Generate standardized language and regional alternate tags or XML sitemap headers to guide Google on regional site and multi-language structures.
Add alternate URLs to generate codes.
Hreflang tags are HTML attributes (rel="alternate" hreflang="x") used to tell search engines about different localized versions of a page. If you have pages targeting different languages or geographic regions, hreflang tags ensure search engines serve the correct localized URL to users (e.g., German speakers receive the German version). Correct configurations prevent duplicate content penalties and reduce bounce rates.
You can insert hreflang tags in one of three places: directly within the HTML <head> section of each page, inside HTTP headers, or within your XML sitemap. For best results, ensure your implementation is reciprocal: if page A links to page B via a hreflang tag, page B must link back to page A with its matching language code. Always define a 'x-default' fallback page for unmatched users.
Example Input
Targeting US English, British English, and German versions.
Sample Output
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://example.com/en" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-gb" href="https://example.com/uk" /> <link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="https://example.com/de" />
The x-default value tells search engines where to send visitors when no other specified language matches their browser settings. It is typically used for homepages or generic landing pages that offer global region selectors.
No, you cannot specify a country code by itself. You must define a language code (using ISO 639-1 format), followed optionally by a country code (using ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 format). For example, 'en-us' is valid, but 'us' alone is not.
Related Tool
Generate perfect HTML meta tags for your website including title, description, robots, open graph, and twitter cards to boost your search rankings.
Related Tool
Fetch and validate XML sitemaps to score HTTPS coverage, duplicate URLs, lastmod usage, and sitemap size limits.