This translation has not been editorially reviewed yet. The German version is authoritative. Deutsche Fassung →
Checking hreflang: linking language versions correctly
hreflang tags tell search engines which version of a page applies to which language. They must be reciprocal: if the German page points to the English one, the English one must point back — otherwise the mapping gets discarded.
- The most consequential mistake is a tag pointing to a page that doesn't exist, or that delivers the same content in the same language. That claims a translation that doesn't exist.
- x-default names the version for every language not otherwise covered. The most complete version makes sense for this — not necessarily the English one.
- On this website, we only set hreflang where the translation actually exists — a registry decides this, not a blanket rule.
