Hreflang Tag Validator

Hreflang tags are HTML attributes that tell search engines which language and regional version of a page to show to users in different locations. They're essential for websites that serve content in multiple languages or target different regional audiences with similar content.

These tags are placed in the head section of your HTML as link elements with the format hreflang="language-region" (for example, hreflang="en-us" for English content targeting the United States). They help prevent duplicate content issues and ensure users see the most appropriate version of your content based on their language preferences and location.

Proper hreflang implementation helps international websites improve their search visibility, provide better user experience, and avoid having different language versions compete against each other in search results.

Our hreflang validator is easy to use - you have two options depending on your needs. You can either paste your HTML code directly into the validator or enter a URL to automatically fetch and check the page. The tool will scan for all hreflang tags and analyze them for common issues.

After clicking the validate button, you'll see a summary showing how many tags were found, how many are valid, and any issues detected. Each hreflang tag is displayed individually with its status (valid, invalid, or warning) and any specific problems that need attention.

The tool checks for various issues including invalid language codes, duplicate entries, missing x-default tags, incorrect URL formats, and cases where the same URL is used for multiple language versions (which can cause confusion for search engines).

A valid hreflang tag must use proper language codes following the ISO 639-1 standard (two-letter language codes like "en" or "fr"). You can optionally add a region code following ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 format (like "en-us" or "fr-ca"). The special value "x-default" is used to specify a default page when no other language matches.

Each hreflang tag must include a valid URL pointing to the alternate language version of the page. The URL can be absolute (with full domain) or relative. All pages in a hreflang cluster should reference each other and themselves - if page A references page B, then page B should reference page A back (return tags).

Avoid common mistakes like using incorrect language codes (like "eng" instead of "en"), having duplicate hreflang values pointing to different URLs, or forgetting the x-default tag for international sites. Each URL should only be referenced once per language code.

Our hreflang validator helps you catch implementation errors before they impact your international SEO. Incorrect hreflang tags can cause search engines to show the wrong language version to users, hurt your rankings in specific regions, or create duplicate content problems that damage your overall search visibility.

The tool provides clear, actionable feedback about each tag, making it easy to identify and fix issues. Whether you're a developer implementing hreflang for the first time, an SEO professional auditing a site, or a website owner maintaining multiple language versions, our validator streamlines the quality assurance process.

By validating your hreflang implementation, you ensure that search engines properly understand your international content structure, users find the right language version for their needs, and your multilingual SEO efforts deliver the best possible results for your global audience.