This translation has not been editorially reviewed yet. The German version is authoritative. Deutsche Fassung
Indexing
Why does every language version have to refer back by hreflang?
Multilingual websites tell search engines with hreflang which address belongs to which language. The statement has a condition that is often overlooked: it only applies if the opposite side confirms it. If the German page refers to the English, the English must refer back to the German – otherwise any website could claim any foreign addresses as its language version. If the reference is missing, Google ignores the entire assignment, and the language versions compete with each other again. The indexing check area retrieves the linked language versions and checks whether they point back.
What the probe gets
The probe reads the hreflang data of the tested page and retrieves up to six of them — the language versions with their own address, not the page itself. In each answer, she searches for a hreflang indication that points back to the page being tested or its canonical; A slash at the end makes no difference. Language versions that do not respond with 200 or do not carry a reference back are mentioned in the findings with language and address. The result does not change the point value because the set of rules idx-v1 remains unchanged; Whether hreflang exists at all, evaluates the hreflang rule of the SEO check area. Websites without hreflang do not trigger anything here.
The most common causes
Most often, the reference back is missing because the language versions are generated by different systems or templates — the main language has complete information, the translation only part. Just as often, the address is not exactly correct: one page refers to www, the other without, or a version refers to the address with language parameters instead of to the path. A forwarding of the language version to a new address also breaks the chain, because the reference back there points to the old address. The correction is to generate all language versions from one source: a table of related addresses from which each page outputs the complete group, including itself.
- Create hreflang data from a common mapping table so that each language version outputs the full group.
- Use the same address form in all details: https, same www spelling, path instead of parameters.
- After moving individual language versions, check whether the references to the new address point.
- Complete x-default for the version that should get visitors without a suitable language.
