Fred update (2017): what Google said and what it means now

What Google changed#

Google never described this update. The most it said came from Gary Illyes, then a webmaster trends analyst at Google, at SMX West in March 2017. Search Engine Land reported that Illyes said Google’s search leads “have decided not to talk about the Fred update,” and that the update “targets specific techniques that are well-documented within the Google webmaster guidelines.” He would not say which guidelines. On Twitter he added that “obviously there was an update.”

Search Engine Land’s own analysis was that Fred targeted low-value content focused on revenue generation. That is an industry reading, not a Google statement.

When it rolled out#

Google gave no dates. Search Engine Land dates the update to 7 March 2017, from industry reports of ranking changes, and that date is used here. Google stated no completion date.

The name came two days later. On 9 March 2017, Illyes tweeted, as quoted by Search Engine Journal: “From now on every update, unless otherwise stated, shall be called Fred.” He meant it as a joke about every unnamed update, but the SEO industry attached the name to the 7 March change, which is why this page lists Fred as an industry name.

What is known about its impact#

Google published no figures on how many sites or queries were affected. In a later interview at BrightonSEO, reported by Search Engine Journal, Illyes described Fred as the name for every unnamed update rather than one change. Traffic losses attributed to Fred come from third-party data, so this page does not repeat them.

What site owners should do#

The webmaster guidelines Illyes referred to are now Google’s spam policies and Search Essentials. Google’s current guidance is the reference point:

• Check pages with affiliate links against the spam policy on thin affiliation, which covers content that copies product descriptions without adding value.
• Check for scaled content abuse: many pages generated primarily to manipulate rankings rather than help users.
• Self-assess content against Google’s helpful content questions, including whether it provides original information, reporting, research or analysis.
• If rankings drop after a core update, follow Google’s core update guidance rather than making quick fixes.

How to check whether it affected you#

This is historical. Search Console keeps 16 months of performance data, so it cannot show March 2017. In archived analytics, compare organic Google traffic for the week before 7 March 2017 with the second half of March 2017, page by page. The Google Algorithm Updates timeline lists the updates around it.

Related updates#

• The May 2015 quality update was an earlier quality change the industry named.
• The August 2018 core update was a later quality-related change the industry nicknamed.