4. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
Helps Google understand the
relationship between the same
content in alternate languages
and/or regions
5. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
HREFLANG
Image via Sam Underwood: https://www.samunderwood.co.uk/resources/visualising-seo/
TSHIRT FOR A
UK AUDIENCE
SAME TSHIRT FOR
A US AUDIENCE
17. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
HREFLANG NEEDS TWO THINGS
1 Valid hreflang attributes
18. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
HREFLANG
Image via Aleyda Solis: Avoiding hreflang issues by following a 6 step implementation process
VALID HREFLANG ATTRIBUTES
REQUIRED
OPTIONAL
19. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
HREFLANG NEEDS TWO THINGS
1 Valid hreflang attributes
2 Return hreflang tags on all
alternate page versions
24. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
Dev
resource
Size of site
/ country
versions
CMS
platform /
Site set-up
x x
DIFFICULTY COMPOUNDS
28. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
WATCH OUT FOR
Mix of alternate version landing
pages ranking for terms in
another location
29. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
WATCH OUT FOR
Content not being indexed in
alternative languages and
locations
30. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
WATCH OUT FOR
Google classing alternative
site page versions as a
canonical of the other pages
31. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
COVERING
Why HREFLANG is not
having an effect when it's
on the site
32. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
LOOKING AT
- Common problems with HREFLANG
- Why they're an issue
- How to fix
36. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
SCENARIO
How the issue was found
Troubleshooting the problem
37. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
SCENARIO
How the issue was found
Troubleshooting the problem
How it was resolved
41. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM?
Non-UK landing pages were
ranking for keywords in the UK
instead of the UK site
42. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
TROUBLESHOOTING
Checked GSC
International
targeting report
43. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
TROUBLESHOOTING
Checked GSC
International
targeting report
47. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
IMPLEMENTATION
It looked all correct…
It was on the page…
48. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
IMPLEMENTATION
It looked all correct…
It was on the page…
It validated in tools…
71. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
Non-UK landing pages were
still ranking for keywords in
the UK
76. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
Steve Souders - Frontend SPOF | High Performance Web Sites
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BROWSER?
79. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
HOW TO FIX
Move the HREFLANG markup
above the scripts
80. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
FURTHER READING
Oliver
Mason
Breaking the Head (Quietly)
https://ohgm.co.uk/breaking-head-quietly/
83. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED
Non-UK landing pages were
still ranking for keywords in
the UK
87. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
TROUBLESHOOTING
If you visited the .com site it
redirects you to a subdirectory
90. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
Geotargeting isn't an exact
science,so it's important
to consider users who land
on the "wrong" version of
your site
- Google Search Central - Managing Multi Regional Sites
91. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?
Geolocation based redirects
takes Google to one version
94. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
ROADBLOCK
Googlebot gets redirected to the
/us/ version of the site
95. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
Consider users who land
on the "wrong" version of
your site
- Google Search Central - Managing Multi Regional Sites
98. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?
Country switchers with me
Deliver search-friendly JavaScript-powered websites (Google I/O '18
99. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?
Google can’t find any crawlable
internal links to alternate
country versions of the page
100. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
HOW TO FIX IT
Adding a href tag & anchor text
to create an internal link to
alternate page versions
112. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
Thanks!
@sophiegibson
@riseatseven
Questions? Reach me on Twitter
113. @sophiegibson #brightonSEO Why the F*#& doesn't this HREFLANG work?
RESOURCES
Aleyda Solis: Hreflang Implementation Guide
Analytics Mania: How to Fix Facebook Pixel Code <noscript> in GTM
OHGM Breaking the <head> (Quietly)
OHGM Hreflang Tags Not Respected (How to Solve)
Onely: Ultimate Guide to International SEO
Sitebulb: <head> contains a <noscript> tag, which includes an image
Sitebulb: Contains one or more single point of failure