Enhancing on-page SEO requires careful analysis, authoritative writing, and an insistence on creating high-value content. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Your Money Your Life (YMYL) pages. The term “Your Money or Your Life” is taken from Google’s quality guidelines and covers content that influences people’s health, financial security or other fundamental life choices.
SEO has evolved significantly over the past two decades. We explored the shifting dynamic from an almost-exclusive focus on keyword concentration to an emphasis on genuinely valuable writing in a previous blog post. Understanding the implications of this shift is fundamental to writing high-quality YMYL content.
Google’s insistence on “creating helpful, reliable, people-first content” provides a strong foundation, but there is far more to consider as a YMYL specialist.
Experiences. Expertise. Authoritativeness. Trustworthiness. These are the main boxes to tick when writing YMYL content. Leveraging E-E-A-T principles offers a more in-depth view of how to approach this particular niche.
But how? We’ll explore some of the main factors to consider throughout this article.
At Content Lab, we pride ourselves on creating top-notch copy for our iGaming clients. We’re determined to provide consistent results for brands and operators, and satisfying YMYL guidelines is essential to successful and high-ranking online gambling content. Get in contact to see how we can help.
Writing YMYL Content: The Basics
Writing first-rate YMYL content is impossible without a firm grasp of the basic concept. Google introduced the term to cover “Your Money or Your Life” topics, ranging from health and medicinal pages to online gambling or financial help.
As the Ahrefs blog puts it:
“YMYL “Your Money or Your Life” pages cover or touch on topics that can potentially impact a person’s future happiness, health, financial stability, or safety.”
Google’s insistence on strictly evaluating these pages with notoriously high standards is vital to cultivating a safe and genuinely useful online architecture for its millions of searchers.
Think about it: if you’re searching for a cure to an illness or tips on where to invest your money, you’ll no doubt want results from the best sources. It’s one of the most prescient examples of how Google constantly tweaks its algorithm to deliver the healthiest and most impactful service possible.
Before we start exploring advice on how to supercharge your YMYL content writing, here are a few of the main areas falling under this term:
- News & Current Affairs
- Civil Services & Law
- Finance
- Health & Safety
- Online Gambling
- Shopping
- Job Advice
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it will give a better idea of exactly what Google means by “Your Money or Your Life”. Here at Content Lab, our main focus is the iGaming and online gambling niche. Nevertheless, the principles behind successfully writing YMYL content are universal.
How E-E-A-T Influences YMYL Writing
Understanding the importance of E-E-A-T is fundamental to generating high-ranking YMYL copy. The acronym stands for:
- Experience
- Expertise
- Authoritativeness
- Trust
Google uses these principles to quantify how valuable a website or specific page is to the users searching for it.
The E-E-A-T concept is outlined in the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines, a blueprint for third-party testers helping to educate and optimise the AI-powered algorithms. Reading through this will give extremely useful pointers on how to generate content that ticks all the boxes.
Trust is by far the most important characteristic. This can be generated via secure payment systems, 100% accurate information, genuine product reviews, and proven expertise. When writing YMYL content, the first objective should always be establishing trust with the reader. Your entire strategy can nosedive if you fail to do so.
Although they are individual factors in their own right, Experience, Expertise, and Authoritativeness all contribute directly to enhanced Trust. For example, the fact that we’re supplying a comprehensive explanation of YMYL writing, that references proven SEO sources, while helping you enhance your skills is proof that Content Lab covers the E-E-A-T fundamentals.
As a sign of how fast things are evolving, the Semrush Blog outlined E-A-T and YMYL principles on November 30th, 2022. However, Google added Experience to the list in December 2022, expanding the concept to E-E-A-T. It just goes to show the importance of keeping your ear to the ground when writing YMYL content.
Writing YMYL Content: 5 Tips To Optimise Success
Now that we’ve explained arguably the most important part of generating valuable “Your Money or Your Life” content, we can turn to some definitive tips to optimise your content approach. Navigating YMYL topics is tricky, but considering some of the following recommendations can pay serious dividends:
#1: Read What Google Says
Google supplies various sources to help businesses understand the way its algorithms work. It’s in everybody’s best interests for this information to be publicly available, so ensure you’re using it to your advantage.
