Google Gary Illyes Names Latest Algo Change: Fred Update

[martinibuster]

Reported on SER:
https://www.seroundtable.com/google-fred-algorithm-update-23529.html [seroundtable.com]

First, this update does seem to be to be link quality related and not content quality related - but it is still very early to make such a judgement call. Second, Google has still not confirmed or denied the update. But Gary Illyes from Google did say they are constantly updating and I asked him to name the update and he said he will name all ongoing updates as Fred unless stated otherwise.

[Nutterum]

Page 1 on the SERP is a zero sum game. The vertical or topic crystal(node) is not. That does not make anyone's opinion wrong. Rather the entire argument pointless.

Google updates are there to make certain queries better for the users who consume the results. I have seen time and time again, how websites who claim that have done nothing wrong fall out of grace. And almost every single time I can not get the point across, that it is because they made nothing (right or wrong) they failed. People's opinions change, their habits change, their needs change. Hence what they are looking for on Google as a result, changes! Google are updating their algorithm to account for the change. Sure, some algorithms are punitive. They discourage gaming the system. Most "unnamed" algo updates are just the highest percent winner of their constant a/b/c/d/e tests. Because customers never lie. They judge your service (in our case search) with their wallets. Going away from certain types of search queries because they produce irrelevant results for example. This in turn, hurts advertising revenue when you scale up.

You think Google is targeting your site. You are absolutely correct. But not because they hate you. Rather because you failed to change in the long run.

Before you start with the examples I want to caveat that sometimes, someone bigger and better pushed your service away. Both online and offline. But that is how the world works. Either move on or die. Simple as that.

[network8]

Google Fred Update makes my blog traffic drops to 50%. I see a great blog too many experienced a decline in traffic. All content already original and unique but still affected. If there is already a solution about this problem?

[pageoneresults]

What's next ... Wilma, Barney and Betty?

Bamm-Bamm

[tangor]

followed by Pebbles ... sounds about right. :)

[smilie]

>> @NickMNS: @smilie you should lookup the meaning of Zero Sum Game, this is exactly that. Even if one or many sites disappear, that just means more users for those that remain.

Dear, you are speaking to a person with master's in math degree.

Zero sum game is when ALL participants either gain or lose.

In this case, if you assume Google has the same traffic, and there are only 10 sites on the web, it is one. But for millions of sites, if say only 2 of them are yours, FOR YOU it is not a zero sum. Business and economics is , typically, not a zero sum game. Here's a quote from wiki:

Many economic situations are not zero-sum, since valuable goods and services can be created, destroyed, or badly allocated in a number of ways, and any of these will create a net gain or loss of utility to numerous stakeholders.

[smilie]

>> @martinibuster: and ascribed Panda related symptoms.

I am seeing significant jump in our positions on the 6th, and then slow drip down after 8th, to below previous rankings now.
Looks to me like the original algo update on the 6th, and then Penguin or Panda update on the 8th that lasted several days, maybe, while they were calculating which links to negatively weight pages on your site down to put you out of business. A typical Google modus operandi, "here's some hope, nope" wack-a-mole. The leads we received in those two days will give business for a month. That just tells me we are under a significant Penguin or Panda penalty, it was very obvious even if obfuscated.

Google updates are there to make certain queries better for the users who consume the results. I have seen time and time again, how websites who claim that have done nothing wrong fall out of grace. And almost every single time I can not get the point across, that it is because they made nothing (right or wrong) they failed. People's opinions change, their habits change, their needs change.

You think Google is targeting your site. You are absolutely correct. But not because they hate you. Rather because you failed to change in the long run. Before you start with the examples I want to caveat that sometimes, someone bigger and better pushed your service away. Both online and offline.

Allow me to remove one word from your statement, "and better". Have to agree. When I started this particular niche , we've had maybe 10 competent sites. 3 years ago it was 100. 2 years ago 200. Now it is 1500. People keep offering the same as 1500 other sites, they'll eventually roll over and die because out of 1500 there are 30 who actually paid attention and are copying best practices, which means your best traffic pages too. And they are not affected by the algo as badly as you are (may have better SEO, no negative SEO links, in my niche you can be a white-listed .gov or a billion dollar corp, deeper pockets to hire competent staff etc.).

As I mentioned several times here, mom-and-pop online commerce is dead.

[head_dunce]

I am seeing significant jump in our positions on the 6th, and then slow drip down after 8th, to below previous rankings now.

Seeing the same. Hoping it's a dance, fearing it's a blue ball tease.

