YMYL (an acronym for Your Money or Your Life) refers to web pages or topics that could significantly impact a person’s health, financial stability, happiness, or safety, and therefore are held to the highest standards of accuracy and credibility
Overview
Google designates content in YMYL categories—such as medical advice, legal counsel, financial guidance, news, civic information, and major life decisions—as requiring elevated quality. This high standard stems from the potential for harm if such content is misleading
As a result, YMYL pages are subject to stricter oversight under Google’s quality raters, who evaluate content based on E‑E‑A‑T standards (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
Examples in Marketing & Design Contexts
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Web Design: Pages offering medical, legal, or financial advice must prominently display author credentials, citations, and editorial rigor to signal credibility.
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SEO: YMYL pages need stronger E‑E‑A‑T signals than non-YMYL content to rank competitively—error-free, well-referenced content is critical.
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Digital Marketing: Brands producing YMYL content should incorporate transparent messaging, expert validation, and trust signals to retain both human users and AI trust.
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PPC: Ad landing pages that address YMYL topics must adhere to high-quality and ethical standards—Google may penalize pages that appear deceptive or untrustworthy.
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LLMO (AI Optimization): For AI citation, especially on YMYL topics, content must not only demonstrate E‑E‑A‑T but also avoid “hallucination” through clearly sourced, well-structured information.
Related Terms
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[E‑E‑A‑T] — essential for YMYL credibility
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[AEO / LLM SEO] — AI-optimized content needs strong trust signals, especially for YMYL topics
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[Schema Markup] — adds structured credibility (e.g., author schema)
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[Knowledge Graph] — helps AI connect trusted entities and sources