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hreflang explained simply

hreflang is a small tag, invisible to visitors, that tells Google: “this page also exists in French, here, and in German, there”. It does one thing only: make sure each person sees, in search results, the version in their own language.

What it looks like

In the head of each version of a “Rooms” page, in English, French and German:

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/rooms/">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="https://example.com/fr/chambres/">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="https://example.com/de/zimmer/">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/rooms/">

x-default designates the page to show when no language matches.

The rules

  • Each version lists all the others, and itself. Every version carries exactly the same list.
  • Links go both ways. If one version lists another, the other must list it too. Otherwise, Google may ignore the tag.
  • A full URL that responds. Not a URL that redirects elsewhere, not a page that can't be found.
  • The right language code: en, de, pt-BR… In the standard Google follows (ISO 639-1), uk means Ukrainian: UK English is written en-GB.

The four most common mistakes

  1. Announcing a language whose page isn't translated yet.
  2. Forgetting the return link from one of the versions.
  3. Listing a URL that redirects or no longer exists.
  4. Putting the tags on some pages only.

Sources (read on 15/10/2026)

  • Google Search Central, “Tell Google about localized versions of your page”
English