Hreflang Tag Generator

Create reciprocal hreflang tags for multilingual and multi-region sites, including x-default. Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored.

How hreflang actually works

Hreflang does not choose which version ranks — it tells Google which version to show to which audience once the cluster has been understood. Every page in a cluster must list every other page, including itself. If one page omits the return tag, Google discards the relationship and serves whichever version it prefers.

Getting the codes right

Use ISO 639-1 for language and ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 for region: en, en-gb, es-mx, de-at. Region alone is invalid — gb on its own will be ignored. Add x-default for the version that should serve everyone you have not targeted explicitly.

The five failures we see most

• Missing return tags on one or two pages in the set.
• Relative URLs instead of absolute ones.
• Hreflang pointing at URLs that redirect or 404.
• Canonical tags fighting hreflang by pointing at a different language.
• Automatic IP redirects that stop crawlers reaching alternate versions at all.

Links across international versions

Authority does not flow freely between language versions just because hreflang exists. Each market usually needs its own local link acquisition, in the local language, from publishers in that country — which is the work we do on our link building campaigns.