Fixing YMYL Content Gaps
Pages about health, money, legal rights and safety can hurt people when they leave something out.
A guide to claiming a tax refund that forgets Scottish rates, a page on a medicine that never says when to call 111, or an explanation of tenant rights that applies only in England but does not say so: each is accurate as far as it goes, and still risky. The E-E-A-T Checker flags YMYL pages missing reviewer disclosures and other signals for sensitive topics. This guide works through the content gaps that matter most on these pages and how to close each one.
What makes a page YMYL, and why gaps matter more here
YMYL stands for Your Money or Your Life. Google's quality rater guidelines use it for topics where inaccurate or incomplete information could significantly harm someone's health, financial stability, safety, or the welfare of society. The guidelines expect the highest level of trust on these pages. Other guides in this hub deal with recovering YMYL rankings after an update and with authors and reviewer lines; this one is about the content itself: what is commonly missing from YMYL pages and how to fill the gap.
The rater guidelines ask raters to consider how much harm a page could cause. That is a useful way to think about your own content, because it tells you where to spend review time.
| Harm level | Examples | What the page needs |
|---|---|---|
| High | Medicine doses, symptoms that may be serious, pensions and investments, debt solutions, immigration or criminal law, electrical or gas safety | Qualified author or reviewer, primary sources, dated review, clear scope, strong signposting to professional help |
| Medium | Tax on side income, tenant rights, general nutrition, choosing a mortgage type, car safety checks | Named expert involvement, official sources, dates on every figure, clear limits |
| Low but sensitive | Budgeting tips, sleep routines, preparing for a job interview | Accurate sourcing, sensible caveats, a date |
Most sites that are not specialists in these areas still have some YMYL pages: an accountant's blog, a pharmacy's product pages, a letting agent's tenant guide, an electrician's safety advice. Those pages carry more weight than the rest of the site and deserve more care.
The six gaps found most often
- No scope. The page does not say who the advice is for. UK law and rules often differ between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; tax, benefits and medical advice often differ by age, circumstances or condition.
- Undated figures. Rates, thresholds, allowances and limits with no tax year, effective date or source, so a reader cannot tell whether they are current.
- Missing downsides. A page explains how to do something but not the risks, the side effects, the fees, the circumstances where it goes wrong or the alternatives.
- No route to help. Nothing tells the reader when their situation needs a doctor, adviser, solicitor or emergency service, or where free help is available.
- Unclear review. The page claims to be "expert reviewed" without saying who reviewed it, what they are qualified in, or when.
- Boilerplate disclaimer. A generic paragraph copied onto every page, often contradicting the confident advice above it.
Each of these can be fixed with editing rather than a redesign, and the fix section below takes them in order.
The fix, step by step
Step 1
Rate each page by the harm a mistake could cause
List every page that touches health, money, legal rights or safety and give each a harm rating of high, medium or low, based on what could happen to a reader who followed it and it was wrong or incomplete. Include product pages, calculators and FAQs, not only articles. Work on high-harm pages first. For any high-harm page you cannot get properly reviewed, consider whether you should publish it at all or instead link to an authoritative source that covers it.
Step 2
State who the advice covers and where
Add a short line near the top of each page saying who and where it applies to, for example England and Wales only, UK residents, adults, or employed rather than self-employed people. Check each claim against that scope and note differences for the other UK nations where they exist, such as Scottish income tax bands or different tenancy law. Readers outside the scope then know immediately that they need different information, instead of acting on advice that does not apply to them.
Step 3
Date every figure, rate and rule
Next to every rate, threshold, allowance, limit or dose, give the period it applies to, such as the 2026 to 2027 tax year, and link to the official source. Avoid words like currently or this year without a date. Add a visible last reviewed date to the page and a next review date in your own records timed to when the figures usually change, such as April for many tax and benefit rates, so pages are checked before they fall out of date.
Step 4
Add the risks, exceptions and warning signs
For every action the page recommends, add what can go wrong, who should not do it, the costs or side effects, and the signs that something is more serious than the page covers. Ask your reviewer what they most often see go wrong. Present alternatives fairly, including doing nothing where that is reasonable. A page that only lists benefits reads as a sales pitch and leaves readers without the information they need to make a safe decision.
Step 5
Tell readers when to get personal help
Add a clearly marked section saying when a reader's situation needs individual professional advice and where to get it, naming the right service: 999 or 111 for urgent medical concerns, a GP or pharmacist, a regulated financial adviser, a solicitor, Citizens Advice, MoneyHelper or the relevant regulator. Place urgent warning signs near the top rather than at the end. Be specific about the triggers, such as symptoms, amounts or deadlines, instead of simply advising readers to seek advice.
Step 6
Set up a recorded expert review
Find a reviewer with a qualification relevant to the topic, such as a pharmacist, chartered accountant or solicitor, and agree what they check: accuracy, completeness, scope, risks and signposting. Record each review in a log with the page, reviewer, date, what was changed and the next review date. Show a reviewer line on the page naming the person, their qualification and the date. Never display a reviewer line for a review that did not happen, or one that has lapsed.
Step 7
Replace boilerplate disclaimers with specific ones
Delete generic disclaimers that say the content is for information only and then give confident personal advice anyway. Write a short statement specific to the page saying what it covers, what it does not, what the reader should check for their own situation and who to ask. Make the body text consistent with it. A disclaimer cannot fix unsafe advice; if the page needs a heavy disclaimer to be acceptable, rewrite the page instead.
What a real review process looks like
"Medically reviewed" and "checked by an expert" lines have become common, and readers have learned that some of them mean very little. A review line is only worth showing when there is a real process behind it.
