Hreflang: the signal most sites get wrong
Hreflang tells Google which language and regional version of a page to show which users. It's powerful and notoriously easy to break, a wrong region code, missing return tags, or pointing to redirected URLs, and when it breaks, Google ignores it and may serve the wrong version or let your own pages compete.
We validate your entire hreflang setup for consistency and correctness, including the reciprocal links that make it work at all.
- Correct language and region codes in valid ISO format
- Reciprocal return tags, so every page in a set references every other, including itself
- Hreflang pointing to canonical, indexable URLs rather than redirects or 404s
- Consistent implementation method, HTML tags, HTTP headers, or sitemap, not a mix
- An x-default set for users whose language or region you don't target specifically
- Errors surfaced in Search Console's international targeting reports
Structure and geo-targeting for multi-market sites
Beyond hreflang, how you organize international content shapes how well it targets each market. Whether you use country subdirectories, subdomains, or separate domains affects targeting, maintenance, and authority, and we assess whether your current structure fits your markets.
We also check for the quieter problems: duplicate content across regional versions of the same language, and inconsistent signals that confuse which audience a page is meant for.
- Site structure review: ccTLDs versus subdirectories versus subdomains for your goals
- Consistency between hreflang, canonical tags, and any geo-targeting settings
- Duplicate content across same-language regions (for example US and UK English)
- Currency, language, and regional cues that should match the intended audience
- Which version ranks in each target market, checked against real query data
- Translation versus localization gaps where machine-translated pages underperform
More on seo audits
Frequently asked questions
Do I need hreflang if I just have one English site for everyone?
No. Hreflang is only needed when you have multiple versions of content targeting different languages or regions. A single site for a global English-speaking audience doesn't need it, adding it wrongly would only create problems. This audit is for sites that genuinely serve multiple markets.
My US and UK pages are almost identical. Is that duplicate content?
It can be, and it's a common issue. Two near-identical English pages can compete or confuse Google about which to show. Correct hreflang usually resolves it by signaling the regional intent, but sometimes the better fix is to genuinely differentiate the content. The audit determines which applies to you.
Should we use separate country domains or subfolders?
It depends on your resources and goals, and there's no universally right answer. Subfolders are easier to maintain and share domain authority; separate country domains send a stronger local signal but split your effort. We assess your situation and give a recommendation rather than a one-size-fits-all rule.