Hreflang

Hreflang helps search engines show the right language or regional version of a page when multiple equivalent versions exist.

It does not make translated content rank by itself. It only helps routing when alternate pages are valid, indexable, and connected correctly.

What hreflang needs

• Valid language and optional region codes.
• Reciprocal links between alternate versions.
• Indexable alternate URLs.
• Canonical tags that do not conflict with language alternates.
• Final URLs, not redirected or blocked URLs.
• Equivalent content that serves the same purpose in different languages or regions.

Practical checks

• Each locale page references itself and its alternates.
• x-default is used for a global selector or default page when appropriate.
• Hreflang URLs return 200.
• Hreflang and canonical tags do not send opposite signals.
• Internal links and sitemaps support the same locale structure.

Common mistakes

Do not canonicalize all translated pages to one language version. That can undermine the alternate pages you want search engines to show.

Hreflang problems are often template problems, so validate representative URLs from each locale and page type.