Has Meta Charset checks whether a page’s head declares a character encoding. RankGear returns 1 when it finds a recognized charset declaration and 0 when it does not — it confirms the declaration is present, not that the encoding is correct.
| Factor ID | RG-MET-003 |
|---|---|
| Family | Metadata |
| Measurement | Binary presence (0 / 1) |
| Measured zone | Head HTML without scripts |
What it measures
This factor reports whether the head contains a recognized character-encoding declaration. It is a present-or-absent check across the page’s head markup, with script content excluded from the measured zone.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear lowercases the head and returns 1 if it contains <meta charset or <meta http-equiv="content-type; otherwise it returns 0. The match is a literal substring test, so attribute ordering and quotation form affect whether the declaration is detected.
What RankGear looks for
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | The head contains a recognized charset declaration (<meta charset or <meta http-equiv="content-type). |
| 0 | No recognized declaration was found in the measured head markup. |
How to optimize it
Declare UTF-8 with a standard <meta charset="utf-8"> early in the head. Because the detector is a literal substring match, use the conventional lowercase tag and standard quotation form rather than an unusual ordering the check may not recognize.
Important considerations
- The detector is literal and sensitive to attribute ordering and quotation form.
- It does not validate the declared encoding — only that a declaration is present.
- HTTP response headers can also declare encoding, but RankGear does not measure those here.
- Conflicting declarations should be removed so a single, unambiguous charset is stated.
- Correlation is not causation: this is a prioritization signal that tracks with position within a measured result set. A charset declaration relates to standing; it does not by itself make a page rank.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.