With the
evolving Google algorithm, numerous SEO tips and tricks have become outdated.
Google is committed to simplifying SEO and is on an expedition to make SEO
tricks obsolete. Previously, Google ranked websites on keyword stuffing.
However, today, Google ranks pages having something unique and relevant.
You may have heard about Google’s
algorithm for health and wellness businesses, called YMYL. YMYL is the latest
Google Algorithm that rolled out in 2019. Moreover, it has a significant impact
on a health care web design and its ranking. Hence, it earned the unofficial
name of “medic update” as it mainly focuses on healthcare websites.
Now, you must be having many
questions arising in your mind. Don’t worry. We are here to solve all your
queries. Hearing about YMYL raises many questions, such as: What does YMYL
stand for? What websites does it affect? How will it affect a website’s
ranking? How does it work? We will respond to all of these questions for you in
this blog.
What is YMYL Algorithm?
YMYL is an acronym, and it stands
for Your Money or Your Life. It is Google’s algorithm that came out in
September 2019 and is designed for Google to identify websites that are related
to health.
Moreover, it is an internal Search
Quality Rating Guidelines’ 160-pager document, published by Google. Human
evaluators use this set of guidelines to measure the quality of websites in
search results. In contrast to the search bots, the human evaluation does not
influence rankings; however, these rankings play an integral role in
determining Page Quality (PQ).
Health care and wellness websites
impact the happiness, health, and wealth of the users. Google says that they
hold doctors, health care practitioners, and physicals to a higher page quality
standard, “Your Money or Your Life.”
The algorithm comes into action when
the searcher searches for medical or health-related information. Besides, it
has totally changed the way health-related information is ranked on Google.
Formerly, Google ranked websites based on the keywords. However, in today’s
modernized digital era, Google favors websites that contain high-quality &
trustworthy content. YMYL aims to protect users from incorrect information by
penalizing websites that do not meet the essential standards.
What Websites Does YMYL
Affect?
YMYL predominantly affects Custom Website Design that
are related to the medical or health care industry.
In the medical, health, and wellness
industry, it affects the following:
- Medicine and
integrative medicine
- Dental
practitioners
- Mental
health practitioners
- Nutrition
and nutritional therapy
- Oncology and
integrative oncologist
- Chiropractic
Treatment
- Counseling
- Osteopathy
- Naturopathic
healthcare
- Alternative
health care
- Herbalists
- Supplements
- Holistic
Health care
- Fertility
Coaches
- Health
coaches
- Midwifery
& Doulas
- Reflexologists
- Acupuncture
and acupressure
The YMLY algorithm detects websites
with health care or wellness information present. Subsequently, it ranks
websites following all the guidelines higher on the Search Engine Results Page
(SERP). Furthermore, it ensures that the visitors find something trustworthy
and valuable to read.
What establishes an
excellent quality YMYL website?
The guidelines of YMYL serve as a
reference for human evaluators at Google, who rate how well the website adheres
to Google’s algorithm. In addition to this, this guide also serves as a tool to
gain insights into what Google searches for in a good-quality website.
According to YMYL guidelines,
websites and pages must be helpful to the users in some way. Although it
should meet the intended purpose of the website, it is ought to be
user-centered. On the other hand, a website that is created with the primary
intention of making money with no regard to help users is considered to be a
low-quality page.
Based on Google’s Search Quality
Rating Guidelines, here are what YMYL health care and wellness websites
require:
- Excellent
quality of the content that demonstrates expertise, skills, and talent.
- EAT-
Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. These three elements
are crucial for websites to contribute to the industry and to rank higher.
- The
reputation of the author and website.
Website design companies that offer
exclusive health care web design services are well-versed with these guidelines
and create websites for you that are user-centric and good to go for Google’s
YMYL Algorithm.
Importance of YMYL for
Health Care Websites
The primary motive behind YMYL is
for additional scrutiny of the sites that have a higher impact on the lives of
people. Therefore, these websites need to be judged meticulously to ensure that
no misinformation or fake news is conveyed to the users. Thus, these guidelines
demand trustworthy online website content.
YMYL is of great significance in
today’s world. Firstly, because of its efficacy in reducing the level of fake
information that is life-impacting. Secondly, because it combines the power of
artificial intelligence and the expertise of human experts. This combination is
used to gain a better sense of finding deserving websites based on merit for
ranking.
Ways To Avoid Being
Penalized by The YMYL Algorithm
There are hundreds of ranking
factors that affect search rankings. However, Google is very clear when it
comes to maintaining standards to rank a site. If you are wondering how you can
save your website from the penalty, it’s pretty simple. QUALITY. You need to
focus on the quality of content to ensure that your website does not get struck
by a penalty. You can also hire a professional health care web design agency to
ensure that your website adheres to all the YMYL principles.
Following
are some tips to help your site from being penalized by the YMYL algorithm.
- Creation of
high-quality content. This new Google Algorithm now penalizes websites
that distribute low-quality information.
- Avoid
content that is lesser in quantity. Do not go below 2000 words.
Create detailed, thorough, and in-depth.
- Add
references for your content. Also, use internally as well as external
links.
- Always
ensure proper formatting. A well-laid-out content that is easy to read and
comprehend by the audience is always a bonus.
- Incorporate
relevant media elements, such as images and videos.
- Avoid
duplicated content or generic one. Make sure that the content on your site
is unique and not copied from other similar sources.
- Don’t create
ads that mislead people. Make sure that your website’s ad mentions clearly
that it is an advertisement. Avoid phrases such as click here or use of
click baits.
- Never link
your website to sites with a higher spam score. Don’t get backlinks from
spammy websites.
Google keeps updating its algorithms in order to provide the best results to its users. With the passage of time, Google has identified the misleading tricks used by the developers. In future, Google will introduce more strict policies to provide relevant and updated information to its users.