{"id":164232,"date":"2023-08-10T00:05:59","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T05:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/?p=164232"},"modified":"2024-08-08T18:55:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T23:55:19","slug":"hreflang-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/hreflang-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 67% of Domains Using Hreflang Have Issues (Study of 374,756 Domains)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"intro-txt\">We ran the largest hreflang study ever, nearly 10X larger than any other study. In total, we looked at issues on 374,756 different domains that used hreflang tags. Our findings show that 67% of them have at least one&nbsp;issue.<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1464\" class=\"wp-image-164236\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-2.png\" alt=\"67% of domains have hreflang issues across 374,756 domains studied\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-2.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-2-464x425.png 464w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-2-768x703.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-2-1536x1405.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s look at the most common issues you should actually care&nbsp;about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1956\" class=\"wp-image-164238\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-1.png\" alt=\"Most common hreflang issues\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-1.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-1-348x425.png 348w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-1-768x939.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-1-1256x1536.png 1256w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"intro-tok\" id=\"intro_tok\" style=\"display:none;\"><div class=\"intro-title\">Contents<\/div><a href=\"#\" class=\"expand-dots\"><span><\/span><span><\/span><span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Pages missing x-default\" data-section=\"missing-x-default\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">56.3% have pages missing x-default<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1464\" class=\"wp-image-164240\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-3.png\" alt=\"56.3% of domains have pages missing x-default hreflang annotations\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-3.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-3-464x425.png 464w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-3-768x703.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-3-1536x1405.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Setting an x-default is not required. But it is recommended if you need a fallback page for users whose language settings don\u2019t match any of your localized versions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hreflang works by the most specific match. Language+country is more specific than just language, which is more specific than x-default. X-default mostly serves as a backup or global default page, where you want to send people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Pages missing self-referencing hreflang tags\" data-section=\"18-have-pages-missing-self-referencing-hreflang-tags\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">18% have pages missing self-referencing hreflang tags<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1464\" class=\"wp-image-164242\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-4.png\" alt=\"18% of domains have pages missing self-referencing hreflang tags\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-4.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-4-464x425.png 464w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-4-768x703.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-4-1536x1405.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Self-referencing hreflang tags are <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/specialty\/international\/localized-versions#all-method-guidelines\">included in the guidelines<\/a>. But they\u2019re really more like a best practice and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=bjbaDP-P7PA&amp;t=24m39s\">not actually required<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the old days of hreflang, before the systems and plugins handled it, having a missing self-referencing tag meant that when you copied the tags to other pages, at least one of the connections would be broken. This is less likely to happen on modern websites, so it\u2019s not as big of an&nbsp;issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Hreflang tags referencing redirected or broken pages\" data-section=\"hreflang-tags-referencing-redirected-or-broken-pages\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">16.9% have hreflang tags referencing redirected or broken pages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1464\" class=\"wp-image-164244\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-5.png\" alt=\"16.9% of domains have hreflang tags referencing redirected or broken pages\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-5.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-5-464x425.png 464w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-5-768x703.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-5-1536x1405.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you link to an incorrect URL, then the tags are broken and pages can\u2019t swap properly in the search results. They work in pairs to form a cluster of pages. This is what an hreflang cluster looks&nbsp;like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1856\" class=\"wp-image-164246\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-6.png\" alt=\"What an hreflang cluster looks like\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-6.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-6-366x425.png 366w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-6-768x891.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-6-1324x1536.png 1324w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If the broken links are temporary while you\u2019re still setting up pages, it\u2019s OK to leave them. If these broken pages don\u2019t exist and you don\u2019t plan to have them, it doesn\u2019t really hurt anything\u2014but you may want to remove the references anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Redirected pages included in hreflang tags are OK only if you have an auto-redirecting global version of the homepage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is an <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/blog\/2014\/05\/creating-right-homepage-for-your\">approved setup for homepages<\/a> only that uses a <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/301-vs-302-redirects\/\">302 redirect<\/a> for dynamic redirects based on location and language settings. I see people try to change this all the time, but it\u2019s a documented setup that has been recommended and working on many sites for&nbsp;years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In all other situations, a redirected page referenced in hreflang tags will mean that something is broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Pages missing reciprocal tags\" data-section=\"pages-missing-reciprocal-tags\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">15.3% have pages missing reciprocal tags<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1364\" class=\"wp-image-164248\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-7.png\" alt=\"15.3% of domains have pages missing reciprocal hreflang tags\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-7.