As with many of the unconfirmed/unnamed algorithm changes, March’s “Fred” update caused much chatter and debate among technical SEO’s across the industry. In my talk, I willl examine the update’s main areas of focus and which sites have been adversely and positive impacted. Now the dust has settled, we have a good picture at Banc of just what the Fred update has meant for the web and Google’s result pages. Come to my talk to find out what comes to light when one really digs into the data and how you can apply this to your own SEO campaigns. In addition to this, I wil explore the newly updated search quality evaluator guidelines and their relationship with the Fred update, if indeed there is one at all. If you’re still not quite sure what happened in March and are struggling to turn around a decline in organic performance since the update, then you may well find some answers from my talk!

1. #SAScon@WhitworthSEO
Charlie Whitworth
Google’s Fred Update &
The Search Quality Evaluator
Guidelines

2. 2017 – busy time for the algo
February 1st and 6th – Links & Spam?
March 8th - Fred
3 of the 4 unnamed or unconfirmed
#SAScon@WhitworthSEO
January 10th – Intrusive Interstitials

3. march 8th
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon

4. march 28th
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon
Coincidence?
Rater Guidelines

5. @WhitworthSEO #SAScon
which sites were affected
?
losers

6. low quality content sites
content written for rankings
#SAScon@WhitworthSEO

7. random mix of subject matter
remember the old “create a site that is an authority in
its niche” adage?
• Specialist?
• Insight?
• Stale?
• Designed for quick ££?
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon

8. saturation of poor content
New WP sites added p/day: 50,000
WP posts: 2.5 billion
Monthly WP page views: 24.6 billion
Monthly WP blogs: 87.6 million
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon

9. blogs
was this an attack on saturated, sub-standard blogs?
• Selling links
• Lack of editorial guidelines
• Churning out articles
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon

10. ad heavy sites…
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon

11. adsensers aggrieved?
#SAScon
google removed its ad
limit for AdSense just
6 months previously

12. doesn’t need to be pulitzer prize winning…
More Could Be Less
Think Engagement
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon

13. link spam targeted once more
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon

14. hand in hand: low quality, shameless ads and bad links
affiliate sites
not a witch hunt, they just tend to break rules
#SAScon@WhitworthSEO

15. disavows still vital
despite baked-in penguin
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon

16. winners
which sites benefitted?
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon

17. those who held their nerve
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon
Panda turned up to 11
freed up SERP real estate
removed the rubbish

18. @WhitworthSEO #SAScon
many have seen fluctuations as fred rolled out
tumultuous roll out

19. ad etiquette, natural links & compelling copy
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon
Quality & Authority In Their Niche

20. penda updates?
days of traditional updates over
“search quality” updates focus on offsite and onsite factors together
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon
phantom | fred | unnamed

21. obsession over updates and terminology
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon
quality | relevance | UX
hence unconfirmed & unnamed

22. synergy between SEO & UX/CRO
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon
back to engagement
always been important, now vital
work together to remove UX barriers

23. banc’s CRO/UX methodology
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon

24. mobile & tablet optimisation
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon
crucial
mobile first is her
e

25. @WhitworthSEO #SAScon
google does give us the answers
Google Webmaster Guidelines
Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines

26. #SMX
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon

27. search evaluator guidelines
whittled down to 157 pages post “fred”
desktop-first criteria removed
#SAScon@WhitworthSEO

28. quality rater guidelines: a snapshot
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon
no direct influence on the rankings, but test the algo changes
how well do pages achieve their purpose?
rater guidelines give us greater insight into “quality”

29. paywalls
First ever mention
separate to ad-blockers
no negative impact implied
#SAScon@WhitworthSEO

30. #SAScon
YMYL – Your Money or Your Life
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon
• Shopping
• Financial
• Medical
• Legal
• News
• Other

31. #SAScon
YMYL - “wealth” changed to “financial stability”
could a page negatively impact a user’s happiness, hea
lth or financial stability?
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon
better clarification of “wealth”

32. #SAScon
tabs are hot again
due to mobile first
“note that tabs on some pages lead to even more information (e.g.,
customer reviews) and can sometimes be considered part of the MC of
the page”
#SAScon@WhitworthSEO

33. #SAScon
ads (desktop & mobile)
#SAScon
moved to the top of the guidelines
“ads may contribute to a good user experience”
obtrusiveness, relevance & quantity
where do they take you?
@WhitworthSEO

34. #SAScon
ads (desktop & mobile)
#SAScon
however….
“some low quality pages have adequate content present,
but it is difficult to use due to disruptive, highly distracting,
or misleading ads”
@WhitworthSEO

35. E-A-T
Expertise
Authority
Trustworthiness
mentioned in a lot of content/page “quality” sections
@WhitworthSEO #SAScon

36. page quality rating
main content quality and amount
website information & information about who is
responsible for the website
website reputation
all E-A-T indicators
#SAScon@WhitworthSEO

37. websites are rated based on type
hobby or interest sites & blogs not necessarily downgraded
they need to conform to E-A-T & YMYL
#SAScon@WhitworthSEO

38. supplementary content removed
seems strange at first, but think mobile
still useful if engaging
device specific
#SAScon@WhitworthSEO

39. deceptive pages
back to the theme of making a quick buck
ads, monetized links, dodgy & hidden downloads
“take an action which will benefit the owner of the
website rather than help the user”
#SAScon@WhitworthSEO

40. sneaky redirects
interestingly, removed…
could be harder to detect on mobile devices
#SAScon@WhitworthSEO

41. just a snapshot
#SAScon@WhitworthSEO
be sure to read in full
not ranking factors, but an excellent insight into “quality”
**supplementary content and E-A-T**

42. Questions?
@WhitworthSEO
http://www.slideshare.net/whitworthseo