What is YMYL page and Why Google Prioritizes it in SEO

Google has continuously been updating their search engine algorithm to ensure the best results based on what users searched for. With many factors to measure if a website is qualified or suitable to be on the SERPs when you search for something. There are many techniques but if you are a website owner, you may have heard the term YMYL pages. YMYL stands for Your Money Your Life. They are pages that Google considers to have a serious impact on the user’s health, happiness, safety, or financial stability. In this blog, we will explore what YMYL pages are and how they can impact your website’s SEO.

What are YMYL pages?

First, we need to understand what YMYL is and how Google categorizes YMYL pages. 

YMYL pages are web pages that contain information that can directly affect a user’s health, happiness, safety, or financial stability. These pages are usually related to topics concerning: 

  1. Medical Advice
  2. Financial
  3. Civics, Governments and Laws
  4. News and Current Events articles
  5. Pages that require personal information such as credit card numbers or social security numbers

However, every page with these contents will pass through to Google Search Results. Websites that are newly established will need to be patient and slowly begin the process of  gaining authority and SEO history in order to be recognized by Google’s Search Engines.

These pages require a high level of expertise and trustworthiness from the website owners and their content creators. Google considers YMYL pages to be very important and they are held to a higher standard than other types of pages. This is because the information on these pages are considered to have high-quality that can have a significant impact on the real world. As a result, Google holds YMYL pages to a higher standard when it comes to ranking them in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Why are YMYL pages important for SEO?

YMYL pages are important for SEO because Google holds them to a higher standard than other types of pages. This means that YMYL pages require a higher level of experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) than other pages. Therefore, it is crucial to have high-quality content on these pages to rank well in SERPs.

Google’s algorithms aim to provide users with the most accurate, relevant, and trustworthy information possible. In other words, Google wants to make sure that users are getting the best possible results for their searches. As a result, Google has developed algorithms that take into account the expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness of a website’s content. This is especially important for YMYL pages, where the stakes are higher, and users are looking for reliable information.

So, how can you optimize your YMYL pages for SEO? Let’s take a closer look at some Google’s YMYL guidelines:

Credentials 

Credentials of the author comes after before anything because when a user browses your site, the first thing that they will see is who wrote the content. What they will have in mind is ‘Who is this guy?’ and the next possible thought is ‘Is this guy qualified to answer my concern?’

Example of YMYL page concerning health issues
Image Credit to WebMD

Provide high-quality & authoritative content

It’s essential that your YMYL pages contain accurate, trustworthy, and reliable information. Make sure that your content is well-researched, and always cite your sources to a well authorized information. This will help establish your website’s credibility and authority.

Focus on EEAT

As we mentioned earlier, Google places a high value on experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (EEAT). EEAT is a factor created by Google as a standard for if the website is qualified to be displayed in search results or not. By focusing on EEAT, you can improve the overall quality of your website as well as help boost page rankings in Google search results. Make sure that your content creators have the necessary experience and expertise to write about the topics covered on your YMYL pages. Additionally, you can establish authoritativeness by getting reputable sources to link back to your content. Finally, make sure that your content is trustworthy by providing accurate, reliable information.

Optimize for keywords

Like any other web page, it’s important to optimize your YMYL pages for relevant keywords. Use long-tail keywords that are specific to the topics covered on your YMYL pages. This will help your content rank higher on SERPs when users search for those specific keywords.

Security

If your YMYL pages require users to provide personal information such as addresses or even credit card information, it’s essential that your website has a security that can prevent an outside party from hacking in. This will help establish trust with your users and increase your website’s credibility as it has become a standard to many websites that ask for private information.

Focus on User Experience

Finally, it’s important to focus on the user experience of YMYL pages. Make sure that your website is easy to navigate, and that your YMYL pages are easy to find. Additionally, make sure that your website is mobile-friendly, as an increasing number of users are accessing the internet from mobile devices.

Summing Up

Another thing to keep in mind is that YMYL pages require ongoing maintenance and updating. As new information becomes available, it’s important to update your content to ensure that it remains accurate and relevant to date. Additionally, you should regularly monitor your YMYL pages for any errors or issues that may arise.

Finally, it’s important to remember that YMYL pages are held to a higher standard than other types of web pages. If your YMYL pages contain inaccurate or misleading information, it could have serious consequences for your users. It is crucial that YMYL page owners strictly monitor and check the information shared on the pages using high-quality content that is accurate, trustworthy, and reliable.

In conclusion, YMYL pages require ongoing maintenance and updating, and always prioritize accuracy, trustworthiness, and relevance in your content. By following these strategies and best practices, you can improve your website’s visibility, attract more traffic, and build a loyal following of users who trust your brand.

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