Are you experiencing hreflang tags problems on your website? Well, it’s pretty common and many people face the same issues.
If you manage a website that has content in multiple languages, then you must use hreflang tags and understand their attributes and problems.
In SEO, hreflang tags are considered to be the most complex aspect to understand; even Google’s John Mueller says in one of his X posts:
Source: JohnMu’s X Handle
So, if you’re facing hreflang tag issues, then this article will help you identify common problems and their solutions.
A. What Is An Hreflang Tag?
Hreflang is a way to tell search engines what language a webpage is in and which country or region it’s meant for. It’s part of the HTML code used on websites that have content in different languages.
The Hreflang tag is used when a website has versions in different languages. Hreflang helps search engines like Google show the right page to the right users.
For instance, if someone is in India and searches for the term “Apple,” Google will show the Indian version of the website.
However, things change when someone in Spain searches for the same thing. Google displays the Spanish version.
- An Example of Hreflang tags
Here’s a basic example of how hreflang works:
A website has two versions of a page—one for the Indian audience and another for the Spanish audience.
The hreflang code for these two versions would look like this:
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en-us” href=”https://website.com/en” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es-es” href=”https://website.com/es” />
B. What Do These Codes Mean?
- link rel=”alternate”: This tells search engines that there’s another version of this webpage.
- hreflang=”en-us”: This indicates that the webpage is in English and aimed at Indian users.
- hreflang=”es-es”: This indicates that the webpage is in Spanish and intended for users in Spain.
- href=”https://website.com/en”: This shows the link to the English (Indian) version of the webpage.
- href=”https://website.com/es”: This points to the Spanish version of the webpage.
Hreflang helps ensure that people find the correct version of a webpage based on their language and location. It’s a key tool for websites with a global audience.
1. Self-referencing Hreflang Annotation Missing
It may not be evident, but each page should include a self-referencing hreflang tag. In other words, each page must mention not just its alternate variants but also itself.
If you don’t do this, search engines may overlook your hreflang tags completely.
It would appear like this:
<Link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en” href=”https://example.com/en” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es” href=”https://example.com/es” >
The same is necessary for the Spanish version of the page.
How to Fix: Always use a self-referential hreflang tag. For example, if you have a page in both English and Spanish, the code for the English version must not just refer to the Spanish version as an option, but also to itself.
2. Using Incorrect Language or Country Codes
Hreflang tags that indicate the language used on a page must follow ISO 639-1 standard. If you need to include a nation or area in a tag, you have to use the ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 standard.
There should be a dash between the language and the country code (not underscores).
It’s crucial to keep in mind that while a country code can only be used in conjunction with a language code, a language code can be used alone.
How to Fix: Make sure you’re using the correct language and region codes for your pages by consulting the official listings (mentioned above).
3. Return Tag Errors: What Are They?
Return tag errors happen when the hreflang tags on a webpage don’t correctly link back to each other. This problem occurs when different language versions of a webpage don’t “cross-reference” each other. For hreflang to work properly, each page must link to all the alternate language versions.
If this isn’t done, Google might not recognize the hreflang setup and could ignore the tags, which would affect the website’s ability to show the correct pages to users in different regions.
How to Fix Return Tag Errors
To fix this issue, ensure that each language version of your page links to all the other versions in its hreflang tags. Here’s an example that shows how to set up hreflang tags for a webpage with English, Spanish, and Italian versions:
English page:
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en” href=”https://example.com/en” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es” href=”https://example.com/es” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”it” href=”https://example.com/it” />
Spanish page:
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es” href=”https://example.com/es” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en” href=”https://example.com/en” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”it” href=”https://example.com/it” />
Italian page:
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”it” href=”https://example.com/it” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en” href=”https://example.com/en” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es” href=”https://example.com/es” />
4. The Use of Relative URLs
When you utilize relative URLs in your hreflang tags instead of absolute URLs, search engines may misunderstand your hreflang tags and have indexing problems.
This is the reason why:
Search engines require the entire route, sometimes referred to as an absolute URL, in order to correctly identify a page, but relative URLs only offer a portion of the path.
Incorrect:
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en” href=”/en/page-name” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en” href=”/es/page-name” />
Correct:
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”en” href=”https://example.com/en/page-name” />
<link rel=”alternate” hreflang=”es” href=”https://example.com/es/page-name” />
How to Fix: In hreflang tags, always use the absolute URL (http/https).
5. Blocked Pages (Common Error)
The hreflang tags will be ignored if the indexation of a page is blocked. To avoid this, be careful to:
The robots.txt file does not include any pages that have the hreflang tag specified.
There are no plugins or iframes that render close to the top of the page that have a “noindex” tag applied to them.
Another frequent hreflang issue we’ve observed with clients is when headers containing extra JavaScript or a “noindex” tag obstruct the hreflang tags.
Some websites have had their entire page deleted from crawling as a result of this.
Making sure that there are no extra executable code, iframes, or even advertisements inserted before or between the opening tag and closing tag is the easiest method to avoid this problem.
C. Summarizing Common Hreflang Tags Problems
Search engines rely on hreflang tags to make sure viewers from all over the globe see the appropriate language and localized versions of your webpages.
However, appropriately implementing these tags may be challenging and can result in typical problems like missing tags, return tag errors, or conflicts with canonical tags.
By fixing these issues, you may improve user experience and your SEO efforts while increasing the visibility of your website in foreign search results.
To prevent mistakes, double-check your hreflang implementation every time, and make use of the right tools to keep an eye on and preserve the accuracy of your tags.
Suggested read: Understanding Meta Descriptions for Website Optimization
D. Common FAQs on Hreflang Tags Problems
How do I correct hreflang tags that are wrong or missing?
First, make sure the appropriate hreflang property, which specifies the language and area, is included on every other version of your website. Verify again that the language and area ISO codes are accurate.
What may lead to a contradiction between canonical and hreflang tags?
When a page’s hreflang tag offers one URL as the principal page while the canonical tag suggests another, a conflict occurs. Make sure the hreflang tags match the language and regional structure of the website and that the canonical tag accurately represents the primary version of the page to prevent this.
How do I make sure hreflang tags are accurate?
To audit your hreflang implementation, use resources like hreflang checking tools and Google’s Search Console. These tools can assist in detecting return tag problems, including missing or improper hreflang tags.
Why do hreflang tags matter in terms of SEO?
Better SEO performance results from a website’s ability to reach consumers in particular languages and areas thanks to hreflang tags. When hreflang tags are used correctly, search engines guarantee that users receive the most relevant material, improving user experience and raising the exposure of your website.
