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Check canonical and hreflang tags on your website

Enter a public webpage URL to inspect canonical signals and language alternates. The checker helps identify conflicting destinations, invalid language codes and missing return references. Results are based on what the tool can fetch; some websites block automated requests.

Checks the page and up to 10 of its language versions. This can take up to half a minute.

When canonical and hreflang disagree

A language page should normally point to its own canonical URL while hreflang connects equivalent translations. A canonical pointing to another language can undermine that relationship.

What the checker reports

Selected canonical; declared alternates; self/return links; reachability; and reasons a result may be unknown. Each language version must list itself and all other versions, and two pages that do not point to each other are ignored (Google Search Central).

Language codes Google accepts

Google supports ISO 639-1 language codes (de), optionally with an ISO 15924 script (zh-Hant) and an ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 region (de-AT). The value is case-insensitive. x-default marks the page for visitors whose language matches none of the others.

Limits of this check

The checker reads the link elements in the HTML and the canonical in the HTTP Link header. It does not read hreflang in XML sitemaps. It visits at most 10 alternates per check, and a page that blocks automated requests is reported as unknown, not as an error.

Frequently asked questions

Does every website need hreflang?

No. Hreflang is relevant when equivalent pages exist for different languages or regions.

Do I need x-default?

It is optional. Use it for a language selector or a page that suits visitors whose language you do not offer.

Should hreflang point to canonical URLs?

Yes. Point each alternate at the indexable, canonical URL of that language version, not at a redirect or a URL that names another page as canonical.

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