hreflang tags help you reach a global audience through search engines. They tell search engines which language and regional version of your website to display, so users in different countries see the most relevant content. Let’s explore how to use this tags for your international SEO strategy.
What is hreflang?

Hreflang tags are snippets of code added to your website’s HTML or XML sitemap that indicate to search engines the language and geographical targeting of a specific webpage. They help users searching in different languages or regions find the right version of your content.
How to Add hreflang?
There are several key steps to implementing it:
- Identify Your Audience: Understand where your audience is located and which languages they speak.
- Choose the Right Codes: Use ISO language and country codes (e.g., “en” for English, “pt-BR” for Portuguese in Brazil) to specify language and regional variations.
- Insert Tags: Add hreflang tags directly into the HTML <head> section of each relevant page or include them in your XML sitemap.
Example in HTML:
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://wordpress.com/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://wordpress.com/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="ar" href="https://wordpress.com/ar/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de" href="https://wordpress.com/de/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="el" href="https://wordpress.com/el/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es" href="https://wordpress.com/es/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="https://wordpress.com/fr/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="he" href="https://wordpress.com/he/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="id" href="https://wordpress.com/id/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="it" href="https://wordpress.com/it/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="ja" href="https://wordpress.com/ja/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="ko" href="https://wordpress.com/ko/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="nl" href="https://wordpress.com/nl/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="pt-br" href="https://wordpress.com/pt-br/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="ro" href="https://wordpress.com/ro/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="ru" href="https://wordpress.com/ru/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="sv" href="https://wordpress.com/sv/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="tr" href="https://wordpress.com/tr/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="zh-Hans" href="https://wordpress.com/zh-cn/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="zh-Hant" href="https://wordpress.com/zh-tw/" />
How to Check hreflang?
After adding tags, check they are working correctly:
- Manual Verification: Visit each page and view the page source to confirm that the hreflang tags are present and correctly formatted.
- Third-Party Tools: Use online tools to check hreflang for errors or warnings related to hreflang implementation.
- Testing Across Regions: Verify that users in different regions are seeing the correct language and regional versions of your content by searching for your site using relevant keywords and checking the displayed URLs.
Conclusion
hreflang tags can help you reach more international customers. By using the right tags, you can grow your global audience.