What is YMYL?
YMYL stands for "Your Money or Your Life". It refers to certain types of online content that could really impact someone's money situation, health, or even their safety if the information is misleading or wrong.
Google uses YMYL as a way to judge the quality of website content. Pages get labelled as YMYL if they contain info about things like:
Financial advice
Health tips
Legal guidance
News stories
Because this YMYL content could significantly affect people's well-being, Google expects it to be highly trustworthy and accurate. The info should come from genuine experts who really know their stuff.
Google looks for YMYL pages to have "E-E-A-T" which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust.
If a YMYL page doesn't meet these E-E-A-T standards, Google may rank it lower in search results.
This helps protect people from getting misled by low-quality YMYL content that could really harm their finances, health or safety.
Examples of YMYL
Here are some common examples of YMYL pages:
Health and Medical Information
Any websites or webpages that give advice or information about health topics like illnesses, diseases, drugs, medications, mental health issues, nutrition, and diets would be considered YMYL content.
For example, a page offering tips on managing diabetes or a site providing guidance on mental health treatments falls under this category.
This type of health and medical information could really impact someone's physical or mental well-being if it's incorrect or misleading.
Financial Information or Advice
This covers any websites or pages that give information or advice about money topics like investing, taxes, retirement planning, buying a home, insurance, or anything else related to managing your finances.
For example, a page offering tips on investing in the stock market or a site providing guidance on how to file your taxes would be considered YMYL content.
Legal Information or Advice
This includes any web pages that offer legal advice or information on topics like divorce, child custody, creating a will, or navigating criminal charges.
For example, a page offering guidance on how to get a divorce or a site explaining the process for making a will would be considered YMYL content.
Safety Information
This includes any pages that give advice or instructions that could potentially cause injury or harm to someone if the information is incorrect or not followed properly.
For example, a page providing step-by-step instructions on how to repair an electrical appliance or a site advising on survival techniques for the wilderness would be considered YMYL content.
News and Current Events
This includes websites that cover topics like politics, business, science, technology, etc., which require accurate reporting to ensure the information publicizing doesn't cause harm or spread misinformation.
News coverage on these kinds of major news subjects must be accurate.
E-commerce Sites
Any website where users can make purchases, especially for major investments like buying a car, property, or expensive electronics, is seen as YMYL content by Google.
This is because these kinds of online financial transactions could have a big impact on someone's money situation if something goes wrong.
Why are YMYL pages important?
YMYL pages are important for several reasons:
User Impact
YMYL pages cover topics that could really affect someone's life in major ways because of the type of information they provide.
If the details on these YMYL pages are wrong or misleading, it can lead to seriously harmful consequences for users like health issues, losing money, or even legal troubles.
Trust and Credibility
Since YMYL pages deal with sensitive information that could significantly impact people's lives, this content must maintain a high level of accuracy and expertise.
Having trustworthy and credible pages helps build confidence with users who need to rely on this type of information.
This is especially crucial for businesses or organizations operating in industries where YMYL topics are common, like healthcare providers, financial institutions, or legal firms.
Search Engine Optimization
Google and other search engines want to promote high-quality, accurate, and expertise-driven YMYL content to their users.
Since YMYL topics deal with sensitive areas that can greatly impact people's lives, search engines prioritize showing trustworthy YMYL pages from credible sources in their search results.
This means if you have YMYL pages on your website that are thoroughly researched, well-written, and backed by true experts, it can help improve your site's rankings in search engines.
Compliance with Google's Guidelines
Google has made it very clear that they hold YMYL pages to higher standards compared to other types of online content.
Google's systems are specifically designed to identify YMYL topics and evaluate the quality of those pages based on their E-E-A-T criteria.
YMYL pages that don't meet these strict E-E-A-T requirements may get penalized by Google, meaning they won't rank as highly in search results.
User Satisfaction
Offering accurate, trustworthy, and truly valuable YMYL content can lead to users being much more satisfied with your website.
When people can rely on the sensitive information you provide for things like health, finances, or legal matters, they're more likely to keep coming back to your site and even recommend it to others.
Having that kind of credible, helpful YMYL content makes users happy, which can result in more website traffic, better user engagement metrics, and potentially more sales or conversions for your business.
YMYL & E-E-A-T
YMYL refers to certain types of content that could really impact someone's life in a major way, like topics related to health, money, safety, etc.
