What is Hreflang?
Hreflang is an HTML attribute used to indicate the language and regional targeting of a webpage. It helps search engines serve the correct version of a page to users based on their language or location.
The hreflang attribute is placed in the <head> section of a page or in the XML sitemap and typically looks like this:
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-gb" href="https://example.com/uk-page" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="de-de" href="https://example.com/de-page" />
Why Hreflang Matters
Hreflang is crucial for websites with multilingual or multi-regional content. Without it, search engines may serve the wrong language version to users, reducing relevance, engagement, and SEO effectiveness.
Benefits of using hreflang include:
- Delivering the right content to the right users
- Reducing bounce rates from language mismatches
- Preventing duplicate content issues across regions
- Strengthening international SEO
- Enhancing user experience
Google uses hreflang signals to understand the relationship between versions and to display the appropriate page in local search results.
Example in Use
A company might have versions of its homepage in English (example.com/en), French (example.com/fr), and Spanish (example.com/es). By implementing hreflang tags, Google can direct users in each language region to the correct version.
If no hreflang is used, all three versions may compete in search results, potentially reducing visibility and confusing users.
Related Terms
- International SEO
- Language Targeting
- Meta Tags
- Canonical Tag
- Geotargeting