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    International and multilingual SEO

    Serve each language or country on its own URL, link the versions with hreflang, and never force visitors to a version based on their IP address.

    Time
    20 min
    Level
    advanced
    Reviewed
    5 November 2026

    After this lesson you can

    • Choose a URL structure for language or country versions.
    • Implement hreflang correctly, including return links and x-default.
    • Avoid automatic IP-based redirects and other common mistakes.

    If you serve customers in more than one language or country, each version needs its own URL, and search engines need to know which version to show to whom.

    Choose a URL structure

    StructureExampleProsCons
    Country domain (ccTLD)example.lt, example.lvClearest country signalSeparate domains to buy, run and build authority for
    Subdomainen.example.ltEasy to set up, can be hosted separatelyUsers may not know whether en means a language or a country
    Subdirectoryexample.lt/en/Easy, one domain, low maintenanceOne server location, sections less separable
    URL parameterexample.lt/?lang=enNone worth havingGoogle does not recommend it

    For most small and medium Lithuanian sites, subdirectories (/en/, /ru/) are the simplest and most common choice.

    hreflang

    hreflang annotations tell Google which URL to show for which language, and optionally which region. You can add them in the HTML head, in HTTP headers (useful for PDFs), or in the XML sitemap. Google treats all three as equivalent, so use one.

    <link rel="alternate" hreflang="lt" href="https://example.com/paslaugos/remontas/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/en/services/repair/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/paslaugos/remontas/" />

    Common mistakes:

    • Missing return links.
    • Pointing hreflang at URLs that redirect, return 404, or are canonicalised elsewhere.
    • Invalid codes such as en-UK, or a region on its own (LT) instead of a language (lt).
    • A canonical on every language version pointing to one language. Each version should be its own canonical.

    Do not force redirects

    Platform notes

    • PrestaShop: multiple languages are built in, using subdirectories such as /en/. Check that hreflang output is complete on products and categories, and translate URLs (friendly URLs per language) as well as content.
    • WordPress: multilingual plugins such as WPML or Polylang add hreflang. Check the output with a crawler.
    • Shopify: Shopify Markets handles languages and countries in subdirectories, and outputs hreflang automatically.

    Practice

    Read the lesson, pass the quiz and do the exercise to complete it.

    Knowledge check

    5 questions. Get at least 4 right to pass.

    1. 1. How does Google determine the language of a page?
    2. 2. Page A (lt) lists page B (en) in hreflang, but B does not list A. What happens?
    3. 3. Which hreflang value is valid for English in the United Kingdom?
    4. 4. Should you automatically redirect visitors to a language version based on their IP address?
    5. 5. What is x-default for?

    Exercise: Plan or check language versions

    If your site has more than one language or country version, check three pages with the page inspector. Confirm that hreflang lists every version including itself, that the URLs are absolute and return 200, and that the return links exist. If your site has one language, write a plan for adding a second (URL structure, hreflang method, language switcher, what content is translated).

    Deliverable: Either an hreflang check for three page sets with any problems recorded as issues, or a one-page plan for a second language version.

    Check your work honestly against each point
    Write up your work and meet every point to finish.

    Sources

    Checked against these sources on 5 November 2026. Next review by 5 May 2027.

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