On October 15, 2020, Google held an event called SearchOn where they announced several new Search features. Many of these changes are powered by advanced AI. Here is a run-down of their news.
BERT
BERT is now rolled out to almost every English search query. BERT helps Google deliver better search results to searchers with deeper queries by better understanding language and context.
I first wrote about BERT about a year ago; you can read more about what BERT is here.
https://acceleratorwebsites.com/bert-a-major-google-search-algorithm-update/
Spelling
Ten percent of all search terms are misspelled, and Google has gotten better at discovering and suggesting the correct spelling.
Page Sections
Seven percent of worldwide queries will be improved as Google is now able to drill down into web page content to discover relevant page sections.
This should be good for your rankings, and I would encourage you to produce more content on financial literacy, accounting apps, and tax topics to capture the attention of people who are researching these categories. Think about a particular problem you solve all the time for clients, and write it up. It’s bound to get you more impressions.
Subtopics
When a searcher types in a broad or general phrase, Google is now more able to show them relevant subtopics so that the search results page shows a wider variety of solutions to fuel their research.
Pandemic Safety
Diamond and Platinum client saw our email on how to update their Google-My-Business profile for the six new safety options: mask required, staff required to do temperature checks, etc. You can see these options in the attributes section of the business profile.
Maps
Google wants people to be able to get around more safely. It has improved its busyness feature so you can see how busy a place is before you decide to go. And with Live View, you can simply point to a place as you are walking in the neighborhood to see whether it’s open and other features about the shop.
Video Moments
Google can show you a relevant scene in a video based on your request. This rollout is ongoing.
Statistics
Through the Data Commons Project, Google has consolidated government data to bring you more accurate statistical results when you search.
Hum to Search
Can’t remember the name of a song? Say “What’s this song and hum, whistle, or sing it to your smartphone’s Google app and it will suggest titles.
