Hreflang Checker

Last updated: Jul 12, 2026

Audit the hreflang annotations on any page. We extract every entry from the HTML and HTTP headers, validate language and region codes, and flag missing x-default, missing self-references, and duplicates that break international SEO.

Enter a URL to check hreflang annotations:

How the Hreflang Checker Works

Safe fetch, the host is validated before our server requests the page.
Extract annotations, every hreflang from link tags and HTTP Link headers is collected.
Validate codes, language and region values are checked against BCP 47 rules.
Flag issues, missing x-default, missing self-reference, and duplicates are highlighted.

Why Hreflang Matters

Right page, right user, search engines serve the correct language version.
No duplicate-content confusion, hreflang clarifies near-identical localized pages.
Stronger international rankings, correct clusters earn trust across markets.
Fewer wasted crawls, clean signals help crawlers index the right URLs.

Common Hreflang Mistakes

Missing return tags, annotations must be reciprocal to count.
Wrong codes, use en, en-GB, or pt-BR, never a region-only code like UK.
No self-reference, every page should reference itself.
No x-default, add a fallback for unmatched languages.

Common Hreflang Values Reference

A reference of frequently used hreflang values. Language codes use ISO 639-1, and the optional region uses ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 (uppercase), joined with a hyphen, for example en-US. A bare language code like en targets a language regardless of country. If you are rolling out hreflang across markets, our SEO services can plan and implement the full international setup.

hreflang value	Language / region	Notes
en	English (any region)	Targets English speakers regardless of country.
en-US	English, United States	English content for US visitors.
en-GB	English, United Kingdom	Use GB, not UK; UK is not a valid ISO 3166-1 region code.
es	Spanish (any region)	Targets Spanish speakers regardless of country.
es-ES	Spanish, Spain	Spanish content for visitors in Spain.
es-MX	Spanish, Mexico	Spanish content for visitors in Mexico.
fr	French (any region)	Targets French speakers regardless of country.
fr-CA	French, Canada	French content for visitors in Canada.
de	German (any region)	Targets German speakers regardless of country.
pt-BR	Portuguese, Brazil	Distinct from pt-PT (Portugal); both can coexist.
zh-Hans	Chinese, Simplified script	Uses an ISO 15924 script subtag instead of a region.
x-default	Fallback for all unmatched users	Special value: the page shown when no language or region matches. Recommended on language selectors and global landing pages, and it does not need a self-reference.

Next steps

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Hreflang Checker: FAQ

Where does the checker look for hreflang annotations?

It reads alternate hreflang link elements in the fetched HTML and alternate links in the HTTP Link response header. Relative URLs are resolved against the final page URL before the report is built.

What does the hreflang report show?

It lists each language or region value, resolved target URL, and validation status, then summarizes duplicate values, syntactically invalid values, x-default coverage, self-reference, and return-tag checks for eligible alternate pages. It does not label whether an individual row came from HTML or an HTTP Link header.

Does a Valid code result confirm a real language and region combination?

No. The validator checks the shape of the value, such as a two or three letter language followed by optional subtags, or x-default. It does not verify every code against ISO registries, so confirm unfamiliar language and region values separately.

How should I interpret missing self-reference, x-default, or duplicate warnings?

Self-reference means the page includes its own URL in the alternate set. x-default is the fallback for unmatched users. A duplicate means the same hreflang value appears more than once. Review each warning against your intended market set before changing production tags.

How does the return-tag check work?

The checker requests up to eight unique valid, non-self alternate targets and looks for a link back to the submitted page. When more candidates exist, the report notes that coverage was truncated. A failed request or missing backlink needs manual verification on that target.

What hreflang implementations can this checker miss?

It does not execute client-side JavaScript and does not read hreflang declarations from XML sitemaps. Tags added only after rendering or maintained only in a sitemap require a rendered-page or sitemap-specific audit.

What should I do after finding hreflang errors?

Build one consistent alternate set with absolute canonical URLs, include it on every page in the group, correct duplicate or malformed values, and ensure each target returns the same reciprocal set. Then rerun the checker on each language version.

What data is sent during a hreflang check?

The public source URL is sent to Web Aloha's tool endpoint. The endpoint fetches that page and may request up to eight public alternate URLs to check return links. Do not submit private or tokenized URLs that should not be fetched externally.

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