What Is YMYL & Why It Can Make or Break Your SEO Strategy
YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) is a category used by Google to flag content that could significantly affect someone's quality of life. This includes pages covering topics like health, finance, law, safety, and major life decisions. Google holds these pages to higher standards because misinformation here carries real-world consequences. To rank YMYL content, it’s not enough to optimize keywords—you must show expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T). If your content falls under YMYL and lacks demonstrable expertise or credibility, expect it to be buried in search results. It's that simple.
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Use Cases
Pages about diseases, diagnosis, treatments, and medications must be authored or reviewed by licensed medical professionals and backed by reputable sources like Mayo Clinic or CDC.
If you provide stock tips, crypto insights, loan advice, or tax strategies, your SEO ranking depends on your demonstrated financial expertise and transparent disclosures.
Sites discussing legal rights, emergencies, or public safety must use accurate, up-to-date info vetted by lawyers or official agencies.
E-commerce Sites Selling Products with Health Claims
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of content are considered YMYL?
Any page that could affect someone's financial decisions, health, safety, or major life choices. Think healthcare, legal advice, investing, and news media.
Why does Google treat YMYL differently?
Because inaccurate or misleading YMYL content can cause real harm. Google’s algorithm and Quality Raters apply higher scrutiny to protect users.
What's the difference between E-A-T and YMYL?
E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is a framework used to evaluate content quality. YMYL defines the type of content that requires the highest E-A-T standards.
Can my blog rank without being an expert?
Yes. Topics like credit cards, loans, investing, budgeting, and crypto are classic YMYL areas—Google expects verified sources and expert review.
Does all finance content fall under YMYL?
Use expert-written or reviewed content, cite authoritative sources, display credentials, and include transparent contact and privacy information. Build trust by design.
Related Terms
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