[head_dunce]

I should clarify. I saw a rise on the 11th and 12th, then a lowering to below previous levels now on the 15th

[Shaddows]

Many economic situations are not zero-sum

That is because value is created or destroyed, as opposed to simply allocated. The output is more than the sum of the inputs. So,
Wood @ $5
Time @ $50
= Chair @ $75

SERPs is zero-sum because it is about traffic allocation. The number of searchers is a input value, and is not affected by the sorting process.

All traffic goes somewhere- if it isn't to you, it is to someone else. That is why it is zero-sum.

The economic outcome is obviously not zero-value for a variety of reasons, including the cost of traffic acquisition (bid value vs other bids vs "free" organic), the conversion rate at destination, the menu presented by destination seller, the selection pressure from menu presented, the seller mark-up, and various other things like service levels.

Conflating economic outcomes with traffic allocation is a mistake. Total user demand is determined prior to SERPs being created (and then allocated to whatever sites are shown), while economic outcomes are broadly dependant on those SERPs and the resulting destinations.

[guggi2000]

We lost around 60% of our organic traffic since 2013. Soon we will have to buy the traffic.

So yes, it's a zero sum game for our bank account :-)

[lucy24]

I assumed the original "zero-sum" reference was specifically to SERPs: Exactly one URL is at position 1. Exactly one URL is at position 2. Exactly one URL is at position 3. (For informational searches: wikipedia is at position 1, and then you fight for positions 2 through 9.) Exactly ten URLs occupy the top ten positions. If someone moves from 1 to 2 (or 3, or 11, or 1001)--or from 2 to 3 in an informational search--someone else moves into the vacated slot; the position isn't left vacant.

:: vague mental association with “kingons”, which move instantly ::

[smilie]

People, please stop copying G propaganda about "zero-sum" on a webmaster forum. "You lost traffic, well, it is zero sum" - that's a clever mind bending technique that is untrue from the stand point of ANY webmaster - which I presume is what we discuss?

Or we are discussing theory about 10 websites and 10 SERPs, then hey, maybe we should all move to the game theory forum instead. And feed our families with magic unicorn stuff, instead of money we should earn on our websites as a BUSINESS.

[NickMNS]

@smillie your right we should all stop using logic and reason to make decisions and instead base our decisions on emotions, misconceptions and half-truths.

[guggi2000]

1. Overall web traffic increases (people spend more time on the net) and see more pages

2. Google CTR decreases, G keeps more on its domain instead of referring traffic to publishers

3. There are more webpages, so "the cake" is bigger

4. Google gets better, so people find answers faster and less pages per query are visited

That's too many factors and NOT a zero-sum game for publishers.

[goodroi]

Hey everyone Fred just called and he wants his thread back :)

If you want to talk about the Fred Update aka Gary's sarcastic name for what happened to Google SEO rankings around March 8th, keep posting here.

If you want to talk about SEO & zero sum game concept, please head over to [webmasterworld.com...]

If you want to just vent your frustration with Google and have fun, head to your local pub.

[head_dunce]

Checking a few US proxies early this morning, I saw results way up again. Checking them now later in the day, they are back down. So it seems the dance is still being played. I'm hoping the early morning results stick.

[head_dunce]

And of course checking the proxies again this evening, I'm seeing results on the up side of things. So the dance continues, and I'm very hopeful that the up side is the new stuff coming into play. I'm pretty sure I know what caused the up swing results, which we haven't seen in years now, so I'm hopeful. But goog is like a boat, and all boats are female, so we all know how that goes...

[andreiut]

Hi, my site also disappeared from google results since yesterday, March 16. This is very strange, i can't find my site even if i enter the name of the domain without the .com .. it only shows when i put the full name with the .com name, there is no manual action on the site. also, results are showing new domains when searching my main keywords, mostly clone sites.. this is really bad :( hope it will change.

[Robert Charlton]

results are showing new domains when searching my main keywords, mostly clone sites..

andreiut, what you describe does not sound like an algorithmic problem. It sounds like you've been hijacked, possibly also hacked. It's a long discussion on its own, with many possible variations, depending on your particular situation.

See this current discussion to get an idea what might be involved. It includes references to a good many other threads on the topic. Read them to get an idea what to look for. Then, either join in that discussion if your conditions are similar, or else start a new thread describing what you're seeing about the sites that have hijacked you....

Hacked websites displaying my site
March, 2017
https://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4838415.htm [webmasterworld.com]