What hreflang is for multilingual sites

In short

hreflang is a tag you use to tell Google which language and region a page is made for. Sites with versions in different languages need it so the search engine shows a person their own language, not someone else's.

What problem it solves

If a site has Russian, English and Ukrainian versions, without hreflang Google might show a Russian visitor the English page and a British visitor the Russian one. The tag links the versions together and says "for this user, this one." The person lands on the right language straight away.

How it works

On each language version you list all the other versions with their language and region. The links must be mutual: if the Russian page points to the English one, the English page must point back. Otherwise Google ignores the markup.

Common mistakes

Links are not mutual - one version points to another but not back
Wrong language or region codes (for example en-UK instead of en-GB)
hreflang points to a page that is noindexed or redirected

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FAQ

Does a single-language site need hreflang?

No. You only need it if you have versions in different languages or for different countries. For one language it is useless.

How do I check hreflang?

The free SEO Nerve audit finds hreflang tags and warns you if links are not mutual or the codes are wrong.

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