This factor reports whether any parsed body link has anchor text containing the substring terms. It returns 1 when a match is found and 0 when none is, and it inspects only the visible link text — not the destination URL or the policy behind it.
| Factor ID | RG-TRS-005 |
|---|---|
| Family | Trust and Policy Links |
| Measurement | Binary presence (0 / 1) |
| Measured zone | Parsed body anchor text |
What it measures
This factor reports whether any parsed body link has anchor text containing the substring terms. It is a presence check on the page’s visible link labels, aimed at surfacing a common trust and navigation signal — a Terms of Service or Terms and Conditions link — without evaluating what sits behind that link.
How RankGear measures it
RankGear parses the anchor elements from the body, lowercases each link’s visible text, and returns 1 when any text contains terms; otherwise it returns 0. The match is a lowercase substring test against the anchor’s visible text only, so it fires on any label that includes the letters terms.
What RankGear looks for
<a href="/terms">Terms of Service</a>
<a href="/legal/terms-and-conditions">Terms & Conditions</a>
// visible text lowercased, then: text contains "terms" → 1| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | At least one body link’s visible text contains the substring terms. |
| 0 | No body link’s visible text contains terms. |
How to optimize it
Provide an accessible Terms of Service or Terms and Conditions link when such terms are appropriate for the product, service, account, transaction, or site. Use clear link text and keep the policy current. Treat the value as an observation about your page’s trust and navigation links rather than a target to force — a terms link only helps when the terms genuinely apply to what the page offers.
Important considerations
- The destination URL and policy content are not validated — only the visible anchor text is inspected.
- Any anchor-text substring containing
termscan trigger the factor, including unrelated wording (for example, “search terms” or “glossary terms”). - A terms page is not required for every type of site; follow legal and business needs.
- This is a trust/navigation observation, not legal advice.
- A binary presence signal correlates with position within a measured result set; it does not, on its own, cause a page to rank or guarantee any ranking.
Related factors
Part of the Factors reference · how RankGear measures · glossary.