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-7-499x425.png 499w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-7-768x655.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-7-1536x1309.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As I mentioned, hreflang tags work in pairs. If both pages don\u2019t reference each other, they can\u2019t establish the connection and swap properly in the search results.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is especially important when you have multiple versions of a page in the same language. You may end up sending the user to a version of the page for the wrong country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Hreflang tags pointing to non-canonical URLs\" data-section=\"hreflang-tags-pointing-to-non-canonical-urls\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">8% have hreflang tags pointing to non-canonical URLs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1464\" class=\"wp-image-164250\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-8.png\" alt=\"8% of domains have hreflang tags pointing to non-canonical URLs\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-8.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-8-464x425.png 464w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-8-768x703.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-8-1536x1405.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Hreflang is one of many <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/canonicalization\/\">canonicalization signals<\/a> that Google uses to determine which version of a <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/duplicate-content\/\">duplicate page<\/a> it should index. In many cases I\u2019ve looked at, the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/canonical-tags\/\">canonical tag<\/a> was ignored in favor of the URL specified in hreflang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, this is just a signal like many others and can be ignored, so it may work differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Pages with incorrect hreflang values\" data-section=\"pages-with-incorrect-hreflang-values\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4.6% have pages with incorrect hreflang values&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1364\" class=\"wp-image-164252\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-9.png\" alt=\"4.6% of domains have pages with incorrect hreflang values\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-9.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-9-499x425.png 499w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-9-768x655.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-9-1536x1309.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Hreflang requires two-letter language codes (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_ISO_639-1_codes\">ISO 639-1<\/a>) and two-letter country codes (<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ISO_3166-1_alpha-2\">ISO 3166-1<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of the common incorrect values are people using the country code instead of the language code, typos, trying to use region codes when they aren\u2019t supported, or trying to use three-letter codes instead of two-letter ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some people just use codes that are wrong as well. For example, they use things like \u201cla\u201d for Latin America, but that doesn\u2019t work. Another common one is \u201cuk\u201d when they should use \u201cgb.\u201d But the funny thing here is that \u201cuk\u201d is a specially reserved code, and Google actually accepts this&nbsp;one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Pages with inconsistent language attributes\" data-section=\"pages-with-inconsistent-language-attributes\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3.2% have pages with inconsistent language attributes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1464\" class=\"wp-image-164254\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-10.png\" alt=\"3.2% of domains have pages with inconsistent language attributes\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-10.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-10-464x425.png 464w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-10-768x703.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-10-1536x1405.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This issue shows pages with different language codes declared in the HTML language attribute and hreflang annotation for the&nbsp;URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are different systems, but both are used to say what language the page is in. If they don\u2019t match, something is fishy and you should check which language the page is actually in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"More than one page referenced for the same language\" data-section=\"more-than-one-page-referenced-for-the-same-language\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2.5% of domains have more than one page referenced for the same language&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1464\" class=\"wp-image-164256\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-11.png\" alt=\"2.5% of domains have more than one page referenced for the same language\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-11.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-11-464x425.png 464w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-11-768x703.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-11-1536x1405.