YMYL (Your Money or Your Life)
Google's classification for content that could impact users' health, financial stability, safety, or well-being.
Definition
YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) is a classification used by Google to identify web pages and content that could potentially impact a person's future happiness, health, financial stability, or safety.
YMYL content categories include:
• Financial advice and information
• Medical and health information
• Legal advice and information
• News and current events on important topics
• Shopping and product reviews for major purchases
• Safety information
• Advice on major life decisions
Google applies stricter quality guidelines and higher E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) standards to YMYL content because inaccurate information in these areas could cause real harm to users.
For AI-powered search and GEO strategies, YMYL classification is critical because AI systems are particularly cautious about citing and referencing YMYL content, often requiring additional verification and authority signals. Content in YMYL categories must demonstrate exceptional expertise through author credentials, institutional backing, regular fact-checking, comprehensive source citations, and ongoing content updates.
AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google's Gemini are specifically trained to be more conservative with YMYL topics, making it essential for businesses in these sectors to establish strong authority, credibility, and trust signals. This includes having licensed professionals author content, displaying clear credentials and certifications, implementing rigorous editorial processes, and maintaining transparent organizational information.
Examples of YMYL (Your Money or Your Life)
- 1
A financial advisory website featuring articles authored by certified financial planners (CFP) with clear credentials and regulatory disclosures
- 2
A medical website where all health content is written by licensed physicians and reviewed by medical boards before publication
- 3
A legal advice platform clearly indicating which content is written by licensed attorneys and including proper legal disclaimers
- 4
A cryptocurrency trading site providing detailed risk disclosures and having content reviewed by financial regulatory experts
Frequently Asked Questions about YMYL (Your Money or Your Life)
Terms related to YMYL (Your Money or Your Life)
E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
SEOE-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is a quality framework used by Google's human quality raters to evaluate content and website quality, particularly important for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) content that could impact users' health, financial stability, safety, or well-being.
The three components of E-A-T are:
• Expertise - the content creator's knowledge, skill, and credentials in the subject matter
• Authoritativeness - the content creator's reputation and recognition as a go-to source in their field
• Trustworthiness - the accuracy, honesty, and reliability of the content and website
While E-A-T is not a direct ranking factor, it heavily influences how both human evaluators and AI systems assess content quality. For AI-powered search and GEO, E-A-T signals help AI models determine which sources to trust and cite.
Strong E-A-T indicators include:
• Clear author bylines with credentials
• Comprehensive author bio pages
• Citations of credible sources
• Positive reviews and mentions from other experts
• Professional affiliations and certifications
• Transparent contact information and company details
• Secure website infrastructure (HTTPS)
• Clear content policies and fact-checking processes
As AI systems become more sophisticated in evaluating content quality, E-A-T principles are increasingly important for ensuring content gets cited and referenced in AI-generated responses.
Content Authority
GEOContent Authority is the perceived credibility, trustworthiness, and expertise that specific pieces of content or content creators possess within their subject area. Unlike domain authority which applies to entire websites, content authority is evaluated at the individual piece or author level, focusing on factors such as author credentials, content accuracy, citation quality, user engagement, and peer recognition.
AI systems and search engines assess content authority through various signals including author bylines and bio information, citation of credible sources, fact-checking and accuracy, content depth and originality, user engagement metrics, external references and mentions, publication on reputable platforms, and regular content updates.
For AI-powered search and GEO strategies, content authority is critical because AI models preferentially cite and reference content that demonstrates clear expertise and reliability. This means businesses need to focus on establishing individual content pieces as authoritative resources through proper attribution, comprehensive research, expert insights, and ongoing maintenance.
Content authority also extends to personal branding, where subject matter experts build recognition that enhances the authority of all content they create or are associated with.
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