Canonical & hreflang
Checks the canonical tag of a page — where it points, whether that address answers, whether it contradicts og:url or the HTTPS version — and every hreflang alternate, including the return links the other language pages must carry.
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How it works
- We fetch the page and read every <link rel="canonical"> plus the HTTP Link header — more than one is already a problem.
- The canonical target is requested to make sure it answers 200 and does not redirect somewhere else.
- All hreflang alternates are parsed and their language-region codes validated.
- Up to eight alternates are fetched to confirm they link back to this page — the rule most sites break.
Questions people ask
What does the canonical tag do?
It tells search engines which address is the original when the same content is reachable at several — with and without www, with tracking parameters, on http and https. Get it wrong and the page you want ranked is treated as a copy of another.
Should the canonical point to itself?
Yes, on the page that is the original. A self-referencing canonical with the exact final address (scheme, host, path) is the safe default.
What is a return link in hreflang?
If the English page lists the German one as an alternate, the German page must list the English one back. Without the return link both annotations are ignored.
Do I need x-default?
When you have two or more languages, yes: it says which version to show people whose language you do not have. Usually the English page or a language chooser.
Why does it say my language code is invalid?
hreflang wants ISO 639-1 language codes (en, de, sk) optionally followed by an ISO 3166-1 country code (en-GB, de-AT). "en-UK", "eng" or "english" are not recognised.
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