Hreflang is a tag that tells search engines which language and region a page is meant for. On Shopify it is handled for you in most cases, which is why you may never have seen it. This guide covers what it does, what Shopify sets up, and the few situations where you need to check it.
What hreflang does
When you sell in several languages, the same product page exists at several URLs. Google's Search documentation says hreflang tells Google that these pages are language or regional versions of the same content, so it can point people to the most appropriate version. Shopify adds that this stops localized pages from being treated as duplicates.
- It does: Connect the language and region versions of one page
- It does not: Tell Google what language a page is in. Google says it does not use hreflang to detect language
- It needs: Each version to reference itself and all the others, or Google ignores the tags
What Shopify does automatically
Shopify's help center says automatic hreflang tags are turned on by default for all stores. They are generated from your market and language configuration, and they update when you add, remove or change market domain and language settings.
| Shopify handles | Detail |
|---|---|
| Hreflang tags | Generated for markets with their own domain, subdomain or subfolder |
| x-default tag | Points to your primary domain, for shoppers who match no market |
| Sitemaps | Include every published language, with hreflang annotations on each URL |
When there are no tags
Shopify only generates hreflang tags for markets that have a distinct domain, subdomain or subfolder. If all your markets share one URL, there are no alternate versions to reference, so no tags appear. That is expected, not a fault. To give a market its own URLs, see adding languages with Shopify Markets.
The setting to leave alone
The switch is in Online Store, then Preferences, in the Social sharing image and SEO section, and it is called Automatic hreflang tags. Shopify warns that turning it off can negatively affect your store's SEO, and says to turn it off only if you have another hreflang implementation in place.
- ❌ Turning it off without a replacement
- ❌ Adding your own tags in the theme while the automatic ones are on
- ✅ Removing custom tags from the theme before turning it back on
What you still need to do
Hreflang connects pages. It does not translate them. If a language is published without translations, Shopify shows your default language at that URL instead.
- Translate the content: Including the page titles and meta descriptions. See translating SEO titles and descriptions
- One language per domain: Shopify says two domains in one market targeting the same language can be flagged as duplicate content
- Submit sitemaps: Shopify recommends submitting a sitemap in Google Search Console for every international domain you set up
Doing this at scale
LinguaFlow drafts AI translations for each language you add and applies your brand glossary and tone rules. You review and edit before publishing, and it publishes through Shopify's native Translations API with no theme edits, with an audit log and rollback. See LinguaFlow.