What is hreflang, and how do I use it?

Hreflang is an HTML attribute that helps search engines understand which version of a web page to display to users based on their language, region, or locale. It plays a crucial role in international and multilingual SEO strategies by preventing issues with duplicate content and ensuring that users are shown the appropriate version of your content.

What is Hreflang?

The hreflang attribute is used to indicate the language and geographic targeting of a webpage. It tells search engines like Google which version of a webpage to show to users in different regions or who speak different languages.

For example:

If you have an English version of your website for the US (en-us) and an English version for the UK (en-gb), you can use hreflang to help search engines display the appropriate page based on the user's location.

Hreflang can also be used to serve pages based on language variations. For instance, the same content in both British English and American English could be marked as distinct versions for search engines.

Why is Hreflang Important?

Avoid Duplicate Content Issues: Without hreflang, search engines might see multiple versions of the same content in different languages or regions as duplicates, which could harm your SEO rankings. Hreflang helps solve this problem by telling search engines that the content is targeted at specific regions and languages.
Enhance User Experience: By serving content that matches the user’s language and region, you improve their experience on your site. This increases the likelihood of user engagement and conversions.
Boost Local SEO: Hreflang enables better visibility in local search results by helping search engines display the right version of your site to users in specific countries.

How to Use Hreflang

Hreflang can be implemented in several ways, but the most common methods are in the HTML <head> tag, in XML sitemaps, or via HTTP headers.

1. Using Hreflang in HTML `<head>` Tag

You can implement hreflang by adding the hreflang attribute to the <head> section of your HTML pages. Each version of a page should reference the others to indicate the language and region targeting.

Example: If you have two versions of a page, one for English speakers in the US and one for English speakers in the UK, you would add the following code to the <head> section of each page:

For the US version (en-us):

<link rel="alternate" href="https://www.example.com/en-us/" hreflang="en-us" />
<link rel="alternate" href="https://www.example.com/en-gb/" hreflang="en-gb" />

For the UK version (en-gb):

<link rel="alternate" href="https://www.example.com/en-us/" hreflang="en-us" />
<link rel="alternate" href="https://www.example.com/en-gb/" hreflang="en-gb" />

This tells search engines that the English version for the UK is targeted at users in the UK (en-gb), while the US version is intended for users in the United States (en-us).

2. Using Hreflang in an XML Sitemap

Another way to implement hreflang is by adding it to your XML sitemap. This method is particularly useful for large websites or websites with many pages.

Example:

<url>
  <loc>https://www.example.com/en-us/</loc>
  <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://www.example.com/en-us/" />
  <xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-gb" href="https://www.example.com/en-gb/" />
</url>

This method allows search engines to find the relevant hreflang information directly through the sitemap.

3. Using Hreflang in HTTP Headers

Hreflang can also be added to HTTP response headers, though this is less common. It might be used for non-HTML content like PDFs, images, or videos. In this case, the server needs to send the hreflang data as part of the HTTP response header.

Example:

Link: <https://www.example.com/en-us/>; rel="alternate"; hreflang="en-us"
Link: <https://www.example.com/en-gb/>; rel="alternate"; hreflang="en-gb"

Best Practices for Using Hreflang

Ensure Consistency Across Versions: All pages that have multiple language or regional versions should point to each other. This helps search engines understand that these are different versions of the same content.
Specify Language and Region Codes Properly:
- Language Code: Use the correct ISO 639-1 language code (e.g., "en" for English, "fr" for French, "de" for German).
- Region Code (Optional): For country-specific content, include the appropriate ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code (e.g., "us" for the United States, "gb" for the United Kingdom, "fr" for France). Example: en-us for English in the United States, or fr-fr for French in France.
Use Hreflang for Different Language Variants: For example, you can have a general English page for global users (en), a US English version (en-us), and a UK English version (en-gb). All of these should link to each other to avoid duplicate content.
Don’t Forget the Default Version: If you have content in multiple languages or regions but want a default version for users who don’t match any of the specific hreflang variants, you can either omit the hreflang tag for the default version or use a generic x-default tag.
- Example:
```
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://www.example.com/en/" />
```
Monitor Hreflang Implementation Using Search Console: Google Search Console provides a "International Targeting" section where you can see if there are any issues with your hreflang implementation, such as missing or invalid tags.
Avoid Overuse of Hreflang: While it's crucial to use hreflang for countries or languages where you have distinct content, avoid using it excessively for variations that don’t require it. For example, if your site is only targeting English speakers, there is no need for hreflang tags for small English-speaking countries unless they have distinct versions.

Common Hreflang Errors to Avoid

Missing Hreflang Links: Make sure each version of the page points to the other relevant versions with hreflang tags. Missing links can result in search engines not correctly serving the right page.
Incorrect Hreflang Values: Double-check that the language and region codes are correctly specified. For instance, "en" should not be mixed with "fr" (French) or other languages.
Self-Referencing Tags: Avoid unnecessary self-referencing hreflang tags (i.e., a page pointing to itself with the hreflang attribute) unless absolutely needed.

Conclusion

By properly implementing hreflang, you ensure that users are served the correct version of your content based on their language or geographic location. This improves user experience, avoids duplicate content penalties, and boosts your site's visibility in search results across multiple regions and languages.