Introduction
BERT is an analytical tool that helps investigate the context of user search requests. The method works on the principle of clarifying the content of a web document with a visitor’s query. In this case: the technique interacts with all the words used in the search command. In addition, the BERT method operates only with voluminous queries in which prepositions play a determinative role. Thus, the impact of BERT on small business websites should be explored.
Reasons for the Negative Impact on Small Businesses
From an SEO perspective, the BERT update will affect the search outcomes produced by Google, including the advanced snippet results that are typically placed directly at the top of search results. This is because Google identifies BERT as one of the most effective algorithm upgrades of the past five years, increasing the hardware needed to run it (Martin et al., 2017). Any searches affected by the algorithm update mean that context and word order will be considered.
Considering the entire context of a search query will help Google produce more accurate answers than ever before. Google refuses to accept specific keywords that users enter; they will be able to understand the full query and give them exactly what they are looking for. BERT will provide search results that are utterly relevant to the request with more informative keywords in the analyzed search query (Ziakis et al., 2019). Thus, the negative impact on small businesses is that Internet users will not view their websites based on keyword matches only. Consequently, Internet surfers will be capable of seeing the site they need at once. Accordingly, this already reduces the number of potential customers who applied keywords to find the product they want. This is because, before, there was a possibility that on the first page next to the sites of large businesses can be, by matching words, their counterparts that belong to small companies.
The Ways to Obtain a Positive Effect from BERT
In order to ensure a high ranking in Google, it is essential to provide a website with well-written content that is organized, relevant and meets SEO standards. This will initially allow small websites to be in the top five results, which is not always possible with the standard search algorithm (Alaparthi & Mishra, 2021). Therefore, two considerations can be made to support the updated algorithm. To raise the popularity of a small company website in quick time, small businesses need to investigate what keywords and ideas users will utilize to find the site.
If the types of outcomes that arise are related to business, brand, and products, this will be a helpful word for targeting as part of a development strategy. Accordingly, growing and filling the site with the appropriate content based on relevant queries is the probability of accurately reaching site content with long-form client queries. It is also a way to appear in extended snippets, but it is necessary that the site content is of high quality. There are several steps to provide a clear and informative answer to the questions (Alaparthi & Mishra, 2021). Respond to the issue within the recommended number of characters. Understand why the type of selected snippet appears for the relevant search request, whether it’s a paragraph, list, or chart.
Conclusion
Hence, the impact of BERT on small business sites is controversial. Accordingly, the new search rules will have a negative effect on small business sites that will not adapt to them. Although website owners can fill their pages with the necessary content, there is a good chance that their sites will be more relevant than those of larger companies. In order to have a positive impact, it is essential to involve experts and explore the new principles of the system.
References
Alaparthi, S., & Mishra, M. (2021). BERT: A sentiment analysis odyssey. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 9(2), 118-126.
Martin, K. D., Borah, A., & Palmatier, R. W. (2017). Data privacy: Effects on customer and firm performance. Journal of Marketing, 81(1), 36-58.
Ziakis, C., Vlachopoulou, M., Kyrkoudis, T., & Karagkiozidou, M. (2019). Important factors for improving Google search rank. Future Internet, 11(2), 32.