Title Has Year checks whether the page’s parsed title contains a four-digit year-like sequence, returning 1 when one is present and 0 when it is not. It is a plain text detector — it confirms that a year appears, not that the content is actually current or accurate.
| Factor ID | RG-TTL-015 |
|---|---|
| Family | Title Language |
| Measurement | Binary presence (0 / 1) |
| Measured zone | Parsed document title |
What it measures
This factor reports whether the title contains a four-digit sequence matched by RankGear’s legacy year pattern. It is a simple yes/no signal about the presence of a year-like token in the title text, nothing more.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear searches the lowercased parsed title, case-insensitively, for a word-bounded value matching the pattern [12][0192]\d\d. That pattern matches the expected 19xx and 20xx years, but it also accepts the 10xx, 11xx, 12xx, 21xx, 22xx, and 29xx ranges — more four-digit ranges than ordinary modern years. When such a token is found the factor returns 1; otherwise it returns 0.
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | A year-like four-digit token (matching the pattern) appears in the parsed title. |
| 0 | No matching token is present in the parsed title. |
How to optimize it
Add a year only when freshness, an edition, or a time-specific comparison genuinely matters. When you do include one, keep the visible content and the publication or update information consistent with that year. Treat this factor as an observation about your title rather than a target to switch on for its own sake — evergreen content is often better served without a year at all.
Important considerations
- The live pattern accepts more four-digit ranges than ordinary modern years, so non-year tokens in those ranges can also trigger a match.
- This is a binary text detector; it does not verify freshness or accuracy of the content.
- Evergreen content may be better served without a year in the title.
- Do not roll dates forward without meaningful content review and updates.
- Presence of a year correlates with certain result sets within a measured comparison; it is a prioritization signal, not something that on its own makes a page rank or guarantees a position.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.