Hreflang
TL;DR
Hreflang is an HTML attribute telling search engines which language variants of a page exist and which audience each variant targets.
Hreflang maps multilingual or regional variants to each other, so Google shows Dutch searchers the NL version and German searchers the DE. Correct hreflang prevents Google from treating language versions as duplicate content. Implementation via link rel='alternate' tags in head, HTTP headers, or XML sitemap.
Example
This glossary page carries in its head: <link rel="alternate" hreflang="nl" href="https://webrockmedia.nl/glossarium/hreflang/">, plus en/de and x-default.
Frequently asked questions
What if I implement hreflang wrong?
Most common: non-reciprocal linking (A references B, B doesn't reference A). Google then ignores hreflang and treats them as separate pages.
Related terms
Further reading
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