What is YMYL and How to Rank This Type of Content?

Have you ever stopped to think about how many times you use Google in just 24 hours? Or how many queries the search engine handles per day, or even per second? According to Semrush, in 2023, Google processed an average of 3.5 billion searches per day, which is approximately 40,000 queries per second.

It is almost universally agreed that one can find information about virtually anything on Google. Last year, these 40,000 searches focused on topics such as politics, natural disasters, technology, sports, beauty, education, cooking, tourism, among others. However, a significant portion of users also turned to the search engine for inquiries related to finance and health, demonstrating that these topics continue to have strong potential for generating estimated traffic.

Google takes great care in protecting the integrity of its users, meticulously scrutinizing content that is expert-driven or potentially sensitive. As a priority of its algorithm, this classification even has its own name: Your Money, Your Life (YMYL).

In this article, we will explain how to avoid penalties when publishing this type of content and, equally important, how to effectively rank it.

What is YMYL?

As previously mentioned, YMYL stands for “Your Money, Your Life.” It refers to all content found on Google that addresses sensitive topics and may potentially impact the reader’s health or financial well-being.

While YMYL is often associated with money and medicine, its scope extends much further. Some examples include:

• Websites involving financial transactions or sensitive personal data (credit card numbers, banking information, identification numbers, etc.).
• Content related to economic, financial, or political information.
• Legal advice websites (divorce, road safety, lawsuits, child custody, etc.).
• Official government information (taxes, pensions, public interest news, among others).
• Health-related content, whether concerning diseases, medications, alternative treatments, scientific news, cosmetic surgeries, or other health topics.

Publishing YMYL Articles: Requirements to Avoid Penalties

Google is constantly updating its algorithm, specifically to scrutinize expert content (one of the latest updates occurred in October 2023). There are certain rules that the search engine imposes to safeguard the quality of information its users receive. The most important are:

• The article must be written by a single individual (not a company or team), and that person must be an expert on the subject.
• The article should be comprehensive and delve deeply into the topic. Information must be presented with honesty and transparency, avoiding the omission of key details or distortion of facts.
• Content must always be kept up to date, with modifications allowed even after publication.
• A clear and structured format should be followed to ensure the information is well-organized and easily understood by the reader.
• The author should never express personal opinions or align with any ideology. The information must be objective and neutral.
• Sources must be cited properly, respecting copyright and intellectual property rights.
• It is recommended not to include advertising.

Some of the top examples of websites where YMYL content not only avoids penalties but also ranks exceptionally well include Mayo Clinic (a nonprofit health organization with articles written by professionals), BBC News (a news network known for objective reporting and diverse viewpoints), Investopedia (updated financial information written by experts), and Nolo (legal resources for individuals, authored by lawyers), among others.

Extra Tips for Ranking: A Brief Overview of Google’s Algorithm

Although YMYL is a crucial part of the algorithm, it is not the only factor. Google closely examines many elements whenever new content is added to its platform. Let’s take a look at the most important and essential ones:

• EEAT: This stands for “Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.” Essentially, the first two Es mean that all content must be written by an author with experience in their field and specialized knowledge. This ensures that the search engine delivers accurate information to its users. On the other hand, Authoritativeness is gained by having your content linked in other articles, and Trustworthiness is tied to the transparency of the website.
• Keyword Cannibalization: According to Semrush’s blog, “keyword cannibalization happens when you try to rank for the same keywords with different content on the same website”. For example, this could occur if a blog has two articles where the primary keyword is “new TikTok trends”. To avoid penalties, published content should not overlap or compete with each other.
• Plagiarism: Google has a zero-tolerance policy for copying information. If you need to base your content on another author’s work or website, it’s crucial to cite it correctly, preferably with a direct link to the source.
• External and Internal Links: In line with the above, it’s recommended that every web article includes both external links (to third-party sites, such as information sources) and internal links (to products or other articles on the same website).
• High Quality: High-quality content is built on several factors, such as proper grammar and spelling, clear writing, sharp images, and easy-to-follow instructions, among others.

It’s important to note that even if a YMYL article meets all necessary requirements, its chances of ranking on Google will decrease if it’s not well optimized according to the above principles.

AI Overview: How Does Google’s AI Interpret YMYL Content?

Google’s recent addition, AI Overview, has already sparked significant debate, and its future and functionality remain somewhat unclear. Essentially, it involves Google’s AI, Gemini, analyzing a large portion of the results for a query and summarizing them at the top of the search index. This allows it to provide lists of instructions, tips, or definitions, while citing sources.

Recently, this technology has faced criticism, with numerous users reporting errors in its responses. AI Overview has not lived up to the standards of the world’s most widely used search engine, as it provided unreliable, incorrect, and even dangerous information (e.g., suggesting cooking chicken at 38°C, using glue on pizza cheese, or eating rocks).

So, how do expert content articles fit into Google’s AI? For medical content, Google uses a separate widget called the Medical Information Panel, which offers a brief summary of a disease or syndrome. It also provides guidance on symptoms, causes, treatments, and prevention, while listing other similar conditions.

For most other YMYL content, AI Overview does not apply, and only featured snippets are shown. These snippets quote the source directly and include a link below. To qualify as a potential featured snippet, the content must adhere to the general YMYL rules.

Is It Possible to Be Featured in AI Overview with a YMYL Article?

Many expert content creators are eager to have their work featured as one of the sources Google’s AI uses to summarize information. In our view, this will largely depend on the topics your articles cover.

On one hand, Google tends to favor official sources, such as government websites, specialized NGOs, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations, and similar organizations. Therefore, it’s quite challenging for a blog on Argentine economics to be cited by Google over the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses of Argentina (INDEC).

Additionally, Google has certain sources it considers highly reliable for specific content areas, like Mayo Clinic for health-related topics. This creates strong competition, making it nearly impossible to surpass these well-established authorities.

In our opinion, it’s possible to be cited by AI Overview when covering a highly specific or niche topic where there isn’t much available material (or it’s not easily accessible on the web). However, when writing about widely known sensitive topics, Google is more likely to cite expert and specialized sites that have built a strong reputation over time.

In summary, it’s much easier to qualify for Google’s featured snippets than to be included in AI Overview. Nonetheless, the future of AI Overview remains highly uncertain, and its presence on the platform may be at risk.

Ranking Health, Finance, and Other Expert Content Is Possible!

With great power comes great responsibility, and the world’s largest search engine understands this well. Google upholds its credibility and business ethics by setting boundaries and rules for generating specific content, aiming to avoid legal and reputational issues. YMYL is simply another way to safeguard itself and its users.

While the competition is fierce, articles on potentially sensitive topics remain among the most sought-after, and standing out from the crowd is indeed possible. The key is to be well-informed, have the right resources, and start creating.