What is Hreflang? Hreflang Tag Usage Guide for International SEO
Publishing your website in multiple languages or to appeal to audiences in different countries is one of the most effective ways to grow in the global marketplace. However, this situation can create confusion for search engines. How would Google know that German content should be shown to a German-speaking user and Turkish content should be shown to a user in Turkey? Here is the answer to this question, Hreflang It is hidden in the label.
Hreflangis an HTML tag used to report different language or region versions of the same content on a website to search engines. Thanks to this tag, search engines can present the right content to the right user, thus improving the user experience and most importantly, duplicate content (duplicate contenu) problems are prevented.
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover in full detail what the Hreflang tag is, why it is so critical for international SEO, how to use it correctly, and how to avoid common mistakes.
What Is Hreflang and Why Is It Important?
Suppose you have two pages on your website with the same content in two different languages, German and Turkish. If you don't use the Hreflang tags correctly for these two pages, Google these pages duplicate content can perceive it as. This can cause both pages to lose rank.
Hreflang The tag tells search engines that these pages are not a copy, but rather are versions of the same content in different languages or regions. In this way, Google will find a user who searches in German german.site.com/page to the address of a user who searches in Turkish turkce.site.com/page redirects to the address.
Main Benefits of Using Hreflang
- Right Content, Right Audience: It ensures the presentation of content that best suits the language and region of the user. This improves user experience and increases conversion rates.
- Solves Duplicate Content Issue: Prevents different language or region versions with the same content from being perceived as duplicate content and eliminates the risk of ranking loss.
- Increases Organic Traffic: It allows you to rank higher in local search results with content specific to users in different regions.
How to Use the Hreflang Label Hands-on Guide
There are three basic ways to use the hreflang label. Each method has its own advantages and usage scenarios.
1. HTML Tag Usage (Most Common Method)
Hreflang tags for each page <head> You can add it to the section. This method is most ideal for small and medium-sized sites.
Sample Scenario: Your site has both Turkish (TR) and German (DE) versions.
- English page (
https://site.com/tr/sayfa):
HTML
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="tr-TR" href="https://site.com/tr/sayfa" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de-DE" href="https://site.com/de/sayfa" />
- German page (
https://site.com/de/sayfa):
HTML
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="de-DE" href="https://site.com/de/sayfa" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="tr-TR" href="https://site.com/tr/sayfa" />
Important Note: Hreflang tags must be reciprocal. If the Turkish page points to the German page, the German page must also point to the Turkish page. Otherwise, Google may ignore these tags.
2. HTTP Header Usage (For PDF and Non-HTML Files)
If your site contains a file that is not an HTML page (such as a PDF), you can add the Hreflang tag to the HTTP header.
Example:Link: < https://site.com/de/sayfa.pdf >; rel="alternate”; hreflang="de-de”
3. XML Sitemap (Sitemap) Usage (For Large Sites)
If you have thousands of pages, every page <head> It may not be practical to add the Hreflang label to the section. In this case, XML sitemap In it you can specify this information.
Example:
XML
<url>
<loc>https://site.com/tr/sayfa</loc>
<xhtml:link
rel="alternate”
hreflang="de-de”
href=” https://site.com/de/sayfa"/ >
<xhtml:link
rel="alternate”
hreflang="en-TR”
href=” https://site.com/tr/sayfa"/ >
</url>
<url>
<loc>https://site.com/de/sayfa</loc>
<xhtml:link
rel="alternate”
hreflang="en-TR”
href=” https://site.com/tr/sayfa"/ >
<xhtml:link
rel="alternate”
hreflang="de-de”
href=” https://site.com/de/sayfa"/ >
</url>
Common Mistakes When Using Hreflang Label
- Reciprocal Relationship Error: It is the most common mistake. Labels should point to each other mutually.
x-defaultForgetting the Label: If you have a default page that does not match the language or region of your users, this page is forhreflang="x-default”Use the label. This tells Google that this page is the default for users outside of all other languages.- Wrong Language or Region Code: Ensure that you use language codes in ISO 639-1 format and area codes in ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 format correctly (
en-TRtrue,en-trerroneous). - Invalid URLs: Make sure that the URLs in the hreflang tags are accurate and accessible (not giving 404 errors) URLs.
Conclusion: Hreflang is the cornerstone of your Global SEO Strategy
Hreflang The label is not a luxury for all websites competing in the international market, but a must. These tags help search engines understand your site accurately, avoid potential duplicate content penalties, and most importantly, maximize your user experience by delivering the right content to the right audience.
international your SEO strategy Applying Hreflang labels correctly as part of it will guarantee your brand's global visibility and success.
