Hreflang Tag Validator
The Hreflang Tag Validator is a specialized tool for websites that serve content in multiple languages or regions.
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Learn more — open a section when you need details
The Hreflang Tag Validator is a specialized tool for websites that serve content in multiple languages or regions. It identifies and validates the "rel=alternate hreflang" tags in your HTML, ensuring that search engines like Google correctly serve the right version of your page to the right audience.
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Enter the URL of the internationalized page you want to check.
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Click "Validate Hreflang" to extract the internationalization tags.
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Review the list of languages and regions detected on the page.
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Verify that each tag points to a valid, absolute URL.
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Check for the presence of the "x-default" tag, which serves as the fallback for unmatched languages.
Multi-Regional Market Entry
When expanding your business from the US to the UK, use hreflang tags to ensure search engines show the correct currency and shipping information to users in each region.
Global Language Support
Direct your Spanish-speaking audience to your /es version and your French-speaking audience to your /fr version, automatically providing the best user experience.
Avoiding Duplicate Content Penalties
If you have very similar content for different English-speaking regions (e.g., Australia vs. Canada), use hreflang to tell Google they are regional alternates, not duplicates.
E-commerce Internationalization
Ensure that your localized store versions for different countries (e.g., .de, .fr, .it) are correctly linked so that localized pricing is indexed correctly.
Fallback Logic Verification
Verify that your "x-default" tag is correctly implemented to serve a generic English or global version to users whose language doesn't have a specific translation.
Hreflang tags should be bi-directional (reciprocal). If page A points to page B, page B must also point back to page A.
Use valid ISO 639-1 language codes (e.g., "en") and optional ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 region codes (e.g., "us").
Always include a self-referencing hreflang tag on every page in your set.
The x-default value is highly recommended for pages that aren't targeted to a specific language.
Hreflang is an HTML attribute used to specify the language and geographical targeting of a webpage. It helps search engines serve the right version to the right users.
You can place them in the <head> section of your HTML, in the HTTP headers, or within your XML sitemap.
If you link from an English page to a French version, the French version must also link back to the English page. This reciprocal relationship validates the connection for search engines.
The x-default tag tells search engines which page to show when no other language or region matches the user's settings. It is the "fallback" version.
There is no strict limit, but you should only include tags for pages that are truly relevant alternates of the current content.
Yes, it is the primary way to tell Google that similar content in different regions is intentional and should not be treated as duplicate.
Yes, our Hreflang Tag Validator is completely free and provides a detailed breakdown of all detected tags.
Common errors include using incorrect language codes, missing self-referencing tags, and failing to provide reciprocal links.
Use a combination of language and region codes, such as "en-gb" for English speakers in the United Kingdom or "es-mx" for Spanish speakers in Mexico.
Hreflang codes must use hyphens (e.g., en-us), not underscores (en_us). Using underscores is a common mistake that invalidates the tag.