Google Medic Update 2018 E‑A‑T, Trust Signals, and What It Changed in SEO

In 2018, Google rolled out a broad core update that later became widely known as the Medic Update. While Google never officially named it, the update had a noticeable impact on websites related to health, finance, wellness, and other sensitive topics. These types of pages fall under what Google calls Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) content.

The Medic Update placed a strong emphasis on expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, commonly referred to as E‑A‑T. This update reshaped how credibility and reliability influence rankings and marked a turning point for content quality standards in search.

What Was the Google Medic Update?

The Medic Update was part of Google’s August 2018 core algorithm update. Unlike targeted spam or link updates, core updates reassess how Google evaluates content quality across the web.

SEO professionals noticed that websites offering medical advice, financial guidance, or life-impacting information experienced significant ranking changes. Google later clarified the importance of trust and credibility in its documentation about core updates and relevance.

Although the update was not limited exclusively to medical websites, health-related content saw the strongest effects, which led the industry to label it the “Medic” update.

Why Google Introduced the Medic Update

Google’s primary goal is to provide users with accurate, safe, and reliable information. For topics that can directly impact a person’s health, finances, or well-being, low-quality or misleading content poses real risk.

Prior to 2018, many YMYL websites ranked well despite weak credentials, anonymous authorship, or unsupported claims. The Medic Update aimed to reduce the visibility of such content and elevate pages that demonstrate real-world expertise and accountability.

Google’s Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines explain this philosophy in detail, emphasizing trust and credibility for YMYL topics. These principles are summarized in Google’s guidance on creating helpful, reliable, people-first content.

Understanding E‑A‑T: Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness

E‑A‑T is not a single ranking factor but a framework Google uses to evaluate content quality, especially for sensitive topics.

Expertise refers to the creator’s knowledge and experience in the subject matter. Authority relates to reputation and recognition within a field. Trustworthiness focuses on accuracy, transparency, and reliability.

Google reinforced these ideas through its explanation of how Google Search works, which highlights the role of quality signals in ranking results.

What Types of Websites Were Most Affected

Health, medical, and wellness websites were the most impacted. Financial advice sites, legal information pages, and any content offering guidance that could affect major life decisions also saw changes.

Websites with unclear authorship, thin content, or exaggerated claims often lost visibility. On the other hand, sites backed by professionals, institutions, or recognized experts generally benefited.

Lifestyle blogs and affiliate sites covering YMYL topics without proper expertise were particularly vulnerable during this update.

How the Medic Update Changed SEO

After the Medic Update, SEO expanded beyond keywords and backlinks. Demonstrating credibility became essential.

Websites needed clear author information, transparent sourcing, and accurate content. Citations, references, and factual consistency became increasingly important.

Google’s quality signals began favoring sites that show who is responsible for the content and why users should trust it.

How to Improve E‑A‑T and Trust Signals

Improving performance after the Medic Update required long-term quality improvements rather than quick fixes.

Adding detailed author bios, credentials, and editorial policies helped establish expertise. Updating outdated content and removing unsupported claims improved trustworthiness.

For YMYL topics, involving qualified professionals in content creation or review significantly strengthened credibility.

Google has stated that improving overall content quality helps sites perform better during future core updates, even if recovery is gradual.

Recovery and Long-Term Impact

There was no instant recovery path for sites affected by the Medic Update. Improvements were typically recognized during later core updates as Google reassessed site quality.

The principles introduced during this update later influenced other systems, including helpful content and product review evaluations.

Why the Medic Update Still Matters Today

Although introduced in 2018, the Medic Update’s emphasis on trust and expertise continues to shape Google Search. E‑A‑T principles remain central to evaluating content quality, particularly for sensitive topics.

Later updates expanded on these ideas, reinforcing Google’s long-term direction toward reliability and user safety.

Final Thoughts

The Google Medic Update made one thing clear: credibility matters. For websites publishing YMYL content, trust is not optional.

Websites that invest in expertise, transparency, and accuracy are better positioned to succeed not only after the Medic Update but in every major Google update that followed. Building trust with users remains one of the most effective long-term SEO strategies.