` or `![]()
` that closes the head | Tags before any body content |
| Each value points to one URL | `de` listed twice with different URLs | One `de` entry |
| The page lists itself | The English page lists only `de` and `fr` | The English page lists `en`, `de` and `fr` |
| Every alternate links back | The `de` page has no hreflang | All pages carry the same full set |
Some checks are warnings rather than failures. A missing x-default is a warning because Google recommends it but doesn't require it; the [x-default guide](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/internationalization-analyzer/missing-x-default-hreflang) explains when to use it. A language-only value is fine, and so is listing `en` alongside `en-gb` and `en-us`. The same URL may appear under more than one value, for example as both `en` and `x-default`. The tool also warns on codes that are valid but often a mistake: `uk` is Ukrainian, not the United Kingdom, and `ca` is Catalan, not Canada.
## How to read the return-link matrix
Each row is one alternate URL from the tested page (up to 15). The columns are:
- **HTTP**: the status code, with any redirects in front of it. A redirect is a warning; anything other than 200 at the end is a failure.
- **Canonical OK**: the alternate has no canonical or a canonical pointing to itself. Google's canonicalization docs say to specify a canonical page in the same language when you use hreflang. If the alternate canonicalizes to another URL, the annotation points at a page Google may not index.
- **Indexable**: no `noindex` in a meta robots tag or the X-Robots-Tag header.
- **Links back**: the alternate has an annotation whose URL matches the tested page. The comparison ignores case in the scheme and host and default ports, but not trailing slashes: `/de/page` and `/de/page/` are different URLs. When the only difference is a slash, or the return link is relative or outside the head, the row says so.
- **Same set**: the alternate lists exactly the same hreflang values and URLs as the tested page. Missing and extra entries are listed under the row.
Only the tested page's alternates are fetched. To confirm the whole cluster, run the check again on one of the alternates, or crawl the site.
## How to fix common hreflang problems
### Relative URLs from a CMS or plugin
Some themes and plugins build the href from the path only, producing `href="/fr/page"`. Google ignores these. Set the site's base URL in the plugin or template settings so it prints the full `https://` URL, and confirm there isn't a second plugin emitting its own set. Two plugins usually show up here as exact duplicates or as conflicting URLs for the same value.
### Alternates that redirect
Common causes are http to https, a missing or extra trailing slash, or a language folder that redirects based on the visitor's location. Update the annotations to the final URL shown in the matrix. If a URL redirects by location or browser language, Googlebot may never see the version you listed.
### Canonical conflicts
Each language version should have a self-referencing canonical. A frequent mistake is pointing every language's canonical at the English page, which tells Google the translations are duplicates. Fix the canonical, then check it with the [canonical tag checker](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/tools/canonical-tag-checker).
### Missing return links on one language
When one row in the matrix fails "Links back" while the others pass, that language's template usually isn't outputting hreflang, or it was launched later and was never added to the others' sets. Generate the full set from one shared list of versions and print it on every page, including the page's own entry.
### Tags pushed out of the head
If the annotation table shows "HTML body", something before the tags ended the head: an `![]()
` tracking pixel, a `
`, or stray text inserted by a script or tag manager. Move hreflang tags above those elements or move the elements into the body.
## Checking hreflang across a whole site
This tool checks one page and its alternates. bseoa crawls every page on your machine, and its internationalization analyzer reports duplicate hreflang values on a page, hreflang URLs that don't parse as absolute URLs, missing x-default, and a missing or badly formatted `lang` attribute on the `` element. See [duplicate hreflang attributes](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/internationalization-analyzer/duplicate-hreflang-attribute) and [invalid URLs in hreflang](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/technical-seo/internationalization-analyzer/invalid-url-in-hreflang) for details on those warnings.
## Check every page, not just one
These tools look at one URL at a time. bseoa crawls your whole site on your own machine and checks every page for 300+ technical SEO issues across 16 analysis modules.
[Start the 14-day free trial](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/free-trial)
## More free SEO tools
- [Title & Meta Description Length Checker](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/tools/meta-description-length-checker)
Type or paste a title and meta description and see, as you type, whether Google or Bing will cut them off, measured in pixels rather than characters.
- [Robots.txt Tester](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/tools/robots-txt-tester)
Test whether a URL is allowed or blocked for Googlebot, Bingbot, GPTBot or any user agent, and see the exact rule that decided it.
- [XML Sitemap Checker](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/tools/xml-sitemap-checker)
Find a site's sitemap from its domain, then validate the XML, the URLs in it, lastmod dates and sitemap index files.
- [Schema Markup Validator](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/tools/schema-markup-validator)
Paste JSON-LD or enter a URL. Get JSON syntax errors with line numbers and a check of the properties Google requires for rich results.
- [Canonical Tag Checker](https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/tools/canonical-tag-checker)
See which URL a page declares as canonical, in HTML or HTTP headers, and whether that target actually resolves to an indexable page.
```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/#organization","name":"Fiscus Technology, LLC","url":"https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/","logo":"https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/static/images/black-seo-analyzer.png"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/#website","name":"bseoa","url":"https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/","publisher":{"@id":"https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebApplication","@id":"https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/tools/hreflang-checker#app","name":"Hreflang Checker","url":"https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/tools/hreflang-checker","description":"Validate a page's hreflang annotations, then fetch each alternate to confirm it links back, returns 200 and isn't canonicalized elsewhere.","applicationCategory":"DeveloperApplication","operatingSystem":"Any (web browser)","isAccessibleForFree":true,"offers":{"@type":"Offer","price":"0","priceCurrency":"USD"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/#organization"}},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Free SEO Tools","item":"https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/tools"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Hreflang Checker","item":"https://www.blackseoanalyzer.com/en/tools/hreflang-checker"}]}]}
```