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Hreflang Checker & Validator

Instantly check hreflang tags on any URL — validate language code syntax, detect missing x-default, flag inconsistent patterns, and see all detected alternates. Free, no signup required.

Enter a full URL — e.g. https://example.com/en/ or just example.com

✓ No account needed✓ Real-time server-side check✓ 8-point validation✓ BCP 47 syntax verified
Background

What is hreflang?

The HTML attribute that tells search engines which page to show — and to whom.

Hreflang is an HTML link attribute that signals to search engines which language and geographic region a page targets. When implemented correctly, it helps Google, Bing, and other search engines serve the right version of your page to the right users.

Without hreflang, Google has to guess which version of a page to show in which market — and it frequently gets this wrong, particularly for sites with overlapping English-language versions (e.g. US, UK, Australia) or closely related languages.

Hreflang is placed in the <head> of each page or delivered via HTTP Link headers, and must be implemented on every variant — not just the primary version.

Example hreflang tags

<link rel="alternate"
  hreflang="en-US"
  href="https://example.com/en-us/" />
<link rel="alternate"
  hreflang="en-GB"
  href="https://example.com/en-gb/" />
<link rel="alternate"
  hreflang="fr"
  href="https://example.com/fr/" />
<link rel="alternate"
  hreflang="x-default"
  href="https://example.com/" />
International SEO

Why Hreflang Matters for International SEO

🌍

Correct Language Targeting

Hreflang tells Google which version to show to which users. Without it, Google guesses — and an English page may rank in both the US and UK when you want separate versions for each market.

📈

Prevents Diluted Rankings

Without hreflang, multiple language variants of the same content can compete with each other in search. Hreflang consolidates ranking signals and prevents your own pages cannibalising each other.

🎯

Improves User Experience

Users who land on a page in the correct language and regional format have higher engagement and lower bounce rates. Getting someone from France to your French page — not your US page — is a meaningful UX win.

Common hreflang mistakes that hurt rankings

✗Missing return tags on alternate pages
✗Using relative URLs instead of absolute URLs
✗Forgetting the x-default tag
✗Invalid BCP 47 language codes (e.g. "en_US" instead of "en-US")
✗Duplicate hreflang values for the same language
✗Mixing language-only and language+region tags inconsistently
✗Implementing hreflang only via JavaScript (not crawled server-side)
✗Missing self-referencing tags on each page
Implementation

How to Implement Hreflang Correctly

A practical guide to setting up hreflang for international and multi-language sites.

01

Identify all language and region variants

List every language or region-specific version of each page. Each unique combination (e.g. English US, English UK, French) needs its own hreflang tag.

02

Use correct BCP 47 language codes

Use ISO 639-1 two-letter language codes (e.g. "en", "fr", "de"). For regional variants, append an ISO 3166-1 region code with a hyphen (e.g. "en-US", "fr-FR"). Underscores are invalid — always use hyphens.

03

Add tags to every page variant

Hreflang tags must be placed in the <head> of every variant page. Every page must include a complete set — self-referencing tag plus tags for all alternate variants. Incomplete sets will be ignored.

04

Include a self-referencing tag

Each page must include a hreflang tag that points to its own URL. Google requires this for the annotation to be considered valid.

05

Add an x-default tag

Include <link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="[your-main-url]"> to specify the fallback page for users that don't match any other language or region variant.

06

Use absolute URLs only

All href values in hreflang tags must be fully qualified absolute URLs (including the protocol). Relative URLs like "/en/" are not supported by Google.

07

Validate with this tool

Run each page variant through this hreflang checker to confirm tags are detected correctly, syntax is valid, and no issues are flagged.

✗ Common Mistakes

  • —Using en_US instead of en-US (underscore vs hyphen)
  • —Leaving out self-referencing tags
  • —Using relative URLs in href attributes
  • —Missing x-default tag
  • —Only adding hreflang to the homepage
  • —Injecting tags via JavaScript only

✓ Best Practices

  • —Use hyphens in language codes: en-US, fr-FR
  • —Add tags to every variant — not just the main page
  • —Include a self-referencing tag on each page
  • —Always include an x-default tag
  • —Use absolute URLs with full protocol and domain
  • —Validate after implementation and after major site changes
About This Tool

What This Hreflang Validator Checks

Eight checks run instantly on any public URL — no browser extension or login needed.

🔍

Tag presence

Detects all <link rel="alternate" hreflang> tags in the page HTML and HTTP Link headers.

✅

BCP 47 syntax

Validates every hreflang value against the BCP 47 standard including ISO 639-1 and ISO 3166-1 codes.

