Hreflang checker

Why it matters

Google considers a page for indexing when it answers 2xx, though indexing is not certain even then. Google does not index an address that answers 4xx, and drops one that keeps answering 5xx.

How to check it

Run curl -IL with the address and read the status of the last answer. In Search Console, a live test of the final address in URL Inspection shows whether Google could fetch it.

Official documentation: How HTTP status codes affect Google’s crawlers

Why it matters

Each version named should answer with the page itself. Google ignores the content of an address that redirects and processes the target instead, and does not index an address that answers 4xx. Google also advises against automatically redirecting visitors from one language version to another.

How to check it

Run curl -I with each version’s address: it should answer 200, with no Location header.

Official documentation: Tell Google about localized versions of your page

Why it matters

Google advises redirecting straight to the final address; failing that, ideally no more than 3 hops and fewer than 5. Its crawlers follow up to 10; Search Console reports a chain too long, or a loop, as a redirect error.

How to check it

Run curl -IL with the address: it prints each answer in turn, and only the last should be 200.

Official documentation: Redirects and Google Search

Why it matters

When a page has versions in other languages or for other regions, hreflang tells Google about each one, so that Google Search can link people to the right version. A page that exists in one language needs none.

How to check it

View the page source and search for hreflang. Run curl -I with the address to read any Link header.

Official documentation: Tell Google about localized versions of your page

Why it matters

Google reads a language code from ISO 639-1, optionally followed by a region code from ISO 3166-1 alpha-2, such as en-GB. A region alone is not valid. Codes outside those lists, such as es-419, are not supported, and Google ignores a region code that is reserved for something else, such as UK or EU.

How to check it

Look each language up in ISO 639-1 and each region in ISO 3166-1 alpha-2, the two lists Google names.

Official documentation: Tell Google about localized versions of your page

Why it matters

Google asks for every alternate address to be fully qualified, including http or https: https://example.com/foo, not //example.com/foo or /foo.

How to check it

In the page source, check that the address of every hreflang link starts with https://.

Official documentation: Tell Google about localized versions of your page

Why it matters

Google asks that each language version list itself as well as all the other language versions.

How to check it

In the page source, find an hreflang link whose address is the page’s own full address.

Official documentation: Tell Google about localized versions of your page

Why it matters

Google asks for hreflang link elements inside a well-formed head. An element that does not belong in the head, such as an img or an iframe, ends it early for Google, which ignores the elements after it.

How to check it

In the page source, check that the hreflang links sit inside the head, with no img, iframe or other body element above them.

Official documentation: Tell Google about localized versions of your page

Why it matters

Google describes one link for each version of the page. When one code names two addresses, the declaration does not say which of them is the version for that language or region.

How to check it

In the page source and any Link header, check that no hreflang value appears twice with different addresses.

Official documentation: Tell Google about localized versions of your page

Why it matters

The reserved value x-default names the page for visitors whose language settings match none of your versions. Google recommends it, and says it was designed for language selector pages and works best with those.

How to check it

In the page source, search for x-default.

Official documentation: Tell Google about localized versions of your page

Why it matters

Google asks that the set of hreflang links be identical on every version of the page. If a complete set is hard to keep, Google allows leaving some languages out on some pages, and still uses the pairs that point to each other.

How to check it

Compare the hreflang links in the source of each version listed with those of this page.

Official documentation: Tell Google about localized versions of your page

Why it matters

Google does not crawl or index content that robots.txt blocks. The address itself can still appear in search results, without a description, when other pages link to it.

How to check it

In Search Console, URL Inspection reports whether crawling is allowed for this address, and the robots.txt report shows the file Google last fetched.

Official documentation: How Google interprets the robots.txt specification

Why it matters

When Googlebot crawls a page and finds noindex, Google drops the page from its search results, even when other sites link to it. The rule none means noindex, nofollow.

How to check it

View the page source and search for noindex. URL Inspection in Search Console shows whether indexing is allowed.

Official documentation: Block Search indexing with noindex

Why it matters

The X-Robots-Tag header has the same effect as a robots meta tag, and it also covers files such as PDFs. When Googlebot finds noindex or none in it, Google drops the address from its search results.

How to check it

Run curl -I with the address and read any X-Robots-Tag lines. URL Inspection in Search Console shows whether indexing is allowed.

Official documentation: Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, and X-Robots-Tag specifications

Why it matters

If two pages do not both point to each other, Google ignores their hreflang links: when page X links to page Y, page Y must link back to page X. Google still uses the pairs that do point to each other.

How to check it

Open each version listed, view its source, and find an hreflang link to this page’s full address.

Official documentation: Tell Google about localized versions of your page

Why it matters

A canonical asks Google to show another address in place of the page, and Google uses the canonical page as the main source to evaluate content. With hreflang, Google advises naming a canonical in the same language, or the best substitute language when there is none.

How to check it

Open each version listed, view its source, and check that its canonical is its own full address.

Official documentation: How to specify a canonical URL with rel="canonical" and other methods

Why it matters

Google does not crawl content that robots.txt blocks, so it cannot read a blocked version or its links back. A noindex makes Google drop the page from its search results.

How to check it

In Search Console, inspect each version with URL Inspection: it shows whether crawling and indexing are allowed.

Official documentation: Tell Google about localized versions of your page

Why it matters

A canonical asks Google to show another address in place of this page, and Google uses the canonical page as the main source to evaluate content. With hreflang, Google advises naming a canonical in the same language, or the best substitute language when there is none.

How to check it

View the page source, search for canonical, and compare its address with the page’s own.

Official documentation: How to specify a canonical URL with rel="canonical" and other methods