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Glossary · definition

hreflang

The attribute that tells a search engine which language or regional version of a page belongs to which audience. It is reciprocal: if page A declares page B, page B must declare page A, or the whole cluster is disregarded.

Also written hreflang annotations or hreflang tags. Atlas writes British English; the definition is the same.

01

Why it matters

The consequence, not the concept

Reciprocity makes it all-or-nothing. One missing return reference invalidates the cluster it belongs to, so the failure is rarely a single wrong page — it is a market that quietly stops being served the version written for it.

02

Where Atlas works on this

2 routes
04

Build visibility

Seven questions

A definition is only worth publishing if it is true of your site too. Atlas reads the site before the first conversation.

hreflang Build visibility