Synonyms: Language targeting tag
Hreflang is an HTML attribute used to indicate the language and regional targeting of a webpage. It helps search engines understand which version of your content to display to users based on their language and geographic location. This is especially important for websites that have multiple language versions or target different regions with specific content.
For example, if you have a website that serves users in both the United States and Spain, with content available in English and Spanish, you would use the hreflang attribute to tell search engines which version is meant for each audience. The code might look like this:
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://example.com/en/">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="es-es" href="https://example.com/es/">
The “hreflang” tag specifies both the language (“en” for English, “es” for Spanish) and the country or region (“us” for the United States, “es” for Spain). This ensures that users from Spain will be served the Spanish version of the site, while U.S. visitors will see the English version.
The hreflang attribute improves user experience by delivering the most relevant content to users based on their location and language preferences. It also helps avoid duplicate content issues since search engines know that different versions of the same page are intended for different audiences.