A publisher's playbook for YMYL and E.E.A.T

Here's how to boost the E.E.A.T signals for YMYL content, especially in the age of AI

Jun 16, 2025

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Hello, and welcome back. Jessie here, back from a weekend spent chilling out, maxing, relaxing and staying cool at a rooftop pool (after softball, obviously. It is summer — every weekend involves softball.).

This week: How to boost the E.E.A.T signals for YMYL content. Google holds websites with a high proportion of Your Money or Your Life content to stricter standards. These sites must clearly demonstrate experience, expertise, authority and trustworthiness. In this issue, we cover ways to improve those signals, including how to use AI tools to identify opportunities.

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This is the pre-content audit chant: YMYL on three! Photo by fauxels:

Let’s get it.

In this issue:

What is YMYL?
What to avoid
How to build E.E.A.T for YMYL

THE 101

What is YMYL? A recap

Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) content refers to topics that can affect a person’s health, financial stability, safety or societal well-being. Because of the potential real-world harm, Google holds this content to a higher standard in its Search Quality Rater Guidelines (QRG).

As news organizations regularly cover a broad swath of YMYL topics, it is essential publishers demonstrate strong E.E.A.T signals for these pages.

While not a direct ranking factor, E.E.A.T is a critical self-assessment tool. Ultimately, content on high-impact topics must prioritize being accurate and helpful, especially if negative outcomes could occur from misleading information.

To succeed in the volatile search landscape and provide value to readers, publishers must demonstrate E.E.A.T across their site.

THE HOW TO

What to avoid when building E.E.A.T for YMYL

First, what to avoid: Content written entirely by AI. Google says its focus is on the “quality of content, rather than how content is produced.” It says it wants to reward original, high-quality content and penalize low-quality AI-generated content.

Tools like ChatGPT have made it easy to produce reams of content, something Ezra Klein described as “driving the cost of bullshit to zero.” But, speed and scale don’t equal value. With widespread access to AI tools, it’s never been more important to be distinctive. Being memorable and trustworthy is what sets good content apart.

AI can be helpful for developing an outline, brainstorming headlines or tightening copy. But human editors should still review all pieces before publishing — not just for accuracy, but for originality and tone. As Barry Adams puts it, the worst thing a writer (and by extension, a publisher) can be is forgettable.

Building E.E.A.T for YMYL content

As Google continues its years-long effort to make artificial intelligence central to Search, it's more important than ever to create YMYL content that genuinely improves readers' lives. Distinctive journalism is better positioned to connect with readers and build direct relationships.

The first step is to get a baseline. Determine how much YMYL content your site currently produces and has in the archive. This puts into context your risk profile to understand how much scrutiny your site may face in search.

Conduct a content audit (time permitting). Review stories that are currently getting traffic to ensure they meet E.E.A.T standards.

For stories that don’t yet meet E.E.A.T standards, outline the updates needed to bring it up. Be rigorous in your review of YMYL content. Look for opportunities to cite a more current study, consult an authoritative source or answer new, more relevant questions. Always link to these resources to enhance transparency.

Consider AI tools to help improve E.E.A.T signals. Give ChatGPT Google’s QRG and your content, and ask it for recommendations. In a prompt, tell ChatGPT to memorize QRG and then use the guidelines to uncover improvements.

*Using the Exploding Topics prompts and an article from a reputable publication, here is the recommendation from ChatGPT for improving E.E.A.T.*

Semrush also has an AI-powered tool that provides E.E.A.T-specific recommendations.

AI shouldn’t hold the pen, but it can highlight your blindspots or uncover areas of opportunity.

Once the improvements are done, tell readers and Google. Here’s how:

Update the timestamp to signal freshness;
Include a “How we reviewed this article” section that details the research process;
Expand the byline field to include the writer and reviewer, along with their credentials;
Explain if and how new products were tested or reviewed (for affiliate);
Include a form/email address to report errors/corrections;
List relevant, public sources.

It’s not just about what you know — it’s about demonstrating how you know it. Building E-E-A-T for YMYL content means making your expertise, sources and process visible and verifiable.

*Examples of ways the Wirecutter and Healthline* show *E.E.A.T for YMYL content.*

Decide how to handle unhelpful URLs. Deleting old reporting is a no-go for many publications. That said, if you uncover spammy or other unhelpful content (like coupons), consider removing it from the site.

The bottom line: YMYL content demands a higher standard of trust. To win on search, demonstrate strong E.E.A.T signals across all of your journalism. In an AI world, it’s more important than ever to demonstrate your publication’s credibility.

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