- The reviewer is qualified for this topic. A GP reviewing general health information, a pharmacist reviewing medicines content, a chartered tax adviser reviewing tax pages. Not a generic "health expert".
- The reviewer is independent enough. If they have a commercial interest in what the page recommends, say so.
- The review has a scope. They check accuracy, whether anything important is missing, the scope statement, risks and signposting, not only spelling.
- Changes are made. A review that never changes anything is either a formality or a sign the page was already excellent. Keep a record either way.
- The date is real and it lapses. Set a next review date, and remove or update the review line if the page is edited significantly without another review.
<p class="review-line">
Written by <a href="/team/leah-morgan/">Leah Morgan</a>, money guidance writer.
Reviewed by <a href="/team/omar-shah/">Omar Shah</a>, Chartered Tax Adviser,
on <time datetime="2026-09-15">15 September 2026</time>.
Applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland for the 2026 to 2027 tax year.
</p>A single line like this answers several of the gaps at once: who wrote it, who checked it and when, what their qualification is, and who the page applies to. Link both names to author pages that explain their background.
Disclaimers that help rather than hide
A disclaimer should help the reader use the page safely, not protect the publisher from a page it knows is inadequate. Compare:
Boilerplate:
This content is for informational purposes only and does not
constitute professional advice. Consult a professional.
Specific:
This guide explains the general rules for claiming back tax on
work uniforms for employees in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland. It does not cover self-employed people or Scottish
taxpayers, whose rules differ in places. If you are claiming for
more than four years or for more than one job, check with HMRC
or a tax adviser before you submit.The specific version tells the reader who it is for, what it leaves out and exactly when to get help. It is also more honest, because it matches what the page really offers.
Sector notes
Health and pharmacy
Align content with NHS and NICE guidance and link to it. Put red-flag symptoms and emergency signposting prominently. Keep product pages for medicines and supplements factual, avoid claims to treat or cure that the product is not authorised for, and include who should not use it.
Money, tax and pensions
Give the tax year for every figure and note Scottish differences for income tax. Explain fees, risks and the possibility of losing money. Signpost MoneyHelper for free guidance and explain the difference between guidance and regulated advice.
Legal information
State the jurisdiction clearly, because law often differs between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Point readers to time limits that matter, such as deadlines for claims, and to Citizens Advice or a solicitor where individual advice is needed.
Safety and trades
Be explicit about work that must be done by a registered professional, such as gas work by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and about when to stop and call someone. Describe safe isolation and protective equipment where a reader might attempt a task.
Keeping YMYL pages accurate
YMYL content goes wrong over time more often than at publication. Rates change, guidance is revised, products are withdrawn and laws are amended. Keep a review log with every YMYL page, its harm rating, reviewer and next review date, and set reminders for known change points such as the start of the tax year and the annual Budget. Watch for changes announced by the relevant regulator or government department and update affected pages promptly, noting what changed.
After each round of fixes, run the E-E-A-T Checker on the updated pages to confirm the reviewer disclosures, dates and sources are visible, then spot-check a few pages as a reader would: can you tell in the first screen who it applies to, when it was checked and where to go for help?
1. Which pages on my site count as YMYL?
Any page where inaccurate or incomplete information could significantly harm someone's health, finances, safety or legal position. That clearly includes medical, financial, legal and safety content, but it also catches pages many businesses overlook: a pharmacy's product descriptions, an accountant's blog posts, a letting agent's tenant guides, a mortgage calculator, or an electrician's DIY safety advice. Rate each by how much harm a mistake could cause and give the high-harm pages the most review time.
2. Does every YMYL page need a qualified author?
Not necessarily the author, but a qualified person should be involved. A skilled writer can draft health or money content well, provided a suitably qualified reviewer checks it for accuracy, completeness and safety, and the page says so truthfully. For high-harm topics such as medicine doses, investments or legal action, qualified involvement is close to essential. For lower-harm topics such as general budgeting tips, accurate sourcing and first-hand experience may be enough, as long as the page does not overreach.
3. Does a disclaimer protect me if my advice is wrong?
Do not rely on it. A disclaimer can set expectations and point readers to proper advice, but it does not make inaccurate or unsafe content acceptable, and it will not get round rules such as those on financial promotions or medicines advertising. Readers and raters also see through a generic disclaimer under confident personal advice. The better protection is accurate, reviewed, clearly scoped content with a disclaimer specific to the page. This is not legal advice about your liability.
4. How often should YMYL content be reviewed?
At least once a year, and whenever the underlying facts change. Tie review dates to known change points: many UK tax and benefit figures change in April, guidance from regulators and health bodies is revised on its own timetable, and new legislation can take effect at any point. High-harm pages may justify a review every six months. Keep a log so you know when each page was last checked and by whom, and show that date on the page.
5. Should I mention differences between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
Yes, whenever they exist for your topic. Income tax bands for Scottish taxpayers, housing and tenancy law, some health services and parts of the legal system all differ across the UK nations. At minimum, state at the top which parts of the UK the page covers. If most of your readers are in one nation, you can focus on it, but tell others clearly that different rules apply and link to where they can find them.
6. What does medically reviewed actually need to mean?
It should mean a named person with a relevant clinical qualification read the page, checked it against current guidance, looked for anything important that was missing or unsafe, and approved it on a stated date. Show their name, qualification and the review date, and link to a page about them. Keep a record of the review. If the page is later edited significantly without another review, update or remove the reviewed line rather than letting it imply a check that no longer applies.
The E-E-A-T Checker scans your page for reviewer disclosures and signals for sensitive topics, along with bylines, bio depth, Person markup, citations, update dates and trust pages, and links each finding to its fix.
Open E-E-A-T Fixes →