
Glossary
YMYL Pages
YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) pages are webpages that cover topics potentially impacting a person's future happiness, health, financial stability, or safety. These pages are subject to higher quality standards by Google due to the potential harm that inaccurate information could cause users. The concept originates from Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines used by human evaluators to assess search result quality.
Context and Usage
YMYL pages are primarily used in search engine optimization and digital content creation contexts. They are most commonly found in industries such as healthcare, finance, legal services, safety information, and news reporting. Content creators, SEO specialists, and digital marketers working with sensitive topics must consider YMYL classification when developing websites and webpages that could influence users' important life decisions.
Common Challenges
Common challenges with YMYL pages include demonstrating sufficient expertise and authoritativeness to meet Google's high standards. Many content creators struggle to provide adequate evidence of credentials or experience, particularly for individual authors. There can also be confusion about what topics qualify as YMYL, leading to either over-application or under-application of the guidelines. Maintaining up-to-date, accurate information across rapidly changing fields like finance or health presents ongoing difficulties for YMYL content creators.
Related Topics: E-E-A-T, Page Quality, Search Quality Guidelines, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness, Content Quality Standards
Jan 26, 2026
Reviewed by Dan Yan