Checks / Links, canonical and speed
hreflang alternate does not link back
This page lists a language version, but that version does not list this page back, or it is noindex or redirects. Google ignores alternates that are not reciprocal.
hreflang_not_reciprocal · Links, canonical and speed · Warning
What triggers it
A page lists an hreflang alternate that we crawled and that does not link back, does not answer 200, is noindex or redirects. An alternate we did not crawl is not judged.
What to change
On each alternate, add the return hreflang to this page, and make sure every alternate answers 200 and is indexable.
Example
HTML to put in the page:
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="en" href="https://example.com/en/">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="fr" href="https://example.com/fr/">How to confirm the fix
- Open the alternate URL: its hreflang list includes this page
- Run a new crawl
How common it is
In the audits of our own sites on 26 Oct 2026 (4 sites): finding judged right on citedby.eu.
Source: finding audit 2026-10-26 (English).
About this check
| Check ID | hreflang_not_reciprocal |
|---|---|
| Report section | Links, canonical and speed |
| Severity | Warning |
| How it is decided | Measured: read directly from the page or the server's response. |
| Added | Version 5, 23 October 2026 |
| Status | Measured in every report |
| Report gives the code | No, the fix is described in words |
Related checks
- Pages refuse or do not answer our crawler
- Very large HTML
- HTTP version does not redirect to HTTPS
- Oversized images
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