In early March 2017, SEO forums filled with reports of sharp traffic losses. Many of the sites people shared had something in common: thin articles surrounded by heavy advertising or affiliate links. When SEOs asked Google what had happened, they got a joke instead of an explanation, and the joke became the name. This was "Fred".
Fred is one of the most-referenced updates in SEO history, yet Google never confirmed what it targeted. Almost everything we "know" about it comes from industry analysis and a few short comments by Google's Gary Illyes. That makes it an ideal example of how to think about unconfirmed updates: take the patterns seriously, but do not mistake them for official rules.
Below you will find the facts that can be sourced, the patterns analysts reported, how the name came about, and a practical framework for handling any unconfirmed update in 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Fred was a ranking change reported around 7 to 8 March 2017. Sources differ by a day, and Google did not confirm its specifics.
- Industry analysis linked it to low-value, ad-heavy or revenue-first content, often on affiliate and content sites.
- The name came from a joke by Google's Gary Illyes that every unnamed update would be called Fred.
- Illyes later said Fred was closely related to the quality section of Google's search quality rater guidelines.
- The lesson: treat unconfirmed updates as signals to audit quality, not as a list of confirmed penalties.
The Fred update at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Fred (a joke name from Gary Illyes, later adopted by the industry) |
| Date reported | 7 March 2017 per Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal; some timelines list 8 March 2017 |
| Type | Unconfirmed ranking change (quality-related, according to industry analysis) |
| Confirmed by Google? | Not formally. Illyes acknowledged there was an update but said Google's search leads decided not to discuss it |
| What analysts reported | Low-value content focused on revenue generation; heavy ads; thin pages |
| Google guidance | Illyes pointed to Google's webmaster guidelines and, later, to the quality section of the rater guidelines |
Even the date is slightly fuzzy. Search Engine Land and Search Engine Journal say the change touched down on 7 March 2017, while some update histories list 8 March. That is normal for unconfirmed updates: the "date" is when trackers and forums first noticed volatility, not a launch time Google published.
Where the name came from
On 9 March 2017, Gary Illyes, then a webmaster trends analyst at Google, responded to SEOs asking him to name the update with a light-hearted tweet. Search Engine Journal's history of the update quotes it:
“sure! From now on every update, unless otherwise stated, shall be called Fred”
— Gary Illyes, quoted by Search Engine Journal, Google Fred Update
The joke stuck. The industry used "Fred" for the March 2017 change specifically, and for a while it became shorthand for any unexplained update. If you are curious how other updates got their names, see our article on how Google updates get named.
What Google did and did not say
Google's position was unusual. According to Search Engine Land, Illyes said at SMX West that Google's search leads had decided not to talk about the Fred update. On Twitter, he also said there obviously was an update. He indicated that the targeted techniques were covered by Google's webmaster guidelines but did not say which ones.
Months later, in June 2017, Jennifer Slegg reported Illyes saying Fred was closely related to the quality section of the rater guidelines. That is helpful context, but it is still not a description of specific signals. Our explainer on quality rater guidelines and updates explains why rater guidelines describe goals rather than ranking formulas.
What the industry observed
The table below separates who said what. Note that none of these patterns is a confirmed Google rule.
| Reported pattern | Source of the claim | How confident can we be? |
|---|---|---|
| Low-value content focused on revenue generation | Search Engine Land's own analysis | Industry observation, not a Google statement |
| Heavy or aggressive ad placement | Search Engine Journal's Fred history, based on affected sites | Industry observation |
| Thin content, often on affiliate sites (but not only affiliates) | Search Engine Journal | Industry observation |
| Some affected sites lost up to 90% of traffic | Search Engine Journal, citing reported examples | Anecdotal; not a general rate |
| Related to the quality section of the rater guidelines | Gary Illyes, as reported by Jennifer Slegg (via SEJ) | Comment from a Google employee, but no detail on signals |
The overlap between these reports is clear: pages that existed mainly to earn ad or affiliate revenue, with little original value for readers, were the ones most often shared as losers. That matches Google's long-standing advice on helpful, people-first content, and it echoes the earlier page layout algorithm, which addressed ads crowding out content. Affiliate publishers will find more context in our guide to algorithm updates and affiliate sites.
How to handle an unconfirmed update like Fred
Fred set a pattern that repeats regularly: volatility, community reports, little or no official detail. A calm, structured response works far better than guessing.
- Confirm the drop is real: check Search Console, analytics annotations and tracking code before assuming an algorithm change.
- Pin down the date your traffic changed and compare it with community reports and tracking tools.
- Identify which pages and query groups lost visibility, rather than looking only at sitewide totals.
- Review those pages honestly: is the content original and useful, or is it mainly a vehicle for ads and affiliate links?
- Check ad density and layout on mobile and desktop. Does the main content come first?
- Improve or consolidate weak pages, and remove pages that cannot be made useful.
- Record every change and keep monitoring; do not expect a fixed recovery timeline.
Google's own documentation on core updates, written years later, gives advice that fits here too: avoid "quick fix" changes and consider how you can improve your content in meaningful ways. Our step-by-step guides on what to do during an unconfirmed update and confirmed vs unconfirmed updates go into more depth, and a structured content audit is usually the most useful single exercise.
Common mistakes
- Treating community theories as facts. Fred's "targets" came from analysis of affected sites, not from Google.
- Ripping out all ads overnight. Ads are not banned. The issue reported was low-value content and ads that overwhelm it.
- Blaming every later drop on Fred. The name became a catch-all joke; most later changes were separate updates.
- Chasing quick fixes. Rewriting a few paragraphs on thin pages rarely changes how useful the page really is.
- Ignoring tracking problems. A broken analytics tag can look exactly like an algorithm hit.
Where Fred fits in the timeline
Fred arrived a few months after the intrusive interstitials change of January 2017 and a year before Google began openly confirming broad core updates with the March 2018 core update. Clickintelligence's update history sums up the period well, describing significant flux with no confirmed core update. For the full chronology, see our Google algorithm updates hub.
Related Guides
- The March 2018 'Brackets' Core Update and Google's 'No Fix' Message
- Mobile-First Indexing: The Rollout From 2018 Announcement to Default
- The Speed Update (2018): When Page Speed Hit Mobile Rankings
Frequently Asked Questions
Was the Fred update confirmed by Google?
Not formally. Gary Illyes acknowledged there had been an update but said Google's search leads decided not to talk about it, and Google never published details.
Why is it called Fred?
Gary Illyes joked on 9 March 2017 that every update, unless otherwise stated, would be called Fred. The industry adopted the name for the March 2017 change.
What kind of sites did Fred affect?
Industry analysis linked it to low-value content focused on revenue generation, often with heavy ads or affiliate links. These are observations, not confirmed Google criteria.
Is Fred still running?
Google does not describe Fred as a separate system. Quality is assessed by its core ranking systems, which are updated regularly.
How do I recover from an update like Fred?
Focus on making affected pages genuinely useful, reduce ad clutter that interferes with content, and consolidate or remove pages that cannot be improved. There is no guaranteed timeline.
Conclusion
Fred is remembered for its joke name, but its real lesson is about uncertainty. Google will not always explain what changed, so your best defence is content that earns its place on the page, with monetisation that supports rather than smothers it. If you need a second opinion on a drop, our ranking drop recovery guide is a good starting point, and our SEO team can run a full quality audit. You can also request a quote.
