PeterPerseo
Senior Member
- Jun 22, 2013
- 1,076
- 454
I wonder if anyone is still ranking YMYL (Your Money Your Life) websites using traditional blackhat techniques.
Over the past 10 years, I have ranked many websites in the insurance industry. 6-10 years ago, it wasn't that difficult, after:
1. good keyword research
2. a fast website
3. backlinks (from the cheap parasites and articles — a looong time ago — to more expensive ones like PBNs, guest posts and niche edits). Most websites were “set & forget” types, with no content updates for years.
These sites survived most of Google's updates over the last 10 years. There were only a few periods of temporary downtime that were quickly resolved. Lot of cash!
But, for about 3 years now, after some major Google updates, almost all websites have died, I still get reduced traffic only on a few random sites.
The YMYL niche is now very, very difficult to rank in, and most of the top SERP spots are occupied by big names in finance/insurance/medicine/banking.
In any case, every now and then, and for short periods, I still see sites similar to mine at the top of Google's rankings, i.e., small sites that don't belong to large companies but are created solely for affiliate purposes, so perhaps something can still be done, even though after two years of continuous work I haven't managed to climb back up.
Before I completely consider changing niches, I'd like to know if anyone is continuing to have success with YMYL sites and how.
Any experiences to share?
Over the past 10 years, I have ranked many websites in the insurance industry. 6-10 years ago, it wasn't that difficult, after:
1. good keyword research
2. a fast website
3. backlinks (from the cheap parasites and articles — a looong time ago — to more expensive ones like PBNs, guest posts and niche edits). Most websites were “set & forget” types, with no content updates for years.
These sites survived most of Google's updates over the last 10 years. There were only a few periods of temporary downtime that were quickly resolved. Lot of cash!
But, for about 3 years now, after some major Google updates, almost all websites have died, I still get reduced traffic only on a few random sites.
The YMYL niche is now very, very difficult to rank in, and most of the top SERP spots are occupied by big names in finance/insurance/medicine/banking.
In any case, every now and then, and for short periods, I still see sites similar to mine at the top of Google's rankings, i.e., small sites that don't belong to large companies but are created solely for affiliate purposes, so perhaps something can still be done, even though after two years of continuous work I haven't managed to climb back up.
Before I completely consider changing niches, I'd like to know if anyone is continuing to have success with YMYL sites and how.
Any experiences to share?
