Is Google's EAT update the end for AM's with YMYL sites?

Might have to do with "HOW" they got the good rankings in the first place. Do what Google wants, keep posting fresh content and updating old ones. If your posts are captivating enough and you do some proper marketing/promotion for you site on your end, you'll be an "authority" in their eyes soon enough.

Here's something worth a read: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/...-score/270711/

I think it's possible to write expert, authority, and trustworthy content not being an actual expert. Providing more factual information and linking to trustworthy sources (having links from such sources is also important) you seem to be more authoritative than you might be irl, that's how the internet works.

I may be wrong, but I don't think there was any such thing as an E-A-T algorithm update (although I'm sure there are plenty of know-it-alls out there claiming there was "one" called that). E-A-T was something introduced back in 2015 to Google quality raters - the people who manually review websites. Based on the feedback of those quality raters, Google has continued to tweak their algorithm and has rolled out many algorithm updates in the hopes that they can get their "machine" to inch closer to what their quality raters see when they review a site. So, I suppose you could say that E-A-T indirectly affected their algorithm over time as it got better at matching the perceptions of their quality raters, but there was no single E-A-T algorithm update.

E-A-T affects all website niches differently. If yours is a medical or financial advice website, Expertise, Authority and Trust is going to matter a whole lot more than if your site sells yo-yos. If you are in a "Your Money Or Your Life" (YMYL) niche, I'd suggest getting people who ARE authorities to either write, or be a part of something you write (an interview, perhaps). Short of that, quotes from known authorities would help. Links from known authoritative sites will be important, as well.

Honestly, you have no business being in that type of niche if you aren't an authority. Who is going to want "Joe Blow" advising them on investments or about medical problems? I know I sure would want the person I was basing those types of decisions on to be an actual expert, and not some dude who read something somewhere and now thinks he knows what he is talking about.

It would not matter in that cases i think!

Rather than simply focusing on expertise/authority in a given field, more attention should be given to trust/transparency which is becoming an increasingly significant ranking factor.

Recent findings indicate that Google is now profiling websites, checking against whether a site's intended purpose is consistent with its content, while keeping the consumer's best interest in mind.

It's true that Google's making significant changes to their "content quality" guidelines and EAT is more important than ever. It's also true that many sites across all industries, not just YMYL, have been affected by these recent updates. Although, the majority of YMYL sites are taking the most impact.

Sites like BodyBuilding.com and LiveStrong have lost significant search visibility for these reasons.

I posted about this on Linkedin and will share again here. This in-depth article examines design/content issues that are likely causing major sites to get dinged and suggests the improvements that these sites need to make to improve trust/transparency:

"
Have you noticed a significant drop in your site's traffic?

An interesting case study by Rank Ranger indicates Google's improved ability at profiling websites. Your site's search visibility may be negatively impacted if your site's content is misaligned with its core intent.

This article showcases several major sites which have lost significant traffic along with examples of how content and design are inconsistent with each site's stated intent.

Read the full article:
https://lnkd.in/g-u9p4K
"

So today I looked at the keyword "sleep quality"
It has 1k searches per month but all the top positions are sleep.org, sleepfoundation, WebMD etc, etc.
Now I know Sleep might be considered a YMYL topic but it does now seem that only the most trusted are being allowed top Google positions and I just don't see how any article from a "non expert" will rank for this keyword.

So, what do you do if you have a YMYL site?
I happen to be a sleep expert as I have had more experience than any sleep doctor, but I'm pretty sure Google won't believe me.
So what do I do.

The same can be said for product reviews, every keyword seems to be held by Amazon or ebay or walmart. How does an affiliate get amongst these big boys?