YMYL (Your Money Your Life) is a category of web content identified by Google that can significantly impact users' health, financial security, or well-being, and is subject to enhanced quality criteria.
What is YMYL?
YMYL (Your Money Your Life) refers to web content that can significantly impact users' lives: their health, safety, financial stability, or overall well-being.
YMYL Categories
- Health: Medical information, symptoms, treatments
- Finance: Investment advice, insurance, taxes
- Legal: Legal information, rights, procedures
- Safety: Safety advice, emergencies
- News: Civic information, major events
- Shopping: E-commerce with financial transactions
YMYL and E-E-A-T
Google applies enhanced E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) criteria for YMYL content:
- Identified authors with verifiable credentials
- Cited sources and references
- Secure site (HTTPS)
- Clear contact information
- Privacy policy
YMYL and conversational AI
AI like ChatGPT and Claude are particularly careful with YMYL content:
- They favor official and authorized sources
- They add warnings ("consult a doctor")
- They cite their sources more frequently
Optimizing YMYL content
- Demonstrate author expertise
- Cite reliable sources (studies, official organizations)
- Keep content up to date
- Add appropriate warnings
- Obtain backlinks from authority sites