AVAILABLE FOR WEB, FLUTTER & QA PROJECTS

How to use this tool

1. Add Language & Region Pairs

Add target locales by selecting ISO 639-1 languages (e.g. en, es, fr, de, ar) and optional ISO 3166-1 country codes (e.g. US, GB, ES, CA).

2. Input Localized URLs

Provide the absolute URL for each respective language or regional version of the page.

3. Designate x-default Fallback

Select which URL serves as the global fallback for unmatched languages (recommended: default global landing page).

4. Copy Generated Tags or XML

Export validated HTML `<link rel='alternate' hreflang=...>` tags or XML Sitemap `<xhtml:link>` markup.

Formula or logic used

Google Hreflang Specification & Reciprocity

Hreflang annotations instruct search engines which localized version of a page to present to users based on language preferences and geographic location. Google requires strict reciprocity.

  • Rule of Reciprocity: If Page A links to Page B via hreflang, Page B MUST link back to Page A. Non-reciprocal tags are ignored.
  • Format Syntax: `hreflang='language-COUNTRY'` where language is lowercase ISO 639-1 and region is uppercase ISO 3166-1 (e.g. en-US, pt-BR).
  • Self-Referential Hreflang: Every page must include an hreflang tag pointing to itself in its own language.
  • The x-default Directive: Reserved for default landing pages or language selector redirect hubs.

Examples

Example 1: US vs UK vs Global English Site

Input: en-US: https://example.com/us/page, en-GB: https://example.com/uk/page, x-default: https://example.com/page.
Calculated Result: Complete set of 3 reciprocal HTML tags with matching language and country declarations.

Ensures UK users searching Google.co.uk see prices in GBP while US users see USD.

Example 2: Multilingual Canadian Portal

Input: en-CA: https://example.com/en-ca, fr-CA: https://example.com/fr-ca, x-default: https://example.com/.
Calculated Result: Dual bilingual Canadian tags preventing duplicate content flags between Canadian English and US English.

Protects localized Canadian French content from being cannibalized by France French (fr-FR).

Common use cases

International E-Commerce Multi-Currency Stores

Serve country-specific product pages with correct currency, tax rates, and shipping policies.

Global SaaS Marketing Portals

Deliver translated documentation and marketing copy across French, German, Spanish, and Japanese markets.

Duplicate Content Penalty Prevention

Prevent English content customized for Australia (en-AU) from cannibalizing US rankings (en-US).

Next.js Internationalized Routing (`i18n`)

Generate alternate language metadata links inside Next.js App Router metadata configuration.

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Frequently asked questions

What happens if hreflang tags are not reciprocal?

Googlebot will completely ignore any hreflang tag that lacks a reciprocal tag on the destination page. If Page A declares Page B as its French alternate, Page B must also contain an hreflang tag declaring Page A as its English alternate.

What is the purpose of hreflang='x-default'?

The `x-default` value tells Google which page to show when no other specific language or region matches the user's browser settings. It is typically applied to a neutral global homepage or a splash page with a country selector.

Can I use country codes alone without a language code?

No. The language code (ISO 639-1) is mandatory. You cannot specify `hreflang='US'` alone. It must be either language alone (`hreflang='en'`) or language and country combined (`hreflang='en-US'`).

Should hreflang tags be added to the HTML head or XML sitemap?

Both methods are valid and supported by Google. For small sites, HTML `<head>` tags are easiest to implement. For large multilingual websites (10,000+ pages in 15 languages), placing hreflang in XML sitemaps is cleaner and prevents HTML page weight bloat.

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