🏳️

x-default

Checks for the presence of an x-default tag — Google's recommended fallback for unmatched users.

↩️

Self-referencing

Verifies whether the page includes a hreflang tag pointing to its own URL.

🔗

Absolute URLs

Flags any hreflang href values that use relative URLs instead of fully qualified absolute URLs.

🔁

Duplicate tags

Detects duplicate hreflang values — e.g. two tags both claiming hreflang="en-US".

⚖️

Consistency check

Flags mixed use of language-only and language+region tags for the same language family.

📋

Tag inventory

Lists all detected hreflang tags, their language values, and target URLs in a clear table.

Limitations to be aware of

⚠️
Return tags not verified
This tool checks one URL at a time. It cannot verify that all alternate pages have correctly reciprocating return tags pointing back to this page.
⚠️
JavaScript-injected tags
If hreflang tags are inserted by JavaScript (e.g. via a CMS plugin), they may not be visible to this server-side checker — just as they may not be visible to Google.
⚠️
Sitemap-based hreflang
Some sites implement hreflang via XML sitemaps rather than HTML tags. This tool checks HTML and HTTP headers only.
⚠️
Crawl coverage
This tool checks one specific URL. For full coverage, validate a representative sample of pages including homepage and key alternate pages.
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions About Hreflang

What is hreflang?+
Hreflang is an HTML attribute used in <link> tags to tell search engines which language and/or geographic region a page is intended for. It helps search engines like Google serve the correct regional or language variant of your page to the right users. For example, hreflang="en-US" tells Google this version is for English speakers in the United States.
What does hreflang checker do?+
A hreflang checker fetches a given URL and scans its HTML source for <link rel="alternate" hreflang="..."> tags. It then validates the presence, syntax, and configuration of those tags — checking for correct BCP 47 language codes, the x-default tag, self-referencing tags, absolute URLs, duplicates, and consistent language/region patterns.
Why is hreflang important for SEO?+
Hreflang is critical for international SEO. Without it, Google may show the wrong language or country version of your site to users, leading to poor user experience and lost traffic. Correctly implemented hreflang signals help Google index and rank the most relevant page variant for each user's language and location.
What is x-default in hreflang?+
The x-default hreflang value is a special tag that designates a fallback page for users whose language or region doesn't match any of the specific hreflang tags you've set. Google recommends including x-default to handle unmatched users gracefully. It typically points to your main or international homepage.
Does hreflang need to be on every page?+
Yes — hreflang annotations must be implemented on every page that has language or region variants. Each page must include tags for itself (self-referencing) and all of its alternate versions. These are called "return tags." If a variant page doesn't include return tags pointing back to all others, the hreflang implementation may not work correctly.
What is a self-referencing hreflang tag?+
A self-referencing hreflang tag is a tag on a page that points to that same page's own URL. Google's specification requires every page with hreflang tags to include a tag pointing to itself. If the self-referencing tag is missing, Google may ignore the hreflang annotations on that page.
What are valid hreflang language codes?+
Hreflang values must use BCP 47 language codes. These are typically ISO 639-1 two-letter language codes (e.g. "en", "fr", "de") optionally followed by an ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 region code separated by a hyphen (e.g. "en-US", "fr-FR", "de-DE"). You can also use script subtags like "zh-Hant" for Traditional Chinese. The special value "x-default" is also valid.
Can hreflang be in the HTTP header instead of the HTML?+
Yes — Google supports hreflang annotations delivered via HTTP Link headers in addition to HTML <link> tags. The format is: Link: <https://example.com/en/>; rel="alternate"; hreflang="en". This is useful for non-HTML files like PDFs. This checker looks for both HTML tags and Link headers.
What happens if hreflang has errors?+
Hreflang errors can cause Google to ignore your language/region targeting entirely, reverting to its own judgment about which page to show which users. Common issues include invalid language codes, missing return tags on alternate pages, relative URLs (Google requires absolute URLs), and missing x-default tags. All of these can reduce the effectiveness of your international SEO.
Why does this tool say "none found" on my site?+
If no hreflang tags are detected, it could mean: (1) your website is single-language and doesn't use hreflang, which is perfectly fine; (2) hreflang tags are being injected by JavaScript, which this tool's server-side check won't see; or (3) the tags are on a different page (hreflang should be on all variants, not just the homepage). Check the specific page URL you want to validate.

Check Another URL

Run the hreflang validator on any page — a specific language variant, a competitor's site, or after you've made fixes.

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