Google Medic Update

Navigating the Google Medic Update: Ensuring SEO Compliance for Your Website

Understanding the Google Medic Update:

The Google Medic update, which was rolled out in August 2018, targets websites in the medical and health-related niches, although its impact has not been limited to these sectors alone. The update aimed to enhance the overall quality and reliability of search results, particularly for websites offering health advice, medical information, and wellness-related content.

Essentially, Google wanted to make sure that, if someone searched for medical advice in its search engine, they were given trustworthy advice. The search giant doesn’t want searchers making life altering medical related decisions based on material they’ve found in Google, only for that content to be life-destroyingly misleading. So, it upped its game in ensuring, to the best of its ability, that only the most well put together and cited medicine/health related content can perform well in search.

Google’s algorithm updates are designed to prioritise websites that provide authoritative and trustworthy information, ensuring that users receive accurate and reliable guidance on health-related topics. Consequently, many websites experienced significant fluctuations in rankings, with some witnessing a noticeable decline in organic traffic.

Below is a brief analysis of Google Medic, and how to comply. It’s a nuanced algorithm, and we definitely recommend discussing the implications and hoops you need to jump through with your SEO agency. Go Up has many years experience guiding clients to Google Medic success!

Compliance Tips for SEO Success

Focus on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T):

E-E-A-T is a crucial factor emphasised by the Google Medic update. To demonstrate experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness, implement the following strategies:

Content Quality: Create comprehensive, well-researched, and accurate content.

Include relevant citations, references, and attributions to authoritative sources, medical journals, or expert opinions. Regularly update and review your content to ensure it remains accurate and relevant.

Author Bios: Highlight the qualifications and expertise of content creators, especially in health-related niches.

Include author bios on relevant articles, showcasing their credentials and experience.

Trust Signals: Build trust by displaying trust signals such as privacy policies, terms of service, contact information, and customer testimonials.

These elements reassure users and search engines about your website’s legitimacy and reliability.

Improve Page Quality and User Experience:

Google prioritises websites that offer exceptional user experiences. Enhance your website’s page quality with these best practices:

Mobile Optimisation: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, responsive, and delivers a seamless browsing experience across devices.

Mobile optimisation has become increasingly important, as more users access the internet through smartphones and tablets.

Page Speed: Optimise your website’s loading speed to enhance user experience.

Minimise file sizes, leverage browser caching, and utilise content delivery networks (CDNs) to improve page load times. Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool can provide valuable insights and recommendations.

User Engagement: Increase user engagement metrics, such as time on site, bounce rates, and social sharing.

Publish engaging, relevant content that encourages users to interact, share, and revisit your website.

Optimise Your Website’s Technical Elements:

Technical SEO plays a vital role in ensuring your website meets the criteria set by the Google Medic update. Consider the following technical aspects:

• Secure Socket Layer (SSL): Implement SSL encryption to secure user data and improve website trustworthiness. SSL certificates are crucial for websites that collect sensitive information, such as personal details or payment information.
• Structured Data Markup: Utilise structured data markup (schema markup) to provide search engines with clear information about your website’s content. This helps search engines understand the context of your content and display relevant snippets in search results.
• Mobile-first Indexing: Optimise your website for mobile-first indexing. Ensure that mobile versions of your website have the same content and structured data as their desktop counterparts. Additionally, verify that mobile pages load quickly and provide a seamless user experience.

Enhance Backlink Profile and Authority:

Building a strong backlink profile is crucial for demonstrating authority and improving SEO performance. Consider the following strategies:

• Quality over Quantity: Focus on acquiring high-quality backlinks from authoritative and relevant sources. Seek opportunities for guest posting, collaboration with industry influencers, and participating in reputable online communities.
• Natural Anchor Text: Opt for natural and varied anchor text in your backlinks, avoiding over-optimised or keyword-stuffed anchor text. Natural anchor text adds credibility to your backlink profile and improves overall SEO performance.
• Link Disavowal: Regularly monitor your backlink profile using tools like Google Search Console or third-party backlink analysis tools. Identify and disavow toxic or spammy links that could harm your website’s reputation.

Examples of Websites Affected by the Google Medic Update

• Healthline.com: Healthline is a popular health website that provides information on various medical conditions, wellness tips, and expert advice. Following the Medic update, Healthline saw significant improvements in rankings due to its comprehensive and well-researched content, clear E-A-T signals, and user-friendly website experience.
• Verywell Health: Verywell Health is another prominent health website that offers a wide range of medical information and health-related articles. It witnessed fluctuations in rankings during the Medic update, but by implementing E-A-T guidelines and enhancing user engagement metrics, it managed to regain and maintain its visibility in search results.
• WebMD: WebMD is a well-known online platform that provides extensive medical information, symptom checkers, and expert advice. Although WebMD experienced some initial fluctuations during the Medic update, its focus on high-quality content and user trust signals helped it maintain its authority and visibility.

Conclusion

The Google Medic update underscored the importance of expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness in providing accurate and reliable information to users. By following the tips outlined in this article, you can ensure your website complies with the Google Medic update and maintains its visibility and rankings in search results. Remember, SEO success requires ongoing efforts, continuous monitoring, and adaptation to evolving search algorithms to stay ahead of the competition and deliver a valuable user experience.