hreflang accepts two formats:
- Language only: en, es, de, fr, pt
- Language + region: en-US, en-GB, es-MX, es-ES, pt-BR, pt-PT
Use language-only codes when your content is the same across all regions speaking that language. Use language+region when you have genuinely different content for different regions — pricing in local currency, region-specific offers, different product availability.
The common mistake: using en-US when you only have one English version of the site. This tells Google that this page is specifically for US English speakers. British, Australian, and Canadian English speakers may not get this page served preferentially.
If you have one English version that serves all English-speaking markets, use en (language only) rather than en-US.
If you have separate pages for the US and UK with different pricing or content, use en-US and en-GB correctly.
Don't default to en-US out of habit. Think about who your content actually serves.
Hreflang Lab
@HreflangLab
Language codes vs region codes in hreflang — getting this wrong wastes the entire implementation.
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