Definition
The Medic Update is the name given by the SEO community to the Google Core Update deployed on August 1, 2018. Although technically a general algorithm update, it disproportionately affected sites in Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) categories, particularly health, wellness, nutrition, and finance sites. Health sites managed by practitioners without formal medical credentials suffered massive traffic drops, while authoritative medical sources (hospitals, medical institutions, government sites) gained visibility. The Medic Update marked a turning point in Google's application of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) principles, demonstrating that author expertise and credibility had become determining factors for sensitive content.
Key Points
- Deployed August 1, 2018, massively affecting YMYL sites
- Reinforced the importance of E-E-A-T for health and finance content
- Sites without demonstrable expertise in sensitive domains were most affected
Practical Examples
Natural health site drop
A popular nutrition blog run by a blogger without a medical degree lost 70% of its organic traffic in one week, while sites like Mayo Clinic and WebMD gained positions.
Financial site impact
A credit comparison site run by a self-taught individual saw its positions collapse in favor of institutional banking sites and sites with authors holding recognized financial certifications.
Frequently Asked Questions
Strengthen your site's E-E-A-T signals: clearly display your authors' qualifications, obtain backlinks from authoritative sources in your field, have your content reviewed by certified experts, and add references to recognized medical or scientific sources. LemmiLink can help you get links from authority sites in your industry.
No. Although health sites were the most visibly affected (hence the nickname), this update affected all YMYL sites: finance, legal, safety, online shopping, and any content that could impact user well-being or finances.
Go Further with LemmiLink
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Last updated: 2026-02-07