Glossary Term
Hreflang
Hreflang is an HTML attribute that tells Google which language and region a page is targeting, critical for businesses operating across multiple countries like the UK and the UAE.
What Is Hreflang?
Hreflang lives in the head of your HTML, in your sitemap, or in HTTP headers, and it groups pages that are variants of each other for different audiences. A UK-targeted SEO page (en-GB) and a UAE-targeted SEO page (en-AE) covering the same service should reference each other with hreflang tags so Google understands they're regional variants of the same content, not duplicate content. Without hreflang, Google may serve the wrong page to the wrong audience, treat one page as a duplicate of the other and de-rank one, or simply pick a winner that wasn't built for the user actually searching.
Why Does Hreflang Matter for Your Business?
For a business like Refrakt serving both Essex/London and Dubai, hreflang is non-negotiable. Done correctly, it makes sure a Dubai searcher gets the UAE-relevant page (with AED pricing, UAE case studies, WhatsApp CTAs) and a UK searcher gets the UK-relevant page (with GBP pricing and UK case studies). Done badly, both pages compete with each other and neither ranks as well as a single, well-targeted page would.
Hreflang in Practice
A consultancy serving UK and UAE clients implements en-GB, en-AE, and x-default hreflang on every regional page. Inside two months, the UAE variant starts ranking specifically for UAE searchers and the UK variant for UK searchers, with no further changes to content.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do I need hreflang?
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Any time you have two or more pages targeting different countries or languages with similar content. Single-market sites don't need it.
What are en-GB, en-AE, and x-default?
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en-GB targets English-speaking users in the UK, en-AE targets English-speaking users in the UAE, and x-default tells Google which page to serve when no specific match is found.
What happens if I get hreflang wrong?
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Google may serve the wrong page to the wrong audience, treat your pages as duplicate content, or simply ignore the tags. The most common error is asymmetric tagging, where page A references page B but page B doesn't reference page A back.