This article has been written by Sritam Mukherjee pursuing a pursuing a Remote freelancing and profile building program from Skill Arbitrage.

This article has been edited and published by Shashwat Kaushik.

Introduction 

Content is power. Are you not familiar with this phrase? However, you may not be that familiar with YMYL or EEAT. YMYL refers to ‘Your Life Your Money’. The term itself speaks for it. Contents that describe issues related to health, personal care, safety, financial services, and advice are categorised under the umbrella of YMYL. Nowadays, creators who create content under YMYL leave a significant impact on the lives of people. Hence, they have greater responsibilities as people make decisions based on what they see on social media platforms. Their expertise in the content, their authority in the knowledge that they are providing, their experience, and the trust that they build with their audience have a collective impact. Now let us discuss EEAT. EEAT stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. It has already been mentioned that these four components of the creators have a collective effect on the audience. Hence, Google has introduced this model to judge the credibility of the YMYL contents. It is a method of scrutinising the contents. This article will focus on the effects of YMYL and why the EEAT model is necessary to analyse its contents.

Understanding YMYL

In recent times, 40% of the searches on Google contain YMYL concerns. Hence, there is a vast user base for the YMYL content. There is a need among people for knowledge related to life, health, and financial issues. The effects of COVID-19 pandemic and economic issues thereafter have changed the lives of people across the world. Uncertainties of life, several health issues, insurance, medical benefits, different financial investments, and old-age savings are some of the fundamental issues that are connected with YMYL. In the last few years fitness and personal care-related issues have become an inspiration for many YMYL websites. Along with these contents, financial awareness became a crucial subject. It has been claimed by Google that 70% of the clicks in Google search results direct to the top three websites. Hence, it is essential that YMYL websites come at the top. While content creators try to stay at the top of the results, they are accountable for what they showcase on their websites. Around 80% of the audience trusts the content and believes in the authoritativeness of the creators, which they get from the top search results.

As per the data analysed by SEMrush, the total e-commerce affiliate sales through YMYL websites will be $800 billion in 2022-2023. The number speaks to the steady growth of the niche. YMYL websites have collectively become a strong marketing channel. As per a survey, the return on investment in YMYL websites is 200%+ compared to the other promotional methods. On the other hand, YMYL websites with lower quality have less traction with respect to organic traffic. This is a result of a lower search ranking. Contents get lower search rankings due to scrutiny by EEAT. The Edelman Trust Barometer has shown that 73% of users lose trust in content when they see any misleading information. According to HubSpot, the websites that get a 30% or above increase in user engagement contain content with a higher EEAT value.

Health

With the growing health concern among people, users are more attracted to health-related websites. More than 50% of the users ask for health-related issues online. There is no specific age limit for health-related queries, but in the case of financial content, the scenario is different.

Financial content

Young adults are among the top users of financial websites. They use online payment methods more and trust online solutions for payment and other investment-related issues. The numbers suggest both the assertive impact and drawbacks of creating high-ranking and low-quality YMYL content. Achieving higher ranks in the search results requires a focus on EEAT. To ensure that the YMYL website stands out among the searched results, it is necessary to make the content reliable and authentic. With experience, expertise, trust, and authority, that can be achieved.

E-E-A-T: A comprehensive discussion

Experience

Experience is the first component of EEAT. To build trust and credibility, it is important for a content creator to have experience.

Financial services

For example, if a creator is delivering content related to investment in mutual funds, then the investor has to be an investor himself, a mutual fund distributor, or a licenced financial advisor. As an investor, the person will gain experience of the capital market, growth, drawbacks, and long-term or short-term benefits. On the other hand, a mutual fund distributor has a better idea of all these aspects than an individual investor. If a person has a licence to recommend a financial investment, then they also have to go through a certain process of training, which eventually helps them gain experience. EEAT-based algorithm of Google helps the websites rank higher in the search results, which are prepared by experienced creators.

To make people aware of your experience, it is important to showcase your educational background, work experience, ethos, and other credentials, like a certificate. Often, links with previous works help users gain more clarity. Showing testimonials from customers makes it more clear to the audience. Apart from these aspects, participation in different events related to the work experience, and engaging with communities encourage the audience to read more about the content.

Expertise

Experience and expertise often go hand-in-hand. As a creator showcases his expertise through the website, the creator also reflects on his expertise.

Health

For example, if a creator creates content on the fitness of women between the age of 20 and 35, then the person needs to focus on his concrete knowledge of younger women’s health. The probable areas of knowledge would be health tips for students, early career workers, fitness tips during motherhood, etc. If the person is a doctor, then the person would have an added advantage. Doctors are not the only creators in this field. Aspiring fitness trainers also create YMYL content.

A deep and comprehensive knowledge of the subject not only helps a person to elaborate content better but it also helps the creator to engage with users on the right path. When users get to know that the creator is solving the problem with proper knowledge in a structured way, then they will also gain trust. While showcasing the knowledge of the subject, it is also important for the creator to know more about SEO (search engine optimisation). Knowledge of SEO will help a creator understand what types of keywords, sentences, and structures will help them get higher search rankings.

Authoritativeness

The authoritativeness of any website or piece of content depends on the credibility of the creator. If the creator has been creating content in a specific niche for a long period of time, then the person must have created a brand image. If that brand image is the go-to destination of the audience, that website or content hub has that authority. Authoritativeness also depends on the quality of the content. If well-researched content surpasses the quality of the existing content creators, then that website or piece of content will get a competitive edge. Apart from the experience and expertise of the content, focusing on a particular topic helps a page or creator become authoritative on the subject. Narrowing down to a specific niche or a micro-niche can be helpful as it narrows down the competition in the market. Contents from authoritative sources have higher chances of getting higher ranks in the search results.

Trustworthiness

A website or piece of content will gain the trust of its audience only if it is transparent. Transparency will depend on connectivity. If the creator is truly willing to connect with the audience, then the person will showcase how to connect and engage with the person. Along with transparency, showing the purpose or objectivity behind the content or website also helps a website gain the trust of the audience. Design is another element that creates trustworthiness. If a page is designed in a user-friendly mode, then user traction will increase organically. The audience will automatically check the contents more.

Why is E-E-A-T important for YMYL websites

From the above discussion, it is evident that EEAT is the key to ranking YMYL content higher in the search results. The experience of a content creator gives content more credibility. Expertise helps a website get better clarity in its content. Focusing on a specific niche and its quality builds authoritativeness. Finally, transparency, purpose, and user-friendly design create trust with the audience. EEAT not only ensures higher ranks in the search results or SEO optimization, but it also builds an organic network, which in the long run creates a larger audience base. If the EEAT idea is clear to the creator, then it is easier for the person to create a better user experience. In the end, the utility of the content and the way it is presented matter the most to the users.

Conclusion

At the end of the discussion, it can be concluded that to make content rank better it is important that the content provide value. Users will pay greater attention to something if it is more useful. To make content useful, it is important to generate authentic ideas. Authenticity depends on the experience and expertise of the creators. Overall, the engagement with the audience builds a bridge of trust. That trust generates more organic leads, which will eventually lead to better SEO, higher ranks, and a longer affiliation with the users. Instead of using an artificial content generator, it is important for the creators to reflect more and believe in their knowledge. Artificial intelligence can better automate content publishing, but it has less credibility than a human creator, which is an important factor for YMYL content.