Free SEO tool
Create valid hreflang tags in seconds. Add the URL of every language or country version of a page, pick the language and country, and copy the code for your HTML, XML sitemap or HTTP headers.
One row per URL. Every version of the same page belongs in one set.
Or upload a CSV
Columns: URL, language, country (country optional). Up to 50 URLs. A header row is allowed.
Next step: test your implementation
Once the tags are live, check that every version links back, returns a 200 and has a matching canonical.
International SEO
Hreflang still breaks when canonicals point elsewhere, alternates redirect or return links are missing on some templates. In an International SEO review I check hreflang, canonicals and language targeting across your whole site.
List every URL that shows the same content for a different language or country, for example your English, Dutch and German services page.
Choose the language for each URL. Add a country only when you target a specific market, such as en-GB versus en-US.
Point x-default to the version for everyone else, usually your main version or a language selector.
Every URL in the set needs the same hreflang annotations, including a reference to itself. Then test the result with the hreflang checker.
Related guide
How to Do International SEO in 2026: A Step-by-Step Guide
An hreflang tag is a link element in the head of a page, for example <link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-GB" href="https://www.example.com/uk/" />. It tells search engines that this URL is the version for English speakers in the United Kingdom.
Use one method. HTML tags are the most common for small and medium websites. An XML sitemap is easier to maintain on large sites, because you don't have to change page templates. HTTP headers are mainly for non-HTML files such as PDFs.
No. A language code on its own, such as nl or de, is valid. Add a country only when you have different versions for the same language, for example en-US and en-GB.
x-default tells search engines which URL to show to users whose language or country does not match any of your versions. It is usually your main version or a language selector page.
Because it is not a valid code. Hreflang uses ISO 3166-1 country codes, and the code for the United Kingdom is GB. That makes en-GB correct and en-UK one of the most common hreflang mistakes.