Google’s Fred Update Explained and Recovery Methods

Throughout the years, Google has released algorithm updates to give its users the best search engine experience. These updates help Google weed out spammy and unhelpful sites so that the best sites rise to the top of its SERPs. These calculated changes have kept Google as the king of search engines. Fred is one example in the long line of algorithm updates that remove bad sites and promote quality ones.

Launch Date: March 8, 2017

Debuting in Spring 2017, Fred was originally an “unnamed” update. Fred isn’t a single update; it’s a catchall term used by SEO experts to refer to all of Google’s unnamed updates. Moving forward, Google isn’t announcing new versions of the algorithm, so you probably won’t even know there’s been a Fred update unless people are talking about it online.

What Google’s Fred Update Impacted

Because it’s unlikely you’ll be aware of an update, the best way to determine whether you’ve been hit by Fred is to check whether multiple sites were targeted and affected. If that’s the case, there’s a chance there’s been an update. If not, your individual site may have some issues. Either way, if your site has the following hazards, you’ll want to address them and make changes.

• Ad-heavy – A site that is mostly ads—especially if those ads are ill-placed, pop-ups, or for spammy sites—is going to be subject to serious downranking. Because users hate ads and want solutions, not more ads, when they visit your site, having too much advertising throughout your pages is going to frustrate your visitors—and Fred.
• Content-driven – After Fred rolled out, many affected sites were affiliate-driven or blogs created to get high traffic numbers and then redirect to a different site. Now, that’s not to say that simply having a lot of content on your site, even in blog form, is a bad thing. But you do need to be sure your site is useful and isn’t just a way to show ads to users. These types of sites don’t actually provide users with solutions they’re looking for; they simply exist to generate page visits and revenue for themselves or other sites.

How The Fred Update Works

In short, the Fred update does what all Google updates do: it weeds out sites with low-quality content or those that provide terrible user experiences, so they rank low—or not at all—in the SERPs. Specifically, Fred targets sites that violate Google’s webmaster guidelines by having an excessive number of ads, as well as sites that seem to know the tricks of SEO but don’t actually provide quality content. Though sites aren’t penalized, they are downranked so users don’t have a chance to find them when searching.

How to Adjust Your SEO Strategy and Recover

Balance ad-to-content ratio

Because one of the major red flags of the Fred update is an abundance of ads, this is one of the first things you’ll want to address. When a visitor comes to a page on your site, they shouldn’t be overwhelmed with ads. They should never have to scroll down your page to get to your content. Keep ads above the fold to a minimum. Your site should first and foremost provide value through your content, and advertisements should not overtake your pages.

Don’t duplicate content.

Google can very easily determine if you’re using the same content across multiple pages on your site. Save yourself the heartache of being downranked by avoiding duplicate content, regardless of how successful it has been in the past. Invest in fresh, original content so that your users stay happy and Google keeps your rankings high.

Cultivate your site’s authority.

Because Fred punishes sites that exist largely to make money from ads, you want to go above and beyond to prove that this is not the case with your site. Do what you can to legitimize yourself in the eyes of Google. Backlink to other trusted and authoritative sites and get similar sites to link to you. We’ve done a deep dive into how you can bolster your site’s expertise, trust, and authority. Following the steps we’ve outlined will boost your site’s legitimacy and drive up your rankings.

Maintain your site

SEO is a constant competition, and Google’s algorithms are always evolving to deliver the best possible user experience. That means you’ll need to continually audit and edit your site to ensure your content is relevant, helpful, and timely.

Conclusion

Like most Google updates, it’s easy to avoid being affected by Fred. Create great content that solves your users’ problems. Build a clean, user-friendly site with an effective SEO strategy to drive traffic your way. When you follow Google’s webmaster guidelines and our advice above, you’ll maintain your rankings.