RG-AFF-003 is a boolean flag that returns 1 when a recognized AdCell tracking link appears in a page’s rendered body, and 0 otherwise. It records presence only — it does not confirm the link tracks correctly, that its destination is relevant, or that the partnership is disclosed.
| Factor ID | RG-AFF-003 |
|---|---|
| Family | Affiliate & ads |
| Measurement | Boolean presence (0 / 1) |
| Measured zone | Rendered, script-free page body |
What it measures
This factor indicates whether a recognized AdCell tracking link appears in the page body. AdCell is a German affiliate network, and its promotion links are a fingerprint of monetized partner content. RankGear treats the flag as an observation about how a page is monetized, not as an assessment of the offer’s quality or the disclosure around it.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear searches the rendered, script-free page body case-insensitively for an HTTP or HTTPS URL beginning www.adcell.de/promotion/click. Any single match sets the flag to 1; if no match is found, the flag stays 0. The check looks only for that link prefix — it does not follow the link, parse its parameters, or inspect the destination.
What RankGear looks for
<a href="https://www.adcell.de/promotion/click/12345/6789...">
Partner offer
</a>
<!-- matched case-insensitively; http:// or https://; anywhere in the body -->| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | At least one AdCell www.adcell.de/promotion/click link was found in the body. |
| 0 | No matching AdCell link was found in the scanned body. |
How to optimize it
Treat this flag as an observation, not a target — adding AdCell links to chase a value of 1 is not a ranking tactic. Where an AdCell partnership is genuinely relevant, use the links only for legitimate, on-topic offers, pair them with clear disclosure and accurate surrounding claims, and mark the relationship with appropriate sponsored-link markup. If you do not run AdCell partnerships, a 0 here is expected and carries no penalty.
Important considerations
- Presence is not a ranking target — a 1 does not make a page rank, and a 0 is not a deduction.
- Alternative or redirected AdCell URLs that do not begin
www.adcell.de/promotion/clickmay be missed. - The factor confirms the link is present; it does not verify that tracking works or that the relationship is disclosed.
- Audit destination quality and relevance independently — the flag says nothing about where the link leads.
- This is a prioritization signal that relates to how a page is monetized within a measured result set, not a cause of ranking. Correlation is not causation.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.