This factor reports whether a page carries the Microformats2 e-description class, which marks embedded descriptive content. RankGear returns 1 when it finds the exact string class="e-description" and 0 when it does not — presence is a signal that tracks with position in a measured result set, not proof that the markup causes a ranking.
| Factor ID | RG-SCF-004 |
|---|---|
| Family | Structured Data – MicroFormat |
| Measurement | Binary presence (0 / 1) |
| Measured zone | Body HTML without scripts |
What it measures
The factor detects the e-description Microformat class, used to mark up embedded descriptive content within a Microformats2 item. It answers a single question: does the page’s body HTML expose descriptive content through this specific semantic class? It is a presence check, not a quality or relevance judgment.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear runs a case-insensitive scan of the body HTML (with scripts excluded) and returns 1 when it finds the exact sequence class="e-description". Anything that does not match that exact double-quoted string — including single quotes or multi-class values — returns 0.
What RankGear looks for
<div class="h-entry">
<p class="e-description">A short descriptive summary of the item.</p>
</div>| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | The exact string class="e-description" was found in the body HTML. |
| 0 | The string was not found (absent, single-quoted, or combined with other classes). |
How to optimize it
Use e-description only on the descriptive property of an appropriate Microformats2 item — for example, the summary paragraph inside an h-entry or similar parent. Because the scan matches an exact double-quoted, single-class value, applying the class cleanly is what registers. Treat this as an observation about your semantic markup rather than a target to chase: add the class only where it accurately describes real descriptive content.
Important considerations
- Multi-class values and single quotes are not recognized — only the exact
class="e-description"string matches. - Presence does not verify that the description is relevant or accurate.
- The scan does not validate that a proper parent Microformats2 item wraps the property.
- Prefer accurate semantic markup over matching the factor; correct structure serves readers and parsers regardless of this signal.
- Correlation is not causation — this factor tracks with position within a measured result set and does not, on its own, make a page rank.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.