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How do I use the x-default hreflang attribute for international content

From: SISTRIX Team 24.08.2021 OnPage-Optimisation Common CSS errors that can affect SEO Common SEO mistakes: Canonical tags HTML code: Common SEO mistakes Open Graph: Overview and Tips Common HTML link (external and internal) Errors What is the canonical tag and how to use it Common SEO mistakes with image alt tags Content marketing HTTP Status Codes HTML headings (H1 - H6) Learn About Structured Data Title Element (Title Tag) nofollow attribute value Top-Level-Domain (TLD) Google PageSpeed - the loading speed of a website Duplicate Content Meta Element (Meta Tag) Domain move risks, and Google rankings: 6 Examples of problems How do I safely move or migrate my website to a new domain name? Website relaunch - Always use redirects Image titles, alt and formats - Current best practice Internal link optimisation Anchor Tags And Links How to Use Rel Attributes for Better SEO How do I use the x-default hreflang attribute for international content Back to overviewIf you have different language versions for your website or online shop, then you should use the rel=”alternate” hreflang=”x” link attribute markup – as is recommended by Google.ContentsContentsSetting-up a default page with the new x-default hreflang link attributeExampleThe hreflang guide for international SEOVideo Explanation by Google on x-defaultExpanding your site to more languagesAdditional Sources By SISTRIX And Google about x-default The value “x” is the country code according to ISO 639-1. By using the hreflang attribute you are telling Google exactly which language– and country-version to use for your shop or website. The new x-default hreflang attribute value signals to our algorithms that this page doesn’t target any specific language or locale and is the default page when no other page is better suited.Pierre Far, Google Webmaster Trends Analyst

Setting-up a default page with the new x-default hreflang link attribute

Using the new link-attribute hreflang=”x-default”, which Google introduced on 10.04.2013, you are now able to set up a default page for all language versions you did not explicitly specify. This enables multilingual, international online shops to specify a default-page or -path for any language-region they did not explicitly designate beforehand.

Example

Specific targeting of content per language version. For all other, not explicitly stated, language regions a default page has been set up:Picture Source: googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.de Usage: The markup for the part of the HTML document: example.com/en-gb: For English-speaking users in the UKexample.com/en-us: For English-speaking users in the USAexample.com/en-au: For English-speaking users in Australiaexample.com/: The homepage may, for example, display a list of countries to chose from and is defined as default page for users worldwide Alternatively, you can choose to send this reference through the HTTP-header. For this, please check out the example in our article: How should I handle my online-shop’s multilingual content? The x-default hreflang link attribute is currently only officially supported by Google and Yandex.

The hreflang guide for international SEO

In our hreflang guide for international SEO you will learn everything you need to know about the proper handling of Google and multilingual websites. Avoid duplicate content and learn how to properly use the hreflang link attribute.

Video Explanation by Google on x-default

Expanding your site to more languages

Google covers best practices for expanding your site to new languages or country-based language variations. We discuss use cases of international sites and the implementation of rel=”alternate” hreflang.

Additional Sources By SISTRIX And Google about x-default

SISTRIXhreflang guide for international SEOhreflang Markup-Validatorhreflang Markup-Generator Googlehttps://webmasters.googleblog.com/2013/04/x-default-hreflang-for-international-pages.html From: SISTRIX Team 24.08.2021 OnPage-Optimisation Common CSS errors that can affect SEO Common SEO mistakes: Canonical tags HTML code: Common SEO mistakes Open Graph: Overview and Tips Common HTML link (external and internal) Errors What is the canonical tag and how to use it Common SEO mistakes with image alt tags Content marketing HTTP Status Codes HTML headings (H1 - H6) Learn About Structured Data Title Element (Title Tag) nofollow attribute value Top-Level-Domain (TLD) Google PageSpeed - the loading speed of a website Duplicate Content Meta Element (Meta Tag) Domain move risks, and Google rankings: 6 Examples of problems How do I safely move or migrate my website to a new domain name? Website relaunch - Always use redirects Image titles, alt and formats - Current best practice Internal link optimisation Anchor Tags And Links How to Use Rel Attributes for Better SEO How do I use the x-default hreflang attribute for international content Back to overview German English Spanish Italian French