Hreflang Validator – Fix Your Multilingual Tags

How to Use the Validator

1. Pick an input — paste the alternate-link tags or full HTML, paste an XML sitemap snippet, or fetch a page URL.
2. Click "Validate Hreflang" — every annotation is checked and the language map renders.
3. Fix in priority order — invalid codes and missing return links first, then duplicates, then x-default consistency.

What This Tool Checks

• Language code format — ISO 639-1 (2–3 letters) with an optional ISO 3166-1 region (2 uppercase letters).
• Duplicate annotations — the same language/URL pair appearing twice.
• Multiple URLs per language — two pages claiming the same language version.
• Self-references / return links — every referenced URL must annotate itself, or the set is not bidirectional.
• x-default consistency — a single fallback URL shared across the set.
• Canonical conflicts — the page canonical should be part of the hreflang set.
• Language/path mismatch — a URL slug that contradicts the declared language.

The Golden Rules of Hreflang

• Use absolute URLs. Relative URLs break hreflang; search engines need the full address.
• Every page links to every version, including itself. A self-referencing tag is mandatory.
• Keep the annotation set identical on every page. If page A lists 4 languages, page B must list the same 4.
• Use the same URL as canonical and in the hreflang set. Conflicts confuse the picker.
• Use one URL per language-region pair. Never map two URLs to "en-US".

Example: A Three-Language Set

An English page at /en/ carries tags for en-US (itself), hi-IN (/hi/) and fr-FR (/fr/), plus x-default pointing at /en/. The validator confirms each URL self-references and every pair returns the link. The structure renders as en-US → /en/ · hi-IN → /hi/ · fr-FR → /fr/ · x-default → /en/ — clean and correct.

Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

• Typing "en-us" in lowercase. Regions must be uppercase; the validator flags it as malformed.
• Forgetting the self-reference. The English page must tag itself as en-US, not just list the other languages.
• Using different sets per page. Missing return links mean search engines distrust the whole cluster.
• Copy-pasting a stale URL. A path that contradicts the language code is a classic paste error.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does x-default actually do?

It tells search engines which URL to show when a searcher's language or region is not covered by any of your language versions. It is not a language and never gets a region code.

Can hreflang be set in the sitemap instead of HTML?

Yes — xhtml:link elements in an XML sitemap are supported by Google and Bing, and this tool validates that format too.

Does hreflang handle en-US vs en-GB properly?

Yes, but only if you actually serve different content for each region. If the content is identical, a single en version plus x-default is simpler and safer.

Is this tool an official Google validator?

No. It is an independent, rule-based checker. For final confirmation, use Google's own URL Inspection tool in Search Console.

Related SEO Tools

Pair hreflang fixes with the Canonical URL Checker (canonical conflicts are a top hreflang breaker), verify the URLs in your XML Sitemap Analyzer, and confirm the pages resolve with the HTTP Status Code Checker.