Your Money or Your Life Niche Topics
So, yesterday, I wrote about real human quality raters who work for Google and assign ratings to search engine results.
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/dianescorpio/blog/real-peopl...
One of the things they pay careful attention to, are what is known as Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) topics.
And looking back through previous posts, it's actually three years ago when I first wrote about this.
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/dianescorpio/blog/your-money...
But it's still a very important factor in rankings.
Some topics have a high risk of harm because their content could significantly impact the health, financial stability, or safety of people or the welfare or well-being of society.
Google has recently updated its search quality evaluation guidelines to try and make it a bit clearer as to what this actually means.
Here are some examples that Google would pay particular attention to.
Health - the symptoms of a heart attack/when to go to the emergency room.
Google says, "bad advice on when to go to the emergency room could cause significant harm."
Financial Stability - how to invest money.
Google says, "poor advice could damage a person's ability to support themselves and their families."
Safety - what to do if there is an earthquake/tsunami.
Google says, "inaccurate information on evacuation routes could cause significant harm to people."
So, if you were writing about these types of topics, Google would expect you to display Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
This would include Google looking at your About Me page to establish if you have professional qualifications or career experience.
Google sums it up by saying, "is the specific topic one that most people would be content with only casually consulting their friends about?"
So, when you are writing a post that covers a health or finance topic, think about how you yourself would want to find out this information.
Would you be happy to get advice from a friend who has no qualifications in the subject?
Or would you seek out an expert?
Clearly, if you yourself think that expert advice is required, then should you be writing about that topic, if you have no expertise?
I hope this helps, and as always, I present this information to summarise what Google is looking for, so I won't be able to answer specific questions on the subject.
Recent Comments
27
Wow! That was very informative information. I really enjoyed the information it gave me a lot of insight being that I suffer from mental health since the age of 8, so I talk a lot about depression anxiety bipolar stuff that I really know throuh experience, which is why I offer positive quotes and affirmations because they really help me.
I remember when my doctor first told me about affirmations I didn't even know what it was, but now I'm all over it. I remember a time where I didn't even know how to love myself everyone was telling me love yourself love yourself but I didn't know how, I would put others before myself. But today I put myself before others, and today I can honestly say I love myself.
Today Im free, free to be me -Bob Proctor
If you lived it then, you become the expert, I learn from the many doctors who treated me for years, nothing made sense until I got old enough for everything to start coming together and start making sense. It wasent until I got to the core of how this all came about.
Thanks Diane
Great post
Hi, Diane
Very useful info! My guitar site is definitely a “Google Safe” niche, at least in the YMYL regard and it’s easy for me to meet their EAT criteria. 😎 🎶
I love the Pirates of the Caribbean series and your header image.
BTW Have you streamed the album “18” yet with Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp?
Jeff just did a single with Ozzy, called Patient Number 9. It was pre-released, along with a tune Ozzy did with Tony Iommi. Give a listen. Full album is due out Sept 9th.
Frank 🎸
Thanks for the information. Regarding health, I agree with Google. Everyone is an expert in everything.
I don't believe so. It's all about the potential to cause harm. With affiliate marketing, you are simply offering advice on products and services and guiding your reader to a vendor.
if you are promoting high ticket programs then google may look at you losing a large amount of money if it doesn't work out... so it has the potential of coming under this...
how do you prove authorativeness- make money with the program before promting and then you can prove it works...
No, affiliate marketing is absolutely fine.
When it comes to finance-related YMYL, it's more about potential FINANCIAL RISK.
I guarantee (but I have no proof) that the YMYL "rules" were introduced due to the influx of product promotions for things like:
Forex Trading
Crypto Currency
Credit Cards
Stocks & Shares
Investment Porfolios
Diet Pills
Hair Loss Supplements
Sexual-Related Supplements
Plus, there's 1000s more.
Do you really want someone who has been online for 2 months, who's fresh out of school, has no life experience, no professional qualifications giving you advice of Forex Trading?
And yet, this is the type of thing that has gone on in Online Marketing for years now.
Google has literally said, "NO, I'm not having this anymore, you are affecting people's lives with your poor advice".
Additionally, if you think about it, and as Diane has mentioned, if you don't have to have professional qualifications, "career experience" will still suffice.
You, Danijel, HAVE career experience in Affiliate Marketing, and are therefore "qualified" to give advice.
That being said, Affiliate Marketing is definitely NOT a YMYL subject.
Yes, I agree, it can affect someone financially if they are paying $20,000 for a course, but I would hazard a guess that these types of products are very closely monitored, and would need some type of official financial'body approval.
But, in reality, still to this day you can actually be successful in Affiliate Marketing WITHOUT SPENDING A SINGLE PENNY.
You don't actually need a website, you don't need a domain, you don't need hosting, Blogging and SEO is simply ONE WAY to do affiliate marketing, and also the main subject taught here at WA.
If you think about it, I guarantee that Roope's main source of income comes from YouTube.
Yes, he has websites and blogs, but in reality, pretty much most of the things he does is via YouTube (which of course is completely free).
Partha
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Hi Diane, on the subject of seeking out experts, I always try to back up any health claims with reputable sources from those experts.
My niche is not specifically health related but there is a lot of cross-over.
I always wonder if I should 'no-follow' those links out to medical journals and the like?
My train of thought to date has been that I should pass link weight on to these sources because they have enabled me to offer more expert advice.
But should I really be conserving that precious link juice?
I was sent this pay it forward and will give a feedback. My niche is on health and I always provide links to my source to support my statements.
Hope my feedback helps. Thanks.
Evelyn