Has MicroData is a boolean signal that returns 1 when the page body appears to contain Microdata markup and 0 when it does not. It is a lightweight presence check — it detects the Microdata syntax but does not parse, validate, or judge the structured-data item graph it describes.
| Factor ID | RG-SCM-001 |
|---|---|
| Family | Structured Data — Microdata |
| Measurement | Binary presence (0 / 1) |
| Measured zone | Rendered body HTML with scripts removed |
What it measures
Has MicroData reports whether RankGear finds any of the Microdata attributes itemtype=, itemprop=, or itemscope in the rendered body after script elements are removed. Microdata is one of the attribute-based ways to embed structured data directly into HTML elements. This is a simple presence check across the measured body: either one of those attribute forms is found, or it is not. JSON-LD, RDFa, and microformats are separate mechanisms and are not counted here.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear performs a case-insensitive regular-expression search for itemtype=, itemprop=, or itemscope. It returns 1 when any one of those literal attribute forms is present anywhere in the script-free body, and 0 otherwise. Because the check keys on those literal attribute forms, whitespace between the attribute name and the equals sign is not accepted — unusual spacing can prevent a match.
What RankGear looks for
<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Article">
<span itemprop="headline">…</span>
</div>| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | At least one of itemtype=, itemprop=, or itemscope was found in the script-free body — Microdata markup appears to be present. |
| 0 | None of those attribute forms was found — including cases where valid structured data exists but is expressed as JSON-LD, RDFa, or microformats, or where whitespace around the equals sign prevents a match. |
How to optimize it
Use Microdata only as part of valid Microdata markup, with appropriate itemscope, itemtype, and itemprop attributes applied to content that users can see. Keep the markup aligned with visible content and with the vocabulary expected by its parent item type. Do not add these attributes merely to satisfy the detector: treat the factor as an observation about how the page expresses structured data, not a target to chase. If your structured data is already delivered cleanly as JSON-LD, this factor reading 0 is not a defect.
Important considerations
- This detector recognizes Microdata syntax but does not parse or validate the resulting item graph — a 1 confirms only that an attribute form is present, not that the markup is correct or meaningful.
- Whitespace between the attribute name and the equals sign is not accepted by the detector, so unusual formatting can cause valid Microdata to read 0.
- Scripts are removed before matching, so attribute forms that appear only inside script elements are not counted.
- Validate vocabulary types, property nesting, values, and eligibility independently with an appropriate structured-data testing tool.
- This is a correlation-based prioritization signal within a measured result set, not a cause of ranking — the presence of Microdata does not make a page rank or guarantee position.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.