Despite advancements in AI, Google still struggles with complex search queries, particularly those using “not” and prepositions.
Google has made strides in understanding user intent with BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers), which improved query comprehension. However, complex linguistic issues persist, especially with queries containing “not” and prepositions.
SEO professionals should focus on explicit, specific content and structured data. Elizabeth Tucker, Director & Product Manager at Google, highlights that two types of queries remain challenging.
In a recent episode of Google’s Search Off The Record podcast, Tucker discussed ongoing pain points in matching users with relevant information.
Tucker noted that searches containing “not” and queries involving prepositions are particularly troublesome. “Prepositions, in general, are another hard one. A huge, exciting breakthrough was the BERT paper and transformer-based machine learning models when we started to get some of these complicated linguistic issues right in searches.”
BERT, a neural network-based technique for natural language processing that Google began using in 2019, is designed to know the nuances and context of words in searches rather than treating queries as a bag of individual terms.
‘Not’ There Yet
Despite the promise of BERT and similar advancements, Google’s ability to parse complex queries remains a work in progress.
Searches with “not” remain a thorn in the search engine’s side. Elizabeth Tucker, Director & Product Manager at Google, explains: “It’s tough to know when ‘not’ means that you don’t want the word there or when it has a different semantic meaning.”
For example, Google’s algorithms could interpret a search like “shoes not made in China” in multiple ways. Does the user want shoes made in countries other than China, or are they looking for information on why some shoe brands have moved their manufacturing out of China?
This ambiguity poses a challenge for websites trying to rank for such queries. If Google can’t match the searcher’s intent with the content on a page, it may struggle to surface the most relevant results.
The Preposition Problem
Another area where Google’s algorithms can stumble is prepositions, which show the relationship between words in a sentence. Queries like “restaurants with outdoor seating” or “hotels near the beach” rely on prepositions to convey critical information about the user’s needs.
For SEO professionals, this means that optimizing for queries with prepositions may require some extra finesse. It’s not enough to include the right keywords on a page; the content needs to be structured to communicate the relationships between those keywords.
The Long Tail Challenge
The difficulties Google faces with complex queries are particularly relevant to long-tail searches—those particular, often multi-word phrases that make up a significant portion of all search traffic.
Long-tail keywords are often seen as a golden opportunity for SEO, as they tend to have lower competition and can signal a high level of user intent. However, if Google can’t understand these complex queries, it may be harder for websites to rank for them, even with well-optimized content.
Why We Care
While BERT and similar advancements have helped Google understand user intent, the search giant’s struggles with “not” queries and prepositions remind us that there’s still plenty of room for improvement. As Google continues to invest in natural language processing and other AI-driven technologies, it remains to be seen how long these stumbling blocks will hold back the search experience.
What It Means For SEO
So, what can SEO professionals and website owners do in light of this information? Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Focus on Clarity and Specificity: The more you can communicate the relationships between key concepts and phrases, the easier it will be for Google to understand and rank your pages.
- Use Structured Data: Implement structured data and other technical SEO practices to help search engines parse your content more effectively.
- Monitor Search Traffic and Rankings: Keep an eye on your search traffic and rankings for complex queries, and be prepared to adjust your strategy if you see drops or inconsistencies.
- Stay Updated: Follow Google’s efforts to improve its natural language understanding and be ready to adapt as new algorithms and technologies emerge.
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