hreflang
An annotation declaring alternate language or regional versions of a page, so search engines serve the appropriate one to each user.
Internationalx-default
hreflang x-default
The hreflang value marking the fallback page for users whose language or region does not match any specified alternate.
In full
`x-default` typically points at a global page, a language selector, or the default-market version. It is not mandatory but is strongly recommended for large international sets, because without it users outside the declared markets are served whichever version the engine guesses. It must be included reciprocally in the set like any other annotation.
Example
A brand's country selector page is declared as `x-default` so a visitor from an untargeted country lands there rather than on the US site.
Related terms
International SEO
Structuring and optimising a site so the right language and country version is served to the right audience in each market's search results.
Geo-targeting
Signalling which country a site or section is intended for, through ccTLD choice, hreflang region codes, server location, local links and…
Multilingual sitemaps
XML sitemaps carrying `xhtml:link rel="alternate" hreflang` annotations, an alternative to placing hreflang in page head markup.
Automatic locale redirection
Redirecting users to a country or language version based on IP address or browser settings, a pattern Google warns can prevent crawling of…