Hreflang Checker
Enter the URL of a page with language or regional versions to validate its hreflang tags and confirm that the alternate pages link back, as search engines require.
Overview
hreflang annotations tell search engines which language or regional version of a page to show each visitor, so a user in Germany sees the German page and a user in the UK sees the en-GB one. They’re easy to get subtly wrong, and search engines silently ignore annotations that don’t follow the rules.
This checker reads the <link rel="alternate" hreflang> tags in the page’s head and any hreflang Link headers. It validates every code against ISO 639-1 languages and ISO 3166-1 regions, catching classic mistakes like en-UK instead of en-GB or en_US with an underscore, and checks for absolute URLs, a self-reference, x-default, and conflicting URLs for the same code.
Most importantly, hreflang must be reciprocal: if page A lists page B, page B must list page A. The checker fetches up to 10 alternate pages and confirms each one returns 200 and links back.
Examples & Sample Data
Healthy set
https://example.com/en/
Pass: valid codes, self-reference, x-default set, all alternate pages link back
Common mistake
A page using hreflang="en-UK"
Problem: "en-UK": UK isn’t a country code. Use GB, as in en-GB.
How It Works
- Enter the full URL of a page.
- The checker fetches the page, following redirects, and reads hreflang tags from its head and Link headers.
- It validates each code and URL, then checks for a self-reference, x-default, duplicates, and a conflicting canonical.
- It fetches up to 10 alternate pages to confirm they return 200 and include a hreflang link back to your page.
Common Use Cases
Launching a multilingual site
Check each template’s hreflang output before search engines crawl the new language versions.
Fixing the wrong country version in search
Find the missing return links or invalid codes that make search engines ignore your annotations.
International SEO audits
Spot-check key pages for hreflang errors alongside canonical and redirect checks.
Tips & Best Practices
- Every page in a set should list all the others and itself, with the same URLs used everywhere.
- Point hreflang only at canonical URLs that return 200, not at redirects or pages with a canonical pointing elsewhere.
- Add x-default for a language picker or global fallback page.
Frequently Asked Questions
The link back from an alternate page. If your English page lists a German version, the German page must list the English page too. Search engines ignore hreflang pairs that aren’t confirmed from both sides.
No. Region codes use ISO 3166-1, where the United Kingdom is GB, so use en-GB. Values also need a hyphen, not an underscore.
It’s optional but recommended. It tells search engines which page to show users whose language or region doesn’t match any of your versions.
No. It checks tags in the page’s HTML head and HTTP Link headers. Sites that declare hreflang only in sitemaps should validate those separately.
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