Google search quality rater guidelines update: What has changed - Search Engine Land

Google has made a variety of significant updates to its Search Quality Rater Guidelines.

The most significant overhauls were to Google’s definitions of YMYL (Your Money, Your Life), and the extent to which E-A-T matters as a matter of page quality.

Google provided new, clear definitions for what it means for content to be YMYL, mostly framed around the extent to which the content can cause harm to individuals or society. Google also provided a new table establishing clear examples of what it means for content to be YMYL or not.

In the newest update to the guidelines, Google also explained that for highly YMYL content – E-A-T is crucial above all other factors. Google also explained that it’s possible to have low-quality content on otherwise trustworthy and authoritative sites.

Your Money, Your Life (YMYL) Topics – Section 2.3

Google completely reframed its definition of YMYL (Your Money, Your Life). In the previous version of the Quality Rater Guidelines, YMYL topics were broken down into the following categories:

• News and current events
• Civics, government and law
• Finance
• Shopping
• Health and safety
• Groups of people
• Other

Google completely removed these categories.

The new version of the Quality Rater Guidelines now defines YMYL by its potential to cause harm.

Topics that present a “high risk of harm,” can significantly impact the “health, financial stability, or safety of people, or the welfare or well-being of society.”

Google then defines who may be harmed by YMYL...

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