Hreflang: telling Google which language to show whom

You have a site in Italian, German and French. How does Google know which version to show a user in Geneva and which one in Zurich? Through a small signal called hreflang.

Hreflang is a hint, hidden in the code, that tells engines: this page also exists in other languages, and here is where to find them. Done well, it ensures everyone sees the right version in their language. Done badly or forgotten, Google may show the wrong language, or treat the versions as duplicate content.

The most common mistakes

Forgetting the links between versions, so each lives isolated. Giving wrong or inconsistent language codes. Not having each version point to all the others, itself included. And forgetting a fallback language for those who fit none. Technical details, but on a multilingual site they make the difference between order and confusion.

In a country like Switzerland, where languages coexist, doing it well is not optional: it is what makes the site speak to each person the right way.

How we do it: we set up correct hreflang on every multilingual site, so Google shows each person the version in their language.