It's because this kind of sensitive information has the potential to significantly affect people, YMYL content must be completely accurate and high-quality.
That's where E-E-A-T comes in which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google uses these factors to judge the quality of YMYL pages:
Experience - The author has real firsthand experience with the topic
Expertise - The content is created by someone who is a skilled expert in that field
Authoritativeness - The expertise is recognized and respected by others
Trustworthiness - The website itself is credible and reliable
While E-E-A-T itself isn't a direct ranking factor in Google's algorithm, it does play a crucial role. Google has a team of Quality Raters who use the E-E-A-T criteria to assess search results.
Their feedback helps Google improve its algorithm to better surface high-quality, trustworthy YMYL pages.
Basically, Google wants to make sure YMYL content meets high E-E-A-T standards because of how impactful that information can be.
YMYL describes the sensitive topics, while E-E-A-T provides the criteria Google uses to evaluate the quality of those pages.
Having strong E-E-A-T signals shows Google that your YMYL content is legit and can be trusted.
This helps your pages rank better but also builds user trust, which can lead to more website traffic and sales.
Google cares about E-E-A-T for YMYL because they want to protect users from bad information that could be harmful.
Best SEO practices for YMYL pages
When working on websites or content that covers YMYL topics, the most important thing is making sure that the content is high-quality. Google really wants to see strong signals of E-E-A-T for these types of sensitive pages.
Here are some best SEO practices for YMYL pages:
Ensure High-Quality Content
When creating YMYL content on topics, it's absolutely essential that the information is top-notch quality.
Since this type of sensitive content could really impact someone's life in a major way, you need to make sure it is well-researched, accurate, and valuable.
You can't have any sketchy, deceptive, or unreliable info when it comes to YMYL topics.
Demonstrate Expertise
When you're providing information on sensitive YMYL topics the content must come from people who truly know their stuff.
You need to show that the authors or creators are legitimate experts in that particular field.
This signals to readers (and Google) that the YMYL content is informed by a knowledgeable, authoritative source that can be trusted to provide accurate information.
Establish Authoritativeness
To really show that your YMYL content on important topics is authoritative and trustworthy, get high-quality backlinks by having other respected websites and sources link back to your YMYL pages.
Encourage your readers to leave reviews and ratings for your YMYL content. Lots of positive feedback demonstrates that real people find your information credible and helpful.
For YMYL topics, it's important to regularly update your content to ensure it aligns with the latest research, data, regulations, or best practices in that industry.
Show Trustworthiness
Use HTTPS security especially if you're collecting any sensitive user information or dealing with money/payments, make sure your entire website uses HTTPS secure encryption. These security locks show visitors they can browse safely.
Have a clear "About" page that provides details about your business - who owns it, contact information, customer support options, etc.
Moreover, having a fair, easy-to-understand privacy policy also builds trust that you'll handle user data properly. You can also post other policies to set expectations.
User Experience
Make sure your website is easy to use and navigate, with pages logically organized in a way that makes sense.
The actual design should be clean and readable on any device, whether desktop or mobile.
You don't want any confusion or struggles that get in the way of people understanding your crucial YMYL advice.
Basically, providing a seamless, user-friendly experience signals that you take your YMYL content seriously and respect how impactful it can be.
A well-designed website helps build trust that your high-stakes information is credible and dependable.
Use Structured Data
Making use of structured data on your website can give you an edge when it comes to YMYL topics.
Structured data is basically code that helps search engines like Google better understand the content on your pages.
By implementing this structured data correctly, you're giving Google clear signals about what your YMYL content is about and what kind of information it contains.
This way, it increases the chances of your pages being featured in those more prominent, eye-catching rich results on the search page.
Social Media Presence
Being active on social media platforms can actually give your website an authoritative and trustworthy boost, especially when it comes to promoting YMYL content on important topics.
By regularly sharing your expert YMYL articles, videos, or advice across social channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc., you're getting that valuable information in front of a wider audience.
This helps reinforce your brand as a credible, go-to source for high-stakes subjects that impact people's lives.
Takeaway
YMYL means "Your Money or Your Life" - topics that can seriously impact someone's health, finances, safety etc.
This type of important content needs extra care for accuracy. Google holds YMYL pages to very high standards.
Focus on having expertise from qualified authors, being an authoritative and respected source, and running a trustworthy, credible website.
Following these E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) principles for YMYL builds trust with Google and its users.
It can boost search rankings and conversions when people rely on your high-quality advice.