In 2017, Google’s Fred update hit the SEO world with a bang, although Google never officially announced it. Fred was essentially aimed at sites prioritising monetisation over quality, affecting pages with heavy affiliate content, low-value ads, or otherwise sparse, thin content. As the founder of SEO North Sydney, I can confirm that Fred was a wake-up call for sites relying too heavily on ad revenue at the cost of user experience.
Fred mainly targeted sites delivering minimal value, sending a clear message: the quality of user experience is essential to rank well. With the rise of AI and evolving algorithms, quality has only become more critical. Fred’s role in enforcing quality standards cannot be underestimated.
The Impact of Fred on SEO and Content Strategy
Fred’s primary impact was on affiliate-heavy sites and those with excessive ads, especially when these elements disrupted readability or relevance. Sites attempting to maximise ad revenue often overlooked the user’s search intent, offering “fluffy” content loaded with keywords but devoid of depth. After Fred, these sites saw noticeable drops in rankings, particularly those that ignored the basics of quality SEO in favour of ad-driven structures.
For my clients, I advise against relying solely on monetisation-heavy content. Instead, we prioritise robust, information-rich content that speaks directly to user needs. With Fred’s influence still strong, sites that lead with ad-laden layouts often see high bounce rates and lower engagement, which signals to Google that these pages aren’t satisfying user intent.
Key Strategies to Succeed Post-Fred
To maintain rankings and optimise for Fred, the best approach is to focus on quality, relevance, and user satisfaction. This means putting user needs first and ensuring that any monetisation strategies don’t detract from content quality. At SEO North Sydney, I recommend prioritising clear, well-researched, and genuinely helpful content. Aligning content with search intent—whether it’s informational, navigational, or transactional—remains key.
The role of interlinking can’t be ignored, either. Interlinking between valuable pages on your site not only improves SEO but also increases user engagement, a factor that supports Google’s quality standards. This approach aligns with other updates such as Panda and Pigeon, which are all focused on enhancing the relevance and quality of results in different ways.
Closing Thoughts on Fred
In the end, Fred reinforced what many of us have known all along: quality content wins. Although this update mainly impacted sites with low-value, ad-heavy structures, its implications extend to all website owners. Google is constantly refining its algorithms to ensure users find value-driven content. For businesses focused on long-term SEO success, investing in high-quality, user-centred content remains the most effective strategy.
For those looking to understand Fred further, our team at SEO North Sydney offers tailored SEO audits and strategies designed to help clients achieve compliance and optimise for these quality-focused updates.
