It’s been an eventful month, with BERT and community feedback on the topic on everyone’s mind (more on that below).
In addition, we have seen several important updates to Google Ads and news about other tools that all marketers should know about. To top it off, the days of Flash technology are officially coming to an end (yes, it was indeed dead, but now it is “official”).
In the meantime, Google has made some updates that will help businesses in the upcoming holiday season.
So read on! Learn about the new featured snippet designs, lead form extensions, the Google WordPress plugin , and be sure to let us know how the recent algorithm updates have affected you, if applicable.
Google Search News
BERT Update
There is no doubt that the biggest news of last month was the major update that Google itself called “ the biggest advancement in the last five years and one of the biggest advancements in the history of search.”
It all started with this tweet on October 25th:
BERT is a network-neutral technique for natural language processing that now philippines cellphone number helps the engine better understand complex strings.
It analyzes them as a whole phrase, rather than a list of separate words, allowing Google's suite to better understand users' needs.
Here's an example of how it works:
Example of the new BERT algorithm
If you're wondering what you need to do to comply with the new update, Google's traditional answer is “nothing”:
There's nothing to optimize for with BERT, nor anything for anyone to be rethinking. The fundamentals of us seeking to reward great content remain unchanged.
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan)
October 28, 2019
Let us know in the comments if you have been affected by the BERT changes.
Sources: Understanding searches better than ever before , Google BERT Update Impacts 10% Queries & Has Been Rolling Out All Week , Why you may not have noticed the Google BERT update
Algorithm updates confirmed by Google
Yes, more algorithm updates. Around November 8th, we found many reports about fluctuations on Webmaster World.
With reports of lost positions and a drop in traffic, Google has finally confirmed the update: