Google BERT: How It Affects Local Businesses & How to Recover?

---

What Is Google BERT?

Google BERT is one of the most crucial search algorithm updates that marked its debut five years after RankBrain. It became officially evident in Oct 2019. It was confirmed through Google’s official Twitter account:

BERT technically unfolds as Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers. And it’s Google’s neural tactic for training natural language processing (NLP). 

Breaking Down the Technical Jargon:

BERT update significantly enables Google better to understand the intent or context of search queries. Thus, substantially increasing the relevancy of search results. 

In Google’s words: 

Here is an example by Google to better understand the “Before” and “After” effects of the BERT update: 

How does it impact the search?

Google says that the BERT update will modify the results for at least 1 in 10 search queries. Moreover, Google specifies that the update will also modify the featured snippets.

How Google BERT Affects Local Businesses

---

1. Change in Local 3-Pack Rankings

Google said that the BERT algorithm welcomes modifications in the results of 1 out of 10 search queries. 

Now, the search engine giant hasn’t specifically stated any changes in local 3-pack results. However, it isn’t excluding it either. And the BERT update will also have a similar impact on the queries that produce local 3-pack results.

With the BERT update, Google now performs human-like decoding of the words in a query. 

So, a query like “pest control services san Antonio” gives you a regular local 3-pack result like:

However, a query like “how to sort the right pest control in San Antonio” will not offer you a local 3-pack. 

And instead of suggesting service providers, it will show you ‘tips for selecting a pest control’. Here is the result: 

However, the takeaway for local businesses is that they must keep following the local SEO best practices. 

Moreover, since Google better comprehends the intent of each query. 

• You must start enhancing the relevance with LSI keywords in your content. 

• Also, make your Meta Title look natural and add long-tail keywords to the Meta Description.
  
  
• You must also add long-tail keywords and FAQs to your Google My Business profile.

Read: Tips to Rank on Google Local 3-pack

2. Increased Accuracy for Google Local Search Results

Akin to the local 3-pack results, the BERT update mainly focuses on improving search relevancy. 

As aforementioned, Google says that 1 in 10 queries can expect a significant change in search results. 

So, some local businesses will also witness a shift in their rankings on Google after the BERT update. 

Google has developed a human-like understanding of search queries with the BERT update. 

And so, it delivers results based on the entire query rather than certain keywords in the query. 

For example, a query like “where should I try good seafood in Melbourne” is more natural. And many users are most likely to use similar natural queries rather than keyword phrases. 

Meanwhile, a query like “best seafood restaurant Melbourne” seems unnatural. 

So, restaurant businesses that optimize for the natural keywords are likely to rank higher for natural queries. 

That said, if you are already using natural and long-term keywords, keep using them. 

Meanwhile, if you are only optimizing for unnatural keywords like “best seafood,” “seafood restaurant,” “Melbourne restaurant,” include long-term keywords too. It helps BERT read that you have user relevancy to show them on SERPs.

For the “where should I try good seafood in Melbourne” query, Google knows that the user needs a piece of advice. And so the first result is itself a listicle blog by a hotel & restaurant business:

Here you can see the business (Batman’s Hill) wins the 1st position by producing content for a common natural query. 

The listicle even outperforms the local 3-pack because of its increased relevancy. 

So, if you produce content for the natural long-term keywords, you might also rank higher.

3. Modifications in Keyword Rankings

The BERT update significantly influences how Google decodes the words in search terms. 

For instance, if you consider the Before and After examples by Google, it shows the significance of keywords. 

Here is the example for the query, “Can you get medicine from some pharmacy.” Hereafter the BERT update, Google understands what the user is asking. 

Akin to the above example, keyword relevancy and search term intent will be crucial for local businesses. 

And local businesses are most likely to witness changes in their keyword rankings. 

Read: Best Keyword Rank Tracking Tools in the Web

4. Highly Relevant Featured Snippet Results

Google has stated that the BERT update has brought considerable changes to the featured snippet. 

This update focuses on the context of queries. And while featured snippet queries are generally long-tail queries, one can witness an evident impact of BERT on featured snippets.

Here is how Google explains the impact with an example: 

A query like,” Parking on a hill with no curb”, would have been confusing for Google. 

The search engine says, “We placed too much importance on the word “curb” and ignored the word “no”, not understanding how critical that word was to respond to this query appropriately. So we’d return results for parking on a hill with a curb.”

But, with the BERT update, Google now understands the impact of each word in the query. And it offers a highly relevant answer in the featured snippet: 

Here local businesses can rank as featured snippets by following tips: 

• Use natural and long-tail search terms in your content
• Add question-answer format content to your site
• Keep your answers crisp and valuable
• Add descriptive images to your content
• Add Table of Content and follow the right sub-heading format to rank in the featured-snippet

5. Enhanced Focus on Niche-specific Localized Content

You wouldn’t be surprised to see the prominent significance of BERT in the way webmasters produce content. 

Previously, local businesses used to focus on their location-specific and business-specific keywords. And they tried to sprinkle these keywords across their content. 

This worked in growing their keyword relevancy for the local search queries. And Google’s algorithm presented them as suitable results for relevant searches. 

But, with the BERT update, Google focuses on the entire search query rather than just the keywords. It better understands the intent behind the search. 

So, you cannot win by adding unnatural keyword phrases to GMB and your site content. 

Instead, local businesses must focus on creating niche-specific localized content. 

For example, 

If you are a restaurant business in Austin, you can expect better SEO performance by creating localized content like:

• What are the best dishes to try in Austin? Take a look at the screenshot showing various results that match the query “best dishes in Austin” in terms of contextual meaning.

• Which is the best café to work remotely in Austin?
• Which restaurant must you visit while in Austin?

You must accompany these niche-specific localized topics with:

• Relevant long-tail search terms
• Localized FAQs for your GMB profile
• Local language and local dialect terms
• Local currency
• Pictures of your restaurant and other popular local spots & destinations

6. Possible Increase in Site Traffic and Backlinks 

With the BERT algorithm in play, many local businesses witness a growth in their traffic. Meanwhile, some businesses may lose some traffic to their competitors. 

The update isn’t likely to impact queries like “best salon Houston” as these are specific. 

But, it will deeply understand long-tail queries like “Which salon would you recommend in Houston.”

And so the SERPs for each of these queries would look different. 

Google will source highly query-specific results rather than just keyword-specific results. 

Looking at the screenshot below for the query above, Google provided local 3-pack addresses as the user intends to visit a salon.

So, if you have a rich amount of localized content on your site, this content will now gain value. 

And, if this content has relevant long-tail keywords, it can outperform the regular keyword-specific results.

As a result, you can witness more of your content appearing for related long-tail queries. And this will grow the traffic, backlinks, and inquiries on your site. 

However, businesses that only focus on exact keyword phrases may now lose relevance for long-tail queries. 

The takeaway is building rich and relevant content around local long-tail queries. 

How to Recover from Google BERT

1. Scrutinize Your Keyword Performance and Enhance Keyword Choices 

If any business takes the hit of the BERT update, it is likely to witness a change in keyword rankings. 

You might witness some new keywords sourcing traffic to your site. Meanwhile, some of your performing keywords might feel the burn of the BERT update. 

To analyze the impact of the BERT update on your keyword rankings, use Google Search Console. 

It helps you create a comparison report to check the changes due to the BERT update. 

You can even select the period of the comparison report: 

Once you learn about the keywords that took a hit from BERT, you need to recover them. 

Here are some tips: 

• Check which competitor has dethroned you
• Check their content and keyword combinations that helped them rank higher after the BERT update
• Add these keyword combinations to your content and optimize it for more relevant LSI keywords. 

2. Optimize the Relevancy of Google My Business Profile

The BERT update is likely to take a hit on the rankings of local businesses. You can compare your rankings using Google Search Console and check if there is a downfall in your ranks. 

Even the web tracking tools like SEMRush sensor, AW rankings, Algoroo, etc sensed the SERP volatility post-BERT update. 

Here, there are several ways to recover your pre-BERT rankings. 

• One crucial way is to optimize your GMB listing for the BERT update. 
• You must check if you are over-using unnatural keyword phrases on your GMB profile.

• Add natural long-tail keywords to your GMB description. 

• Use different user profiles to post common local queries as questions and answer the same. This will help you grow relevancy for common searches, and you may appear for a featured snippet.

• Add relevant localized images to the GMB profile.

3. Rectify Unnatural Content and Drive Relevant Traffic 

One of the most common reasons Google’s BERT might hit your rankings is unnatural content. 

With this update, Google crawlers comprehend a query exactly how humans understand. And so, it sources the most natural & relevant results for it. 

If your content is stuffed with unnatural keywords or has lower readability, it will not rank. If you had some content ranking due to unnatural keyword relevancy, it would lose its ranking.

So, here is how to recover: 

• Check if you have witnessed a drop in the rankings of your crucial web pages
• Check the content on these pages for unnatural keyword phrases and readability
• Add natural LSI keywords to this content and also improve the readability
• Create FAQs for highly relevant queries and add snackable sub-headings for the page content.

Further, to benefit from the BERT update, start building long-form valuable content. Good problem-solving or informative content is more likely to appear for natural queries. 

4. Regain Local 3-Pack Ranks by Growing Relevancy

Losing your local 3-pack ranking due to the BERT update is nothing less than a nightmare. 

In this case, you need to find the right reason. 

For example, 

If your salon was previously ranking in the local 3-pack position for specific phrases like:

• Best salon in Austin; or
• Men’s salon Austin; or
• Top-rated Unisex salon

In this case, if you lose your rankings, it is most probably due to a reason other than the BERT update. The BERT update doesn’t impact the keyword-specific queries; instead, it impacts long-tail queries. 

But, if your salon business was previously ranking for long-tail queries like: 

• “Recommended salon to visit in Austin” or 
• “How to find a good hairstylist for men in Austin.” 

In this case, BERT can be one crucial reason you no longer rank for these queries. 

Some ways you can recover your local 3-pack rankings from the BERT update: 

• Check if you are over-using unnatural keyword phrases in your GMB listing. Fix it by making your GMB description look more natural. 
• Add crucial long-tail search terms (like the ones listed above). 
• Add long-tail keywords to Meta Description and optimize Meta Title to look more natural.
• Produce relevant question-answer-type content to add to your site and the GMB profile. 
• Build competitive advantage by increasing the site speed and adding useful Schemas

5. Optimize for the Featured Snippet or Position ‘Zero’ 

Google has stated BERT’s significance on the featured snippet results. 

And so, if your local business has witnessed changes in your featured snippet rankings, BERT can be a prominent reason. 

Google simply wishes to deliver highly useful solutions in the featured snippet section. And the BERT update helps Google better match the relevancy of a query with a result. 

So, if you wish to rank for the featured snippet after the BERT update, here are some tips: 

• Check competitors ranking in the featured snippet for queries relevant to your target audience. 
• See their featured snippet content and the keywords they use. 
• Build similar highly valuable content and use natural LSI keywords along with your specific keywords
• Post most relevant questions in the GMB profile and create crisp and valuable answers. 
• Produce abundant question-answer format content on the site
• Use snackable sub-headings and the right sub-heading format (H1, H2, H3..H6) for content representation.

6. Keep Investing in Local SEO Best Practices

BERT update brings some crucial changes in the way Google understands queries. However, it wouldn’t change how your local SEO best practices work. 

So, many local businesses might not feel any burn from the BERT update. 

And while you take care of the BERT considerations, you must keep practicing local SEO.

Here is a glimpse of some crucial local SEO practices: 

• Enhance the quality of your GMB listing with consistent NAP, detailed description, images, FAQs, etc. 
• Update GMB profile with new offers (Posts), reliable business hours, and product/service details
• Use GetFeedback, CustomerSure, or SurveyMonkey to get started with a feedback generation strategy. 
• Post and optimize listing on Yelp, Foursquare, Bing Maps, Apple Maps, Tripadvisor, etc. 
• Find local directories and niche-specific listing platforms to claim your business presence.
• Use SEMRush or Ubersuggest to check competitors’ citations, backlinks, and keywords. Use them as inspiration for your listing opportunities and content marketing goals. 
• Use HARO to find PR professionals with similar interests and pitch your contribution. This can help you grab good PR mentions for your business. 
• Plan guest posts, blogger reviews, influencer collaborations, and social media sharing

Key Takeaways

---

Here are tips to optimize for Google’s BERT update:

• Use the Google Search Console comparison report to scrutinize changes in rankings.
• Check competitors who have occupied your positions. Also, check their content and keyword choices to imitate them for your business smartly. 
• Fix your GMB profile for any over-used unnatural keywords. And add natural LSI keywords and highly-valuable FAQs to GMB.
• Start building niche-specific localized content around relevant queries.
• Optimize for position zero with question-answer format content and natural LSI keywords
• Build natural Meta Titles, add LSI keywords to Meta Descriptions, increase site speed, and add schema markups
• Produce long-form content that gives enough real estate to use long-tail keywords.