What is X-Default Hreflang?
X-default is a special hreflang value that designates the default page for users whose language isn't specifically targeted.
The x-default hreflang is a special value of the hreflang attribute that tells search engines which page to display when no language version matches the user's language.
How does it work?
If your site has FR and EN versions, a Japanese user will see the x-default page. Typically, x-default points to the English version or a language selection page.
Syntax
Best practices
SEO Impact
Without x-default, Google has to guess which version to show users whose language isn't targeted. This can lead to poor user experience and lost traffic.
Related Terms
What is a Robots.txt File?
The robots.txt file tells search engines which pages of your site they can or cannot crawl.
What is a Meta Description?
The meta description is a short HTML summary that appears below the title in Google search results.
What is the Title Tag?
The title tag is the most important HTML element for SEO. It's the blue clickable title in Google.
What is a Canonical Tag?
The canonical tag tells Google which is the preferred version of a page when duplicate content exists.
What is Hreflang?
Hreflang is an HTML attribute that tells Google the language and region a page targets for multilingual sites.
What is an XML Sitemap?
An XML sitemap is a file that lists all important pages of your site to help Google discover them.