This factor reports whether a page’s body HTML carries the Microformats2 u-photo URL property — the class that flags an image URL inside a microformat item. It returns 1 when the exact class="u-photo" string is present and 0 when it is not; it is a raw presence check, so it never confirms the image, its URL, or a parent item is valid.
| Factor ID | RG-SCF-022 |
|---|---|
| Family | Structured Data – MicroFormat |
| Measurement | Binary presence (0 / 1) |
| Measured zone | Body HTML without scripts |
What it measures
The factor detects the u-photo Microformats2 URL property. In the Microformats2 vocabulary, u-* classes mark URL-valued properties, and u-photo specifically points at an image associated with the item — for example a person’s avatar on an h-card or the lead image on an h-entry. RankGear records only whether that property is written into the page’s body HTML.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear case-insensitively searches the body HTML (scripts excluded) for the exact double-quoted sequence class="u-photo". If that literal string is found anywhere in the measured zone, the factor is 1; otherwise it is 0. The match is a plain string search, not a Microformats parse.
What RankGear looks for
<img class="u-photo" src="/img/avatar.jpg" alt="...">| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | The literal class="u-photo" string appears in the body HTML. |
| 0 | The string is absent (or written in a form the check does not match, such as multi-class or single-quoted attributes). |
How to optimize it
Apply u-photo to an accurate image URL property inside a valid MicroFormat item, so the markup describes the picture that genuinely represents the item. Because RankGear reports presence rather than correctness, treat this as an observation about your markup vocabulary, not a target to force onto a page — add it only where a real microformat item and image call for it.
Important considerations
- The check matches only the exact double-quoted
class="u-photo"sequence; multi-class attributes (for exampleclass="u-photo other") and single-quoted attributes do not match. - The image URL itself is not validated — a present
u-photosays nothing about whether the URL resolves or points at a real image. - A surrounding parent microformat item (such as
h-cardorh-entry) is not confirmed; the property can be present without a valid item wrapping it. - Use truthful, visible imagery that reflects the item rather than decorative or misleading pictures.
- This is a correlation-based prioritization signal that tracks with position inside a measured result set. It does not make a page rank or guarantee any position.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.