Concept

YMYL (Your Money or Your Life)

Google's category for content that could affect health, finances, safety, or wellbeing; subject to stricter E-E-A-T evaluation.

Published February 20, 2026

Definition

YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) is a Google Search Quality category for topics where inaccurate information could harm users: medical advice, legal guidance, financial planning, safety, civic information, etc. Google applies especially strict E-E-A-T standards to YMYL content — requiring strong expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (e.g. clear authorship, credentials, citations, secure site).

Relevance to GEO

AI systems that cite sources also tend to prefer authoritative, well-sourced content for sensitive topics. If your content touches YMYL, ensure clear authorship, citations, and technical trust signals (HTTPS, structured data, transparent about funding).