What is an hreflang tag?

Hreflang is an HTML attribute that tells Google which language and geographic region a page is intended for. It's used to serve the correct language version of a page to users based on their location and language settings.

What is the x-default hreflang tag?

The x-default hreflang tag specifies the fallback page to show when no other hreflang value matches the user's language or region. It's required for complete hreflang implementation.

What are return links in hreflang?

Return links (or reciprocal links) mean that if Page A hreflang-references Page B, then Page B must also have an hreflang tag pointing back to Page A. Without return links, Google ignores the entire hreflang cluster.

Where can hreflang tags be placed?

Hreflang tags can be implemented in three places: the HTML section (most common), the XML sitemap, or the HTTP response header. All three methods are equally valid.

Does hreflang affect rankings?

Hreflang doesn't directly boost rankings but ensures the correct page version ranks in the right country. Without it, you may rank your English page in Germany or vice versa, leading to high bounce rates.

On Page Seo

Free

Hreflang Tag Checker

Validate hreflang tags for language targeting, check for x-default, reciprocal links, and invalid language codes.

Validate hreflang international targeting tags.

Full implementation coming soon. The infrastructure is ready — this tool fetches the URL server-side and parses the HTML.

Page URL

What is Hreflang Tag Checker?

The Hreflang Tag Checker validates the hreflang implementation on any webpage. It checks for correct ISO language and country codes, verifies that reciprocal return links exist on the referenced alternate pages, and identifies common implementation errors that prevent Google from correctly serving your content to international audiences.

Hreflang tags tell Google which language and regional version of a page to show to users in different countries. Incorrect implementation is one of the most common international SEO mistakes — if return links are missing or codes are wrong, Google ignores the hreflang tags entirely and may serve the wrong language version to users.

Why Use Hreflang Tag Checker?

International websites without correct hreflang implementation suffer from users being served the wrong language version, duplicate content signals across language versions, and lost opportunities to rank in specific country search results. Proper hreflang is non-negotiable for any site serving multiple languages or regions.

Key Features of Hreflang Tag Checker

✓Extracts all hreflang tags from page HTML and HTTP headers
✓Validates ISO 639-1 language codes and ISO 3166-1 country codes
✓Checks for the required x-default hreflang tag
✓Verifies that referenced pages contain reciprocal return links
✓Identifies duplicate, missing, or self-referencing hreflang tags

How to Use Hreflang Tag Checker

1
Enter the page URL
Paste the URL of the multilingual page you want to validate.
2
Run the check
Click 'Check Hreflang Tags' to fetch the page and extract all hreflang attributes.
3
Review tag list
See all hreflang tags with their language/country codes and target URLs.
4
Check for errors
Look for invalid language codes, missing x-default, or broken hreflang URLs.
5
Verify return links
Confirm that each referenced alternate page links back to the current page via hreflang.