k-o.pro

Hreflang Checker

Validate hreflang tags and catch the implementation errors that silently break international SEO.

What gets validated

The tool fetches the page and checks every hreflang tag for:

  • Valid ISO 639-1 language codes and BCP 47 locale codes (en-GB, not en-UK)
  • Self-referencing hreflang on the checked URL
  • x-default tag presence and correct target
  • Return tags from all linked alternate pages
  • Total tag count and duplicate detection

The most common hreflang failure

Missing return tags are the #1 cause of hreflang invalidation. Every page in the cluster must reference all the others — including itself. Google won't honor the cluster without bidirectional references.

How to use it

  1. Enter the URL of any page in your international site cluster
  2. Review the validation summary — self-reference, x-default, return tags
  3. Check the Issues panel for specific failures with error messages
  4. Fix the flagged issues and re-run to confirm

After you fix it

Correct geotargeting typically restores within one to two crawl cycles after fixing hreflang issues — faster if you submit the affected URLs via GSC's URL Inspection tool. International ranking problems that look like content issues are often hreflang issues in disguise.

Frequently asked questions

Is this hreflang checker free?

Yes, free and no signup.

What is the most common hreflang mistake?

Missing return tags. Every page in a language cluster must reference all the others, including itself, or Google ignores the cluster.

Do I need hreflang for a single-language site?

No. Hreflang only matters when you serve multiple language or regional versions of a page.

Related tools: canonical checker and Google index checker. Background reading: WooCommerce domain migration.