The Hreflang tag is of great importance in SEO today. Strengthening your online presence and standing out in search engines in different languages is of great importance for global businesses.
The Hreflang tag is an HTML tag used to indicate versions of web pages in different languages. This tag is very important for websites that work internationally. The codes indicate to search engines a specific language or regional version of a page. This allows search engines to deliver the most relevant content, taking into account the language and geographical location of users.
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What is the HTML Hreflang Tag?
Search engines are extremely important for websites to reach their target audience. However, various features have been developed to make the most effective use of these tools. One of these features is the hreflang tag, which has a very important place in the SEO world. The HTML hreflang tag is of vital importance, especially for those who want to gain a competitive advantage in the international arena.
The HTML Hreflang tag supports Google-style engines to rank pages according to the language used by people and the region they are in. This tag is used to tell search engines which language the page is in and which country it is intended for. Technically defined as an HTML link or link tag, the hreflang tag allows search engines to deliver your page to the right audience.
How to Use Hreflang?
When you want to offer versions of your website in different languages or geographic regions, you can indicate these differences using the HTML hreflang tag. These tags allow you to define different language or regional versions for all of your website content or for specific sections.
For example, hreflang tags can be used when your site works with different currencies or when only certain content is translated into different languages. If your website does not have a sitemap or you cannot specify HTTP response headers, you can pass hreflang tags to Google via HTML tags.
The Hreflang tag helps you notify search engines of different language or regional variations of your website. How to use hreflang can be best understood with an example. You can use hreflang tags like to indicate different language or region versions of a page. In this way, search engines can present the right version of your site to the right audience and improve the user experience.
If your site publishes in a single language, you can directly add the Hreflang tag to the ‘<head>’ section of your site. Sample codes for some countries are as follows;
Turkey - <link rel="alternate" href="http://example.com/tr" hreflang="tr-tr" />
England - <link rel="alternate" href="http://example.com/en" hreflang="en-gb" />
Germany - <link rel="alternate" href="http://example.com/de" hreflang="de-de" />
Canada - <link rel="alternate" href="http://example.com/en-ca" hreflang="en-ca" />When is Hreflang Recommended?
The Hreflang tag allows you to identify different language or regional versions of your website. In some cases, it is extremely important to use this tag.
If your website is heavily translated, it is important to use HTML hreflang tags. The tags you use ensure that translated sites are indexed correctly by search engines. They also help users find content in the right language. You should definitely use tags, especially in the following cases;
- Operating internationally,
- Targeting audiences speaking different languages,
- Translation of specific areas into different languages,
Operating Internationally
Websites that operate internationally want to enhance the user experience by offering different language options. The Hreflang tag introduces different language versions of the site to search engines, allowing users to find content in the right language.
Targeting Multilingual Audiences
Websites that want to target different language-speaking audiences in the same country can use HTML hreflang tags to present the right content to the right audience. For example, a website that wants to target English- and French-speaking audiences in a country such as Canada can promote different language versions to search engines with hreflang tags. Thus, it can be effectively accessible in both languages.
