How to Use HREFLang Correctly: An Interview with Bill Hunt

International SEO is a hot topic in digital marketing, and an area most SEOs aren’t as familiar with. In this Pubcon interview Bill Hunt, President of Back Azimuth Consulting. sat down with Kelsey Jones, SEJ’s Executive Editor, to talk about HREFLang, what it means for international SEO, and discuss some of the pitfalls SEOs face when implementing it.

A few main points Bill made were: 

• HREFLang is a code developed by Google that allows you to designate the language of your website so Google delivers the appropriate site to international users. This is particularly important for international SEO.
• Don’t assume /uk means it is the British version, it’s actually for the Ukranian language. Make sure you are using HREFLang correctly by using a tool to check it.
• To figure out which languages your site should show up in, pay attention to who is coming to your site today, who your target market is, and if you are able to support another language site. Bill points out that if you put up a site in Spanish, you are telling the Spanish-speaking audience that you have a way to communicate with them. If you can’t offer support or content in Spanish, it might not be a good fit for your site.

Tools Bill Recommended:

HREF Checker

HREFLang Builder

Learn More about HREFLang & International SEO

Watch this interview with Aleyda Solis to learn more about international SEO and the specific challenges brands face when implementing it.

Read this post by Saijo George titled “Getting A Better Understanding of HREFLlang” to understand more about what HREFLang is and when you should be using it.

Featured Image: Screenshot of Video.