How to use hreflang tags for technical SEO

The hreflang tag is an HTML tag that tells search engines which language you are using on a specific page, and can also be used to indicate the regional targeting for that language. This is important for search engines because it helps them to serve the correct language or regional version of a page to users, which can improve the search experience and help users find the content they’re looking for. In this blog post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about using hreflang tags for technical SEO, including best practices and common mistakes to avoid.

The basic syntax for the hreflang tag is as follows:

Copy code<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x" href="URL" />

The “x” in the hreflang attribute is a code that represents the language and/or region of the page. The “href” attribute should contain the URL of the page in that language or region.

It’s important to note that the hreflang tag should be placed in the head of the HTML document. It’s also important to include a self-referencing hreflang tag on each page, to indicate to search engines that the page is intended for the language or region specified.

When using hreflang tags, it’s important to follow the guidelines set by search engines to ensure that your tags are properly understood and used. Here are some best practices to follow:

• Only use hreflang tags on pages that are truly different versions of the same content, in different languages or regions. Don’t use hreflang tags on pages that are only slightly different, such as pages with slightly different pricing or contact information.
• Use the correct language and regional codes as specified by the IETF. These codes should be in the format of ISO 639-1 for language and ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 for region.
• Use the rel=”alternate” attribute to indicate that these are alternative versions of the same page, not separate pages.
• When using hreflang tags on a site with a multi-subdirectory or subdomain structure, Use the absolute path of the URL in the “href” attribute, rather than a relative path.
• Make sure to validate your hreflang tags with tools like the Search Console or 3rd party tools.
• In case you have a mobile version of your site and the mobile and desktop versions are different, make sure to use hreflang tags that are separate for mobile and desktop versions.

Using hreflang tags is an important aspect of technical SEO, but it’s also important to remember that they are only one aspect of a comprehensive SEO strategy. Be sure to also focus on other aspects of SEO such as providing high-quality content, optimizing your website for load speed, and building high-quality backlinks.

In summary, using hreflang tags is an important step in ensuring that search engines serve the correct language or regional version of your content to users. By following best practices and avoiding common mistakes, you can use hreflang tags to improve the search experience for users and boost your website’s SEO.

Another important aspect of using hreflang tags is to ensure that they are correctly implemented on all pages of your website. This means that you should make sure that every page of your site has a self-referencing hreflang tag, as well as hreflang tags that point to all other versions of that page in different languages or regions.

It’s also important to keep in mind that if you make changes to the language or regional targeting of a page, you will need to update the hreflang tags on that page and any other pages that link to it. Failure to do so can cause confusion for search engines and result in your pages being incorrectly indexed or served to users.

Another important aspect to consider is that hreflang tags are used to inform the Search Engines, not to redirect users. So you should use redirects and canonicals tags accordingly.

One common mistake people make is using hreflang tags on pages that are not truly different versions of the same content. For example, using hreflang tags on pages that have only slight differences, such as different pricing or contact information, will not provide any benefits and can actually harm your SEO. It’s important to only use hreflang tags on pages that are truly different versions of the same content, in different languages or regions.

Another common mistake is using incorrect language or regional codes. As mentioned earlier, it’s important to use the correct codes as specified by the IETF, in the format of ISO 639-1 for language and ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 for region.

Hreflang tags are a powerful tool for improving the search experience for users and boosting your website’s SEO. However, as with any technical SEO implementation, it’s important to have a good understanding of how hreflang tags work and how to implement them correctly. By following best practices and avoiding common mistakes, you can use hreflang tags to ensure that search engines serve the correct language or regional version of your content to users, improving the user experience and increasing your chances of ranking higher in search engine results.

Additionally, it’s important to track the results of your hreflang implementation to see if it’s having the desired effect on your search engine performance. It’s a good idea to regularly check on your website’s search engine performance and compare it with your competitors, to see if your hreflang implementation is improving your website’s search engine visibility.

To conclude, hreflang tags are a useful and powerful tool for technical SEO, helping search engines to understand your website and serve the correct version of your content to users. By implementing them correctly, tracking their performance and adjust accordingly. By following best practices and avoiding common mistakes, you can use hreflang tags to improve the search experience for users and boost your website’s SEO.

Another important aspect to consider when using hreflang tags is how to handle pages with similar languages. For example, if you have a website that targets both British English and American English, you’ll need to use hreflang tags to specify which version of English is used on each page.

You can specify the variations with hreflang tags by using the language code along with the region code, like this:

Copy code<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-gb" href="URL" />

This tells search engines that the page is in English and targeted at users in Great Britain.

Copy code<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="URL" />

This tells search engines that the page is in English and targeted at users in the United States.

Another situation is when your website is multilingual. You will need to use hreflang tags to specify the language of each page, so that search engines can serve the correct version to users.

When you’re using hreflang tags for multilingual websites, it’s important to make sure that you’re specifying the correct language on each page. For example, if you have a page that’s in Spanish and another page that’s in French, you should use the correct hreflang tags for each page, like this:

Copy code<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es" href="URL" />

This tells search engines that the page is in Spanish.

Copy code<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="URL" />

This tells search engines that the page is in French.

Another situation that you might encounter when using hreflang tags is when you have pages that are not translated but can be read by the same audience. For example, if you have a blog with English and Spanish versions but some posts are in English only. In that case, you can use the x-default hreflang to indicate the preferred version for non-specified languages.

Copy code<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="URL" />

This tells search engines that this page is the preferred version if no other language/region is specified.

In conclusion, hreflang tags are a powerful tool for technical SEO, helping search engines to understand your website and serve the correct version of your content to users. By implementing them correctly and following best practices, you can improve the search experience for users and boost your website’s SEO. When dealing with similar languages or multilingual website, it’s important to be specific and precise in the hreflang tags usage and if necessary, to use the x-default hreflang as well. By regularly monitoring and tracking the performance of your hreflang tags, you can make necessary adjustments and ensure that your website is always performing at its best in search engine results.