For example, the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines we explored earlier offer extremely useful insights into how Google quantifies the essential E-E-A-T characteristics. Elsewhere, the Google Search Essentials (formerly Webmaster Guidelines) is packed with best practices and tips to boost content value.
Check these resources before writing YMYL content, as they can significantly help. We also recommend learning from established SEO specialists such as Ahrefs, Semrush, and Search Engine Land. However, it’s always best to go straight to the source before you look at the wider information available.
#2: Create Content You Would Want To See & Learn From
If you were searching for the specific topic you’re writing about, what would you ideally want to see? One of the main ways to create high-value YMYL content is by putting yourself in your target audience’s shoes rather than writing for the sake of it or with a predetermined set of strict instructions.
Google’s goal is to encourage businesses to generate content that can genuinely help people searching for goods, services, entertainment, and more. As a result, copy that has been crafted with love, dedication, and accuracy will perform far better than something hashed together with minimal effort.
At Content Lab, we constantly strive to deliver content that will genuinely help people searching for a particular game or platform in the iGaming niche, or provide valuable insights on whichever subject matter we write about. We take deliberate care to supply accurate, up-to-date, information and unbiased reviews to help readers. Check our website homepage to learn more.
#3: Leverage E-E-A-T Principles Wherever Possible
Leveraging the E-E-A-T concept is fundamental to successfully writing YMYL content.
Experience. Expertise. Authoritativeness. Trust. Repeat these as often as it takes to position them at the very core of your strategy.
High-quality, readable, and accurate content is the most important factor here, but it’s not the only one. Focus on additions such as writer credits, credentials, and bios for blog posts to enhance your reputation. The more consistently you write about a chosen topic, the more E-E-A-T points you’ll score in the long run.
And remember, E-E-A-T isn’t solely related to content.You must also ensure your website satisfies these conditions as a whole with tactics such as link building, enhanced crawling speed, and an optimised general user experience.
#4: Focus On High-Value & Authoritative External Links
Including external links while writing YMYL content is essential. However, you cannot reference just any site. Ensure you’re only linking to external sites that already enjoy high authority and are experts in your particular niche.
Building your own trustworthiness relates directly to the quality of your sources, and choosing the right ones will demonstrate your expertise to the Google algorithms. You must be able to prove that ample research and experience have gone into your YYML writing. Otherwise, you will not satisfy the key E-E-A-T tenets.
Don’t hesitate to reference competitors either. Although this isn’t part of a typical sales strategy, it can create much more trust with your audience if they see you’re prepared to mention competing businesses alongside your own.
#5: Put Learning & Education At The Heart Of Your Strategy
Educating yourself on your particular niche should be at the heart of your YMYL writing strategy. Content creators should constantly strive to be experts in their fields to guarantee the most high-quality, accurate, and engrossing writing possible.
Actively researching and learning new information can only ever be a good thing, especially with sensitive “Your Money or Your Life” topics. Read trustworthy blogs and keep up-to-date with the latest news to optimise your approach.
Additionally, you don’t always have to go it alone. Asking friends or colleagues in particular industries or roles can help offer an angle on something you may not have thought of yourself. The more you learn, the higher you’ll climb.
The Importance of YMYL Pages
Writing YMYL content can be a bit of a minefield compared to other types of copy, and for good reason. These topics are genuinely important, and Google is absolutely determined to offer its users the best content possible.
False health information or financial tips can easily ruin lives, so ensuring a high level of accuracy is indispensable. The need for genuine “value” harks back to our previous article on AI vs human writing. Ultimately, AI-generated text still struggles to match actual humans in this regard.
In fact, publications such as Men’s Journal have already come under fire for using AI to create factually incorrect articles. When YMYL topics like health are involved, this is incredibly dangerous. It exemplifies the genuine importance of treating these subjects with care.
Content Lab: SEO Specialists Ready To Enhance Your Success
At Content Lab, we’re determined to supply the best SEO services for businesses in and around the iGaming niche. Our passionate team of qualified writers offer various expertise in copywriting, translation, proofreading, and SEO enhancement. Get in touch to see how we can help.
See You Next Time
That’s it for this instalment of the Content Lab blog. Check back regularly for new explorations into various facets of SEO and content creation.
Marko Marincic