YMYL: What Counts and the Two Question Test
Published October 30, 2026
YMYL means Your Money or Your Life: topics that could seriously affect someone's health, money or safety, or society. Google holds them to the highest bar. The rater guidelines give a two question test: would a careful person go to an expert for this, and could a small mistake hurt someone?
What YMYL Means
Google's helpful content page uses the name for topics that could significantly impact people's health, financial stability or safety, or the welfare of society. On those topics, Google says content has to be highly accurate and match established expert consensus.
The idea is simple. Bad advice about movie trivia wastes a minute. Bad advice about chest pain or a loan can ruin a life.
The Four Kinds of YMYL Topics
The guidelines group them like this:
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Health or safety | When to go to the ER, medication, mental health, emergency steps |
| Financial security | Taxes, loans, investing, insurance, buying a home |
| Government, civics and society | Voting, legal rights, public services, news about emergencies |
| Other | Anything else where a wrong answer can cause real harm |
The Two Question Test
The guidelines add a useful flip side. If most people would be fine asking a friend, it is probably not YMYL.
Gray Areas: Trades and Local Services
The guidelines do not list trades by name, so here is how we apply the test to the fields our experts work in.
| Topic | YMYL? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Signs your brakes are failing | Yes | A wrong answer can cause a crash |
| Best car wash soap | No | Low harm |
| DIY electrical panel work | Yes | Fire and shock risk |
| Choosing a door lock for a rental | Partly | Safety of tenants |
| How bail bonds work | Yes | Money and legal rights |
| Roof shingle colors | No | Taste, not harm |
| Anxiety medication side effects | Yes | Health |
That table is our call, not Google's. The point is to run the test per page, not per site.
Experience vs Expertise on YMYL
Section 3.4.1 of the guidelines draws a clean line. Someone sharing what they lived through can make a great YMYL page, like a respectful post about going through cancer treatment. Advice on treatment options or medication safety is best left to experts.
So on YMYL, use lived experience to tell the story and a licensed expert to give the advice. Both can be on the same page if the labels are honest.
What a YMYL Page Needs
- A named author or reviewer licensed in that exact field.
- The license or credential shown, with a way to check it.
- Sources for every number and claim.
- Published and last reviewed dates.
- A clear way to reach the business, with a real address.
- No promises the expert would not make.
On EEAT Authors, health, legal and finance orders only go to an expert licensed in that exact field. If we cannot match one, we refund before any work starts.
Questions People Ask
What does YMYL stand for?
Your Money or Your Life.
How do I know if my page is YMYL?
Ask whether a careful person would go to an expert for it, and whether a small mistake could hurt someone. Yes to either means treat it as YMYL.
Is all health content YMYL?
Health advice is. A personal story about an illness can be fine from someone without credentials, but advice on treatment needs an expert.
Are local service sites YMYL?
Some pages are. Safety advice is, a page about your hours is not. Test each page.
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