Things to keep in mind on a website with different language versions
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 8:53 am
When creating your hreflang tags, you must take into account certain details, sometimes very small, that can make your international SEO strategy go down the drain.
Check that the language code is correctly indicated : it is extremely important that you adhere to ISO 639-1 when indicating the language code (Spanish=ES, English=EN, German=DE).
Check that the country code is correct: don't just make sure you choose the right code, check that it is written correctly in the HTML.
Using hyphens: When indicating both language and country codes, never use underscores, always use hyphens . Otherwise your hreflang will be poorly implemented.
Always indicate at least the language code: Google needs to know which language france email list you want to display your URL in, so the code you should always display is the language code. Don't make the mistake of indicating only the country code. (hreflang="ES- es ).
Correct order of codes: This may seem obvious, but it happens on many websites. The incorrect order of language and country codes is important. Never put the country code (ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2) first, the language code (ISO 639-1) should always come first.
Indicates the self-referencing tag: Even if the source code of a website has correctly implemented hreflang attributes, they may not be working properly because the self-referencing tag is missing, that is, the tag that indicates the version in which the website is currently displayed.
For example, if we are on the website www.domain.com/es/ and its hreflang is as shown below, it is essential that the attribute that indicates the current version, that is, the Spanish version of Spain, appears.
reflang 2.png
Using canonical: although the previous point is solved, you must also think about a correct implementation of the canonical tag. To avoid conflicts, it is advisable to indicate the canonical URL along with the hreflang attributes, which must be the same page that is currently being displayed.
reflang 3.png
One URL per Hreflang value: Never use the same language attribute (ES-es) for more than one URL, this will cause a conflict.
reflang 4.png
Avoid using redirect URLs: The URL you indicate in the href should have a 200 status code, that is, avoid indicating URLs that have any kind of 3XX status or redirect. If this happens, the linked page may not be indexed or appear in search results.
Check that the links are working properly: those same links that I mentioned in the previous point must be 100% operational. It will be of no use if those links have a 4xx code or, much worse, a 5xx.
Always use absolute URLs: When indicating the URLs where the language versions are located, always indicate the absolute URL.
Check that the language code is correctly indicated : it is extremely important that you adhere to ISO 639-1 when indicating the language code (Spanish=ES, English=EN, German=DE).
Check that the country code is correct: don't just make sure you choose the right code, check that it is written correctly in the HTML.
Using hyphens: When indicating both language and country codes, never use underscores, always use hyphens . Otherwise your hreflang will be poorly implemented.
Always indicate at least the language code: Google needs to know which language france email list you want to display your URL in, so the code you should always display is the language code. Don't make the mistake of indicating only the country code. (hreflang="ES- es ).
Correct order of codes: This may seem obvious, but it happens on many websites. The incorrect order of language and country codes is important. Never put the country code (ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2) first, the language code (ISO 639-1) should always come first.
Indicates the self-referencing tag: Even if the source code of a website has correctly implemented hreflang attributes, they may not be working properly because the self-referencing tag is missing, that is, the tag that indicates the version in which the website is currently displayed.
For example, if we are on the website www.domain.com/es/ and its hreflang is as shown below, it is essential that the attribute that indicates the current version, that is, the Spanish version of Spain, appears.
reflang 2.png
Using canonical: although the previous point is solved, you must also think about a correct implementation of the canonical tag. To avoid conflicts, it is advisable to indicate the canonical URL along with the hreflang attributes, which must be the same page that is currently being displayed.
reflang 3.png
One URL per Hreflang value: Never use the same language attribute (ES-es) for more than one URL, this will cause a conflict.
reflang 4.png
Avoid using redirect URLs: The URL you indicate in the href should have a 200 status code, that is, avoid indicating URLs that have any kind of 3XX status or redirect. If this happens, the linked page may not be indexed or appear in search results.
Check that the links are working properly: those same links that I mentioned in the previous point must be 100% operational. It will be of no use if those links have a 4xx code or, much worse, a 5xx.
Always use absolute URLs: When indicating the URLs where the language versions are located, always indicate the absolute URL.