Language codes are a necessary component for hreflang attributes. If hreflang attributes are missing the language code, they’ll need to be added accordingly. 

This can be done page-by-page, or at scale across thousands of pages. Here’s how.

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Google Does Not Derive Languages from Country Codes

When it comes to hreflang tags, Google's guidelines state that you should not specify a country code by itself. Since Google does not automatically derive the language from the country code, you must specify a language code yourself.

And so, you’ll want to ensure that all hreflang attributes that have the country attribute also have a language attribute. 

How to Specify a Language in Hreflang

You can add a language to your hreflang on a page-by-page basis if you have direct access to your CMS and the ability to update code. 

The dev team may have to get involved, too.

Recommended Reading: Local SEO Language Considerations for European Countries

Adding Language Entries at Scale

Adding a language entry to your hreflang attribute doesn’t have to be a manual process. With ClarityAutomate, an SEO execution platform, you can update your hreflang and set the appropriate language with  just a few clicks, 

Another benefit: you can do this without involving the dev team! Here’s how.

  • Select what you'd like to optimize: Code

Since hreflang is part of your page’s code, that’s what we’re looking to optimize for this fix.

  • Choose how you'd like to optimize it: Update

The hreflang already exists on the page, so we just need to update it (as opposed to adding or deleting it). 

  • XPath location: XPath of the <link rel=alternate> with the issue

Specify the location of  the tag with the error.

  • Attribute: hreflang

Now, we can specify that we’re updating the hreflang attribute. 

  • New Value: The new value of hreflang with the correct language

The last step is to add the language entry. Don’t forget to review hreflang language codes! 

Before and After

The following hreflang attribute was missing a language entry. Notice how we changed the attribute to add an “en” that accompanies the “us”. 

Looking for other hreflang issues?