This factor checks whether a page uses the Microformats2 u-url property, which marks the canonical or representative URL of a microformat item. RankGear returns 1 when the markup is present and 0 when it is not — it is a presence signal only, not a check that the URL is valid or that the surrounding item is well-formed.
| Factor ID | RG-SCF-023 |
|---|---|
| Family | Structured Data – MicroFormat |
| Measurement | Binary presence (0 / 1) |
| Measured zone | Body HTML without scripts |
What it measures
This factor detects the Microformats2 u-url URL property. In the Microformats2 vocabulary, u-url is a u- class property used to declare the canonical or representative URL of a microformat item, such as the permalink of an h-entry or the homepage of an h-card. The result is a simple yes/no reading of whether that property appears in the page’s body markup.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear returns 1 when it finds the exact, case-insensitive string class="u-url" within the body HTML (scripts excluded), and 0 otherwise. The match is on that literal class attribute value, so the factor is looking for a single, self-contained u-url class declaration rather than parsing the microformat item as a whole.
What RankGear looks for
<a class="u-url" href="https://example.com/article">Permalink</a>| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | The literal string class="u-url" was found in the body HTML. |
| 0 | No class="u-url" declaration was found. |
How to optimize it
Where your templates use Microformats2, apply u-url to the canonical or representative URL of the applicable item — for example, the permalink on a blog post’s h-entry or the profile URL on an h-card. Treat this as an observation about your markup, not a target to chase: only add u-url where a microformat item genuinely warrants it. Because RankGear matches the literal class="u-url" string, keep the property in its own single-class declaration if you want it detected.
Important considerations
- Multi-class values are missed. A combined attribute such as
class="u-url p-name"does not match the literalclass="u-url"string, so the factor reads 0 even though the property is present. - The URL is not tested for validity. A present
u-urlscores 1 regardless of whether thehrefresolves, is canonical, or is even well-formed. - Presence does not validate the surrounding item. Scoring 1 confirms only that the class declaration exists — not that the enclosing
h-entry,h-card, or other microformat item is complete or correct. - Keep the URL stable and accurate, since
u-urlis meant to be a durable, representative link for the item. - Correlation is not causation. This factor tracks how a signal relates to position within a measured result set; a present
u-urldoes not by itself cause or guarantee a ranking.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.