hreflang and multilingual sites: how not to get it wrong

Published 2026-11-03 · 5 min read · By the Alian Digital team

hreflang tells search engines which language version of a page to show to whom. Set up wrongly, it is simply ignored.

What hreflang does

For each page you specify its versions in other languages. Then Google shows a Ukrainian-speaking user the Ukrainian version and an English-speaking one the English version.

The main rules

• Each version links to all the others and to itself.
• Links are reciprocal: if A points to B, B points to A.
• Language codes are correct: uk, en, de, fr, tr; with a region where needed, for example en-GB.
• Add x-default for a language chooser or the main version.
• URLs in hreflang are absolute and match the canonical.

Where to put it

In the page head as link rel=alternate, in the sitemap or in HTTP headers. What matters is that the methods do not contradict each other.

Canonical and languages

Each language version has a canonical pointing to itself. Do not point the canonical of one language to another, or the search engine will ignore the translation.

Common mistakes

• No return links.
• Wrong language codes (ua instead of uk).
• Automatic redirects by IP or browser language that stop the bot from reaching other versions.
• hreflang pointing to pages that return 404 or a redirect.
• Part of the pages are translated while hreflang points to all.