Technical SEO

What is hreflang?

hreflang is the tag telling Google which version of the content (pt-BR, en-US, es-ES) to serve for each user language/region.

A multilingual site without hreflang makes Google mix versions: a PT user sees the EN page, or duplicate versions compete for the same term. hreflang fixes this by signaling "this page in PT, that one in EN, this one x-default fallback".

Correct implementation requires bidirectional links: if A points to B as "en", B must point to A as "pt". Without that, Google ignores both signals.

Frequently asked questions

What is x-default in hreflang for?
It is the fallback version when the user's language matches none of the declared options. Usually points to the English page.
Where to declare hreflang?
3 valid places: <link> tags in <head>, HTTP header, or sitemap.xml. Pick one and be consistent.