LectionFree Tool

Hreflang Checker

Check alternate language tags, x-default coverage, self-referencing locales, and common international SEO mistakes for any live page.

International SEOAlternate tagsx-default checks
Free to runNo credit cardStructured results
Paste a live page URL. The checker fetches the HTML, resolves relative alternate links, and flags common hreflang mistakes.
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Paste a page URL to inspect alternate language tags, x-default fallback tags, and whether the current page references itself correctly.

What is a hreflang checker?

A hreflang checker audits the alternate language tags on a live page and shows which locale versions search engines can discover. These tags tell Google that multiple URLs are intentional language or regional variants, such as English for the US, English for the UK, or Spanish for Mexico.

International SEO problems usually come from small implementation mistakes: duplicate locale codes, missing self-referencing tags, broken relative URLs, or a missing x-default fallback. Those errors are easy to miss in source code, especially when a CMS or localization layer generates them automatically.

This free hreflang checker fetches the page, resolves each alternate link, and summarizes what is present, what is missing, and which tags deserve a closer look before you publish or recrawl the page.

How to use this hreflang checker

Enter a live URL, then review the top summary first. If self-reference is missing, fix that before you worry about secondary details. After that, confirm the page has the locale variants you expect and decide whether you want an x-default fallback for a selector page or a global homepage.

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="https://example.com/us/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-gb" href="https://example.com/uk/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/" />

In the example above, each locale gets its own URL and the x-default tag points to the generic fallback. A good report should show unique locale codes, absolute target URLs, and at least one tag that points back to the current page.

<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="/us/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en-us" href="/us-pricing/" />

That second example is a common problem. The same locale appears twice, which can confuse search engines. The checker flags these duplicates so you can tighten your international SEO setup before indexing starts drifting.

Common use cases

Validate a new localization rollout before submitting pages to search engines.
Check whether your CMS is generating self-referencing hreflang tags correctly.
Audit enterprise sites with separate country folders, subdomains, or ccTLDs.
Spot missing x-default tags on language selectors or global homepages.
Confirm alternate links still resolve after a migration or URL structure change.
Review client pages quickly during technical SEO audits.

Hreflang checker FAQ

What does a free hreflang checker actually test?
It checks whether a page publishes alternate language tags, whether those tags use valid-looking locale codes, whether they point to real URLs, and whether the page references itself correctly.
Why is a self-referencing hreflang tag important?
Search engines expect each localized page to identify itself as one option in the hreflang cluster. Without that self-reference, the mapping can be weaker or inconsistent.
Do I need an x-default hreflang tag on every page?
No. It is optional. It is most useful when you have a generic fallback page, a language selector, or a homepage that should catch users who do not match a specific locale.
Can this checker validate country and language combinations like en-us or es-mx?
Yes. It inspects the locale string format and highlights values that look unusual or malformed so you can review them before publishing.
What is the difference between html lang and hreflang tags?
The html lang attribute describes the language of the current document. Hreflang tags connect this document to alternate language or regional versions on other URLs.
Why would a page have hreflang errors after a CMS migration?
Migrations often change URL paths, templates, or localization rules. That can create duplicate locale tags, broken relative URLs, or missing alternates even when the old site worked correctly.

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International pages break quietly. Check the live tags before you trust the template.