Inaccessible Hreflang URL

Description

A URL referenced in hreflang tags cannot be accessed.

How to Fix

Fix or remove the inaccessible URL from your hreflang implementation.

Detailed Analysis

1. Causes of the Issue

An "Inaccessible Hreflang URL" issue arises when a URL specified within the hreflang tag cannot be accessed by search engines or users. This can occur due to several reasons:

• 404 Errors: The URL leads to a page that does not exist, resulting in a "Page Not Found" error.
• 403 Errors: The page is restricted from access, often due to permission settings on the server.
• Server Errors (5xx): The server hosting the URL is experiencing issues, rendering the page temporarily or permanently inaccessible.
• DNS Issues: Incorrect DNS settings can prevent a URL from being resolved properly.
• Blocked by Robots.txt: The URL is disallowed in the robots.txt file, preventing crawlers from accessing it.
• Incorrect URL Format: Typographical errors, incorrect URL structure, or missing protocol (http/https) can render the URL invalid.

2. Why It's Important

The hreflang attribute is a critical component in helping search engines understand the geographic and language targeting of a webpage. When hreflang URLs are inaccessible:

• Poor User Experience: Users might be directed to non-existent or inaccessible pages, leading to frustration.
• SEO Impact: Search engines may struggle to index the correct version of a webpage for specific language or regional queries.
• Reduced Visibility: Inaccessibility can lead to reduced visibility in search results for targeted regions or languages.
• Wasted Crawl Budget: Search engines may waste crawl budget on inaccessible URLs, potentially affecting the crawling of other important pages.

3. Best Practices to Prevent It

• Regular Audits: Conduct regular checks of all hreflang URLs to ensure they are accessible and return a 200 status code.
• Error Monitoring: Use tools like Google Search Console to monitor for crawl errors and rectify them promptly.
• Consistent URL Structure: Ensure that URLs referenced in hreflang tags are correct and follow a consistent structure.
• Proper Server Configuration: Ensure server settings allow access to all referenced hreflang URLs, avoiding unnecessary restrictions.
• Robots.txt Management: Regularly review and update your robots.txt file to ensure important pages aren't accidentally blocked.
• Redirect Management: Implement proper redirects for any pages that have moved to new URLs to maintain hreflang references.
• Canonicalization: Use canonical tags in conjunction with hreflang tags to avoid duplicate content issues.

4. Examples of Good and Bad Cases

Good Case:

Imagine a website with English and French versions:

• The English version URL is https://example.com/en/.
• The French version URL is https://example.com/fr/.

The hreflang implementation would look like:

<link rel="alternate" href="https://example.com/en/" hreflang="en" />
<link rel="alternate" href="https://example.com/fr/" hreflang="fr" />

Both URLs are accessible, correctly formatted, and not blocked by any server settings or robots.txt.

Bad Case:

• The English version URL is https://example.com/en/.
• The French version URL is mistakenly written as https://example.com/frr/.

The incorrect hreflang implementation would be:

<link rel="alternate" href="https://example.com/en/" hreflang="en" />
<link rel="alternate" href="https://example.com/frr/" hreflang="fr" />

In this scenario, the /frr/ page may result in a 404 error, thus creating an inaccessible hreflang URL issue. This can confuse search engines and adversely affect the site's international SEO performance.