If you manage the website of an independent pharmacy, a natural health product brand, or a medical device distributor in Québec, you’re affected by one of the most overlooked — and most decisive — aspects of organic search: E-E-A-T criteria.

Since Google’s major algorithm updates (notably the Medic Update in 2018 and successive refinements through 2025), Google treats health-related content with particular rigour. Understanding why, and more importantly how to respond, can mean the difference between page one and digital invisibility.

What is YMYL — and why is the pharma sector at its core?

YMYL stands for Your Money Your Life. It refers to all web pages whose content could affect a user’s physical health, mental health, financial wellbeing, or safety.

All pharmaceutical content is, by definition, YMYL: a poorly written medication leaflet, a misleading natural health product description, or an inaccurate article on drug interactions can cause real harm to a real person. Google knows this — which is why its human evaluators (Quality Raters) score these pages according to standards far more demanding than those applied to fashion or cooking websites.

Practical result: if your site doesn’t clearly demonstrate its level of expertise and trustworthiness, it will be deprioritized in search results, regardless of how technically sound your SEO is.

The 4 components of E-E-A-T applied to the health sector

1. Experience

Added in December 2022, the Experience dimension is often overlooked. It refers to the direct, first-hand experience of the author with the topic being covered.

For a pharma website, this can translate into:

Articles written by or in collaboration with healthcare professionals
Explicit mentions of the author’s professional context
Real case studies (with consent from parties involved)
Patient testimonials compliant with Health Canada regulations

2. Expertise

Expertise refers to the formal qualifications of the author or organization. For medical content, Google expects clear indicators:

Mention of the author’s degree or professional licensing body
Detailed “About” pages with professional background
Affiliation with recognized medical institutions
Bibliography and cited sources (publications, clinical studies on PubMed, etc.)

Important: publishing a health article under an anonymous author is one of the most powerful negative signals Google identifies in the YMYL sector.

3. Authoritativeness

Authority is built on what others say about you, not on what you say about yourself.

In practice, this means:

Earning mentions and backlinks from recognized medical websites (pharmacist associations, Health Canada, universities)
Being cited in health-related press coverage in Québec
Consistent profiles on professional platforms (Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec, LinkedIn, etc.)
Verified Google reviews, particularly for independent pharmacies

4. Trustworthiness

Trustworthiness is the most technical dimension of E-E-A-T, but also the most fundamental: Google cannot recommend a site it doesn’t trust.

For a pharmaceutical or health website, essential trust signals include:

HTTPS required (no exceptions)
Privacy policy compliant with Quebec’s Law 25 and GDPR if applicable
Legal notices: company name, registration number, full contact details
Medical disclaimers (“This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical advice”)
Update dates visible on all articles and medical pages
Verifiable sources: every medical claim must be sourced

The most common mistakes in the Québec pharma sector

After analyzing several pharmaceutical and natural health SME websites in Québec, here are the recurring problems that undermine their rankings:

1. Content with no identified author Most articles published on Québec pharma websites mention no author. For Google, anonymous medical content = low-trust content.

2. No author pages Even when a name is mentioned, there’s often no dedicated page presenting the author’s qualifications with links to their professional profiles.

3. Outdated content never updated A 2019 article on diabetes treatments with no revision since is a powerful negative signal. In the medical sector, information evolves — your site must reflect this.

4. Missing or poorly positioned disclaimers Health Canada requires specific warnings for natural health products. Their absence can result not only in an SEO penalty but also a regulatory infraction.

5. Low-quality backlinks Some generalist SEO agencies build links from generic directories or blogs unrelated to health. For a YMYL site, this type of link profile can be more harmful than having no links at all.

5-step action plan to improve your E-E-A-T

Here’s where to start concretely:

Create author pages for each medical content writer on your site, with qualifications, LinkedIn links, and a professional photo.
Add publication and update dates on all your articles and product pages.
Source every medical claim: use links to studies published on PubMed, Health Canada guidelines, or recommendations from Québec professional bodies.
Audit your disclaimers: every product page or medical article must include a clear statement that the content does not replace professional medical advice.
Build your local presence: for pharmacies and clinics, optimizing your Google Business Profile and obtaining authentic reviews are powerful local authority levers.

Conclusion

SEO for the pharmaceutical sector isn’t just about keywords and backlinks — it’s about proven, documented trust. Google invests heavily to ensure its users can trust the results it shows them in the health space.

Pharma SMEs that understand this and adapt their content strategy accordingly find themselves in a very strong competitive position, even against large chains.

Want to evaluate where your site stands on E-E-A-T criteria? Request a free SEO audit — I’ll send you a preliminary analysis within 24h.