Ever wonder what would happen if you searched for a first aid procedure, but all you find is a hockey game score? That’s not a useful search result during an emergency, right? The web world has a vast content that anybody could imagine, but all that glitters is not gold. It’s evident that some of the content can be more important than others. But how does this distinction work when Google is eager to display its result in less than 0.3 seconds?
That’s where YMYL comes into the picture. But what is YMYL? How does it work on Google? And what makes a webpage YMYL? Let’s go through that in detail.
Google is very serious about the content displayed in search results. Therefore, it oriented YMYL content in the foremost version of its Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines (SQEG). YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) content was introduced to maintain the searcher’s pleasure, fitness, security, or stability. In other words, if the content information is presented incorrectly, untruthfully, or deceptively, it could impact the searcher directly. If a web page is created with wrong advice or information, it could affect people’s lives and livelihood. However, this doesn’t mean every content is medically focused on websites, nor does YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) mean to make a purchase similar to eCommerce websites.
Google’s algorithm is not confined to one industry. It considers many types of YMYL content for its algorithm. However, these are the general types of content considered to be examples of YMYL pages:
– News and current event sites.
Everyday topics are not YMYL, for example movies and entertainment are not considered in this category. However, topics that affect the well-being of people, like politics, technology, disasters, etc. are considered YMYL pages.
– Civics, government, and law sites.
The essential information required to maintain a citizenry, for example, information about voting, local politics, divorce, legal issues like child adoption, child care, etc. is considered under YMYL.
– Finance sites.
Basically, these sites allow you to make purchases or transfer amounts. Moreover, these sites give you financial advice or details about taxes, financial planning, loans, banking, investments, insurance, etc.
– Shopping websites.
These websites are mainly used to make purchases online.
– Health and safety sites.
These websites give information on medical issues, drugs, hospitals, emergency preparedness, activity safety, workplace safety, etc.
– Groups of people.
These web pages allow you to learn about specific social groups like religions, ethnic groups, disability, age, nationality, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and more.
– Others
The websites that are associated with big decisions such as housing information, choosing a college, finding a job, etc. are considered YMYL.
Finally, remember the endpoint for YMYL sites is to make sure that users are getting reliable, honest content that’s made with the right intentions. However, YMYL isn’t necessarily the end-all of SEO. Google’s algorithm is continuously changing, but you must think and include the best content to satisfy customers with accurate information.
