Glossary
hreflang
Hreflang is a set of links that tells search engines which language or regional versions of a page exist, so they can show each visitor the fitting one.
Each version of a page lists all the versions, itself included, with a language code such as en or nl, optionally with a region such as nl-BE. The links can sit in the page's head, in HTTP headers or in the sitemap.
The links must be mutual: if the English page names the Dutch one, the Dutch page has to name the English one back, or the pair can be ignored. Invalid codes are ignored as well.
Hreflang picks between versions; it does not make a translation rank. Each version also needs a canonical tag that points to itself, not to another language.
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