SEO Alert – Meet Fred, Google’s Latest Update

The SEO red light is flashing! Google released an update to its search algorithm which all us website optimisation folds need to be aware of. If this is news to you, don’t fret, Google likes to release these updates quietly.

But why should you pay attention to Google’s latest update (which is called Fred, by the way)? As Business2Community notes, algorithm updates reveal Google’s priorities and these will need to become your priorities if you want to continue getting organic search traffic to your website.

Who is Fred targeting?

Fred is said to be part of the tech giant’s increasing attempts at combatting spam and what it considers to be “disingenuous” online marketing tactics. The update will target websites that have:

• Content that is more focused on generating revenue than providing value to users
• Multiple affiliate links or advertisements
• Affiliate links or advertisements that are difficult to distinguish from the site’s other content
• Content that is too focused on SEO and rankings, and has little regard for information it is sharing

According to an the article, 50% to 90% of affiliate sites saw decreased traffic through organic search as a result of Fred. These websites were hit the hardest following the update.

However, it isn’t all bad news. Fred created the space for many websites adopting more “friendly” marketing strategies, such as real content and unobtrusive and identifiable ads. Many of these sites saw an increase in rankings and traffic, showing that it pays to put your customers first.

How to make sure Fred won’t affect your website

While Fred won’t impact the majority of websites, the update serves as a good reminder to make sure best practices are being followed when it comes to website and content creation. We concur with Business2Community’s recommendations that you…

Put your users first

Make sure you know what your users wants to know and why they’ve come to your site. This will help make sure your website works for them. Your users need to be your focus, not Google, and you’ll reap the rewards by getting the rankings you want.

Make sure your website works on mobile

It’s no secret that mobile is becoming the key when it comes to online searches. That’s why websites that aren’t optimised for mobile are suffering in search rankings. Make sure you’re not one of them.

Publish content frequently

Regularly publishing content gives Google content to crawl and shows the search engine that your site is active and relevant. These factors that can help your ranking.

We all want to increase our presence online. Be aware that the wrong tactics could put you on the receiving end of Google’s updates. Get in touch with Fireworx today to help boost your organic search traffic.