Hreflang Tag Generator

What this tool does

Add each language or regional version of a page with its URL, and the generator produces the full annotation set. Because hreflang must be reciprocal — every page in the group has to reference every other page including itself — the output is a complete block you place on all of them, not a per-page fragment.

You get three output formats: <link rel="alternate"> tags for the head, Link: HTTP headers for non-HTML files such as PDFs, and <xhtml:link> entries for an XML sitemap. Codes are validated as you type, and x-default is offered for the fallback version.

A worked example

A page exists in British English, US English, French and Spanish, with a language selector at the root.

You enter five rows: en-GB, en-US, fr, es, and the root as x-default. The generator returns a five-line block. That exact block goes on all five pages, unchanged. If the French page carries only its own tag, or omits en-GB, the whole group is invalid and Google ignores it — which is the single most common hreflang failure.

Which format to use where

Pick one. Google's localised versions documentation is explicit that mixing methods for the same page group causes conflicts.

Where people go wrong

Non-reciprocal tags. If page A points to page B, page B must point back to page A. Anything less and the annotation is discarded. This is the failure that generates the most "hreflang not working" support threads.

Region codes used as language codes. en-UK is not valid. The country is GB under ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2, so it is en-GB. Likewise the language for Japan is ja, not jp. The tool rejects both.

Region without language. hreflang="gb" is meaningless. The language subtag is compulsory; the region is optional and comes second.

Relative URLs. Every href must be absolute, including the scheme. Relative paths are ignored.

Pointing at non-canonical URLs. Each hreflang target should be that version's canonical URL, and each page's own canonical should point to itself. A canonical that points at the English version while hreflang points at the French one gives Google contradictory instructions, and the canonical wins. Google's guidance on consolidating duplicate URLs covers how the two interact.

Forgetting x-default. Not compulsory, but without it a visitor whose language matches nothing in your set gets whichever version Google guesses. Point x-default at your language selector or your most general version.

FAQ

Do I need hreflang if my site is in one language?

No. It exists solely to tell search engines which of several equivalent pages to show a given user. One language, one region, no hreflang.

Does hreflang stop duplicate content penalties?

There is no duplicate content penalty to stop. What hreflang does is prevent your German page being shown to a British searcher and vice versa, which is a targeting problem rather than a penalty problem.

Can two versions share a language code?

Only with different regions. en-GB and en-US are fine. Two entries both reading en are a conflict, and Google will ignore the set.

Do I put the tags on every page or just the homepage?

Every page in the group, on every version, referencing every member including itself. Hreflang is annotated per page, not per site.

Is Bing the same?

Bing supports hreflang but leans more heavily on the content-language meta tag and on server geolocation. If Bing traffic matters to you, add both rather than choosing.

Next steps

Once the annotations are in place, make sure every variant is actually in your sitemap using the Sitemap Generator, and confirm the canonical tags agree with the canonical tag generator. The On-Page SEO Auditor will flag pages where the head is incomplete.

If you are managing content across markets by hand, API Automation for Businesses covers syncing the systems that hold it.

International rollout stalling on technical detail? Book a discovery call.