Big news this week: Google have released a new algorithm!

The first signs of the algo (which has been nicknamed ‘Fred’ by Google’s John Mueller) were evident early in the morning on March 8th, and it’s been gaining momentum ever since.

Many webmasters have noticed dramatic shifts over the last few days – sliding down and even dropping out of the Google rankings, while others have been noticing the more positive effects (most likely because competitors have fallen victim while they have remain unharmed).

Taking a look at the webmaster forums, it seems to have affected the black-hat world more that it has the white-hatters, however it appears that no one is safe – see comments in the screenshot was taken from webmaster comments on the SEO Round Table.

Google have not confirmed what this algo relates to (content or links etc.), and many SEM reporters feel that they’re unlikely to do so. Plenty of other webmasters are on the case, though, so we should start getting some answers soon.

Why Should You Care?

This update may well have affected your website’s rankings and performance – both directly or indirectly.

If you’ve noticed a big drop or change in traffic or rankings since the 8th of March then it’s very likely to have been Fred.

Even if your website hasn’t been directly affected, you’re probably going to experience some changes due to the increased tempo of the ‘Google dance’ following big updates like these.

Of course, it may not be all bad news. You may find that your website traffic benefits from having your competitors knocked out/down the rankings.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated as soon as we get more news on Google Fred, but for now, you may just want to keep an eye on your website’s performance and note any major changes you’ve experienced since the 8th of March.

https://www.seroundtable.com/google-algorithm-ranking-update-23523.html