Hreflang conflicts typically occur when the hreflang attribute is misconfigured. Here are common causes and fixes:
Incorrect Language or Region Codes:
Ensure your hreflang values use valid ISO 639-1 language codes and ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 region codes. Example: `en-us` for English in the United States.
Mismatched Canonical URLs:
All hreflang URLs should match their canonical URLs to avoid conflict. If a page points to a different canonical URL, search engines might prioritize the canonical instead.
Missing Self-referential Hreflang:
Each page should reference itself in the hreflang tags. For example, on the `/en-us/` page, ensure there is an `hreflang=”en-us”` pointing to itself.
Conflicting or Duplicate Hreflang Tags:
Ensure no duplicate entries exist. Each language-region pair should be unique in the hreflang tags.
Incorrect Implementation Across Pages:
Synchronize hreflang attributes across relevant pages. For instance, if Page A references Page B, Page B should also reference Page A.
Example of Correct Hreflang Implementation:
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://example.com/en-us/" /><link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-gb" href="https://example.com/en-gb/" /><link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr-fr" href="https://example.com/fr-fr/" /><link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/" />
Regularly check and validate your hreflang implementation using Google’s Search Console or an SEO audit tool to ensure there are no errors.