 March 2020 Monday # What is Google’s BERT Algorithm and How Does It Work? By [Samuel Adams](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/author/samuel-adams) According to HubSpot, Google has 92.42 percent of the search engine market share worldwide. With approximately 2 *trillion* global searches per year, you’re likely one of the billions around the world using Google Search to answer life’s biggest (and smallest) questions. In 2019, Google’s engineers identified a trend in the way that users began to ask questions when the algorithm would come up short. For example, instead of asking “Does pineapple belong on pizza?”, a person might type “pizza pineapple good or bad”. This shorthand language eventually evolved into what one leading engineer labeled “keyword-ese” – shaping your question around the keywords you expect Google to understand. ![monitor screengrab](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1560472354-b33ff0c44a43?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1000&q=80) Google’s Search team wanted to create an ever-learning search engine that could develop a genuine understanding for human language, taking into consideration the fluff that packs many of our sentences and still understanding the meaning of what’s being asked. With that driving force, BERT was born and launched. BERT, or Biodirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers, allows Google’s AI to understand the context of an entire sentence rather than analyzing and matching keywords to search results alone. The advancements in NLU, natural language understanding, are impressive to say the least. Through artificial comprehension, BERT amplifies Google’s ability to match users with the content that they are looking for in a way that more direct and accurate than ever before. However, Google isn’t the only tech giant getting in on the power of BERT. As an open-source project, BERT is able to be used by any team to further not only their own technology, but the NLU field. In addition to industry leaders like Microsoft and Facebook, BERT is being adopted by teams around the world to improve AI comprehension and better connect people to the content that they’re searching for across every platform.![smartphone showing Google site](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1477013743164-ffc3a5e556da?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=eyJhcHBfaWQiOjEyMDd9&auto=format&fit=crop&w=1000&q=80) For the SEO pros out there ravenous for ways to optimize your content, it’s probably wise to pump the brakes and reel those expectations back in. While it’s possible to optimize, the best optimization for BERT is to create content naturally. Since the system takes into consideration the context and nuance of what is analyzed, having high-quality writing that provides meaning without overcomplicating keywords and sentence structures isn’t a bad idea. As Google’s AI improves with time, what provided great results today might have less of an impact tomorrow. --- The biggest takeaway from BERT is to understand that search engines are always growing and evolving, changing their methodologies and tweaking algorithms in a pursuit to connect users with the content they’re searching for. With new technologies and coding breakthroughs, new methodologies will be born. The best SEO practice for Google’s algorithm in 2020 is to simply keep up with the times.   [![CES 2020 Innovations Impacting the World of Business](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1546797/bd7f8223-ccea-4abe-9d7a-03b7aae6f0f4.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1546797/bd7f8223-ccea-4abe-9d7a-03b7aae6f0f4) Share: - [**](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/google_bert_algorithm&title=What%20is%20Google’s%20BERT%20Algorithm%20and%20How%20Does%20It%20Work?&description=As%20users'%20search%20tendencies%20have%20shifted,%20Google's%20algorithm%20has%20too.%20By%20introducing%20BERT,%20Google%20is%20changing%20the%20way%20its%20search%20engine%20understands%20you.) - [**](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?source=https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/google_bert_algorithm&text=What%20is%20Google’s%20BERT%20Algorithm%20and%20How%20Does%20It%20Work?%20-%20https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/google_bert_algorithm) - [**](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/google_bert_algorithm&title=What%20is%20Google’s%20BERT%20Algorithm%20and%20How%20Does%20It%20Work?&summary=As%20users'%20search%20tendencies%20have%20shifted,%20Google's%20algorithm%20has%20too.%20By%20introducing%20BERT,%20Google%20is%20changing%20the%20way%20its%20search%20engine%20understands%20you.) ### Written by [Samuel Adams](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/author/samuel-adams) As a lifelong fan of technology, Sam has always had a deep interest in learning about the latest innovations and how they are revolutionizing the worlds of business, marketing, and entertainment. As Social Media and Content Specialist at SeedSpark, he spends time chasing the newest trends and breakthroughs pushing the digital transformation in our personal and professional lives. - [**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-adams-717b42147/) PREVIOUS POST [** Coronavirus Phishing Attacks Are On the Rise - How to Fight Back ](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/phishing_attacks_crisis) [**](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/google_bert_algorithm#top) Next Post [4 Reasons Why Your Company Should Use Microsoft 365 **](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/top4_microsoft_365) [Content Title](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/google_bert_algorithm#) Description ### Search ### Recent Posts [ Building a Resilient Business: Strategies for Navigating Economic Uncertainty ](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/building-a-resilient-business-strategies-for-navigating-economic-uncertainty) [Chad Jenkins](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/author/chad-jenkins) Feb 1, 2024 [ Harnessing Data for Business Success: A Comprehensive Guide to Data-Driven Decision-Making ](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/harnessing-data-for-business-success-a-comprehensive-guide-to-data-driven-decision-making) [Chad Jenkins](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/author/chad-jenkins) Jan 8, 2024 [ Top Business Trends of 2024: Strategies for Growth and Success ](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/top-business-trends-of-2024-strategies-for-growth-and-success) [Chad Jenkins](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/author/chad-jenkins) Jan 4, 2024 [ Empowering Organizations with CISA's Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2023 Toolkit ](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/empowering-organizations-with-cisas-cybersecurity-awareness-month-2023-toolkit) [Patrick Kinsley](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/author/patrick-kinsley) Oct 26, 2023 [ Four Essential Steps to Enhance Your Online Safety ](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/four-essential-steps-to-enhance-your-online-safety) [Patrick Kinsley](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/author/patrick-kinsley) Oct 19, 2023 ### Popular Posts [ The 8 Best Productivity Tools Included with Microsoft 365 ](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/meet_office365) [Samuel Adams](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/author/samuel-adams) - Apr 21, 2021 [ Bots Are Stealing MFA Codes and Accessing Accounts - The New Cyber Threat in 2021 ](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/mfa-code-stealing) [Samuel Adams](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/author/samuel-adams) - Nov 3, 2021 [ What is Windows 11 S Mode and Should You Use It? ](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/windows11-smode) [Samuel Adams](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/author/samuel-adams) - Sep 17, 2021 [ Alternatives to Using SMS for 2-factor Authentication ](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/alternatives-to-using-sms-for-2-factor-authentication) [Robert Griffin](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/author/robert-griffin) - Mar 9, 2023 [ How to Use Shifts in Microsoft Teams for Your Organization ](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/shifts_microsoft_teams) [Samuel Adams](https://blog.seedspark.com/blog/author/samuel-adams) - Jul 2, 2020 ## Growth Is Just One Click Away Want to chat? 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