As a healthcare organization, your online presence is a critical touchpoint for patients, caregivers, and providers. When Google updates its search algorithms, which direct web users to your website, it can influence how easily your site reaches those audiences and affect your visibility for important content. Below is a practical guide to help you understand how to adapt your digital marketing strategy in a shifting digital environment.

Jump to a section:

Google’s algorithms are the step-by-step rules and calculations that its programs use to rank web pages. These algorithms take users’ online search terms, look through billions of pages, and apply a set of factors to determine which pages best answer their questions. Google prioritizes content that is accurate, evidence-based, reputable, and up to date. In a perfect world, Google updates aim to improve quality search results by rewarding helpful, trustworthy content and reducing low-quality or misleading information, known as spam.

Google search algorithm updates can change which pages rank highly in Google searches and how much organic traffic a website receives. Core updates refine how their system evaluates overall quality and relevance. If your website aligns with these standards, you may see improved rankings; if not, you might experience declines in organic traffic.

What impact have recent updates had on website performance?

In December of 2024, Google Search announced at their live conference that they expect more updates this year than in previous years and that we should expect them more often. Unsurprisingly, 2025 has been a big year when it comes to algorithm updates, bringing several notable changes that impact website performance.

  • In February 2025 there was a core update that sharpened its focus on medical content quality. This update refined signals related to medical accuracy, the credibility of sources, and transparency about authorship. Websites that clearly display author credentials, cite current guidelines, and keep information up to date tend to see more stable rankings. Pages with outdated content or claims that can’t be verified experience greater volatility after this update.
  • In April 2025, Google placed more emphasis on Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T). This meant that pages authored by qualified clinicians often gain visibility, whereas generic, anonymous medical content saw declines in search rankings.
  • Then in July of 2025, a Page Experience and Mobile-First update further required fast-loading, mobile-friendly, and accessible pages.

What this means for healthcare websites is clear. Content that stays current and is tied to qualified professionals generates higher, more stable performance overall. Editorial transparency and author credibility matter more than ever, and fast, mobile-friendly websites continue to perform better.

What’s next for Google?

Google’s search algorithm is continually shifting and evolving to drive better, more relevant results for safe websites that offer fast page speeds and a good user experience. While Google doesn’t share a long-term roadmap, signs point to a few likely updates in 2026. With the recent integration of Artificial Intelligence, we can expect an increase in AI-generated results. The good news is that this would mean smarter snippet previews, clearer notes about sources, and stronger content management to prevent false information. However, this could also mean a drop in organic search traffic for websites as more and more searchers find answers to their queries from Google’s AI tools.

Advance Your Website with Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content

How can you stay ahead in 2026? Google has a few recommendations. Google Search Central advises users experiencing traffic drops should ensure that they are creating content that meets the following criteria:

  • Helpful: Content should answer questions with clear answers, practical steps, and concrete examples.
  • Reliable: Information should be accurate, cite trustworthy sources, and stay up to date.
  • People-first: Content should center on the reader’s experience. What is the reader’s goal? Does the content answer their question? How easy is it to use?

A few things to avoid:

  • Summarizing what others have to say without adding value.
  • Changing the date of pages to make them seem fresh when the content has not substantially changed.
  • Content regarding a niche topic area in which you don’t have any real expertise.

Try instead:

  • Show first-hand expertise and a depth of knowledge, including experiences from using a service or visiting the place mentioned.
  • Give your site a primary purpose or focus when it comes to your content subject matter.
  • Create content that will leave someone feeling they’ve learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal (regardless of word count).

Connect with our Team

At Full Media, our healthcare digital marketing team is committed to delivering practical guidance and valuable services to help your practice. Our HIPAA-compliant digital marketing and website development services are tailored to fit the needs of healthcare specialties, including multi-location healthcare specialties, physician groups, hospitals, orthopedic clinics and more. Contact us today and learn how we can help exceed your marketing and web development needs.