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For an hreflang language or language and country combination, you should only have one page specified for each unique value. If you specify \u201cen\u201d for a page and use \u201cen\u201d again but say it\u2019s a different page, then Google is going to have to choose one or the other. They can\u2019t both be the correct version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While this sometimes happens in the code of the page, it\u2019s often a mismatch between the code of the page and sitemaps. Ahrefs\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a> looks at all the supported hreflang implementation locations, including the &lt;head&gt;, HTTP header, and sitemaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 14 14\" style><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\" \/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style \/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Same page referenced for more than one language\" data-section=\"same-page-referenced-for-more-than-one-language\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2.5% of domains have the same page referenced for more than one language<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1464\" class=\"wp-image-164257\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-12.png\" alt=\"2.5% of domains have the same page referenced for more than one language\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-12.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-12-464x425.png 464w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-12-768x703.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-12-1536x1405.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In this case, pages were referenced for more than one language in hreflang annotations. For example, you may see this issue if you reference the page in an hreflang tag that specifies the page is for English and another hreflang tag that says it\u2019s for Spanish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You shouldn\u2019t have two languages on the same page, so check which one is correct and remove the other&nbsp;one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A huge thanks and shoutout to my colleague, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/zindelzindel?lang=en\">Oleksiy Golvoko<\/a>, for helping me gather this data! I\u2019m surprised the numbers weren\u2019t worse in the study, but I suspect that a lot of these sites have basic implementations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hreflang is complex and hard to get right. It can break in so many different ways. Here\u2019s what Google\u2019s John Mueller has to say about&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/JohnMu\/status\/965507331369984002<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to see if your site has hreflang issues? Run it through <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/site-audit\">Site Audit<\/a> or try it for free with <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/webmaster-tools\">Ahrefs Webmaster Tools<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hreflang is a topic I\u2019m passionate about and one that I\u2019ve written and presented many times, so I was happy to write this up. One of the first blog posts I made edits to when I joined Ahrefs was our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/hreflang-tags\/\">hreflang guide<\/a>. I\u2019d recommend that if you want to learn more about hreflang and some of the nuances of&nbsp;it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have questions, message me <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/patrickstox\">on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let\u2019s look at the most common issues you should actually care&nbsp;about. Setting an x-default is not required. But it is recommended if you need a fallback page for users whose language settings don\u2019t match any of your localized versions. Hreflang<span class=\"ellipsis\">\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more \u203a<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[414],"tags":[],"coauthors":[377],"class_list":["post-164232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-data-studies","odd"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Over 67% of Domains Using Hreflang Have Issues (Study of 374,756 Domains)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We ran the largest hreflang study ever and found several common and important issues you should care about.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/hreflang-study\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Over 67% of Domains Using Hreflang Have Issues (Study of 374,756 Domains)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn the key insights.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/hreflang-study\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SEO Blog by Ahrefs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ahrefs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"patrickstox\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-10T05:05:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-08T23:55:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/hreflang-study-2.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Patrick Stox\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Learn the key insights.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@patrickstox\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ahrefs\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/hreflang-study\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/hreflang-study\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Patrick Stox\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/14bf754248f3c561786477e4e5fd2067\"},\"headline\":\"Over 67% of Domains Using Hreflang Have Issues (Study of 374,756 Domains)\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-10T05:05:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-08T23:55:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/hreflang-study\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1207,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/hreflang-study\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ahrefs.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/08\\\/over-67-of-domains-using-hreflang-by-patrick-stox-data-studies-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Data &amp; 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Brand Ambassador at Ahrefs. He was the lead author for the SEO chapter of the 2021 Web Almanac and a reviewer for the 2022 SEO chapter. He also co-wrote the SEO Book For Beginners by Ahrefs and was the Technical Review Editor for The Art of SEO 4th Edition. He\u2019s an organizer for the Triangle SEO Meetup, the Tech SEO Connect conference, he runs a Technical SEO Slack group, and is a moderator for \/r\/TechSEO on Reddit.","sameAs":["https:\/\/patrickstox.com\/","patrickstox","https:\/\/x.com\/patrickstox"],"url":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/author\/patrick-stox\/"}]}},"as_json":null,"json_reviewers":[114],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/150"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164232"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=164232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}