Has RSS Link records whether a page’s document head advertises an RSS feed through a recognized link tag — it returns 1 when a head link’s type equals application/rss+xml (case-insensitively) and 0 when none is found. It confirms only that the discovery link is present, not that the feed exists, validates, or resolves.
| Factor ID | RG-LNK-005 |
|---|---|
| Family | Links on the page |
| Measurement | Boolean presence (0 / 1) |
| Measured zone | Link tags in the rendered document head |
What it measures
Has RSS Link indicates whether the document head advertises an RSS feed through a recognized link tag. It is a signal of feed discoverability — whether a browser, reader, or crawler scanning the head would find a declared RSS endpoint for the page.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear parses the head’s link elements and returns 1 when any recognized type value equals application/rss+xml, ignoring case. Otherwise it returns 0. It does not fetch the feed, validate its XML, or confirm that the link destination is present and working — only that a matching discovery link is declared.
What RankGear looks for
<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Site Feed" href="/feed.xml">| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | The head contains a link tag whose type is application/rss+xml (any case). |
| 0 | No head link declares that feed type. |
How to optimize it
If the site publishes recurring articles, news, podcasts, releases, or updates, expose a valid feed with a proper discovery link in the head and test its destination. Keep feed entries current, canonical, and useful to subscribers. Sites without recurring content do not need RSS solely to satisfy this factor — treat it as an observation about feed discoverability, not a target to chase for its own sake.
Important considerations
- Presence does not prove feed quality or availability — the factor only reads the declared link, not the feed behind it.
- RSS is useful for syndication and subscribers but is not required for every page type.
- The factor does not count ordinary anchors pointing to feeds — only recognized head link tags qualify.
- Validate feed URLs and content independently.
- This is a measured signal that relates to how pages are prioritized within a result set; a declared feed link does not by itself cause or guarantee a ranking.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.