Hreflang
Hreflang is an HTML attribute that tells search engines which language and (optionally) regional version of a page to show to users searching in a specific language or location, when multiple versions of similar content exist for different markets.
Updated
November 12, 2026
Category
SEO Glossary
Hreflang implementation requires every page in a set to reference all other language/region versions, including itself (a self-referencing tag) — a common and easy mistake is a one-way reference, where the US page points to the UK page but the UK page doesn't point back, which breaks the signal. Hreflang doesn't need pages to be perfect translations of each other; it just needs to accurately map equivalent content across markets, and mismatched or broken hreflang (pointing to a 404, or to unrelated content) is treated by Google as effectively absent rather than actively harmful, though it does forfeit the benefit entirely. For businesses serving genuinely distinct markets with localized pricing, currency, or regulatory content, correct hreflang is what prevents the wrong country's page from outranking the intended one for local searchers.
Example
A company with /us/, /uk/, and /au/ pricing pages implements hreflang tags on all three, each referencing the other two plus itself, ensuring UK searchers consistently see the GBP pricing page instead of the USD one.
Related terms
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